New D&D Subclass Brings A Free Update To The Most Popular Class

The arrival of a new subclass to Dungeons and Dragons will likely represent a huge free update to the game’s most popular class. The TTRPG is getting multiple expansions this year, with the recent reveal of the Ravenloft: The Horrors Within and the Arcana: Unleashed sourcebooks. While Wizards of the Coast has yet to reveal the detailed content of these books, it’s speculated that players will gain access to a variety of character options, including the possible return of the Hexblade subclass to D&D 5.5.

Outside of the official new products that will be arriving soon, the company is also playtesting new character options for upcoming products that haven’t been announced so far. For example, there is a new Druid subclass in D&D’s playtests that will revolutionize the class, allowing players to become gargantuan monsters capable of swallowing opponents – and even gaining Flying Speed at level 3. In addition to that, there’s a lot more in store for the TTRPG moving forward.

Hell Knight Fighter Subclass Arrives In D&D Soon

The New Character Option May Be Released By 2027

As part of the four new free D&D subclasses, the Hell Knight subclass is a new Villainous Option for Fighters in 5.5e. The new subclass is currently undergoing playtests in D&D Beyond’s Unearthed Arcana. With the playtests, it’s likely that the company plans on releasing the subclass in a future sourcebook, but it’s still unclear when this will happen – or if it will happen at all. Usually, subclasses are featured and released nearly a year after they first appear in playtests.

An example of this is the College of Spirits Bard for D&D, which was playtested last year and is now expected to arrive with the Ravenloft: The Horrors Within player expansion book, since the 2014 version of the subclass was featured in the previous Ravenloft book. The new Hell Knight subclass for Fighters may officially appear in late 2026 books or, perhaps, in any of the 2027 book releases.

New Fighter Subclass Has Free Damage Bursts You Can’t Ignore

Hell Knights Can Punish Enemies Continuously

This is an upcoming subclass in D&D that you may want to keep an eye out for, and maybe even playtest it in your own sessions. The Hell Knight Fighter has two main gimmicks. The first of them is the Hellfire Weapon, which allows you to transform your weapon, imbuing it with hellfire. This makes the weapon emit Dim Light and enables you to choose to deal Fire Damage or its normal damage type when landing hits on opponents.

The second important gimmick in this Villainous Option subclass release for D&D is the Infernal Wound die. When you hit a creature with your Hellfire Weapon, you can deal extra Fire damage equal to a roll of your Infernal Wound die and bestow an infernal wound on them. While the target is wounded, they take Fire damage equal to an Infernal Wound die roll at the start of each of its turns.

The big thing about it is that it expands as you level up. After unlocking it at level 3 and then reaching level 7, you obtain the Advanced Wounds feat. With it, you can choose one of three different effects when rolling a 6 on your Infernal Wound die. Purulence of Minauros makes pus explode from the target, dealing Acid damage to all creatures in a 5-foot Emanation while also granting the target the Poisoned condition until the start of their next turn.

With the Rupture of Cania, the target takes Force damage equal to your Constitution modifier. Lastly, the Stygian Gangrene effect makes the target take Cold damage equal to your Constitution modifier while also impeding them from taking Reactions until the start of their next turn. Granted, the Advanced Wounds feat may still need some balancing. The Purulence of Minauros effect may be underused if you’re at risk of damaging yourself with Acid damage, for example.

Moreover, the Rupture of Cania may not be used at all if Stygian Gangrene is an option, since it does not take away Reactions from the enemy – the only exception here would be if you are battling against Resistances and Immunities that an enemy may have.

Hell Knight Fighters In D&D Are Great For Infernal Campaigns

Descend Into Avernus With This New Subclass

The Hell Knight Fighter subclass is a great option for campaigns set in the Nine Hells or a similar environment. While you’d think that its Fire-focused attacks would put them at a disadvantage, their level 7 feat, Hell-Forged Equipment, grants them Resistance to Fire damage and makes them ignore Resistance to Fire damage when dealing damage with their weapon attacks of other Fighter features.

Moreover, Hell Knight Fighters also get the Hellfire Condemnation feat at level 18, which makes it nearly impossible to revive enemies that are defeated by their Hellfire Weapon or Infernal Wound feats. Combined with the new feats in D&D that allow you to become a Death Knight, this Fighter subclass may become one of the strongest options across the board.

There’s still a lot of balancing to happen, as well as some fixes to some of the feats offered by this subclass. Even so, it already feels like a strong and exciting character option to employ at the table, even if you’re not playing as an Evil-adjacent character. These new Villainous Options for Dungeons and Dragons are being well-met by players, and the Hell Knight Fighter subclass is a perfect example of why that is.

Original Release Date

1974

Publisher

TSR Inc., Wizards of the Coast

Designer

E. Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson

Player Count

2-7 Players