The Villainous Unearthed Arcana for Dungeons and Dragons was a substancial new playtesting document with multiple subclasses with darker themes for character creation. This already large selection of archetypes has, surprisingly, grow even bigger with the addition of a follow-up UA that players were not expecting to receive. With more options for inventing edgier character builds, this bonus round of UA content is great for players looking for increasingly Villainous play styles for their next game.
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The first Villainous UA for D&D introduced four subclasses for the Cleric, Druid, Fighter, and Sorcerer, introducing a variety of archtypes for players. Clerics could worship a Domain of Pestilence for poisonous play, while Circle of the Titan Druids could become massive leviathans of change within nature. Meanwhile, Fighter’s could become Hell Knights powered by the flames of the punished afterlife, while Sorcerers with a connection to the Abyss have a chance to call upon magical powers of iconic Demon Lords through Demonic Sorcery.
Three More Villainous Subclasses Enter Playtesting Through A Second Round Of Villainous Unearthed Arcana
An additional three subclasses were included in the “Villainous 2” UA document shared with players, including new options for the Barbarian, Monk, and Warlock classes. Meant to be used alongside standard rules found in the 5.5 Edition Player’s Handbook from 2024, these subclasses include:
- Path of Lament Barbarian
- Warrior of Venom Monk
- Primordial Patron Warlock
The Path of Lament Barbarian calls upon the powers of an undead Banshee, a mournful soul whose shrieks can drain the vitality of creatures that disturb their sorrow. The Banshee’s Wail feature from this subclass can help a Barbarian character deal Psychic damage, as well as deafen opponents based on their Rage bonuses. With the ability to speak with the dead as well, this Barbarian can also horrify targets, frightening them with their newfound powers. Resistances to cold and necrotic damage at later Levels combines with an inability to be possessed, preventing a Barbarian from being taken over.
These Barbarians can also use a Deathly Wail to drop enemies instantly, eventually using a transformation of sorrow to become undead themselves, gaining an immunity to charmed or frightened conditions while gaining a life-draining strike to devastate enemies. This subclass perhaps fits the theme of the upcoming Ravenloft: The Horrors Within expansion book the most, which already has several official “horror” themed subclasses within it. The other subclasses in the Villainous 2 UA are also well-detailed, giving players strong options for classes that aren’t used as often as the beginner-friendly Barbarian.
D&D’s Latest UA Offer Very Strong Archetypes To Classes That Are Often Overlooked
The Monk and Warlock’s subclass options are equally as powerful as the Barbarian’s, especially when you start digging into their unique features. For starters, the Warrior of Venom Monk can apply a toxin from their blood onto a weapon they hold to induce new effects onto targets they hit. This venom can slow down foes or inflict Poison damage, and combine with poisons this Monk can craft using a Poisoner’s Kit. This Monk type can even change their Poison damage to Acid, bypassing resistances in special situations.
Obviously, this Monk can also apply the Poisoned condition, but this can be manipulated to become a Truth Serum, a Intoxicant, or a Sedative that puts an enemy to sleep. Later levels see this Monk filtering poison through their body naturally, becoming immune to it and regaining health by ingesting poisons of all kinds. Toxic blood and Hallucinogenic Breath are features gained at later Levels, making the Warrior of Venom a truly effective ally and a very dangerous enemy.
Meanwhile, the Primordial Patron Warlock gives a character tons of new elemental effects to standard Warlock spellcasting. Like many broken spellcaster builds in D&D, this subclass is granted potent magic automatically as you level up, such as Chromatic Orb, Elemental Weapon, and Summon Elemental. Through this archetype, you can summon special Elemental nodes to inflict damage, provide protection, or even allow unorthodox transport for you and your allies. Extra Eldritch Invocations create a greater potency to this subclass, giving a new layer of flexibility for all Warlock archetypes in the game.
A Third Round Of Villainous UA Could Be On Its Way To Give Every Archetype An Evil Option
With the release of both these playtesting documents, 7 out of 13 classes in the game now have “Villainous” options for edgier, darker character builds. With the inclusion of the Death Knight and Lich Paths in the first UA, there is a strong possibility for a third round of archetypes with the same theme. At this point, there could be four different Villainous UA options that allow for every class in D&D to have an “evil” choice for parties that like to be more chaotic evil than lawful good.
The pleasant surprise of this second Villainous UA bodes well for the TTRPG’s planned Season of Horror in the late Spring and Summer 2026 time frames. As Dungeons and Dragons releases more subclasses for players to try, it’s possible that players will simply see more Unearthed Arcana this year, to support the new expansions planned in the game’s roadmap.
What do you think of the second Villainous UA for D&D? Leave a comment below or join the conversation in the ComicBook Forum!
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