Dungeons and Dragons players are about to get more twenty new official subclasses when Tasha's Cauldron releases next month, but there's always room for more options. Homebrewing subclasses is a stable of the game and, thanks to DnD Beyond, it's easier than ever for players and DMs to share their crazy custom creations with the rest of the DnD community.
Fans of Critical Role and Dungeons and Dragons are likely well aware of Matt Mercer and company's inclination towards homebrew. Both campaigns operate in a homebrew world and have included custom classes and subclasses from the start. The Explorer's Guide to Wildemount made a handful of those new subclasses official, but Matt Mercer just added two more options (for Monks and Paladins) to the Critical Role section of DnD Beyond, as well.
Paladin's can now get a closer look at the Oath of the Open Sea (though maybe don't dive too deep into that one if you're avoiding campaign two spoilers) and Monks get the Way of the Cobalt Soul. This new Monk tradition, inspired by Marisha Ray's character Beauregard Lionett offers a very interesting new option for the melee class and some great new ways to spend those Ki points in and out of combat encounters.
What is the Way of the Cobalt Soul?
The Way of the Cobalt Soul is a Monk tradition that focuses on researching enemies to expose their strengths, weaknesses, and put them at a serious disadvantage in combat or charisma-based contests. The Cobalt Soul is an order of Monks in Wildemount who specialize in research and understand that the more they know about an enemy, the easier it is to defeat them. This path is a great fit for a player who wants to play a character that specializes in research and ancient texts, but isn't in the mood to go the usual route and play a wizard who is traveling the world seeking out new magical tomes for knowledge.
"The monks of the Cobalt Soul are the embodiment of the phrase “know your enemy”. Through research, they prepare themselves against the ever-coming tides of evil. Through careful training, they have learned to puncture and manipulate the spiritual flow of an opponent’s body. Through understanding the secrets of their foe, they can adapt and surmount them. Then, once the fight is done, they return to record their findings for future generations of monks to study from."
When Can My Monk Select The Way of the Cobalt Soul?
Like all of the monastic traditions, players gain the opportunity to select the Way of the Cobalt Soul when they hit third level. Keep in mind that this decision will significantly impact the abilities that are gained going forward and should, if used properly, heavily influence how the monk operates both in combat and in role play situations.
What Abilities do Cobalt Soul Monks learn?
Cobalt Soul monks will gain special abilities at 3rd, 6th, 11th, and 17th level. These special abilities vary in power level, but each one fits nicely in theme with the roleplay aspects of the Cobalt Soul tradition.
To begin, these monks first gain the Extract Aspects ability that offers a new opportunity to use Flurry of Blows strikes to mark and analyze targets. This offers the powerful option to learn the following attributes about the target: Damage Vulnerabilities, Damage Resistances, Damage Immunities, and Condition Immunities.
Going forward, Cobalt Soul Monks will eventually also learn Extort Truth, Mystical Erudition, Mind of Mercury, and Debilitating Barrage.
Is This Subclasses Available On DnD Beyond?
Yes, but your dungeon master will have to allow Critical Role content for the campaign. Unlike the Echo Knight and some other Critical Role subclasses, players (or DMs) do not need to own the Explorer's Guide to Wildemount to access this homebrew subclass.
Can I Use This Subclass Outside Of A Wildemount Campaign?
The magic of Dungeons and Dragons is you can basically do anything that your dungeon master agrees makes sense in their current campaign. Assuming the DM approves this homebrew subclass, there's no reason that you can't work together to come up with a compelling story about why the powers exist in The Forgotten Realms, Theros, or any other D&D setting. The main thing to do will just be to ensure that the Cobalt Soul exist in the world somewhere. Ideally there would be a library or research center that this order of monks consider a home base of operations.
Considering the popularity of Beau, it seems likely that this subclass will get a lot of action from Critical Role fans in the coming days now that it is available for free through DnD Beyond. Keep in mind that the use of a homebrew subclass should always be approved by the dungeon master, so that they can make sure it matches the power level and world of the campaign they are running. This is a great topic to bring up during a DnD session zero discussion.
Now that Rime of the Frostmaiden is in the wild, players can start looking forward to the final DnD book of 2020: Tasha's Cauldron of Everything. Tasha's Cauldron will arrive a bit closer to the holiday season, in late November, so that gives players plenty of time to play through Rime of the Frostmaiden while they wait. Be sure to check back in the near future for more Dungeons and Dragons news, updates, and strategy guides. Until then, roll well, adventurers!
Dungeons and Dragons: Icewind Dale Rime of the Frostmaiden releases everywhere on September 15, 2020.
Source: DnD Beyond