D&D (2024) New One D&D Playtest Shows Us The New Druid & Paladin

WotC has released the fourth One D&D playtest document. This 29-page PDF includes the druid and the paladin with Circle of the Moon and Oath of Devotion subclasses.

Druid. The Druid class and Circle of the Moon subclass are ready for playtesting here.

Paladin. The Paladin class and Oath of Devotion subclass are ready for playtesting here.

Feats. Several revised feats appear here for your feedback, with more revised feats coming in future articles.

Spells. More spells are ready for playtesting, with a focus on smite spells, Find Familiar, and Find Steed.

Rules Glossary. The rules glossary has been updated again and supersedes the glossary in previous Unearthed Arcana articles. In this document, any underlined term in the body text appears in that glossary, which defines game terms that have been clarified or redefined for this playtest or that don’t appear in the 2014 Player’s Handbook.

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[James Gasik]

Let me rephrase it then. What AP from WotC needs the party to cast Plane Shift? AFAIK, it's not necessary for any of the adventures.

Sure, I can see it used offensively, I suppose - a sort of super charged Banishment spell. But, as a travel spell? I've never actually seen a party use it. And, I'm struggling to think of any published adventures from any edition where it was even considered for the party to cast it.

Yeah even in 4e's Scales of War, where you do go to the Astral Sea to fight the Githyanki, the planar travel is included in the adventure. In fact, I'm willing to bet any planar adventure simply dumps you in whatever plane you need to be without needing Plane Shift, since otherwise would be bad design.

So this is really a spell for home games, most of whom would also give you alternate means of planar travel, most likely. Thus Plane Shift exists more to "fill a box" as it were. That doesn't mean it can't ever come into play, and a DM is certainly free to design adventures knowing they can cast this, but I think mostly it will be used for shenanigans.

That having been said, if a spellcasting tradition has a, well, tradition of being able to contact other planes, it seems odd not to have this or a similar spell somewhere on your spell list. With Druids, this goes all the way back to Hierophant Druids being able to travel to the Elemental Planes. I would expect Druids to be able to reach the Feywild as well, to be honest.

So necessary for class balance? Newp. Important for class lore...could be.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

Let me rephrase it then. What AP from WotC needs the party to cast Plane Shift? AFAIK, it's not necessary for any of the adventures.

Sure, I can see it used offensively, I suppose - a sort of super charged Banishment spell. But, as a travel spell? I've never actually seen a party use it. And, I'm struggling to think of any published adventures from any edition where it was even considered for the party to cast it.

That is more of an issue with the lack of high level adventures than an issue with Planeshift.

 

[clearstream]

Let me rephrase it then. What AP from WotC needs the party to cast Plane Shift? AFAIK, it's not necessary for any of the adventures.

Sure, I can see it used offensively, I suppose - a sort of super charged Banishment spell. But, as a travel spell? I've never actually seen a party use it. And, I'm struggling to think of any published adventures from any edition where it was even considered for the party to cast it.

In our OotA campaign it was clutch, as the party took their own rather roundabout approach to repelling the demonlords. Involving visits to Aqaa and the City of Brass. Conversation with the illithid scholar prompted them to think in that direction (they have plane shift self.)

Banishment is 4th level, Plane Shift 7th. Most campaigns stop before character level 13.

 

[Hussar]

That is more of an issue with the lack of high level adventures than an issue with Planeshift.

But, even in high level adventures, and, again, I'm willing to look across editions here, Plane Shift just doesn't come up. I've got a shelf full of Dungeon adventures for 3e, yet, again, despite having tons of high level adventures, Plane Shift isn't a thing. 5e adventures? Nope. Even the ones that go higher level like Candlekeep (where all the planar travel, which there is quite a bit of, is handled within the adventure) or Dungeons on the Mad Mage or various other 3rd party offerings as well.

Look, I get that a given group might be using it. Infinite monkeys and all that. But, I'm fairly willing to put money on the idea that if Plane Shift were removed from the PHB, very, very few people would even notice. It's one of those kinda weird vestigial hangers on that fills the books. It's there because it isn't really causing any problems, but, OTOH, it's also pretty much ignored most of the time.

Kind of like gnomes.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

But, even in high level adventures, and, again, I'm willing to look across editions here, Plane Shift just doesn't come up. I've got a shelf full of Dungeon adventures for 3e, yet, again, despite having tons of high level adventures, Plane Shift isn't a thing. 5e adventures? Nope. Even the ones that go higher level like Candlekeep (where all the planar travel, which there is quite a bit of, is handled within the adventure) or Dungeons on the Mad Mage or various other 3rd party offerings as well.

Look, I get that a given group might be using it. Infinite monkeys and all that. But, I'm fairly willing to put money on the idea that if Plane Shift were removed from the PHB, very, very few people would even notice. It's one of those kinda weird vestigial hangers on that fills the books. It's there because it isn't really causing any problems, but, OTOH, it's also pretty much ignored most of the time.

Kind of like gnomes.

Every thing you say may be true but it is still a lack in the adventure design and the game design than the fault of "Planeshift the spell".
Just like the Horizon Walker ranger is an interesting concept barely supported in the subclass mechanics and not at all supported elsewhere in the game.

 

[Kobold Stew]

Let me rephrase it then. What AP from WotC needs the party to cast Plane Shift? AFAIK, it's not necessary for any of the adventures.

That's fair.

At the same time, it would always be my first choice for a 7th-level spell.

 

[Clint_L]

No published adventure is going to be written with the requirement that the party have any particular spell, though, will it? Because what if the party doesn’t have that spell? So planeshift would be more something that individual DMs work into a campaign. Critical Role has used it quite a bit in high level play.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

No published adventure is going to be written with the requirement that the party have any particular spell, though, will it? Because what if the party doesn’t have that spell? So planeshift would be more something that individual DMs work into a campaign. Critical Role has used it quite a bit in high level play.

Nothing stopping them providing the spell as treasure. No adventure is written so that it need the knock spell either. The issue is, there are almost no adventures written for level 12 and above and involving planar travel. One could have a planar travel adventure will a path through involving portals that also worked in the party bypassed a portal with a plane shift.

Critical Role ran their campaign to level 20 and involved planar and demi planar travel. Individual DM can do anything but I feel there is an element of self fulfilling prophesy in the lack of high level adventures.
No high level adventures means that DM do not get any practice at high level play and they make a mess of it first time. Level 1 to 20 campaign take too long in real time and the groups break up before level 13 or so, so WoTC writes campaigns from level 1 to 13 making the situation worse.
What is more they cut off anthology adventures around level 12 or 13 or so.
I think that there should be some shorter campaigns from level 11 to 15, 13 to 17 and 17 to 20. I think WoTC should make them as a kind of loss leader to encourage more high level play or maybe encourage one of the larger third parties to tackle it.
Otherwise I fear we will loose high level play altogether, in ten years official D&D will just got from level 1 to 15.

 

[Parmandur]

Nothing stopping them providing the spell as treasure. No adventure is written so that it need the knock spell either. The issue is, there are almost no adventures written for level 12 and above and involving planar travel. One could have a planar travel adventure will a path through involving portals that also worked in the party bypassed a portal with a plane shift.

Critical Role ran their campaign to level 20 and involved planar and demi planar travel. Individual DM can do anything but I feel there is an element of self fulfilling prophesy in the lack of high level adventures.
No high level adventures means that DM do not get any practice at high level play and they make a mess of it first time. Level 1 to 20 campaign take too long in real time and the groups break up before level 13 or so, so WoTC writes campaigns from level 1 to 13 making the situation worse.
What is more they cut off anthology adventures around level 12 or 13 or so.
I think that there should be some shorter campaigns from level 11 to 15, 13 to 17 and 17 to 20. I think WoTC should make them as a kind of loss leader to encourage more high level play or maybe encourage one of the larger third parties to tackle it.
Otherwise I fear we will loose high level play altogether, in ten years official D&D will just got from level 1 to 15.

Maybe it's not.jaut the time involved, maybe many people just don't want to play at super high Levels, and those that do don't want official product (whichnis what Pwrkijs has said their market research shows). WotC follows consumer desires, they don't try to make them.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

Maybe it's not.jaut the time involved, maybe many people just don't want to play at super high Levels, and those that do don't want official product (whichnis what Pwrkijs has said their market research shows). WotC follows consumer desires, they don't try to make them.

Man it took me a lot of re-reading to parse that.
Have you a link to the Perkins quote? My impression regarding the lack of high level play comes from analysis of active character builds on D&DBeyond but has never surveyed people as to why campaigns end or deep analysis of that nature.

My view is that the game is 10 years old, one book for high level play would not kill them.