As players of Dungeons & Dragons’ hugely popular fifth edition adapt to the new and improved D&D 2024, they’ve left many of their favorite subclasses on the cutting room floor in the name of streamlined design. Polygon has praised this new update several times, but even the most adaptable D&D player is hesitant to leave behind a precious character whose subclass hasn’t received an official update. Fear not, dear adventurer, as a team of external designers has created Subclasses revived.
The supplement features nearly 70 updated subclasses – including 10 Cleric Domains, nine Wizard schools, six fighter subclasses and more – and includes every official subclass left out of the new Player’s Handbook. Rather than forcing players to abandon their PCs or rebuild their characters with builds that didn’t quite fit, this 109-page text offers D&D fans the chance to to revive their 5th characters.
Created by 14 independent tabletop designers who have worked extensively creating third-party D&D supplements, as well as games for companies like MCDM, Evil Hat, and Cubicle 7. Subclasses revived is not just an opportunistic shlock. In an interview with Destructoidsaid designer Sebastian Yūe that project lead Adam Hancock “encouraged (the design team) to innovate and take the opportunity to address pain points with existing subclasses.”
In addition to making these subclasses compatible with D&D 2024, the revisions add what the designers call “quality of life updates.” That includes starting all subclasses at 3rd level, balancing the power levels across classes, and developing the mechanics to be more in line with a subclass’s given theme. The language, formatting and style of the text have also been updated, using new 2024 jargon such as ‘D20 tests’ and ‘Emanations’.
The pdf file of Subclasses revived is currently available for $27.95 on DriveThruRPG, where it has already achieved Silver Best Seller status. The first 40 pages are available for preview on the site, and discounted copies are available for those who cannot afford the retail price.