Just going to point out that it's not a house rule to give magical spiked armor. It's medium armor and qualifies for anything that specifies medium armor as an option. For example:
Armor, +1, +2, or +3
Armor (light, medium, or heavy), rare (+1), very rare (+2), or legendary (+3)
You have a bonus to AC while wearing this armor. The bonus is determined by its rarity.
But it is a house rule to decide that the enchantment bonus also applies to the attack and damage rolls with the spikes.
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Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
Considering that Van Richten's includes a largely revamped (no pun intended) Undead Warlock, there's nothing to say that the remaining SCAG subclasses won't eventually see a reintroduction. But considering that SCAG was a pretty terrible book in general, and most of the changes to crunch that migrates into other books indicates that it wasn't originally playtested enough, they can simply have other priorities.
They also base their decisions on how things test in surveys: Ranger has seen many Unearthed Arcana revisions before coming to the Tasha's version, which have been driven by a combination of the popularity of the class with the negative feedback about the way it and Beastmaster functioned; compare this with the Four Elements Monk, which was arguably just as poorly-implemented in the PHB but has not seen any official or unofficial (UA) revisions because Monks and Four Elements Monks aren't as popular in surveys. Also consider that Battlerager doesn't fill a particular mechanical or flavour niche that can't be met by other subclasses, similar to how Purple Dragon Knights have been thematically replaced by Cavaliers. By comparison, Bladesingers are the "wizards but gishy" subclass. Oath of the Crown and Way of the Long Death haven't seen reprints either, so there's obviously an internal process that defines what gets polished and reused vs what gets ignored.
compare this with the Four Elements Monk, which was arguably just as poorly-implemented in the PHB but has not seen any official or unofficial (UA) revisions because Monks and Four Elements Monks aren't as popular in surveys.
Actually Way of the Four Elements did receive a bit of a boost from Tasha's Cauldron; Ki-fuelled Attack is pretty much tailor made for them as they have a lot of Ki-powered actions they can use to trigger it, meaning they're potentially getting a full Bonus Action attack every round in a combat. It's not going to throw them to the front of the pack or anything, but it's actually quite a nice boost, and makes them feel more like the combined caster and martial artist they're supposed to be.
While other sub-classes can use that ability too, most have other bonus actions that it'll be competing with; Way of the Kensei is the other main beneficiary, as Deft Strike is a very reliable (and reliably useful) way to trigger it, especially when fighting at range, as it gives you a full third attack with a longbow compared to the bonus d4 damage per hit of Kensei shot (though they're pretty similar in terms of bonus damage, and Kensei Shot requires no Ki to use).
But yeah, it may not be a direct new sub-class kind of update, but Way of the Four Elements has received an improvement.
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so there's obviously an internal process that defines what gets polished and reused vs what gets ignored.
Yeah I fully expect the Battlerager to continue to get ignored. I did at the time of posting this too. This thread was more of a mini-rant against the hypocrisy of leaving out the Battlerager in their ToCE changes than anything else. Making Bladesinger race inclusive was clearly a move made in alignment with their newer, socially conscious design philosophies around race; attempting to turn away from harmful bio-essentialist constructs in the game. Leaving out Battlerager is a glaring hole in this goal. They didn't even need to buff the subclass. They could have just issued an errata taking away the race restriction. I'm not even concerned with the power level of the subclass (although it would be awesome to have a spiky ball of death that was actually decent), I'm just frustrated at the hypocrisy and what it means about their ability to to execute such goals.
@Haravikk: This isn't a debate about monks thread. This isn't a debate about what mechanical changes the Battlerager needs or doesn't need to be more viable either. Post something on topic or don't post at all.
Yes, normally there is nothing hypocritical about not updating a subclass. But in this particular context it stinks of it. Bladesinger getting errata to be more race inclusive is clearly a part of WotC's shift in how they handle ideas of race in D&D, which is a response to shifts in social consciousness. Not doing the same for Battleragers is a clear miss when attempting to make such changes and pokes a hole in how serious they seem about achieving such goals.
Oath of the Crown and Way of the Long Death haven't seen reprints either, so there's obviously an internal process that defines what gets polished and reused vs what gets ignored.
If you define oaths by their aura, oath of the crown was reprinted as the oath of redemption.
compare this with the Four Elements Monk, which was arguably just as poorly-implemented in the PHB but has not seen any official or unofficial (UA) revisions because Monks and Four Elements Monks aren't as popular in surveys.
Actually Way of the Four Elements did receive a bit of a boost from Tasha's Cauldron; Ki-fuelled Attack is pretty much tailor made for them as they have a lot of Ki-powered actions they can use to trigger it, meaning they're potentially getting a full Bonus Action attack every round in a combat. It's not going to throw them to the front of the pack or anything, but it's actually quite a nice boost, and makes them feel more like the combined caster and martial artist they're supposed to be.
While other sub-classes can use that ability too, most have other bonus actions that it'll be competing with; Way of the Kensei is the other main beneficiary, as Deft Strike is a very reliable (and reliably useful) way to trigger it, especially when fighting at range, as it gives you a full third attack with a longbow compared to the bonus d4 damage per hit of Kensei shot (though they're pretty similar in terms of bonus damage, and Kensei Shot requires no Ki to use).
But yeah, it may not be a direct new sub-class kind of update, but Way of the Four Elements has received an improvement.
Fair enough and I had forgotten about that, although it doesn't do anything for what are arguably the most common complaints around the subclass - its ki-hunger and the dearth of selection options. My point was more generally about the way the design team prioritises what gets official reprints, what gets absorbed into other subclass ideas (like Crown->Redemption as pointed out above), and what gets ignored. SCAG and the Elemental Evil supplements seem to be treated like Unearthed Arcana in terms of the way this works, and Battlerager seems to have gone the way of the Onomancy Wizard for now.
After the wholesale absorption of some SCAG subclasses and the Elemental Evil spells into Xanathar's, then the modified inclusion of another SCAG subclass and some cantrips into Tasha's, it will be interesting to see if they try to tie off the rest with the next splatbook.
Bruh. Bear Totem effectively doubles your HP total, and you're out here arguing 16-18 AC and a 3-4hp buffer at the cost of attacks against you receiving advantage can compete with that?
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But it is a house rule to decide that the enchantment bonus also applies to the attack and damage rolls with the spikes.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
Or deciding that damage caused by the spikes counts as magical
I did play more than one. Most durable and effective barbarian.
Considering that Van Richten's includes a largely revamped (no pun intended) Undead Warlock, there's nothing to say that the remaining SCAG subclasses won't eventually see a reintroduction. But considering that SCAG was a pretty terrible book in general, and most of the changes to crunch that migrates into other books indicates that it wasn't originally playtested enough, they can simply have other priorities.
They also base their decisions on how things test in surveys: Ranger has seen many Unearthed Arcana revisions before coming to the Tasha's version, which have been driven by a combination of the popularity of the class with the negative feedback about the way it and Beastmaster functioned; compare this with the Four Elements Monk, which was arguably just as poorly-implemented in the PHB but has not seen any official or unofficial (UA) revisions because Monks and Four Elements Monks aren't as popular in surveys. Also consider that Battlerager doesn't fill a particular mechanical or flavour niche that can't be met by other subclasses, similar to how Purple Dragon Knights have been thematically replaced by Cavaliers. By comparison, Bladesingers are the "wizards but gishy" subclass. Oath of the Crown and Way of the Long Death haven't seen reprints either, so there's obviously an internal process that defines what gets polished and reused vs what gets ignored.
Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in awhile.
Actually Way of the Four Elements did receive a bit of a boost from Tasha's Cauldron; Ki-fuelled Attack is pretty much tailor made for them as they have a lot of Ki-powered actions they can use to trigger it, meaning they're potentially getting a full Bonus Action attack every round in a combat. It's not going to throw them to the front of the pack or anything, but it's actually quite a nice boost, and makes them feel more like the combined caster and martial artist they're supposed to be.
While other sub-classes can use that ability too, most have other bonus actions that it'll be competing with; Way of the Kensei is the other main beneficiary, as Deft Strike is a very reliable (and reliably useful) way to trigger it, especially when fighting at range, as it gives you a full third attack with a longbow compared to the bonus d4 damage per hit of Kensei shot (though they're pretty similar in terms of bonus damage, and Kensei Shot requires no Ki to use).
But yeah, it may not be a direct new sub-class kind of update, but Way of the Four Elements has received an improvement.
Former D&D Beyond Customer of six years: With the axing of piecemeal purchasing, lack of meaningful development, and toxic moderation the site isn't worth paying for anymore. I remain a free user only until my groups are done migrating from DDB, and if necessary D&D, after which I'm done. There are better systems owned by better companies out there.
I have unsubscribed from all topics and will not reply to messages. My homebrew is now 100% unsupported.
Yeah I fully expect the Battlerager to continue to get ignored. I did at the time of posting this too. This thread was more of a mini-rant against the hypocrisy of leaving out the Battlerager in their ToCE changes than anything else. Making Bladesinger race inclusive was clearly a move made in alignment with their newer, socially conscious design philosophies around race; attempting to turn away from harmful bio-essentialist constructs in the game. Leaving out Battlerager is a glaring hole in this goal. They didn't even need to buff the subclass. They could have just issued an errata taking away the race restriction. I'm not even concerned with the power level of the subclass (although it would be awesome to have a spiky ball of death that was actually decent), I'm just frustrated at the hypocrisy and what it means about their ability to to execute such goals.
@Haravikk: This isn't a debate about monks thread. This isn't a debate about what mechanical changes the Battlerager needs or doesn't need to be more viable either. Post something on topic or don't post at all.
Updating one subclass but not another is not "hypocrisy."
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
Yes, normally there is nothing hypocritical about not updating a subclass. But in this particular context it stinks of it. Bladesinger getting errata to be more race inclusive is clearly a part of WotC's shift in how they handle ideas of race in D&D, which is a response to shifts in social consciousness. Not doing the same for Battleragers is a clear miss when attempting to make such changes and pokes a hole in how serious they seem about achieving such goals.
Or maybe it just speaks to the relative popularity of the two subclasses.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
Let's just agree to disagree then Lyran
If you define oaths by their aura, oath of the crown was reprinted as the oath of redemption.
Fair enough and I had forgotten about that, although it doesn't do anything for what are arguably the most common complaints around the subclass - its ki-hunger and the dearth of selection options. My point was more generally about the way the design team prioritises what gets official reprints, what gets absorbed into other subclass ideas (like Crown->Redemption as pointed out above), and what gets ignored. SCAG and the Elemental Evil supplements seem to be treated like Unearthed Arcana in terms of the way this works, and Battlerager seems to have gone the way of the Onomancy Wizard for now.
After the wholesale absorption of some SCAG subclasses and the Elemental Evil spells into Xanathar's, then the modified inclusion of another SCAG subclass and some cantrips into Tasha's, it will be interesting to see if they try to tie off the rest with the next splatbook.
Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in awhile.
Bruh. Bear Totem effectively doubles your HP total, and you're out here arguing 16-18 AC and a 3-4hp buffer at the cost of attacks against you receiving advantage can compete with that?