Unearthed Arcana: Underdark Options 2, what the three subclasses and five species do on the grid

What is in the second document

The three subclasses are a Freedom Domain for the Cleric, an updated Circle of Spores for the Druid, and Faerzress Sorcery for the Sorcerer. The five species are the Deep Imaskari, the Drider, the Illithidkin, the Kuo-toa and the Myconid. The Drider is typed as a Monstrosity and the Myconid as a Plant, which matters for spells such as Hold Person that target only Humanoids.

Dungeons and Dragons Fan's write-up of 10 September 2026 has the fullest public summary of the mechanics, and the details below follow it. The playtest PDF itself is on D&D Beyond's Unearthed Arcana page, where the first document is listed with its feedback period ended and the second with its survey dated 17 September.

Freedom Domain: a cleric built for moving the party

The Freedom Domain's spell list is all movement: Expeditious Retreat, Misty Step, Dimension Door, Freedom of Movement and Passwall. Its signature feature, Invoke Liberty, is a Magic action that lets allies within 30 feet end the Frightened, Grappled, Paralyzed or Restrained conditions on themselves and, as a reaction, move without provoking opportunity attacks; the list grows to include Charmed and Petrified at level 9. At level 6 the cleric gets an unarmoured AC of 10 plus its Dexterity and Wisdom modifiers, ignores difficult terrain and gains Dexterity saving throw proficiency. The level 17 capstone is a 30-foot aura for 10 minutes that gives allies 30 extra feet of speed and immunity to difficult terrain.

On a battle map this is the anti-grapple, anti-terrain cleric. Every 30-foot radius drawn from its token is a zone where the party cannot be held in place, which is a direct answer to the 2024 grapple rules that made grapplers stronger. If it survives the playtest, expect to measure a lot of 30-foot circles.

Circle of Spores and Faerzress Sorcery

The Circle of Spores druid returns from the 2014-era books with its Halo of Spores as a 10-foot emanation that now also carries 10 feet of telepathy, and a reaction that deals damage on a failed Constitution save or gives the target disadvantage on its next attack if it succeeds. Symbiotic Entity is a bonus action for temporary hit points equal to four times the druid's level. The level 10 feature raises beasts and Humanoids that die within 10 feet as zombies as a reaction, and the zombies burst into necrotic spores when they drop. The level 14 feature keeps the druid's body moving towards allies when it is Unconscious, which is as Underdark as a feature gets.

Faerzress Sorcery is built around zones. At level 3 the sorcerer spends 3 Sorcery Points to create a 40-foot cube of faerzress that lasts 24 hours and, among other things, blocks teleportation over a mile and foils magical scrying. Level 6 makes the sorcerer and nearby allies immune to its downsides and adds lightning resistance and improved darkvision. Level 14 grants a free daily Teleport with a chosen outcome, and level 18 turns the sorcerer into an energy form that hovers, phases through walls and resists everything but force and psychic damage. A 40-foot cube is 8 by 8 by 8 squares, which on most maps is the whole room.

• Spores: a 10-foot emanation, 2 squares from the token in every direction, and zombies that explode.
• Faerzress: a 40-foot cube, 8 squares a side, that is a room-sized rule change for a day.
• Both reward a table that draws the areas rather than remembering them.

The five species, and what they do at the table

The Drider has 120 feet of darkvision, a climb speed that leaves its hands free, can sense movement through webs, and casts Dancing Lights, Faerie Fire and Web innately. On a grid with any vertical terrain a free climb speed changes every route. The Illithidkin has 120-foot darkvision, 30 feet of telepathy, psychic resistance, advantage against being charmed, and Mage Hand, Command and Levitate. The Myconid has the same darkvision and telepathy plus Rapport Spores, a telepathic network, and Skill Meld, which borrows one skill proficiency from a party member until the next rest.

The Kuo-toa is amphibious with a swim speed, has advantage against grapples and restraints, and gets a version of Find Familiar that conjures a celestial idol combining traits from two creatures. The Deep Imaskari, the pale humans of the hidden city introduced in the first playtest, gain free Heroic Inspiration on a Long Rest, radiant resistance, a glowing crystalline body, and an Aura of Unlight that can raise allies' AC, blind foes or add radiant damage. None of these are legal in Adventurers League or on D&D Beyond's builder until they are published.

What the first document had, for context

Underdark Options, published on 20 August 2026 with a survey from 27 August, carried three subclasses and a feat path: the Path of Unlight Barbarian, whose rage sheds bright light in a 20-foot radius and grants blindsight in it; the Imaskarcanist Wizard, which converts elemental damage to radiant and spends Hit Point Dice to heal or cure; the House Agent Rogue, a drow-house spy that uses the 2024 Influence action as a bonus action and turns charmed targets on their friends; and the Path of Ceremorphosis, a feat chain from Tadpole Host at level 4 to Full Ceremorphosis at level 12 that ends with the character as an Aberration with a Mind Blast.

Jason Tondro, Senior Game Designer, wrote in D&D Beyond's designer notes for that document that the aim was to make these character options fun at your table, and that the Ceremorphosis path drew on the reception of the earlier Villainous Options paths and on Baldur's Gate 3's tadpole arc. That is the clearest statement of intent for the series so far.