A broad look at responses to the next generation of Dungeons & Dragons
October brought not only a 1,000% increase in the use of ghost and jack-o'-lantern emojis, but also a new Unearthed Arcana playtest of Wizards of the Coast's new One D&D ruleset, this time for the Expert Classes, the Bard, Ranger and Rogue.
You can find the D&D Beyond playtest homepage here, and as always, make sure to give WotC your feedback once you've had time to play, or at least review, the newest document!
The survey for October's playtest opens on the 20th.
In the meantime, enjoy a look around the web at some of the best (and spiciest) discussions on the new expert classes, revised spells and lists, feats, rules, and more, starting with the fabulous cast of Eldritch Lorecast discussing the direction of One D&D and responding to the Expert Class UA.
“One of the joys of D&D… is having the ability to make… characters that are different from other characters, so that’s why we’re seeing this. We’re seeing this because there is a want… of all of these options to let people to make unique and, for some of them, more powerful characters. What the issue is, the balance that has to be struck with the game, is you don’t want to make the game more complex while allowing people to go off and make 70 characters and never play the game.” |
Third edition in shambles.
"The glossary terms might in fact be my favorite part of this UA. Looking at this material and the first document released, it looks like Wizards is focusing on key-wording and creating terms that can then be used uniformly throughout the game. One of the more frustrating parts of 5e, from a technical standpoint, was how terms would vary in instances, often mostly adhering to the same structure but not always. This organization style will have great payoff for player and DM alike." |
"I’ve loved the Exhaustion concept since I started playing 5th edition. … But it did leave a lot to be desired… The new version presented in this playtest is way better. 1-10 scale is more logical, and its effects are instantly felt, but not instantly problematic. It also really invokes the slow wear down, watching yourself become less functional, less capable, and less likely to survive. Not to mention, spellcasters no longer get to rely on their save spells. Magnificent." |
TheWelshDM has a One D&D category where they cover the full UA in digestible bites.
Bob talks us through key changes in the UA:
Commentary on WotC’s direction with this new edition; for more focused discussion on the current UA, jump ahead to about 24:00:
Expert Classes
Where better to start than with The Monsters Know What They're Doing's Keith Ammann?
An efficient overview of subclass changes:
The Ranger:
The Rogue:
"These changes are big. It feels like the [bard] class has moved to master of none and jack of all trades. Removing resurrection spells means you can’t replace the cleric roll. Removing animal and plant spells stops you from filling the ranger role, and loss of teleportation magic stops you from filling the mage roll. Yes, you get the added benefit of Disintegrate but losing spells the bard would always pick like dimension door and bane feels like a very heavy price. It’s clear to see that the bard’s expertise is not in magic spells." |
Spells and Feats
"I don’t really want to spend too much time arguing spell schools and what spells should be where, but there are a few internal logic fails for me on that front. Thunderwave is a quick burst of power, that generally denotes evocation, but they want bards to have access to it. Anything that does damage that sticks around as an object from round to round, instead of just exploding or what have you, has generally been conjuration, but I’m sure there are some class consideration reasons that they wanted to bump things like Flaming Sphere or Produce Flame into Evocation, probably to make sure they are the kinds of things only Wizards or Druids are playing with, versus other classes." |
A close look at the new and changed feats:
VTT
Thoughts on the the potential microtransaction-laden digital future:
Your Thoughts?
We haven't escaped the general feeling of apprehension about WotC's direction with this new edition of Dungeons & Dragons, but it's healthy to see mixed responses to their proposed updates. A balance of positive and negative feedback should help Wizards produce the best product they can.
How are you feeling about all this? As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Did you have something to say about the latest playtest, or find a great resource that I missed? Please share!
I try to cast a wide net when I note worthwhile content for posts like these but it's easy for good content to slip through the cracks.