UA suggestions?

[etrpgb]

Probably I'll soon play, as Dungeon Master, a short high level (15th) adventure. The players are all experienced so, I was thinking to shake things a bit allowing some Unearthed Arcana material.

There are many UA for D&D5, so I ask the hive mind of the forum which ones give nice, reasonable balanced (at level 15), new material.

Here the ones I am (almost) convinced are a good idea:
. Kits of Old (http://media.wizards.com/2015/downloads/dnd/04_UA_Classics_Revisited.pdf)
. Waterborne Adventures (https://media.wizards.com/2015/downloads/dnd/UA_Waterborne_v3.pdf) Krynnish Minotaur race
. The Ranger, Revised (https://media.wizards.com/2016/dnd/downloads/UA_RevisedRanger.pdf)

So, what UA material would you suggest to use?


It is a opinion-based question, so there are no "wrong" answers. But if you think some material is unusable or broken, please share your thoughts.

[Daphne]

I'm a big fan of Monster Hunter from Gothic Heroes (https://media.dnd.wizards.com/upload/articles/UA%20Gothic%20Characters.pdf).

[Grey Watcher]

It'll need revision, to be sure (sorry, but out Cleric-ing the Cleric in their own Domain is just dumb), but I kinda want to see the Theurge Wizard (https://media.wizards.com/2017/dnd/downloads/MJ320UAWizardVF2017.pdf) become a real boy class.

I wasn't terribly enamored of most of the alternate class features, but I think at least the additional Fighting Styles (https://media.wizards.com/2019/dnd/downloads/UA-ClassFeatures.pdf) should graduate to official status.

I'm a bit behind in my books, so forgive me if this has already come to pass, but the Wildfire Druid (https://media.wizards.com/2019/dnd/downloads/UA-TwilightFireNames.pdf) is a great niche. Druids repping the destructive side of nature need some love, too. (For that matter, I wouldn't mind a Storm Druid: if Clerics, Sorcerers, and even Barbarians can channel the fury of the storm, surely Druids should be able to as well. Bonus points if the class allows you to conjure storms other than thunderstorms: bring on the blizzards, the sandstorms, the flash floods, and the tornadoes!)

[Zetakya]

Some of the Class Features UA is interesting. Some (Eldritch Armour) is broken AF. Use with caution.

[Dork_Forge]

Highly recommend the Pact of the Raven Queen Warlock, very fun thematic option that for some sad reason didn't make the cut. Brute is also nice and simple but satisfying.

[Misterwhisper]

Some of the Class Features UA is interesting. Some (Eldritch Armour) is broken AF. Use with caution.

There is nothing broken about eldritch about eldritch armor.

You are paying an invocation for an armor proficiency with a ribbon.

If it is armor you are proficient with, it is pretty crummy. You also still have to take it off to rest as normal.

[P. G. Macer]

I’m going to second the recommendation of the Wildfire Druid. I just started playing one a week ago, and it’s really fun.

The Class Features UA has loads of good stuff, though some broken in both directions. I’d recommend the Ranger alterations found in it instead of the November 2016 Revised Ranger, which is very front-loaded and some would argue broken in the opposite direction of the PHB Ranger.

The Krynnish Minotuars you mentioned aren’t really well-balanced. 1d10 natural weapons and never getting lost due to Labyrinthine Recall are busted (though IMHO the Ravnica Minotaur went a little too far in the other direction with the horns damage), while on the other end its Ability Score Increases are less than what every published race gets barring the Variant Human and the Kobold, getting only +2 to one stat or +1 to 2 stats. The first-ever 5e UA, WotC’s panned first attempt at 5e Eberron, also had this problem with the races.

I’d also recommend the Aberrant Mind and Clockwork Soul Sorcerers, since getting bonus spells on a Sorcerer is a huge deal (Hopefully Wizards doesn’t pull a Storm Sorcerer and take them away for the official release), and also the Lurker in the Deep Warlock. The Sidekick Rules are also great*, except for outclassing the Beast Master Ranger (but what doesn’t?) and the Spellcaster sidekick with the Sorcerer class list getting more spells known than the actual sorcerer.

The Lurker in the Deep Warlock also looks cool.

*Technically they’ve been used in a published product (the Essentials Kit), but the actual rules are still not published even though they’ve been refined.