A new batch of playtest material has gone live for Dungeons & Dragons 5.5e. The new Unearthed Arcana Villainous Options 2 material is a follow-up to prior material, introducing three more evil-themed character subclasses for the fantasy TTRPG.
The Dungeons & Dragons Unearthed Arcana Villainous Options 2 Release
Like other playtest material, Unearthed Arcana Villainous Options 2 is available to all users on D&D Beyond. This batch of playtest material is decidedly light, containing just three character subclasses, each one themed around an evil twist on their respective archetype.
The first subclass is the Barbarian Path of Lament. This is an Undead-themed subclass, themed around the pain and anger of death and great loss. It’s a novel take on the character since the 2024 Player Handbook specifies a Barbarian’s Rage class feature is more than just raw anger.
This theme is persistent throughout the subclasses features. When going into a Rage, Lament Barbarians can unleash a Banshee Wail, a large area-of-effect scream that deals psychic damage to any enemy in range. At level 10, this wail is so powerful it can instantly drop any enemy with less HP than twice your Barbarian level.
In keeping with the fear of death, these Barbarians get Horrifying Strikes. As the name suggests, a successful attack may frighten the enemy if they fail a saving throw. Lastly, there is the Sorrow Form. While in this form, the Barbarian is treated as an Undead creature, has extra damage and condition immunities, and deals bonus necrotic damage on strikes, which heal the Barbarian.
Overall, the Path of Lament Barbarian seems like something that wouldn’t be out of place in a darker setting like the upcoming Ravenloft: The Horrors Within.
The second subclass in Unearthed Arcana Villainous Options 2 is for another martial class: The Warrior of Venom Monk. As the name implies, this Monk can coat their weapons in poison. Early levels these poisons can add bonus poison damage to weapon damage, greatly slow down enemy actions, knock targets unconscious, and can even compel them to tell the truth.
Late game effects let Venom Monks channel their own xenomorph. Toxic Blood causes any enemy that hits the Monk to take poison or acid damage. Toxic Refiner makes the Monk immune to poison and lets them heal if they ingest poison. Finally, Hallucinogenic Breath lets the Monk exhale a toxic spray that poisons and frightens the target.
The third and final subclass is the Primordial Patron Warlock. This Warlock makes a contract with powerful entities from the Elemental Chaos.
You choose one of four element types when you choose this subclass, which determines the type of damage you inflict when you use the subclass’ key feature, Elemental Node. The node is a floating sphere of elemental power you can reposition on your turn, which deals damage to any enemies nearby, provides buffs, and can even summon a planar elemental at higher levels.
The feedback survey for Unearthed Arcana Villainous Options 2 will go live on April 30.
