Dungeons & Dragons features a whopping 13 Classes, but it the game's many subclasses that give players so many options for variety. D&D subclasses allow players to further personalize their character with unique abilities that help to differentiate them from the rest of the party, and as they continue to be added, newer possibilities for characters emerge. Some Subclasses in Dungeons & Dragons are more common than others, and playing one that's rarely selected can be a great way to create an original character with abilities that the Dungeon Master won't expect.
Dungeons & Dragon's more common subclasses, such as the Life Domain for a Cleric, tend to improve upon a classes' obvious strengths. The Cleric is already meant to be a class and healer in D&D, and the Life Clerics doubles down on this role by providing enhanced healing and a complimentary spell list. Because this D&D subclass is simply enhancing features that the Cleric is expected to have, it is relatively easy for a Dungeon Master to balance combat - and the rest of a campaign - with this type of character in mind.
One example of an uncommon and altogether strange subclass is the Wild Magic Sorcerer. Wild Magic Sorcerers make for some of D&D's most unpredictable characters, and this is because their core feature forces the player to occasionally roll on a table of random effects. These effects can range from helpful to innocuous to flat-out dangerous, one example of which is having a Fireball dropped on top of the sorcerer. Since some of these effects have the chance to kill a player character or defeat a boss far too easily, they can drastically shift the direction of a D&D campaign.
Pact of The Great Old One Warlocks In Dungeons & Dragons
Another niche D&D subclass that can surprise a Dungeon Master is the Pact of The Great Old One for Warlocks. A Warlock with this pact can speak with any creature within 30 feat using telepathy, even when the creature doesn't share a language, and can do so at will. While this ability may not very useful in combat, it has plenty of social functions and allows important conversations to remain private. At level 14, these Warlocks also gain access to the Create Thrall feature, which allows them to indefinitely charm a a humanoid of their choice. If this ability is used for a character that is key to the D&D campaign, such as some sort of ruler, it could break the storyline wide open and potentially give a Dungeon Master a headache in the process.
The Dungeon Master's Guide introduced evil character classes to Dungeons & Dragons, one of which is the Oathbreaker Paladin. As the name implies, a Paladin can only become an Oathbreaker after abandoning their original code, and in doing so becomes free from that bond. This means that, unlike a standard Paladin, an Oathbreaker is no longer bound to a set of rules, and therefore the DM has very little control over their actions. Oathbreakers also have a strange feature called Aura of Hate that increases the power of all fiends and undead in the area, which may force a Dungeon Master to reconsider encounters with these creature types.
Ultimately, D&D subclasses are meant as a way for players to customize their character how they wish, not just to surprise their Dungeon Master. With that said, some of Dungeons & Dragons rarest subclasses have abilities unlike anything else in the game, and players should feel encouraged to give them a try.
