D&D ARCANA UNLEASHED Part 1 - The Best Arcane Archer Ever Is Still an Arcane Archer

Arcana Unleashed is here, bringing new subclasses, spells, feats, magic items, and—most importantly—fresh opportunities for Tyler to find loopholes Wizards of the Coast absolutely did not intend. In Part 1, we discover that Clerics can apparently wizard better than Wizards, the Arcane Archer has finally been upgraded from "why?" to "okay, I guess," Monks can punch people and cast spells at the same time, and Warlocks can carry around the fading remains of a dead god like a supernatural emotional-support animal. Also, somewhere at Wizards of the Coast, an editor just felt a disturbance in the Force because Tyler realized you can shoot a magical darkness arrow into someone's shield. Show Notes We kick off our review of Arcana Unleashed, the new setting-agnostic collection of character options, rules, spells, magic items, factions, monsters, and other magical nonsense for D&D. The book isn't quite Tasha's-sized, but there's plenty here to keep us busy—which is why this review is absolutely becoming a series. Part 1 is all about subclasses, starting with the Arcana Domain Cleric. The old "what if my Cleric wanted to be a Wizard?" concept finally feels like it knows what it wants to be. Great Wizard spells, a nasty saving-throw penalty through Channel Divinity, and eventually access to high-level Wizard spells make this an extremely strong hybrid. Tyler immediately starts planning for Contingency and Wish, because of course he does. Then we revisit everyone's favorite subclass to forget exists: the Arcane Archer. It is unquestionably better than the 2014 version, which unfortunately clears a bar located somewhere beneath the basement. More Arcane Shot uses, better utility ammunition, and some genuinely cool later-level abilities help, but the subclass still struggles to generate much excitement. We also spend far too long discovering that Darkening Ammunition can apparently stick to any "solid surface," which means shields, possibly whales, and whatever other nonsense your table is willing to litigate. The Warrior of Mystic Arts Monk fares much better. Mechanically, it's essentially the Monk answer to the Eldritch Knight: punch things, cast Sorcerer spells, and eventually do both with increasingly ridiculous efficiency. The old Tattooed Warrior concept may have been more flavorful, but the finished version is clean, effective, and potentially terrifying once its spellcasting and Monk abilities start feeding into each other. Finally, we meet the Vestige Patron Warlock, where your patron is also your pet because apparently the traditional Warlock power dynamic wasn't complicated enough. Your Vestige can shift between Celestial, Fiend, and Undead forms, bringing different abilities along with it, and eventually gets some impressive summoning upgrades. Ash begins thoroughly uninterested and ends up won over almost entirely by the possibility of worshipping the forgotten god of toads. Which, frankly, is the strongest possible argument for the subclass. We wrap things up before reaching the Wizard subclasses, mostly because making Tyler wait another episode to talk about Wizards is funny. Stuff for the Show Notes Arcana Unleashed (affiliate link) Arcana Unleashed: Deadfall (affiliate link) Fizban's Treasure of Dragons (affiliate link) AmateurJack.com - Recovery Long Rest - Cozy D&D Business Sim Key Takeaways Arcana Domain Cleric is excellent. It finally delivers the Cleric/Wizard hybrid fantasy without feeling like somebody stapled a spellbook onto a holy symbol. Arcane Archer is substantially improved, but "best Arcane Archer ever" still isn't the ringing endorsement Wizards probably hoped for.</s