Wizards of the Coast has released another preview for its upcoming Dungeons & Dragons supplement. This new preview highlights new Arcana Unleashed backgrounds, showcasing the various magical factions in the book alongside new Origin Feats.

In a post on D&D Beyond, Wizards of the Coast showcases nine Arcana Unleashed backgrounds. The post goes into detail about the various factions tied to those backgrounds and their associated Origin Feats. Origin Feats are a new edition in the 5.5e rules of Dungeons & Dragons, giving players extra customization at character creation and giving more mechanical value to their character's time before they started adventuring.

The post states that the backgrounds in Arcana Unleashed don't just represent your character's past but a faction to which that character is associated. As your reputation grows, your renown within that faction grows, allowing greater access to information and aid in your adventuring journey. Notably, eight of the nine factions in this preview are associated with the eight different schools of magic.

The approach is similar to the backgrounds in the recent Forgotten Realms: Heroes of Faerun supplement, which more strongly tied your character to established factions within Faerun like The Lords' Alliance, The Harpers, or the Order of the Gauntlet.

The first of the Arcana Unleashed backgrounds is the Agent of the Ninth Quill. This is a group all about arcane subterfuge and saboteurs. Their feat, Arcane Infiltrator, gives you the Friends cantrip and the ability to Dodge as a bonus action a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus. A welcome bit of utility for any Arcane Tricksters or duplicitous Eldritch Knights at your table.

The second group, the Bejeweled Conclave, is a group of enchanters that use stagecraft and diplomacy to get arcane secrets. Fittingly, the Conclave's Origin Feat is Arcane Eloquence, which gives you the Vicious Mockery cantrip and a boost to your Deception, Persuasion, and Intimidation rolls.

The third faction are the Bringers of the Cosmic Dawn. This is a group of amoral transmutationists who are preparing the world for the coming of entities from beyond. The background for this organization is called Cosmic Dawn Experiment and gives you the Transmuted Anatomy feat, which gives you advantage against being transmuted against your will. As to how you got this anatomy is for the Great Old Ones to know and for you to never comprehend.

Another amoral organization is the Covenant of the Grave. As the name implies, they are obsessed with necromancy, but they have zero tolerance for the likes of liches and undead horrors in their ranks. They are fascinated by the forces of life and death in an academic sense, something their Arcane Undertaker feat represents with its bonuses to History and Religion rolls, a free necromancy cantrip, and gaining Heroic Inspiration when helping to save a life.

The fifth Arcana Unleashed background is the Crucible Storm Chaser. This group are basically professional storm chasers, but the storms are made of arcane power. The kind of field research revered by Evoker Wizards, Druids, and Sorcerers alike. The Origin Feat Arcane Overload represents this with the Firebolt cantrip and the ability to slightly boost damage of an evocation spell once per Long Rest.

For fans of the interplanar elements of the Planescape setting, there are the Horizon Weavers. They are a group of conjurers interested in worlds beyond their own and the barriers between them. The Horizon Weaver's Origin Feat, Portal Jumper, allows you to teleport 15 feet a number of times per Long Rest and gives you resistance to psychic, necrotic, or radiant damage.

Faction number seven is the Phantasmic Circus, a group of illusionists mostly interested in using their command of deceiving the senses for entertainment. Their Origin Feat, Arcane Artist, gives you the Minor Illusion cantrip and lets you give an ally Heroic Inspiration when you cast an illusion spell.

The eighth of the Arcana Unleashed backgrounds are the Seers of the Sea and Sky. This a group of diviners, capable of predicting the future with a crystal ball, a deck of cards, or parsing omens within nature itself. Their Arcane Omens Origin Feat gives you the Guidance cantrip and the ability to add an extra d4 roll to an ally's Saving Throw.

Last but not least, there are the abjurers of the Sheltering Hands. This group is all about aiding communities and people in need, and teaching them to pay their kindness forward with their arcane knowledge. This protection is continued with their Arcane Safeguard Origin Feat, which gives you the Resistance cantrip, the ability to cast it as a Bonus Action, and giving allies temp hp when you give them the Help action.

Dungeons & Dragons Arcana Unleashed will be available September 15.