Some of y’all might remember the Unearthed Arcana subclasses that were announced last month for Dungeons & Dragons. Those cracking into 5e had playtest material made available to them for cool new additions like the Twilight Domain cleric and the Circle of Wildfire druid. Now, us Ranger-holics are getting some love. The Swarmkeeper Ranger is just one of playtest options that Wizards of the Coast has put out, so let’s crack into the rest.
Swarmkeeper Ranger and More Unearthed Arcana Playtest Content Revealed
The latest batch of playtest content that includes our beloved Swarmkeeper Ranger also includes:
- Rune Knight – a new Martial Archetype for Fighters
- The Revived – a new Roguish Archetype
So… ya like jazz? Get ready to turn your latest campaign into the Bee Movie with Swarmkeeper Ranger. Your whole schtick is connecting to nature via, well, swam animals which means that you can either use your fluttery little friends for good or to wound the absolute crap out of your enemies. You better hope that no one’s got a phobia of insects, mate, or anything else that comes in swarms. Pesky birds? Flies? The potential for horror is endless. You’ll get the cool benefit of the Mage Hand cantrip being, well, the form of your swarm. You can also deal extra damage if your swarm clings to your weapon thanks to the Gathered Swarm feature – an extra 1d6 damage to be exact. Both your foes and your friends may well keep their distance.
If that’s not quite your style, check out the Rune Knight Fighter. We’re thinking this works a bit like the runes do for Death Knights in WoW: your bonuses with this archetype essentailly come from runeforging. On top of being fluent in Giant, you can pick elemental runes to enhance pieces of your gear with that will give you different benefits. Wanna be resistant to being beat to death? Hill runes! Wanna use molten shackles in enemies? Fire runes! The possibilities are honestly endless, and your super strength is just the beginning.
Now, we can’t possibly forget The Revived. This is possibly the coolest archetype yet, but I might be biased as someone who’s currently tired of playing a swashbuckling Rogue. Sssh, don’t tell my OC. With The Revived, you’re essentially aware of the fact that you’ve died before. You’re existing in a state of undeath, and through some miracle, you remember bits and pieces of your past lives. This means that you can draw upon a rotating list of proficiencies per long rest, making you a versatile addition to any party. You can also innately use some necrotic magic, speak to the dead without needing a spell slot, and don’t have to eat, drink, or sleep. Spooky! We wish we’d had this in time to run a Halloween campaign.
Now that you’re clued in about the new Swarmkeeper Ranger Unearthed Arcana playtest option and the other cool archetypes coming our way, do you reckon you’ll be using any of them in your own games? Let us know on Twitter at @PrimaGames if you do! In the meantime, check out some other stuff we’ve covered when it comes to D&D:
