New D&D book gives every class more magic and pets to play with

Arcana Unleashed: A Deep Dive into New Magic and Adventure

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Wizards of the Coast is expanding the possibilities within Dungeons & Dragons with Arcana Unleased, a player-focused book packed with new subclasses, spells, and magical items. This release is accompanied by Arcana Unleashed: Deadfall, a “magical espionage” adventure set in Thay, the treacherous land of the Red Wizards.

Polygon had the chance to review both products early, and they reaffirm the current design philosophy of 2024’s 5.5 edition. Arcana Unleashed aims to fix some lackluster subclasses and provide more magic-focused options, blurring class lines for increased flexibility. Whether you embrace or resist this direction, it’s D&D’s current path.

One highlight is the return of the Arcana Domain cleric, now with powerful upgrades like Counterspell at level 5. The underwhelming Channel Divinity feature is replaced by Modify Magic, allowing temporary hit points or saving throw subtractions. This can be overpowered, especially for control spells.

Wizard subclasses receive significant boosts. Conjurers gain teleportation at level 3, while Enchanters get Hypnotic Presence for charming enemies. Necromancers now focus on raising and boosting undead minions, a long-awaited feature for players. Transmuters also receive improvements to their Polymorph abilities.

One subclass, the Mystic Arts monk, received limited spellcasting, which may not synergize well with other class abilities. The design team is breaking down class barriers, offering maximum freedom when building characters. This isn’t inherently bad, as many great RPGs have flexible class systems (like Sword World). However, it can cause balance issues.

A major frustration in 5.5e is the Magic Initiate feat, which unlocks powerful builds. Unfortunately, Arcana Unleashed introduces an upgraded version, Magic Connoisseur, allowing players to choose even more spells.

The DM section includes a guide on building worlds with magic, valuable for new DMs and a resource for experienced ones. More valuable are the magical factions that can be plugged into any campaign. The book also includes new spells, items, and monsters, including Venger from the 1980s Dungeons & Dragons cartoon.

Arcana Unleashed: Deadfall, the first long-form adventure for 5.5e, features a gazetteer and an adventure. The gazetteer is excellent, but the adventure feels too “railroad,” limiting player choices. This isn’t inherently bad, as some players prefer this style.

In Deadfall, characters undertake quests for Xelnene Thrul, a Zulkir who wants to stop Szass Tam’s plans. There’s little room for deviation from the plot or exploring different avenues. The adventure feels structurally similar to 2024’s Vecna: Eve of Ruin, another villain-focused adventure with a series of quests and an inevitable final act.

The premise of a “magical spy thriller” falls apart when characters start at level 11, possessing powerful spells that make espionage trivial. The book even encourages these “magical tactics,” listing spells like Greater Invisibility and Scrying. This makes it difficult to build stakes that feel big enough for players to stay invested.

Even worse, all the espionage and diplomacy are kind of useless: Towards the end of the adventure, Szass Tam discovers the conspirators, takes down the operation, and kidnaps Thrul, forcing the characters to storm the lich’s fortress.

Adventures published during the 5e era did not separate the environment from the game, as 5.5e products do. They let players explore an area more or less spontaneously, leading to emergent, organic gameplay that made these adventures highly replayable. Gazetteers are a great resource for DMs who just want to plug a specific area into their own world and story, but there’s a reason why players keep returning to Curse of Strahd a decade after its publication.

However, Deadfall is still valuable if you don’t expect it as a full campaign. The book contains locations, encounters, and small quests that can be used for short adventures or reskinned and plugged into another campaign. Together with the first extensive look at Thay in a couple of decades that the book provides, this makes Arcana Unleashed: Deadfall worth buying, as long as you’re not expecting an exciting out-of-the-box campaign to play.

Unlike Ravenloft: The Horrors Within, the two books in the Arcana Unleased drop can appeal equally to new and veteran players. Whether you like the “everybody gets everything” approach to character options and the railroad adventure style or not, these books confirm that the current D&D team has a clear design vision for the game, which will unfold throughout its products going forward.

Source: Polygon