New year, new Unearthed Arcana! There’s the survey for the Fighter, Rogue, Wizard UA from last year also, so go check that out as well!

Barbarian Primal Path: Path of the Beast

Path of the Beast barbarians are associated with shapeshifters and primal beast spirits. They channel a feral energy in their rage, causing them to physically transform. You can use the Origin of the Beast table to determine the source of this power.

Barbarians get their subclass at 3rd level, gaining additional features at 6th, 10th, and 14th level.

Form of the Beast: 3rd level feature

This feature allows the barbarian to transform, manifesting a natural melee weapon (a bite, claw, or tail attack) for the duration of their rage. These three weapons deal different damage, and each has an additional effect: the bite heals you, the claws allow you to make two claw attacks, and the tail has reach.

These different attacks are a practical way of manifesting the bestial aspect of this subclass. You could use them just fine on a human character, but you could also use this for fun effect on, say, a lizardfolk or tabaxi or other less-humanlike character.

Bestial Soul: 6th level feature

The first part of this feature enhances the Form of the Beast natural weapons. They now count as magical for overcoming the relevant resistances or immunities. The second part allows you to pick one benefit from a list of three that starts once you finish a rest and last until your next rest. These benefits include a swim speed, climb speed, and a boost to your jump. 

This is a nifty boost that incentivizes you to make use of your natural weapons. It’s right around the level at which you start to see more monsters with resistance/immunity to nonmagical damage, too. The other part of this feature is a nice exploration-focused benefit that fits in well with other barbarian subclass features.

Infectious Fury: 10th level feature

Infectious Fury applies when you are using your natural weapons (from Form of the Beast rage) and hit a creature. Then, you can expend a use of this feature to curse that target, forcing them to succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or suffer one of two effects. You can force them to make a melee attack against another creature (you choose the creature), or you can deal 2d12 psychic damage. The number of uses you have are equal to your Constitution modifier (minimum 1) per long rest.

Again, this feeds into the natural weapons you get when raging with this subclass. You can either focus damage on the creature you just attacked, or try to spread damage across a group by forcing the creature you hit to smack their buddy.

Call of the Hunt: 14th level feature

Call of the Hunt allows you to extend some of your power to your allies. So, when you rage, you can grant allies within 30 feet of you the Reckless Attack feature and advantage on saves versus being frightened. This can apply to a number of allies equal to your Constitution modifier (minimum 1), and you can use this feature a number of times equal to your Constitution modifier (minimum 1) per long rest.  Also, you get 5 temporary hit points per ally that gets the benefit.

This feature is cool, especially if you have other strength-based classes in your party. Even if you don’t, the advantage against being frightened can be really helpful in some fights, and temporary hit points are always useful.

This subclass definitely looks fun to play if you like the idea of having powerful natural weapons. I like how the subclass introduces the natural weapons at 3rd level and continues to build on them, making them more useful as you grow into the subclass. 

Monk Monastic Tradition: Way of Mercy

Monks of the Way of Mercy can control life force, sometimes to heal and sometimes to hurt. Some of these monks use masks to conceal their faces, hence the Merciful Mask table included in the article. 

Monks get their subclass at 3rd level, gaining additional features at 6th, 11th, and 17th level.

Implements of Mercy: 3rd level feature

This feature grants proficiency in either Medicine or Insight and with both the herbalism and poisoner’s kits.

These additional proficiencies help the subclass’s mechanics align with its flavor. Both Medicine and Insight are Wisdom-based skills, too, so monks are generally already good at those things.

Hands of Healing: 3rd level feature

This feature allows you to expend a ki point to restore hit points to a creature you touch. The amount restored is your Wisdom modifier plus a roll of your Martial Arts die. Also, you can replace one unarmed strike in Flurry of Blows with this feature without using the required ki.

The Martial Arts die increases as you level up, so this healing scales as you grow more powerful. Replacing a Flurry of Blows strike with this feature is also nifty for a bit of healing in a pinch.

Hands of Harm: 3rd level feature

This feature is a counterpart to Hands of Healing. Once per turn, when you hit a creature with an unarmed strike, you can expend a ki point to roll a Martial Arts die and deal that amount of extra necrotic damage. This roll increases to three rolls if the creature is poisoned or incapacitated.
If you can poison or incapacitate your target, this is a big hit. On its own, it’s a nice boost to your damage anyways (necrotic damage hurts most creatures).

Noxious Aura: 6th level feature

Here’s where it gets nasty. You can use a bonus action and a ki point to manifest a toxic aura that extends 5 feet from you for 1 minute (or until it’s dismissed/you become incapacitated). This aura forces ranged attacks to have disadvantage against you. It also poisons creatures who start their turn in it if they fail the Constitution saving throw. The poison lasts until the end of your next turn, and they also take poison damage equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum of 0, unusually enough).

This feature naturally follows up on Hands of Harm by allowing you to (potentially) poison creatures within melee range of you. And, since ranged attacks have disadvantage, the aura also encourages creatures to get into melee range of you.

Healing Technique: 11th level feature

Healing Technique boosts the Hands of Healing feature by allowing you to end a disease or certain conditions on a creature when you heal it. You can cure the blinded, deafened, paralyzed, or poisoned conditions.

This feature is especially helpful if you don’t happen to have greater or lesser restoration on hand in your party. And, even with other healers, this ability helps the monk heal some hit points and cure a condition that may otherwise severely hinder the party.

Hand of Mercy: 17th level feature

This is a really interesting one. Hand of Mercy uses 4 ki points and an action. The target makes a Constitution saving throw, and if they fail, the creature becomes paralyzed and appears dead for a number of days equal to your monk level. The creature is immune to damage, and persisting curses or other negative effects become suspended during that time. You can only have this effect on one creature at a time. 

Hand of Mercy has a lot of cool applications. You could use it to feign a creature’s (including your own) death, to hide someone away, to kidnap someone, to protect someone from a curse while you search for a cure. I think this would be a really cool feature to make it into an official subclass!

I think healing-focused subclasses are cool, because support and healing is fun. It’s a cool new direction to take the monk class!

Paladin Sacred Oath: Oath of the Watchers

Paladins who take the Oath of the Watchers stand against extraplanar influence and cults that threaten regular mortals. The tenets of their oath include vigilance, loyalty, and discipline.

Paladins get their subclass at 3rd level, gaining additional features at 7th, 15th, and 20th level.

Oath Spells: 3rd level feature

This paladin’s oath spells include spells like alarm, banishment, and counterspell to protect against threats. This list also contains moonbeam, which is especially effective against shapechangers. An unusual choice is chromatic orb, but the idea may be that chromatic orb allows you to choose from a few different damage types, thus allowing you to target a particular enemy’s vulnerability.

Channel Divinity: 3rd level feature

The additional Channel Divinity options provided by this subclass are Watcher’s Will and Abjure the Extraplanar. Watcher’s Will grants allies within 30 feet of you advantage on Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saves. This can benefit a number of allies equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum 1). This benefit lasts for 1 minute. Abjure the Extraplanar allows you to present your holy symbol and force nearby elementals, fey, fiends, and aberrations to make a Wisdom saving throw against being turned.

Abjure the Extraplanar is the type of ability that can be really, really useful in the right campaign (much like other turn abilities). I can see Watcher’s Will getting broader use; those types of saves are common not only in spells but also in monster abilities in general.

Aura of the Sentinel: 7th and 18th level feature

This aura grants you and creatures of your choice within 10 feet a bonus to their initiative rolls. This bonus is equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum 1). As is usual with paladin auras, this aura’s range becomes 30 feet once you hit 18th level.

Paladin auras are really helpful, and this one is no different. Combat doesn’t last more than a few rounds, typically, so a first-round advantage means a lot.

Vigilant Rebuke: 15th level feature

You can use Vigilant Rebuke as a reaction when you or a creature nearby succeeds on a spell saving throw. This deals force damage equal to 2d8 plus your Charisma modifier to the spellcaster.

This feature ties in with the subclass’s flavor, especially with the inclusion of counterspell in the spell list. If you’re not using your reaction for an opportunity attack, Vigilant Rebuke is a go-to for fights against spellcasters.

Mortal Bulwark: 20th level feature

Once per long rest, you can use a bonus action to gain several benefits. You gain 120 feet of truesight; advantage to attack elementals, fey, fiends, and aberrations; and the chance to banish a creature you hit with an attack (if they fail a Charisma save). 

This fits perfectly with the other final paladin subclass features! Truesight allows you to identify the true forms of shapechangers and see past illusions. And, since you have advantage on creatures that aren’t typically native to the Material Plane, it’s easier to pull off the banishment ability. On paper, it looks like it works well together.

If you’ve played paladins before, I’d love to hear your opinions on this subclass!

Warlock Otherwordly Patron: Noble Genie

Noble genies rule over areas on the Elemental Planes and wield great power there. Warlocks of these patrons work to expand the noble genie’s collection and influence.

Warlocks get their subclass at 1st level, gaining additional features at 6th, 10th, and 14th level.

Expanded Spell List

These spells include control spells like sleep and phantasmal force along with utility spells like create food and water and creation. It’s a neat mix of spells here– you also get polymorph and Bigby’s hand.

Collector’s Vessel: 1st level feature

You receive a tiny vessel from your patron. You can pick what the object is or use the included Collector’s Vessel table to determine its appearance. The vessel is magical, and you can use it to bind a creature to you, including it in your patron’s menagerie. The vessel also counts as your spellcasting focus. You can replace the vessel if you lose it. To bind a creature, it must be willing, and you use an action to create a tether of elemental stuff between you. The creature has to stay near-ish to you, and the tether lasts for an hour. This grants you a bonus to Perception checks. You can also cast spells from the bound creature’s space. You can create the tether a number of times per long rest equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum 1).

Though I initially assumed this could only work on animals, the wording is only restricted to creatures. So, party members and other willing creatures are valid targets, if they’re okay with becoming a part of your genie patron’s menagerie for a bit.

Elemental Resistance: 6th level feature

After finishing a long rest, you can gain resistance to a type of elemental damage (acid, cold, fire, lightning) until the end of your next long rest. This benefit also applies to your tethered creature when the tether is active.

The genies are associated with different elements, so this type of feature is a natural choice! This also incentivizes you to bind a creature you want to help protect from that damage type.

Protective Wish: 10th level feature

Protective Wish allows you to use your reaction to switch places with your tethered creature when one of you is hit by an attack. Thus, this switches which one the attack effects.

This can help you protect yourself or your tethered creature. I like the tactics behind this– you could potentially set up some positioning tricks if you’re willing to take a hit.

Genie’s Entertainment: 10th level feature

Genie’s Entertainment is sort of like a version of banishment. The target comes back no matter what, though. You target a creature within 90 feet, and they have to make a Charisma saving throw or find themselves paralyzed and transported to your patron’s court. No harm comes to the creature during that time. It can repeat the saving throw each round. But, if it remains banished for a minute, it returns without expending your use of this feature. You can do this once per long rest.

I like the idea of this feature! The fact that you could get the use of the feature back is also really cool.

Collector’s Call: 14th level feature

You can use this feature and take an action to implore your patron for aid. Whether or not you succeed, you can’t try again until you’ve completed a long rest, or until you’ve performed a ritual to sacrifice 500 gp worth of nonmagical treasure to your patron. When you petition your patron, you make a Charisma (Persuasion) check against your warlock spell save DC. A success allows you to choose between three different effects. You can heal a nearby creature and cure a disease or condition it is under. You can impose disadvantage a nearby creature’s attacks and saving throws until your next turn. Or, you can cast legend lore without needing material components.

You have good options with this feature. Assuming you’re proficient in Persuasion, the difficulty of the check would sort of stay the same, since your warlock spell save DC is based on your proficiency and Charisma modifier. So if your proficiency bonus is +5, and your Charisma modifier is +5, then your spell save DC would be 18, and your bonus to Charisma (Persuasion) would be +10, meaning you’d only have to roll an 8 or higher to succeed. Things are more difficult if you’re not proficient in Persuasion, but you could get it from your background or from the Beguiling Influence invocation. 

What do you think of this new UA? Are you enjoying the recent influx of new options? Do you have a favorite UA subclass? I’d love to hear about it!