D&D 5E New D&D Next Playtest Packet Is Here!

Looking at the class progression tables you could easily do 3e style multiclassing with this packet, the only problems you'd have to sort out are figuring out Weapon Attack bonus and what to do about the ability score bonus from the second class. I'd say only take the higher of the Weapon attack bonuses and let the character take a second ability score bonus (scores are capped at 20 anyway)

And I was just about to put out the second Heroes of Drakonheim adventure. I'll go through the packet to make any necessary updates and hopefully have it out tomorrow.

Bestiary: New Monsters have been added
Orog (orc variant)
Kobold, Winged (Urd)
Drow

Berzerker is back under Human, but the Dark Cultists are not

Spells: Many, many new spells
Aid
Augury
Bane
Bless
Bless Water
Cause Fear
Consecrate
Counterspell
Create Food & Water
Cure Moderate Wounds
Cure Serious Wounds
Daylight
Dispel Magic
Feather Fall
Fireball
Flaming Sphere
Ghost Sound
Gentle Repose
Ghoul Touch
Inflict Light Wounds
Inflice Moderate Wounds
Inflict Serious Wounds
Lightning Bolt
Melf's Acid Arrow
Prayer
Protection from Evil
Ray of Enfeeblement
Remove Affliction (Restoration)
Resistance
Righteous Brand
Rope Trick
Sanctuary
Speak with Dead
Stinking Cloud
Suggestion
Thunder Wave
Vampiric Touch
Web

Death Ward becomes Death's Door

I am most reminded of 2nd edition by this release. Yes, the 3e/4e influence is obvious but the spell list and monster list is very 2nd ed. The class specialties look like kits (and that is both good and bad).

The Fighter expertise dice look somewhat influenced by Goodman Games' DCCRPG Mighty Deeds. And Castles and Crusades seems to have influenced how skills and saving throws work.

MatthewJHanson said:

And I was just about to put out the second Heroes of Drakonheim adventure. I'll go through the packet to make any necessary updates and hopefully have it out tomorrow.

Click to expand...

Link? Yes, I'm asking you to advertise.

howandwhy99 said:

Spells:

Death Ward becomes Death's Door

Click to expand...

What? That seems wrong, like the opposite of what it should be. If I cast Death Ward on you, I'm protecting you. If I cast Death's Door, it sounds like I'm pushing you to the edge of dying.

Here's a few things from the How To packet...

My issues:

• Carrying Capacity presumes phenomenal strength, this comes out during environmental interactions
• Initiative is still d20, is modified, & presumes separate not team play as the only option
• Disengage does not allow full movement so potential pursuit & evasion may begin
• Fear, Frightened creatures no longer run away
• Intoxicated is becoming something like a cursed Stoneskin
• Melee spellcasting is now coming off as an action which includes parrying, like monk attack

Cool Stuff:

• Dodge, good call putting total defense as an action
• Slower recovery variants
• Explicitly stating how line of sight is necessary for spell targeting
• Any spells one cast are dismissible as a single action, but I'd list "Dismiss" under Combat Actions, and how many you could do at once.
• Didn't notice last time that Spell Level was taken out of the S.T. DCs, good call.
• Didn't notice optional ritual casting either, could be interesting.

One last little fiddly bit for anyone bored enough to want to read, regarding pursuit and evasion.

It used to be Withdraw was a double move to escape from combat and begin P&E with any opponent with the same movement rate. 30' vs 30' right? (or the old 120'/60') Small guys had it bad for this reason, but monks and barbarians ruled. A Withdrawal meant you could move around corners and so did double moving (which was technically a Run (x4) action as all combat movement was at a Hustle (x2)). However the combat was over as attack actions were generally no longer possible with both parties in full run. Except... Charge could still keep someone stuck in combat and out of P&E. But Charge also required a straight line the whole way because any environmental cover (a.k.a. corner) removed it as an option. Barbarians charging 40' was still a major PITA, but meeting one in an open field was bad new all around. Enabling means for characters to capably transition to P&E and yet still give them options to have a chance to stop foes from doing so is a major part of getting the Disengage and Charge move actions right. P&E was in rounds and not a dull affair in monster and trap-filled dungeons, but it did enable getting out of line of sight, hiding, locking a door or getting behind a similar blockade and ultimately the potential for escape. The encounter does not need to end when the combat stops, but combat rules need to be designed with an eye to any other game systems, which may be transitioned into out of them.

Oh for God's sake... people turn on the PC in the morning in order to work... and they get this

Can any oneoint me to the rules of opportunity attacks? Where are they?

Warder

Well, now I've had a chance to digest some of this... There are things to like here, things to go 'meh' about, and things to go 'huh?' about.

Like:

Hands down, the best versions of Suggestion and Protection From Evil ever to appear in the game. Ray of Frost got a much needed change, too. I also like Remove Affliction much better than Cure Blindness, Cure Deafness, Cure Disease... Dispel Magic got an interesting change.

The fighter's Combat Superiority. I think this has a lot of promise, though obviously it needs extensive playtesting.

The Necromancer specialty freaked me out. It's... definitely flavorful, that's for sure! Interesting that they went with a regular specialty, instead of the advanced ones they were talking about before. (I can't wait to see the Illusionist version!)

Slower healing variants. Very welcome!

Races - I like what I'm seeing here so far. But I really want to know how they're going to handle the half-elf and half-orc, two long-gimped races. (And the gnome, of course!) Though I really think elves shouldn't be able to see in complete darkness.

Meh:

I much prefer the term 'theme' to 'specialty'.

I'm disappointed that we're moving back to fixed skill lists and fixed ability score use.

Turn Undead got nerfed almost to the point of oblivion. As written, clerics can never turn wights, much less higher-up undead. Now, maybe we'll be able to prepare it in higher slots to affect nastier stuff? But if so, there is no sign of it in the rules. (No sign of preparing *any* spells in higher slots, in fact.) Also, all clerics have this auto-prepared?! Really?! ALL of them? Even the evil ones? Even the Storm Domain priest whose faith doesn't care in the slightest about undead?

Bane and Bless give +/-1 on attack rolls. Really?! Likewise for Prayer, Divine Favor, etc. - why not some form of advantage or disadvantage, rather than moving back to bonuses and penalties?

Many spells inexplicably lack ritual forms - Protection From Evil in particular cries out for this.

Holy Water does still ludicrously small damage. Though I might just declare undead and fiends to be vulnerable to holy damage on general principles, which will help it some.

Alignment: Sigh. Neutral is back to 'maintaining the balance', a stance so witless it makes me want to reach back in time to slap Gygax back into his senses. At least Protection From Evil no longer directly references it.

Huh?

The wording on skills is just weird, and then the Skill Mastery rogue ability compounds the confusion. I figured it out, but man, that's awkward.

The Thief ability Night Vision is utterly useless to a dwarf or elf. I'd give the Thief something else, at least if they have the ability from race.

There were other things for all three lists, but I'm getting tired. Another day!

Arumaer: The ability score bonuses from class are *only* available during character creation, not when multiclassing.

As for the Weapon Attack bonus, I'd say take the best of all your classes. Though that might make single-level-dipping in Fighter too attractive... Strictly speaking, you should do a weighted average of your classes, but that's more complicated than necessary.

Question: When the classes say under Hit Points, 1d10 (or 6) plus Con mod, does that mean:

1) Either roll 1d10 or take 6, depending on what the GM's rule for the campaign is;

2) Either roll 1d10 or take 6, your choice when you level; or

3) Roll 1d10. If the result is less than 6, take 6 instead.

Am I the inly one disapointed that there is no dragon in the play test?

Warder