Our Verdict
Arcana Unleashed excites me in ways D&D books rarely do. It backs excellent writing up with tried-and-tested rules for subclasses, feats, spells, and factions. While there are many returning subclasses, the book occasionally dares to try something new, and it’s better for it. Wizards’ campaign frames and design advice are still a weak point, but this only slightly clouds the orb we ponder.
- Strong, consistent subclasses
- Excellent feats and spells
- Exciting original factions
- Dull adventure design
- Limited design advice
Arcana Unleashed has done something a Dungeons and Dragons book hasn’t done for a while. It’s made me excited to play D&D. It turns out I do want to play the world’s biggest tabletop RPG when the design is consistent, the ideas are original, and the writing is impeccable. Arcana Unleashed has all that in spades.
This might sound like a backhanded compliment, and I guess it is. I have a history of giving Wizards of the Coast ‘good but not brilliant’ reviews (see Ravenloft: The Horrors Within, Forge of the Artificer, Dragon Delves, etc. etc. etc…). And that’s because D&D is the biggest RPG on the planet.
When you lead an industry, my standards are sky-high. I expect you to set an example. Impress. Innovate. Share the most exciting ideas on the market. In recent years, Wizards of the Coast hasn’t always met this mark. But I’ll give credit where it’s due, and Arcana Unleashed is a wonderful little sourcebook.
Most potential buyers will be interested in hearing about the new subclasses. I already gave a full rundown of the winners and losers, but in general, they’re quality. Most of the returning options come with a face-lift, though none veer into overpowered territory. One thing D&D has nailed with its 5.5e updates is consistency – imbalance has been addressed from both ends.
We have two new faces in the pack, too: the Warrior of Mystic Arts and the Vestige Warlock. Both have clear strengths and weaknesses. The first, which is basically an Eldritch Knight in Monk form, is powerful but lacks creativity. The second, a Warlock that gains powers from a god trying to regain popularity, is a fantastic character concept, but the delivery is disappointing in places.
The remaining character options are similarly sound. Arcana Unleashed has Origin and Epic Boon feats that could rival those in the Player’s Handbook – a first in 5.5e history, in my opinion. D&D has struggled to top these concepts since they were first introduced, but the well of optimal options has expanded.
General feats are eating well, too. Most exciting of all are the new Adept feats, which grant spellcasters a roster of extra spells from a specific school of magic. There’s also plenty of feats that modify your Find Familiar spell, making companions a much more exciting part of your party.
There are one or two duds, as always – the lone Fighting Style feat isn’t much to write home about. But, on the whole, I’m a big fan. You can see my full list of favorite feats here.
Spells are slightly less explosive. I doubt many of these will break the D&D builds meta (if such a thing exists), but plenty are worthy of your time.
Again, we see some excellent modifications to the party pet through spells like Battle Familiar. I also appreciate that Wizards has tried to improve the laughably bland lineup of Necromancy spells, though I don’t think it’s enough to save the Necromancer subclass. You can see more of the best new spells here.
From spells, the book moves onto some new ways of framing play. D&D has followed a trend set by some of the best tabletop RPGs and introduced a Patron system. Well, ‘system’ might be a generous term. There’s no unique mechanics to shape the relationship an adventuring party has with their benefactor.
Rules-wise, Patrons manifest as a series of random tables defining their personality and method of contacting your characters. Each ‘type’ presented (Archmage, Esoteric Institution, Magical Entity, Political Faction, Trickster, and Wizard Circle) also has suggested motivations and perks to offer. Lastly, D&D offers one of its characteristically un-fleshed-out campaign frames – a list of bullet points suggesting what might happen at different tiers of play.
It’s not enthralling from a rules design perspective, but excellent writing saves the Patron section. It’s in-depth enough to spark plenty of ideas in a budding DM.
We see the same in the next section, detailing brand-new factions. Brand-new! So much of Wizards of the Coast’s product strategy in recent years has involved recycling ancient settings and characters – so when I saw something that looked original, I nearly jumped out of my seat.
And the factions are really cool. There’s magical whisper networks, eldritch transmuters, morally upstanding necromancers, planar globetrotters, and an Indiana-Jones-like spy network that steals and protects magical artifacts. There’s even a band of evocation casters who hang out to perform sick stunts and make things explode (and sometimes help out at sites of natural disaster).
Each faction has different goals and rewards they’ll offer you for allying with them. Here, Arcana Unleashed expands some of its optional rules from the Dungeon Master’s Guide. Each faction has a Renown meter that offers increasingly useful benefits. Plus, members of a faction unlock access to a unique Bastion facility.
The factions have it all – strong ideas, written well, that are backed up by tangible mechanics. They have me genuinely excited to dream up some new D&D adventures.
The next chapter on magic items is more of a mixed bag. There are some decent new options at all rarity levels (see my full rundown for more detail). Nothing feels like it’s going to revolutionize D&D, and maybe that’s a good thing, but this section rarely sparks joy for that reason.
Plus, I have a bigger gripe, and it’s with the new evolving magic items. The idea of magic items that grow as their owners level up is a fantastic one. Arcana Unleashed provides a few useful examples, too.
What it doesn’t provide is practical advice on creating your own well-balanced options. The design advice begins and ends at ‘roll on our small randomized table’. In a world where fans have written entire books on playing and designing D&D well, Wizards can do better than gatekeeping how the sausage gets made.
Last of all, we have new monsters. Most of the page count is made up with Archmage variants for each school of magic. These are structurally almost identical, albeit with different spell lists (and, for some reason, the Abjurer gets fewer attacks, and is the only one that can’t cast Shield as a reaction). This is handy stuff for anyone who wants a ready-made Archmage Patron, but it feels a little bland outside that context.
We also have Groundlings, a new subset of minions for your big bad, Darkenbeasts mutated by magic, and Living Spells, which have developed a will of their own. On the higher end of CR comes good-aligned steward liches, magically ascended mages, and literal Venger himself. These are solid and well-designed (though I still long for the days when bosses could cast spells properly), but they’re not standout enough to be the book’s main attraction.
That’s all on Arcana Unleashed for now? Though, if you want to chat more about D&D, you can often find me lurking in the Wargamer Discord.
A review copy was provided by Wizards of the Coast for this article.
Source: Wargamer
