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DnD Unearthed Arcana feats and spells explore the multiverse

New Unearthed Arcana takes us across the multiverse with new D&D subclasses, races, feats, backgrounds – and spells based on the Deck of Many Things

DnD Unearthed Arcana Wonders of the Multiverse - a party of adventureres hide from an army of marching Modrons

The D&D designers released a new batch of Unearthed Arcana playtest material on July 18, and there’s a multiverse of stuff packed in. As well as introducing updated versions of the recent Giant Options playtest material, the ‘Wonders of the Multiverse’ content includes races, subclasses, feats, and backgrounds that explore fate and the many DnD planes. Heck, there’s even new material for the Deck of Many Things.

The new multiversal material adds the Glitchling to the unofficial list of DnD races. A Modron-like creature that wants to learn everything it can about the multiverse, a Glitchling’s armoured skin and limited flight are combined with the human ability to be healed by various 5e spells. They also have a mind as ordered as Mechanus, which can help boost dice rolls and protect the Glitchling from being charmed.

This Unearthed Arcana also introduces a new Cleric subclass that lead designer Jeremy Crawford calls “the sibling of the Wizard’s Diviner”. A Fate Domain Cleric will gradually learn to understand and change fate itself – they’ll even be able to use foresight if they level up enough, a spell that was previously off-limits for Clerics.

“The spells in this Unearthed Arcana are all thematically tied in some way to the deck of many things”, says Jeremy Crawford in a D&D YouTube interview. “I won’t explain why, but we are having fun exploring what else in the multiverse might be connected to that famous deck”.

The five new spells are each based on a card from the Deck of Many Things, recreating those cards’ unique abilities. Want to summon an avatar of death without shuffling through your deck for the skull card? Fourth-level spell Spirit of Death has got you covered.

The feats in the most recent Unearthed Arcana are a mix of previous Giant Options feats and new feats made ready for storytelling out on the planes. Many are ‘entry-level feats’ that ask you to align your character with a particular plane or giant, a move which Crawford says “we need to create a narrative funnel for why you’re even able to get these other [higher-level] feats”.

These entry-level feats are also tied to the new backgrounds introduced – some offer bonus feats, and those that don’t allow players to choose a new entry-level feat as a replacement. As well as the new-and-improved Giant Options backgrounds, you can choose the Planar Philosopher or Gate Warden backgrounds, which tell the tale of a life spent exploring what the multiverse has to offer.

The major focus on planes already has fans speculating that a 5e version of Planescape could be up next for Dungeons and Dragons – particularly as Planescape staples like Sigil and the Outlands are mentioned in the playtest material, and Wizards of the Coast has already entered classic D&D territory with Spelljammer and Dragonlance 5e.