Dungeons and Dragonshas been a monolithic title in pop culture for some time now, branching out from the humble spins on war games of the 50s to the beginnings of the tabletop roleplaying industry, one of the most vibrant and engaging catalysts of the human imagination today. Nowadays, D&D canbe found in Lego setsand referenced in a myriad of popular TV shows, and what was once a niche hobby has become fairly mainstream.
One of the best things about this game, or more specifically its community, isthe sheer amount of Homebrewcontent out there. While MCDM’s class is straddling the line between official and homebrew, being officially recognized by D&D Beyond, which is owned by Wizards, the main thing to keep in mind beyond any kind of pigeonholing is that this is a fantastic class. MCDM are renowned for their high quality D&D additions, and this hellish answer to the Paladin has enough flavor and flare to become a welcomed fixture among D&D’s major class archetypes.
8Magic Hybrid
This Class Blends Martial And Magical Elements
While the Illrigger does not, in its base form,get access to spellcasting, they have some incredibly interesting occult elements linked to the seals they can place on enemies. This is immediately what makes this class so interesting and delightfully devilish.
The player’s resource to keep on top of is not something internal, like a monk’s ki points or a spellcaster’s slots. Instead, seals must be burned for effects, and seals must be placed on enemies. The Illrigger’sfoesare the resource that must be managed for effects, which is incredible flavor.
7Hellish Flavor
The Illrigger Is Infernal By Nature
While no one is locked out of this class, players looking to play as beacons of light and hope shouldpotentially consider other classesbefore this one. The Illrigger is a direct servant of hell, part of an Archdevil’s right hand.
This is an excellent starting point for a class, and players will have a fantastic time coming up with stories to explain how their character ended up in service to some of the greatest evils in the multiverse.
6Debuff Oriented
Illriggers Can Wreak Havoc On Foes
The Illrigger is one of those classes that is really defined by the subclass they take. One of the things that all subclasses keep in mind, however, is negatively impacting an enemy’s momentum. All subclasses have some sort of feature that hinders foes.
Seals themselves are endemic of this, as a level 1 ability for the Illrigger that lets them wreak havoc on low level foes with an easy means of constant additional damage, sapping their enemies' vitality.
5High-Damage Features
Many Illrigger Class Features Put It On The Front Lines
The Illrigger is dedicated, for the most part, to indiscriminate damage. The assassin-focused archetype, Shadowmasters, give instant advantage on attacks, hone in on enemy weaknesses, and are overall a great source of burst damage.
The Painkiller can turn a hit into a critical hit, perfect for gameswhere homebrew ruleshave already souped up critical hits a bit, and a great way to push the amount of damage being dealt at any time.
4Paladin Opposed
The Illrigger Is A Dark Reflection Of The Paladin
While Paladins may have Divine Smite, the Illrigger has a deliciously edgy ability known as Invoke Hell. This is essentially a grim parallel to the Paladin, with two options per subclass much like how Divine Smites work.
These Invoke Hell abilities are a great way to define the Illrigger’s role in the party, and thy are an expendable resource that recoups after rest, again like the mirrored Paladin ability
3Diverse Subclasses
Find A Niche With Many Subclasses
One of the things that does signal this subclass being an MCDM production and not something coming out of Wizards proper is the way it handles subclasses. A fighter, no matter their subclass, will be a frontline damage dealer. A cleric will always be a holy spellcaster. A bard will always be the source of the party’s problems.
The Illrigger will always have Charisma as one of its main stats (another Paladin parallel), but they can be a bulky tank, a stealthy assassin, a spellcaster, or a bard-inspired charmer. Any playstyle can be managed with this grim class.
2Mingles Risk With Reward
Class Abilities Come At Great Risk To The Illrigger
Various class abilities for the Illrigger require them to take on some personal risk to maximize their effectiveness to the party. This is something seen with Matt Mercer’s Bloodhunter class or his iteration on the Blood School subclass for wizards.
An example of this is an ability that lets Illriggers expend a hit-die to add the result to a failed throw, a great way to reflect the hellish efficiency of these fighters while also showing how they put their own health recovery lower on the priority list.
1Warlock Influenced
Bond With Powerful Entities
The bulk ofthe Warlock’s subclassesand the Illrigger do seem to agree on certain facts, like “Hell is pretty cool” or “serving an ancient and evil being for power is an incredibly normal thing to do”.
Perhaps reflecting their alignment as powerful vehicles for another being’s power, Illriggers get Interdict Boons, which operate very similarly to a Warlock’s Eldritch Invocations, as buffs that players of any subclass can take on for enhanced effectiveness.
