Dungeons and Dragons‘s latest Playalong Pack shows off a new Arcana Unleashed feat, and it looks like a very interesting new option for character builds. Transmutation Adept is designed for spellcasting DnD classes, offering five additional spells with minimal extra cost. Neat!
Playalong Packs are snippets of new content released on D&DBeyond. Each instalment coincides with the latest episode of Dungeon Masters, the official actual play where celeb players show off content from D&D’s next book. Said book is currently Arcana Unleashed, which is set to release globally in September.
Transmutation Adept follows a historic tradition in the world of D&D design. More spells equals a pretty fantastic feat. The power potential is so great that feats of this kind either offer a single spell or are locked behind specific character requirements. The Ravnica and Eberron sourcebooks made their spell-gifting feats setting-exclusive to prevent everyone and their mom snatching them up.
That’s not the case here. To take Transmutation Adept, you need to be level four, and you need either the Spellcasting or Pact Magic feature. That’s it.
In exchange, you get a +1 to a spellcasting ability score of your choice. You also gain five Transmutation spells that are always prepared. If you have the spell slots of the appropriate level available, you can cast them. You don’t get one free cast a day like you do with Fey Touched or Magic Initiate, but you get a breadth of options instead.
And those options are honestly pretty great. The feat’s spell list offers Jump, Spider Climb, Slow, Polymorph, and Animate Objects – all excellent spells. The feat also gives you a speed boost for the turn when you cast a Transmutation spell using a spell slot, equal to five times the spell slot’s level.
The most obvious candidate for this spell is the Cleric. None of these spells appear in their spell list, and as a full caster, they’ve got enough spell slots to make the most of their new toys. New strategies are open, and you have new ways to customize your character.
This feat is tempting for most full casters, purely because it frees their usual preparation slots up for other spells. Versatility is one of the big strengths of magic users, and this makes them even more flexible.
I wouldn’t call this feat broken, so don’t expect to see a new meta in the world of absurdly optimized builds. But for us Regular Joes, it’s a strong enough option to consider building around.
Perhaps the most interesting thing about Transmutation Adept is its implication. A feat dedicated to one school of magic hints that other similar feats may exist. Imagine what you could do with Evocation Adept or Enchantment Adept. The build possibilities are endless.
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Source: Wargamer
