New Dungeons & Dragons Class Lets Players (Literally) Raise Hell

Right off the cuff of the Player’s Handbook 2024 and Dungeon’s Master Guide 2024 release, Dungeons & Dragons just dropped a brand-new class from MCDM that lets players embody all the fiendish powers the Nine Hells has to offer. The Illrigger is described by D&D Beyond as being a literal soldier of hell, sent on missions to impose the will of whatever archdevil is giving them orders. In some ways, their flavor is like that of a truly hellish take on a Paladin, but with its own unique features that make it completely stand out as its own unique and original experience for players – and even NPCs.

Illriggers are described as being capable of filling multiple niches: elite soldiers, commanders sent out on the front lines, assassins, and even magic-focused advisors. Despite how cool and flashy the Illrigger can be, it is important to remember that the hyper-edgy flavor that comes with being a literal warrior from Hell invites potential party conflicts, whether it be a clash of ideals between good-aligned heroes with their hellish companion, or even an archdevil leading their Illrigger in a direction that could bring about high stakes drama at certain tables. Regardless of what players and dungeon masters decide to do with the new class – the options are limitless.

[RELATED: Dungeons & Dragons TV Series Not Moving Forward at Paramount+]

Illrigger’s Are All Favor & Hellfire – Making Them the Perfect Pick For Every Table

While one would think that the Illrigger would automatically lean to evil alignments due to them being literal soldiers form the Hells, there’s still plenty of flexibility to create an Illrigger PC that isn’t automatically an edgy bully that turns a collaborative experience into an absolute slog. It seems as though MCDM put a lot of time and care into making the Illrigger a class with a specific theme that works well with others, no matter what the campaign setting may be. Firstly, the Illrigger’s subclasses offer a ton of flexibility for players to adapt to whatever situation they might get thrown into as their character levels. Illrigger comes with five unique subclasses, each of which do something entirely unique.

If a PC wants to take a stealthy, sneaky approach to their gameplay, they can play a Shadowmaster – which allows for a unique blend of combat versatility and utility that rival even the most min-maxed Rogue. Sanguine Knights are healers and hemomancers, capable of healing their allies and robbing enemies of their blood to provide vital buffs to their party. Painkiller acts as a classic front-lining DPS subclass, with special features for players that like to hit hard and lock down their foes. Hellspeakers are a Charisma based subclass that act as enchanters and capable of turning every social situation in their favor. Last, but far from being the least interesting of the subclasses is the Architect of Ruin, which captures all the fiendish power of Asmodeus by utilizing a spellsword deals bonus damage, imposes Disadvantage on saving throws, and even hinders other spellcasters.

Illriggers have a ton of customization options that make them truly unique, especially in the landscape of modern Dungeons & Dragons. One of the first class features Illriggers get, Baleful Interdict, is described as follows:

“At level 1, you can place a magical seal on a creature within 30 feet of you once per turn – either by hitting the creature with an attack or using a Bonus Action. When the target takes damage from a source other than a seal burned by an Illrigger, you can burn any number of your seals placed on the creature to deal an additional 1d6 Fire or Necrotic damage per seal. You have a limited number of seals based on your Illrigger level, but you regain all of them on a Short or Long Rest. The damage of each seal increases by 1d6 at levels 5, 11, and 20.”

The feature works in a similar way to a Hexblade Warlock’s “Hexblade’s Curse” but offers extra versatility by being able to choose the damage type and having more options to trigger the effect.

Additionally, Illriggers have “Interdict Boons” that give the player special buffs when they’re able to successfully use their seals. For example, an Illrigger could use the Soul Eater boon to gain temporary hit points equal to their level. They could also get a buff to their Armor Class, which, in a class type that can alternate between being a mage or martial frontliner makes a huge difference depending on the combat encounter.

H/T D&D Beyond