Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything: Subclass Changes, Part 1

Hey, folks! Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything is here, and with it come a plethora of new subclasses to try. These subclasses appeared in previous Unearthed Arcana articles. In these posts, I’ll compare the Unearthed Arcana versions of these mechanics to the official versions present in Tasha’s.

There’s a lot to cover, so this will be a multi-part series of posts! This post discusses the artificer and barbarian subclasses.

Supplanting the barbarian in the alphabetical order is the artificer! The Alchemist, Artillerist, and the Battle Smith are reprints of the versions that appeared in the recent Eberron books. But the Armorer is a new official subclass!

Artificer Specialist: Armorer

The Armorer uses a magically modified set of armor to fight. A lot of people have already made the Iron Man comparisons, and I definitely see the similarities.

Tools of the Trade: 3^rd level feature

This is the artificer subclass feature that grants additional proficiencies. This class feature hasn’t changed from the Unearthed Arcana version.

Armorer Spells: 3^rd level feature

This feature grants additional spells that the artificer always has prepared. This list hasn’t changed much, only replacing shield with thunderwave in the official version.

Arcane Armor: 3^rd level feature

This feature used to be called “Power Armor,” and there are wording changes to reflect that. Overall this feature has been edited a bit for clarity. The old version also specified that this suit of armor had to be heavy armor, the current version lacks this restriction.

The official subclass also notes that you can put on and take off the armor as an action. In the old version, removing the armor would cause it to lose its special benefits.

Armor Model: 3^rd level feature

The introductory text for the Guardian and the Infiltrator hasn’t changed much.

The official version specifies that you can’t be holding anything in your hands to use the Thunder Gauntlet attack for the Guardian model. The Defensive Field feature can now only be used a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus per long rest.

For the Infiltrator model, Second Skin has changed to Dampening Field. Now, the armor will give you advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks. This effectively cancels out the disadvantage you would have if you chose armor that impeded stealth. The armor no longer transforms into something that would be wearable under clothing.

Extra Attack: 5^th level feature

This feature’s text hasn’t changed, both versions get an extra attack at this point.

Armor Modifications: 9^th level feature

This feature now clarifies that the Arcane Armor’s special weapon can receive an item infusion and that these infusions transfer over if you change the armor’s model. Otherwise, this feature remains the same.

Perfected Armor: 15^th level feature

The Guardian model part of this feature specifies that the target of the pull reaction must be Huge size or smaller. The number of uses also changed. It is now based on your proficiency bonus instead of your Intelligence modifier.

The Infiltrator model section adds that the creature affected by the light now has disadvantage on attack rolls against you. Also, any next attack has advantage on the creature, including yours.

Barbarian Primal Path: Path of the Beast

These barbarians draw their power from an ancestry of shapeshifters or from other means. This subclass includes an “Origin of the Beast” table that can give some inspiration for your character. This table is largely the same as in the UA version with a few wording edits.

Form of the Beast: 3^rd level feature

The introductory text to this feature adds a little more explanation in the official version, reminding players which stats to use when attacking with the manifested natural weapon.

The bite attack now restores hit points based on proficiency bonus instead of Constitution. It also only restores hit points when you have less than half your hit points.

The claw attack specifies that you have to have your hands empty to use this attack.

The tail attack now does 1d8 damage instead of 1d12, and you can use a reaction to swipe your tail to potentially cause enemies to miss you.

Bestial Soul: 6^th level feature

These mechanics didn’t get changed, but the flavor text was slightly edited.

Infectious Fury: 10^th level feature

This feature’s number of uses is now based off of your proficiency bonus instead of your Constitution modifier.

Call the Hunt: 14^th level feature

The official version of this feature specifies that you can only grant the benefits to other creatures (so, not yourself). It also grants the other creatures bonus damage when they hit with an attack roll, instead of granting them Reckless Attack. And, as with other features, your number of uses of this feature depends on your proficiency bonus instead of your Constitution modifier.

Barbarian Primal Path: Path of Wild Magic

Wild Magic barbarians draw influence from the Feywild. The introductory text in Tasha’s notes that elves, genasi, tiefling, and aasimar barbarians often take this path.

Magic Awareness: 3^rd level feature

Instead of glowing in response to magic, the official version of this feature lets you sense a spell or magic item nearby that’s not behind total cover. This feature’s uses are based on proficiency bonus instead of Constitution modifier.

Wild Surge: 3^rd level feature

The entire Wild Magic table has been edited—changing duration, damage amount, et cetera for the various options. The flavor for each option is largely similar.

Bolstering Magic: 6^th level feature

This feature has been reworked pretty extensively. The previous version dealt force damage when you used it and either replenished an ally’s spell slot or granted temporary hit points.

The official version allows you to grant a benefit to yourself or another creature. You can grant a temporary d3 (yes, a d3) bonus to a creature’s attack rolls and ability checks for the next ten minutes. Or, you can roll a d3 and replenish a spell slot for the creature, the level of which depends on the d3 result (or it can be of a level lower than the result).

Unstable Backlash: 10^th level feature

The UA version of this feature dealt damage when a creature forced you to make a saving throw during your rage. The official version instead allows you to roll on the Wild Magic table and replace the current Wild Magic effect when you take damage or fail a saving throw during your rage.

Controlled Surge: 14^th level feature

Instead of rerolling the effect as a bonus action, you can roll twice whenever you roll on the Wild Magic table and pick one of those effects. And if you roll the same result twice, you can pick whichever effect you want from the table.