D&D (2024) 2024 Core rule book changes

[Parmandur]

A lot of people like it and find it's their only exposure to D&D and opportunity to play. I get it's not for you, but to dismiss it as not for anyone is...odd.

Yeah, I never do OP and have no interest, but it has a place. And it's important in this context because if 2014 rules are AL legal, then there is never any situation, anywhere, where they can be a problem.

 

[Charlaquin]

I'm not sure "threatening" is quite the right word, but one important concept that sit-down-anywhere organized play rather strongly discourages is the whole idea of homebrewing, kitbashing, and-or tweaking anything about the game.

If I'm an AL DM I have to run the game exactly as it's written, even if I see glaring problems with it that I could houserule-fix on a whim; and I have to include whatever supplements WotC tells me to even if I don't want to. If I'm an AL player I have no choice but play within the confines of what's written, and also am probably expected to keep up with all the supplements so I know what's "legal".

And these issues ain't new: RPGA play in 1983 was just the same, and even back then there was a clear conflict between the "everyone must play the same" and "the game is yours to modify as you will" camps.

Right. IF you’re an AL player or DM. If you’re not interested in that, you can just not play or DM AL and it won’t affect you at all.

 

[Yaarel]

GREYHAWK CONFIRMED?!?!?@?@?

"At the core of the Dungeon Master’s Guide (2024) will be a newly revised section on creating your own homebrew campaign, which will include a sample campaign setting. Then the book will show budding DMs how to build it out with the needs and desires of their players in mind.

"“I don’t want to use the word ‘stripped-down,’ but let’s say it’s very condensed,” Perkins said. “But it is a complete setting, and you can take this campaign skeleton and add some flesh to it. Decide where you want to place your campaign in this setting, and then make it your own. [We] give you a poster map that you can use of this campaign setting, and give you hooks within the campaign setting to help inform your decision about which parts of the campaign you want to use, [so that you can decide] which conflicts you think are going to be important in this game.”"

I agree, this "sample campaign setting" is probably Greyhawk.

(Personally, I hope it is specifically both the City of Greyhawk by Gygax and the Town of Blackmoor by Arneson.)


But what the cited text is actually describing is the 4e "Points of Light" approach, where there is some official info, but there is also official blank areas that are officially unknown, that the DM is expected to fill out, based on the player interests.

(Heh, for some reason Schrodingers Cat just came to mind.)

 

[Yaarel]

Compatible, yes, but I think this was the first time they used 'legal to play'. I'm assuming there will be stipulations that if you use 2014 classes, you also use 2014 spells and feats. Also wondering if that means that some of the changes they were considering to the rules outside of class updates are going to be left by the wayside or put in as optional rules in the DMG.

Ultimately, it feels like what we're really getting is 12 new classes that have their own spell/feat system to support them. They'll have the same names as 2014, but the reality is you'll have 24 classes to choose from once 2024 comes out.

Yeah, that phrase "legal to play" jumped out at me too. I took it to mean Adventure League will use both the 2014 and the 2024 Players Handbooks.

If so, the two books will be clearly compatible mechanically − at the same table.

This is kinda a big deal.



Admittedly, certain "errata" will be in the 2024 rules that will override the 2014 rules, such as the Rules Glossary clarifications and tweakings that will appear in the 2024 Players Handbook.

But overall, the above phrasing corroborates the intent of the designers to make a 2024 5.0e rather than a 5.5e − and avoid a 6e.

Probably, 2024 will end up, defacto, 5.5e anyway. But I believe the designers want to make this work with 5.0e content.

I suspect, using the 2024 Players Handbook while cherrypicking options from the 2014 Players Handbook, will be similar to the way things are now, when players use the 2014 Players Handbook while cherrypicking options from Xanathars and Tashas, plus Mordenkainen species.

 

[Yaarel]

By my count there are ten species for the 2024 Players Handbook so far:

Human, Elf,
Tiefling, Dwarf, Dragonborn,
Halfling, Orc, Gnome, Goliath
Ardling

(Conspicuously missing from this list are: Genasi, Aasimar, and Aarakocra)
(Not impossibly, Ardling is for the Planescape setting instead of 2024.)


The number, "144 options for your characters background", can be 9x16 or 12x12.

(I suspect there organization of the background will be symmetric, under the influence of "12 classes" with "4 subclasses" each.)


If 9x16, it might be for nine species (sans Ardling), with 16 backgrounds each.

But 16 backgrounds per species seems like alot.


In any case, the many Backgrounds probably organize by "culture". Since some of these cultures are multi-species, I doubt there is a one-to-one correlation between species and backgrounds.

There might be things like "Aevendrow" cultural backgrounds. But there might also be things like "Waterdeep" cultural backgrounds.


Probably, there are 9, 12, or 16 prominent cultures of various kinds.

Then a symmetric 16, 12, or 9 backgrounds per culture.

It seems easier to expect 16 prominent cultures, with 9 backgrounds each.

 

[Yaarel]

An other way to look at the numbers.


There are four prominent cultures per species.
(What used to be "subspecies" is now "cultures".)

Each culture lists four prominent backgrounds that the culture is known for.


Hence: 9x4x4


Some Human cultures, were founded by Humans but are multi-species now, but still list under Human cultures.

Possibly, a few cultures founded by Non-Humans are also multi-species now.

 

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

By my count there are ten species for the 2024 Players Handbook so far:

Human, Elf,
Tiefling, Dwarf, Dragonborn,
Halfling, Orc, Gnome, Goliath
Ardling

I thought the Ardling had been cut?

 

[The Myopic Sniper]

By my count there are ten species for the 2024 Players Handbook so far:

Human, Elf,

Tiefling, Dwarf, Dragonborn,

Halfling, Orc, Gnome, Goliath
Ardling

Ardling is officially dead as a 2024 PHB species. Though they hinted they may rexqmine the concept at some point down the line.

I would love to some of the cultural backgrounds that you mentioned, but zi expect most of that design space will be explored through first level feats outside the core books.

 

[Parmandur]

I agree, this "sample campaign setting" is probably Greyhawk.

(Personally, I hope it is specifically both the City of Greyhawk by Gygax and the Town of Blackmoor by Arneson.)


But what the cited text is actually describing is the 4e "Points of Light" approach, where there is some official info, but there is also official blank areas that are officially unknown, that the DM is expected to fill out, based on the player interests.

(Heh, for some reason Schrodingers Cat just came to mind.)

The PoL approach is more about building up a campaign bottom to top with a focus on a local Adventure site. This sounds a little more old school, enough to require a large-scale map.

 

[OB1]

If we assume that the 144 backgrounds will be reflected in 12 background archetypes that are modified for each of the 12 classes, what might those 12 types be? My thought

Laborer
Outlaw
Soldier
Nobel
Scholar
Nomad
Artisan
Farmer
Hunter
Performer
Official
Traveler

I think this covers most of the 'job' types of a Renaissance level society. Might be some unneeded overlap, and maybe I'm missing something else that would be needed?