The newestDungeon Master’s GuideforDungeons & Dragonsleaves out a certain aspect for those wishing to play evil characters. With a lot ofreworked content in the latest revision ofDnDrules, there were bound to be details that went completely discarded for the game’s future. While this change does not make it overall impossible to play these certain evil-leaning characters, the new 2024 rules do not directly include these opportunities that players have enjoyed experiencing in the past.
Evil, antihero, or even morally ambiguous characters are intriguing traits in media, and can be an interesting way to enliven a campaign. They have always been around inDungeons & Dragonsthrough the alignment chart andcan make for compelling interactions and story arcs. One recent example of a popular ambiguous character is Astarion fromBaldur’s Gate 3, where he has deeply intrigued players and inspired some to try their hand at darker morals in their characters. However, certain evil characters have been excluded from the 2024 rules, possibly upsetting those who desire to go in a corrupt direction.
D&D 2024 DM’s Guide Cuts Villainous Subclasses
Oathbreaker Paladins And Death Domain Clerics Are Not In The 2024 Rules
The 2024Dungeon Master’s Guideexcludes both the Oathbreaker paladin subclass and the Death Domain cleric subclass, both of which are clear in that they are meant to be played as morally evil characters, giving players opportunities to try out paths of corruption and destruction. With their exclusion from the latestDungeon Master’s Guide, there are no direct opportunities to play as them.
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The Oathbreaker paladin is described as only containing darkness after breaking their oath, either in pursuit of an evil desire or to serve under a higher evil power. The Death Domain cleric is similar, where it is focused on necromancy magic and is associated with a deity surrounding the nature of death. Although the Domain can be played in any direction, depending overall on the deity and how the player wishes their character to be. For both these subclasses,it is heavily implied they are meant to be played as evilcharacters.
Evil Clerics & Paladins Can Be A Lot Of Fun In D&D
Playing An Evil Character Can Challenge Players' Own Morals
MostDnDplayers will naturally gravitate towards wanting to play more morally good characters, but changing things might create more interesting campaigns. Creating and playing a more villainous character might be something players may never have done before, but absolutely should try at least once. It can also present a challenge, whereplayers could feel emotionally conflicted with what their character is doingbut need to carry on through their decisions and role-play for the campaign. The story aspects that come out of playing evil characters are one of the most fun aspects for a player trying it out.
Oathbreaker paladins center around the betrayal caused by their actions, so playing this aspect up into a character and their backstory can be intriguing. For a Death Domain cleric, having them worship a morally questionable deity can rile up a party against the cleric and can provide interesting interactions and storylines. From a technical standpoint,toying with necromancy spells and dark ways to advancethrough combat and obstacles is another aspect that should persuade players to want to give these subclasses a shot.
Backward Compatibility Isn’t A Complete Solution
Updates To Oathbreaker and Death Domain Should Have Been Included
Although it is an option to simply incorporate the old Oathbreaker or Death Domain subclasses while playing the game with the new rules,it overall should have been included in the 2024DM’s Guide. With all the reworking of theclasses for the 2024Player’s Handbook, including changes to subclasses likefixing the worst ranger subclass(Beastmaster), it would be expected that the inclusion of these great subclasses would have returned in 2024. Updates to both Oathbreaker and Death Domain should have been included this time around, and should make a return for the future ofDungeons & Dragons.
Playing these subclasses is not impossible, as reworking things with the party and the Dungeon Master is completely possible for any campaign. There can be solutions to incorporating anything that players may desire for their characters, even if it follows the rules exactly or not. There are also ways to play with necromancy and more evil spells through other classes or subclasses, if that is the desired goal. As the return of Death Domain and Oatherbreaker is still unknown, but for now non-existent, nothing is stopping players from using them in 2024.
The removal of these two subclasses in the latest edition of the rules ofDungeons & Dragonsmisses the opportunity to bring them back better than ever. The chance they create to play evil characters in campaigns, allowing for interesting storylines and combat interactions, could have been easily executed through Death Domain clerics and Oathbreaker paladins. There could still be hope for these subclasses, and they can still be incorporated into a modern campaign with the latest ruleset.
Dungeons and Dragons
Dungeons and Dragons is a popular tabletop game originally invented in 1974 by Ernest Gary Gygax and David Arneson. The fantasy role-playing game brings together players for a campaign with various components, including abilities, races, character classes, monsters, and treasures. The game has drastically expanded since the ’70s, with numerous updated box sets and expansions.
