Dungeons and Dragons has officially introduced new player options that are locked behind a D&D Beyond subscription, and they seem stronger than many of the ones found in source books. These Dungeons and Dragons character options are a part of D&D Beyond Drops, a new perks system Wizards of the Coast began on May 7.

D&D Beyond began as an officially sanctioned third-party Dungeons and Dragons app to help fans digitally supplement their TTRPG games. Hasbro acquired D&D Beyond in 2022, allowing the program to be directly supported by Wizards of the Coast. In the years since, Dungeons and Dragons has rolled out more official integration options, further cementing it as the definitive digital D&D supplement.

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D&D Beyond Now Offers Subscriber-Only Character Options

Now, D&D Beyond has introduced a new feature for its subscribers that includes exclusive character options. D&D Beyond Drops is a new perk that is essentially a growing library of content accessible by users with Hero and Master Tier subscriptions to D&D Beyond. Every month, D&D Beyond will add new content to D&D Beyond Drops; for May, this included 125 maps from older editions, 250 images, 10 stickers, and previous subscriber perks like character sheets, portrait frames, and digital dice. However, these D&D Beyond Drops also include player options, such as the feats, spells, and background added in the first month:

  • Background
    • Pact Seeker: "With a purpose in mind, you sought out an extraplanar creature to strike a deal."

  • Feat
    • Fey Pact: "Make a pact with an Fey creature and draw upon some of its powers."
    • Fey Sentinel: "Build upon your pact with the Fey by drawing upon more of its power and become a guardian to the natural world."
    • Infernal Pact: "Make a pact with an Infernal creature and draw upon some of its powers."
    • Infernal Bulwark: "Build upon your Infernal pact by channeling corrupt defensive magic to ward off your enemies."
    • Infernal Dragoon: "Wield and harness Infernal might to empower yourself and strike fear into your enemies."

  • Spell
    • Astral Flood: "Channel energy from the Astral Sea to unleash a torrent of magic that leaves your foes disoriented or struggling to see."
    • Buzzing Bee: "Summon a noisy spectral bee to buzz around and distract your foes."
    • Insidious Rhythm: "Impose a haunting yet catchy tune on an enemy, making it harder to concentrate."
    • Leomund's Lamentable Belaborment: "By proclaiming an insightful or inflammatory statement, you force enemies to spend their turn arguing about it."
    • Sticks to Snakes: "Turn nonmagical wood nearby into snakes that you can mentally command."

Guess the games from the emojis.

Guess the games from the emojis.
Easy (120s)Medium (90s)Hard (60s)

Because it is technically a subscriber benefit, D&D Beyond Drops content is not eligible for content sharing, even for gamers who own a Master Tier subscription. This means each person who wants to use these new options needs a subscription of their own in order to access them on D&D Beyond, putting them behind a paywall and making it harder to use these options when creating a character in Dungeons and Dragons.

dungeons and dragons d&d beyond drops class options Image via Wizards of the Coast

To make matters worse, these character options seem to be stronger than those available in most books. For example, the Fey Sentinel, a 4th-level feat that requires the Fey Pact feat, provides more mechanical features than Dungeons and Dragons 5.5e feats with similar prerequisites, such as Enclave Magic.

  • Fey Sentinel (From D&D Beyond Drops)

    • Requires level 4+ and the Fey Pact origin feat.
    • Increase Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma by 1.
    • Fading Target: Turn invisible as a reaction after a target misses you once per Long Rest.
    • Fey Shift: Teleport up to half of one's speed instead of moving when using the Dash action.
    • Nature's Roots: Learn Entangle and Plant Growth, and can cast each once per day for free.

  • Enclave Magic (From Forgotten Realms: Heroes of Faerun)

    • Requires level 4+ and the Emerald Enclave Fledgling origin feat.
    • Increase Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma by 1.
    • Friend to Animals: Advantage on ability checks using the Influence action on Beasts.
    • Two Hearts, One Mind: Learn Beast Sense, and can cast it once per day for free without Concentration.

Find all 10 pairs

Find all 10 pairs

This is only the beginning of D&D Beyond Drops; in addition to weekly pre-made encounters, each month will include new content, such as the four monsters, five maps, and six player options coming in June. Fortunately, users who subscribe later can still access content from previous months, meaning there is no FOMO. Fans are excited about more player options, but locking them behind an unshareable subscription has been an unpopular decision. It hinders players’ ability to build a character as they wish, especially when compared to D&D content from Unearthed Arcana or official books. Only time will tell what else Dungeons and Dragons will give out via D&D Beyond Drops.