The Bard does not get any new subclasses in Dungeons and Dragons‘ newest gameplay expansion book, Arcana Unleashed. This is partially because the popular Charisma-driven archetype already got a new path in the last expansion, but it still is strange that the magical Bards don’t get anything new in a season themed around arcane mysteries. Thankfully, one returning subclass for the Wizard might be exactly what Bards need to keep beguiling enemies with their charm, just not through the means they might expect.
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The Wizard is special in Arcana Unleashed, as it is regaining four subclasses rather than one, all from previous versions of D&D‘s 5th Edition. Now updated and refined from Unearthed Arcana (UA) playtesting for the game’s changed 5.5e rules, the Wizard has a lot more variety than what it provided normally in the 2024 Player’s Handbook. Several fan-favorite Wizard subclasses were obvious to return, but the one that shares similarities to the Bard is often an underrated options for players to build characters around.
The Enchanter Wizard Combines Complex Magic With Charming Traits To Captivate Others Like Bards Do
The school of Enchantment is a type of magic that is common throughout D&D, from Charm Person to Zone of Truth for manipulating the minds of others. The Enchanter Wizard subclass specializes in this type of magic, but now in a more refined way compared to their base 5th Edition version. Often overlooked next to the Evocation, Divination, or Necromancer Wizards, the Enchanter is one archetype you don’t want to underestimate, as they can break games through social interactions just as much as Bards do.
Beginning at Level 3 like all other classes in 5.5e, the Enchanter Wizard is described as someone who uses their abilities to encourage peace and soften cruelty, or alter minds for more selfish ends. This version of the D&D subclass is exemplified by their starting Level 3 ability, Enchanting Conversationalist, which gives your character instant proficiency with Deception, Intimidation, or Persuasion based on your choice. You gain a bonus to whichever check you choose too, making your character automatically the one the party goes to when settling situations through a silver tongue.
As an Enchantment Savant at Level 3 as well, this type of Wizard can learn two spells from the Enchantment school right away when taking the subclass, giving them extra magic for their spell book. This takes place again every time you level up, allowing you to take some of the strongest Enchantment spells on top of what magic you’re already picking. The utility of your Wizard can grow quickly through this school of magic, with spells like Command, Hex, Hold Person, Charm Monster, and eventually Geas or Synaptic Static being great tools at your disposal.
Hypnotic Magic From The Enchanter Can Instantly Pacify Enemies Across Multiple Targets
Level 3 also sees you gain Hypnotic Presence, a third feature for taking the subclass. The Enchanter Wizard gains more skills than most archetypes do when the subclass is taken, making it strong from the very moment you adopt its play style. Lower level parties will see the effects of Hypnotic Presence when they enter combat, as you can activate the ability as a Magic action to charm an enemy. If any foe is within 10 feet of you, you can have it try to make a Wisdom saving throw, or have the Charmed condition on a failure.
Any creature Charmed by Hypnotic Presence are Incapacitated as well, meaning they can’t attack you or your allies, with their movement speed being reduced to 0 as well. This effect goes away if the target ends up more than 10ft away from you or when it takes damage, but this is still a fantastic way to shut down enemies on the battlefield. Not many monsters at low levels in D&D have very strong Wisdom modifiers, so you’re more than likely to stop at least one creature’s assault this way in those types of battles.
The Enchanter Wizard gets an even stronger way to cause these types of mental manipulations at Level 6, through a feature named Split Enchantment. This skill lets your character target an additional creature with an Enchantment spell whenever you use magic of that type through a spent spell slot. This essentially increases the effect level of an Enchantment spell by one, allowing you to cast higher level magic for a far lower cost. In base 5th Edition, this was a feature you’d only get at a much higher Level 10.
Swapped Features From Older Editions Don’t Take Away From The Enchanter Wizard’s Potential
The former Level 6 feature of the Enchanter subclass is now a Level 10 ability, but still called Instinctive Charm like it was before. This feature only works when an enemy hits your Wizard with an attack roll, where you can choose to force it to make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, that creature misses you instead, and must make an attack against another creature within range other than you. It uses the same attack roll, which could be high considering how it hit your character to begin with.
You have the choice of who this attack hits if there are multiple creatures in range, giving you freedom to manipulate an enemy’s action economy once again. Should your party make it to Level 14, an Enchanter Wizard gains their ultimate feature — Alter Memories. This ability is practically unchanged from base 5e, allowing you to make a creature Charmed against you to lose memories if it fails an Intelligence saving throw. This also makes that same creature unable to tell you Charmed it, leading to moments of magical subterfuge throughout an adventure.
There are rules to how the Enchanter’s charms can work, but for the most part, they give you just as many effects on enemies as Bards can do to their enemies. Even though the rate at which you gain abilities for this subclass have been changed, it remains one of the most authentic subclasses in 5.5e to its original version. For that reason alone, fans of older Dungeons and Dragons gameplay might find themselves drawn to the Enchanter Wizard in Arcana Unleashed when the expansion comes out in September 2026.
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