D&D (2024) New Survey Results | Druid & Paladin | Unearthed Arcana | D&D

WotC has shared a new video going over the survey results following the drud and paladin playtests for One D&D.

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For those who don't have time to watch the video, here are some general notes.

Paladin

• Did extremely well in terms of satisfaction
• All class and subclass features scored 70% or higher - lowest was Divine Smite at 72%
• Got some pushback in written feedback on being able to smite on ranged attacks - class identity concerns, Paladin viewed as melee-centric class, ranged smites might eat into Cleric/Ranger identity too much
• Positive feedback on redesigned smite spells - may become paladin exclusive spells down the road

Druid

• Wild Shape feedback seems to be split - slight majority saying "never want this Wild Shape in print", slight minority saying "this is their favorite version of Wild Shape they've ever seen"
• People love the texture and differences in beast options in '14 Wild Shape, but are open to feature being easier to use (i.e. don't want players to have to weigh the merits of 100+ stat blocks every time they want to use Wild Shape)
• Will have another take on Wild Shape next time Druid appears in Playtest UA
• General concept of Channel Nature seems to have gone over well, but want to see more done with it
• Expected feedback for restoring elemental forms for Moon Druids, but instead found people wanted to lean more into Lunar themes
• Want Moon Druid forms to be more resilient, but still want to reign in power at high levels (frequent/unlimited uses of Wild Shape constantly refreshing HP total)

 

[Frozen_Heart]

IMO, it wouldn't be a problem to have a ranged smiting subclass. Possibly a nature theme (what deity has bows as favorite weapons?)

But I wouldn't want it on the base class.

Doesn't even need a nature theme. Celestial/divine themes with ranged weapons are a common trope, but DnD likes to pretend they don't exist.

 

[Mirrorrorrim]

I suppose I can zero rate any template designs from here on out if not even the bolded part of my comment can be considered. I shouldn't have been so passionate with my post.

Honestly I'm not surprised though, I should have really not bothered posting my opinions here. This section of the forum has grown rather hostile to all sides as of late. I'll bow out, sorry.

I didn't intend that as hostile towards you. We just differ on this particular subject, passionately, I would guess. Your opinion isn't invalid, and you should provide your feedback every time it comes up.

I strongly believe that a class class must work on paper using only the PH, without digital tools. I believe that requiring a player to buy and use a monster book to be able to play their class is untenable. And I also don't want the PH to reprint monster stats as a resource. I prefer they use that page count for something else. There really aren't that many "beast abilities" to choose from. A list of 20 beast/wildshape abilities would be fine, just like a list of 20 Fighter/Battlemaster maneuvers or 20 Eldritch Invocations would be.

We playtested the the 2014 and playtest druid side by side, and the freedom to make your beast look however you want, was incredibly fluid and desirable. If a player just wanted to be a great cat (panther) shifter, it was allowed and scaled well, rather than having to choose a different stat block like a bear to be tougher. The only thing missing was some way to get a bit of temp HP for toughness, and the ability to get a special ability or two that seemed right for the form. That's totally do-able

Also, full HP ablative HP from the statblock has to go away, for the exact reasons that they mentioned in the video. It's too much.

 

[The Myopic Sniper]

I kind of have the feeling that 1/3rd of Druid players are going to reject any sort of template system for Wild Shape and another 1/3rd are going to reject any sort of perusing through detailed creature stat-blocks like you currently have to.

Threading the needle to get to 70 percent acceptance might well be impossible. It might be that WotC will prioritize making Wild Shape more appealing to non-Druid players than to the hardcore Moon Druid player who either likes choosing from hundreds of creature statblocks or has a few broken power-combo creatures that they use continually at certain levels.

 

[mellored]

Unless they are prepared to give us several dozens and dozens of customization options for every template, then I don't feel that there is enough customization to justify not simply using normal creature stat blocks.

You can get dozens of options by mixing a few from different categories.

I.e.
4 movement
4 attacks
4 defense
= 64 different combinations.

 

[mellored]

Doesn't even need a nature theme. Celestial/divine themes with ranged weapons are a common trope, but DnD likes to pretend they don't exist.

There's room for 2 different ranged smite subclass.

Do a "hunter" and a "radiant bow".

 

[Parmandur]

I’m a no template person either.

Templates are bland and boring.

They don't have to be, amd Monster Manual hunting and pecking is an obstacle.

I think they might land on "you can use anything from the MM that meets criteria XYZ, but here are a handful of examples with options that you can flavor however you feel like." Maintaina the current flexibility, but gives an easy approach for people.

 

[overgeeked]

Maybe they should film extra bits of Todd asking questions and splice them into Jeremy's scripted presentation. It's rough seeing a great interviewer (Todd) reduced to just being a nodding head that gets maybe three sentences in an entire 15 minute video.

 

[darjr]

They don't have to be, amd Monster Manual hunting and pecking is an obstacle.

I think they might land on "you can use anything from the MM that meets criteria XYZ, but here are a handful of examples with options that you can flavor however you feel like." Maintaina the current flexibility, but gives an easy approach for people.

Obstacle?

What D&D fan doesn’t like pouring thru the monster manual?

It just strikes me as an absurd conjecture.

One of my players in her second campaign ever loved it. She mentioned it was like having a real book animal knowledge.

 

[Parmandur]

Obstacle?

What D&D fan doesn’t like pouring thru the monster manual?

It just strikes me as an absurd conjecture.

One of my players in her second campaign ever loved it. She mentioned it was like having a real book animal knowledge.

Most of the people I know who play don't really read any of the books.

Being the person who inevitably helps when level up or spell selection comes up, making things more smooth in presentation makes sense to me.

 

[Veltharis ap Rylix]

What D&D fan doesn’t like pouring thru the monster manual?

Plenty of people enjoy looking through the Monster Manual - I'm one of those myself, albeit more in the conjuration caster mold - but there is something to be said for a major class-defining feature in the core PHB not requiring the purchase of an entirely separate sourcebook in order to function.

Perhaps split the difference? Customizable template statblocks in the PHB with the option to use a selection of pre-packaged, but non-customizable monster statblocks from other sources instead?