D&D 5E Mystic and Artificer now on DM''s Guild. Part of additional playtest process

[lkj]

http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/unearthed-arcana/unearthed-arcana-update

Seems to indicate that when we will get the final official mystic is still up in the air. Also cool that they are continuing to refine it publicly though.

There's also a video where Mike talks about it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O65g7GYczbw

AD

 

[Sir Brennen]

Wow. Very interesting. I wonder what the differences between this version and the last UA one are?

Edit: It actually looks like the same PDF as the UA article version. It's not clear from the wording on the Wizards site.

I really wonder about "Between watching the design work done on the DM’s Guild and monitoring feedback data, we’ll continue to revise these two classes." Are they looking for people to do wholesale revisions of the class, or new Mystic orders, talents, etc? How's that going to impact their own revisions?

 

[Kobold Avenger]

I suspect there wouldn't be much of a difference at this stage, as it's just all about getting them up there.

 

[MechaTarrasque]

I like that they spelled out the design process for these new classes. Doesn't give a lot of hope that they will be official soon (or in the Big Book of Crunch), but better to have well developed classes later than half developed classes now.

 

[darjr]

So do they want variants? NPCs?

 

[MechaTarrasque]

So do they want variants? NPCs?

That is a good question. There are review and discussion sections on the DM Guild pages for the classes. I suspect they will review the comments on those pages. How they analyze the comments is a question we will probably never have answered: are there specific things they are looking for comments on and others they are set on? How much consensus is enough to act? Maybe it will be like going to the eye doctor: do you like version 3 or version 4 more? (I don't know enough about DM Guild to know if you could put a survey in there). I assume the AL legal version will be multiclass compatible, so I expect at least some changes as the process goes along.

 

[Z. H. Darkstar]

This is good news, as it illustrates a clearer path from UA playtest material to official release version. I surmise that the DMs Guild phase will end up being the true last step of the playtest process, as the AL playtest phase seems more like marketing to build up interest in the upcoming book for each such AL playtest.

 

[lkj]

I wonder if there's a chicken-egg element to asking what they expect us to do with it on DM's Guild. Maybe they want to see what people do. If they create a bunch of new disciplines or class variants or whatever that might give them an indication of what direction to go with the class. Also, sounds like they will have surveys that go along with the releases to get feedback.

One interesting note on the timeline for release: In the video, Mike said he wanted to give class development the same amount of time that they got during the playtest. He specifically mentioned 2 years. How long ago did we get the first iteration of psionics? I suppose there was a long gap inbetween so that might not be meaningful. And it sounds like the final phase of playtest might be when they open it up to AL play. So that might be an indication.

At any rate, sounds like it might be awhile. Which I suppose is for the best if it means better design.

AD

AD

 

[Leatherhead]

So do they want variants? NPCs?

Subclasses and new powers too, probably.

 

[buzzardoftheages]

Artificer and Mystic released in the DM's Guild.

Well this looks promising.

"Unearthed Arcana Update

Over the past few months, we’ve delivered a stream of new content via the Unearthed Arcana column. Some of that content will show up in future products. Other pieces, having been found lacking by the open playtest process, will drop from our development plans. A few things will follow a third path.
The subclasses we’ve created have fallen into two categories. Some have proven to have mechanics or story concepts that players have embraced. These subclasses have moved on to deeper design and editing passes and further playtesting. We’ll have news soon about where they might turn up next.
Other subclasses were not embraced. Some had mechanics that were dull or confusing. Others’ concepts were too niche, stepped on the toes of other classes, or just didn’t resonate. Our plan is to either redesign these subclasses from the ground up in a future design cycle or push them aside in favor of new concepts.
We have already rereleased a few subclasses for further comment. You’ll see a few more revised subclasses in the June installment of Unearthed Arcana.
We feel confident that the Unearthed Arcana process gives us the feedback needed to develop a subclass into something worthy of publication and official status. Complete new character classes are a different story.
We debuted two new classes via Unearthed Arcana, the mystic and the artificer. Both have received positive feedback, to the point that we are going to commit more time and energy to refining them for official publication. However, the process for completing a new class requires more resources than a subclass. Here is our plan for completing these classes.
Starting today, we are adding both the mystic and artificer to the DM’s Guild. They are both resources you can use to create your own material to share and sell on the Guild. We are also going to release additional surveys to delve deeper into the classes and identify headaches. Between watching the design work done on the DM’s Guild and monitoring feedback data, we’ll continue to revise these two classes.
Once the classes have robust sets of features and options that are hitting the approval levels we aim for, we will make those classes available for playtesting in the D&D Adventurers League. This step indicates that the new class is slated for official release as part of a D&D product. This step’s goal is to put the classes through the same rigorous testing and DM feedback that the core fifth edition classes received during their open playtests.
Once that step is complete, we’ll add these classes to a future D&D product. We can’t predict how long each step will take, so we don’t have dates to share. We remain committed to releasing material only when it is ready.
Thanks for taking part in the Unearthed Arcana playtests and helping us to make 5e the best game it can be. Your efforts have helped D&D reach heights of popularity and success it has not seen in decades. We’re committed to building on that success by including you in the game’s evolution. Thanks for coming along on this journey with us!"

Artificer

Mystic