I just wanted an outlet to voice my opinion over the UA Drakewarden Ranger subclass. I'd also love to hear your thoughts as well!
Anyway, to be brief: I really like it! It's the first subclass that's gotten me really excited about the Ranger. However, there is one mechanic in this subclass that I absolutely hate. That is that instead of getting an actual drake companion, you just get a temporary summon. You get one free use before you can use a spell slot to choose which type of drake you want to summon for a couple of hours. I love the idea of a ranger raising a young drake, and developing a strong magical bond with it as it grows, but that's not what we get.
I would very much prefer to have a permanent drake companion and lose the ability to keep changing its Draconic Essence and Fly/Swim speed. In its current state, the Drake Companion just feels more like a beefed up familiar to me, rather than a living creature, and it just ruins the feeling of playing a Drakewarden.
This, along with adjusting the size of the creature to allow for mounting at earlier levels, were some of the criticisms for the subclass back when it was announced.
It’s very likely that the final version in “Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons” will make an adjustment so that the drake is a bit more permanent when you first summon it, based on feedback from the survey.
I’d wager that if it is killed, though, there will be a period you’ll have to wait for until you summon it again…something like: “You resurrect your bonded drake through a surge of elemental power”, or something like that.
Roughly the length of a long rest, or something like that.
Back when 2e and 3e came out, we had paladins that automatically got mounts as they leveled. It was a permanent mount you raised. It was always with you. 3e even had feats for draconic mounts.
It was terrible.
This is just personal experience talking, but the permanent mount kept getting in the way, having to leave it behind, etc. Heaven forbid it die. It was annoying and terrible. And I know I wasn't the only one.
In 3.5, 4e, and 5e, the paladin switched to a summon. People play with it and find it workable. It stopped getting in the way of having fun and just WORKED.
In 5e, we also have the Beastmaster. Default 5e beastmaster is terrible and controversial. Tasha's beastmaster (which is a summon) fixed the problems.
Mounts and pets that aren't summons... have proven by the history of the game to be heavily problematic. Is it more thematically appropriate to be something other than a summon? Sure, I can agree. But the logistics of it have proven, time and again, to have issues in a way that ruins fun.
I get it. Im playing a Drakewarden right now and really enjoying it. Its been my first Ranger experience so im happy to say its been plesent.
Now i understand the concern but im going with what Mephista was saying i think having it be a summon is probably for the best and i hope it stays thay way. I think of Drizzt and Guenhwyvar honestly. You can summon the drake whenever you want with either the once a day or a spell slot but it can only be on the PCs plane for so long before it needs rest. I think this is perfect and makes the drake special. Being a Ranger you arnt as reliant on spell slots so i think its perfectly reasonable to pull it up for RP or helping you.
Hey all,
I just wanted an outlet to voice my opinion over the UA Drakewarden Ranger subclass. I'd also love to hear your thoughts as well!
Anyway, to be brief: I really like it! It's the first subclass that's gotten me really excited about the Ranger. However, there is one mechanic in this subclass that I absolutely hate. That is that instead of getting an actual drake companion, you just get a temporary summon. You get one free use before you can use a spell slot to choose which type of drake you want to summon for a couple of hours. I love the idea of a ranger raising a young drake, and developing a strong magical bond with it as it grows, but that's not what we get.
I would very much prefer to have a permanent drake companion and lose the ability to keep changing its Draconic Essence and Fly/Swim speed. In its current state, the Drake Companion just feels more like a beefed up familiar to me, rather than a living creature, and it just ruins the feeling of playing a Drakewarden.
This, along with adjusting the size of the creature to allow for mounting at earlier levels, were some of the criticisms for the subclass back when it was announced.
It’s very likely that the final version in “Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons” will make an adjustment so that the drake is a bit more permanent when you first summon it, based on feedback from the survey.
I’d wager that if it is killed, though, there will be a period you’ll have to wait for until you summon it again…something like: “You resurrect your bonded drake through a surge of elemental power”, or something like that.
Roughly the length of a long rest, or something like that.
o.
Back when 2e and 3e came out, we had paladins that automatically got mounts as they leveled. It was a permanent mount you raised. It was always with you. 3e even had feats for draconic mounts.
It was terrible.
This is just personal experience talking, but the permanent mount kept getting in the way, having to leave it behind, etc. Heaven forbid it die. It was annoying and terrible. And I know I wasn't the only one.
In 3.5, 4e, and 5e, the paladin switched to a summon. People play with it and find it workable. It stopped getting in the way of having fun and just WORKED.
In 5e, we also have the Beastmaster. Default 5e beastmaster is terrible and controversial. Tasha's beastmaster (which is a summon) fixed the problems.
Mounts and pets that aren't summons... have proven by the history of the game to be heavily problematic. Is it more thematically appropriate to be something other than a summon? Sure, I can agree. But the logistics of it have proven, time and again, to have issues in a way that ruins fun.
I get it. Im playing a Drakewarden right now and really enjoying it. Its been my first Ranger experience so im happy to say its been plesent.
Now i understand the concern but im going with what Mephista was saying i think having it be a summon is probably for the best and i hope it stays thay way. I think of Drizzt and Guenhwyvar honestly. You can summon the drake whenever you want with either the once a day or a spell slot but it can only be on the PCs plane for so long before it needs rest. I think this is perfect and makes the drake special. Being a Ranger you arnt as reliant on spell slots so i think its perfectly reasonable to pull it up for RP or helping you.
According to this article (https://comicbook.com/gaming/amp/news/dungeons-dragons-fizbans-treasury-drakewarden-ranger-preview/) the Drake pet is being officially upgraded from a summon to a pet, and will be explicitly rideable at level 7.
I think those were the two biggest gripes with the UA, so that's cool, thought I'd share!