u/Fidges87

For subscribers, DnDbeyond released some content like a background, feats and spells.

The current released spells are Astral Flood, Buzzing Bee, Insidious Rhythm, Leomund’s Lamentable Belaborment, and Sticks to Snakes.

Astral Flood is a 3rd level spell for bards, clerics, sorcerers, and wizards. Its a dex save suck or save spell that on a fail deasl 4d10 radaint or cold damage, and then either gives disadvantage on its next D20 test, or gives the blind condition for anything beyond 15 ft from the target until your next turn. While the effects are fine, they last for just so little, and it doesn't deals half damage on a successful save, for it to be worth it.

Buzzing Bees is a concentration 1st level spell for druids, rangers, sorcerers and wizards. As an action you can cast this to give a target disadvantage on perception checks, stealth checks, con saves to keep concentration, and the target cannot be invisible. It doesn't require a save making it a great tool. If you want to make sure a caster loses con you can cast this before an ally attacks them. Can also be used if an enemy is constantly popping in and out of invisibility, or if through some feature like blindsight you can see them but your party can't. Its really versatile and can fit into any build.

Insidious Rhythm is a concentration 1st level spell for bards, that on a failed wis save gives disadvantage on intelligence checks and on concentration checks. The target can repeat the save at the end of their turns. Disadvantage on intelligence is fine as those spells can potentailly be encounter endings on themselves, but there are better and more versatile ways to give disadvantage to someone, like Astral Flood just above. And disadvantage to con great, but you have a better tool in Buzzing Bees also just above since that spell has no save. In my opinion the weaker of the bunch.

Leomund's Lamentable Belaborment is a 6th level spell for wizard, bards and sorcerers, that on a failed int save, creatures in a 10 foot sphere gain the charm condition for a minute and during that time they must spend their turn arguing with you about some statement you made, becoming blind and deaf to anything that is not the caster, or the other people affected by the spell. During the minute their speed is 0 and their whole turn is wasted just arguing. The target can repeat the save at the end of their turns. Honestly could do with a bit of clarification on what they mean by using their whole turn to argue (can they attack someone they disagree with as part of their discussion for example?), but the spells seems incredibly fun to use and really flavourful. Because it requires the caster to do a statement, it can lead to fun roleplay moments. "Hey BBEG, I think pineapple is a fine topping for pizza!"

Stick to Snakes is a concentration 4th level spell for clerics, druids and rangers, that allow to turn non magical staff like objects made out fo wood into Venomous Snakes. If a creature is holding it they can do a cha save to resists its effects. As a bonus action the caster can command the snakes to do an action, otherwise they remain in place and just dodge. When a snake is killed they revert back to an object and the damage is carried over. This can be an incredible combat ender if thrown at enemies holding weasons made with long wood segments, like spears, bows or longaxes, as it takes their weapons and even if they kill the snakes the weapons will come back broken. Incredibly fun and really thematic for rangers and druids.

All in all like all the spells with the exception of Insidious Rhythm, and will consider them heavily when playing a full caster. Just a shame Warlocks got nothing, specially as the feats they released are all about pacts with fey or demons. Also I do wonder if they are allowed to release spells for the Artificer considering the whole deal they have.

For subscribers, DnDbeyond released some content like a background, feats and spells.

The feats are Fey Pact, Fey Sentinel, Infernal Pact, Infernal Dragoon, and Infernal Bulwalk.

Fey Pact and Infernal Pact are meant to be taken alongside their background given by Pact Seeker, and similar to the mark feats from the new Eberron book or some origin feats from Heroes of Faerun, they are meant to later be upgraded with another feat at level 4 or later (Fey Sentinel for Fey Pact, and Infernal Dragoon and Indernal Bulwark for Infernal Pact).

From what I can see Infernal Pact is way stronger than Fey Pact by a lot. Fey Pact gives you the sylvan language, prof. in nature, druidcraft, and one reroll of persuasion or deception per long rest if you rolled low. On the other hand Infernal Pact gives you resistance to fire and poison (really common damage types), being able to see in normal and magical darkness, which is huge for races that lack darkvision, and for the wording its exempted from the limitaton of only seeing on gray tones, and lastly prof. in deception.

Fey Sentinel is huge, as it gives access to plant growth and entangle, invisibility as a reaction which is fine, and most importantly being able to teleport when taking the dash action. A shame that its 2 strongest users of a feature like that, a monk and a rogue, need wis or dex, which the Pact Seeker background doesnt give, and as the 2 pact feats are not technically origin feats, means they can't be taken from custom background or from human.

Infernal Dragoon can create an aura to frighten enemies, as many times as they want, but each enemy can only be affected once, access to a +2 to a D20 test per long rest, and a free cast of magic weapon. The ability to frighten is solid, but at later levels there's better stuff to do with an action, while magic weapon great for tier 1 or 2, but after you get magic weapon its value drops significatively. A +2 to any D20 roll is always great, as it allows for a skill check, an attack roll or a saving throw to potentially be successful.

Infernal Bulwark allows you to calculate your AC as 10+Dex+either Con or Cha (which for a class that lacks access to medium armor like a sorcerer, a bard or druid, can be huge), Acess to a free cast of Armor of Agathys as a level 2 spell, and the ability to deal a d10 of damage as a reaction when receiving damage, like a pseudo hellish rebuke. It can potentially be good, but I feel I don't see a single class wanting all its benefits. And the damage you deal with a reaction doesn't scale, so beyond tier 2 it starts to become meh.

We will start the campaign at level 5. Rolled for stats and got in total (with background included) a 19 in strenght, 14 in dex, and 19 in con, so can spare to pick a feat independently of what stat it buffs.

I am starting with custon magic gauntlets that let me add a d10 to unarmed strikes.