Dungeons & Dragons Releases Even More Subclasses For Playtesting

Dungeons & Dragons has released four more subclasses for public playtesting, including a new Warlock patron, and a paladin trained to fight extraplanar threats. Earlier today, Wizards of the Coast released its newest batch of Unearthed Arcana material, which acts as a public playtest prior to a potential publication. This month's batch of Unearthed Arcana contains four new subclasses, including the Path of the Beast Barbarian, the Way of Mercy Monk, the oath of the Watchers Paladin, and a Noble Genie patron for Warlocks.

Each subclass is built around a different core function. The Beast Barbarian transforms when they enter a rage, gaining one of three different natural weapons and eventually infecting targets (and boosting allies) with their rabid fury. The Way of Mercy Monk is a healing monk, capable of restoring hit points or turning their ki into a harmful miasma. The Oath of the Watchers Paladin keeps an eye on extraplanar forces and has the ability to turn extraplanar forces like fiends, fey, and aberrations. The Noble Genie patron allows a Warlock to bind creatures to a vessel, causing the creature to become an extension of their will. At higher levels, the Warlock can attempt to attempt to banish a creature to their genie's court or can implore the genie to grant them aid.

Two of these new subclasses should raise a few eyebrows among Dungeons & Dragons' older fans. The Noble Genie patron could have ties to Al-Qadim, an area of the Forgotten Realms inspired by One Thousand and One Nights, or one of the Elemental Planes popularized in Planescape. The Oath of the Watchers also has potential ties to Planescape, especially with its focus on staying vigilant against extraplanar forces. We'll have to see if these subclasses provide any clues about Dungeons & Dragons' future releases.

You can check out all of the subclasses here. Be sure to keep an eye out of D&D's webpage for a survey released next month to provide feedback on the new subclasses. You can also follow me on Twitter at @CHofferCBus to chat all things D&D!