Published Apr 29, 2026, 6:00 PM EDT
Bruno Yonezawa is a Gaming Senior Writer for Screen Rant. He's been practicing professional journalism for over 10 years, and is also a communications specialist. He's played games all his life and turned that passionate hobby into a passionate career, in an industry where he's worked as a writer, editor, analyst, and more.
One of the new subclasses in Dungeons and Dragons offers players a free update that is surely going to break the game. With Wizards of the Coast finally naming the 2024 core rules update 5.5e, the TTRPG is striding into a very promising part of its current life cycle. The company has already confirmed three new sourcebooks for the game, with Ravenloft: The Horrors Within and two Arcana Unleashed books set to arrive as part of the 2026 roadmap for Dungeons and Dragons.
There’s at least one other big expansion to the TTRPG arriving later this year, but Wizards of the Coast has yet to make an official announcement. Apart from what is going on in terms of official releases, there are also several interesting ongoing playtests, which may tease future content. Earlier this month, for instance, the company dropped four free subclasses in D&D’s Unearthed Arcana, allowing players to check them out and provide feedback.
Warrior Of Venom Monk Subclass Arrives In D&D Soon
The Subclass Is Currently In Unearthed Arcana Playtests
Most recently, however, three new subclasses for Dungeons and Dragons were released in the playtests on D&D Beyond, a complement to the aforementioned four subclass options in April. Among them is the new Warrior of Venom subclass for Monks. This subclass is still in its playtest period, so it may be a while before it’s seen in official releases, but given recent behavior involving playtesting and releasing content, the subclass may arrive by 2027.
Last year, Wizards of the Coast playtested the College of Spirits Bard for D&D, and the reworked subclass is now confirmed as one of the many character options in Ravenloft: The Horrors Within, arriving in June. There is a chance that playtested material is never really released, but if it is, it’s possible that the Warrior of Venom subclass will arrive in the near future.
New Monk Subclass Has A Powerful Free Debuff Ability
Slowing Toxin Is Basically A Free Guaranteed Slow Spell
The most impressive aspect of this new subclass for Monks in D&D is its level 3 Feat, Envenom Weapon. By spending a Focus Point, the Monk can apply a toxin to their weapon, and upon dealing damage with it to an enemy, the player can choose one of two effects. The first is called Venom, which deals extra Poison damage equal to two rolls of the character’s Martial Arts die.
The second effect, however, is the strongest. Called Slowing Toxin, the effect sees that, until the start of your next turn, the creature’s Speed is halved, it cannot take Reactions, and it can only use an Action or a Bonus action during their turn, not both. Effectively speaking, this is a Feat-based usage of the Slow spell. The other strong part about this Warrior of Venom Feat is that the creature does not roll a Saving Throw; it just happens.
Whether or not the effect is triggered relies solely on the player, rather than the opponent’s chances of saving, which grow the higher their CR. Players know it’s often discouraging to try to cast a Slow spell against a strong creature in Dungeons and Dragons, as they can often save – and, depending on what the creature is, they could save via Legendary Resistances. This can be rather disheartening.
The Feat offered by the Warrior of Venom Monk circumvents that, and makes a level 3 ability extremely useful, even if the character is at level 20, facing an enemy like Tiamat or Vecna. The Slowing Toxin effect is extremely broken, even if subtly, to the point that it may not make it into the final version of the subclass once it is released in Dungeons and Dragons, so be sure to playtest it now, while your DM doesn’t catch wind of how strong it is.
Original Release Date 1974
Publisher TSR Inc., Wizards of the Coast
Designer E. Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson
Player Count 2-7 Players
English (US) ·