D&D (2024) New One D&D Playtest Document: 77 Pages, 7 Classes, & More!

There's a brand new playtest document for the new (version/edition/update) of Dungeons of Dragons available for download! This one is an enormous 77 pages and includes classes, spells, feats, and weapons.

Unearthed Arcana Playtest

Unearthed Arcana Playtest Materials Get Unearthed Arcana playtest content, try it out in your game, and provide feedback! Check back regularly for ...

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In this new Unearthed Arcana document for the 2024 Core Rulebooks, we explore material designed for the next version of the Player’s Handbook. This playtest document presents updated rules on seven classes: Bard, Cleric, Druid, Monk, Paladin, Ranger, and Rogue. This document also presents multiple subclasses for each of those classes, new Spells, revisions to existing Spells and Spell Lists, and several revised Feats. You will also find an updated rules glossary that supercedes the glossary of any previous playtest document.

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[tetrasodium]

I get that they wanted to make proficiency simpler to track, but they really nerfed weapon proficiency by doing that.

Barbarian, fighter, ranger, and paladin get martial weapons. Rogues get simple + martial finesse. All other classes get just simple, unless you have an order (cleric/druid) or subclass that gives you martial.

This really hurts monk (shortsword), druid (scimitar) and bard (rapier, longsword and whip). Further, all of the weapon/armor feats are fourth level or higher, meaning a lore bard can't use a rapier until fourth level.

My feedback is to give monk, druid and bard some martial weapon proficiency, such as monks using finesse, druids using light, and bards using martials without the heavy trait. It just feels odd that these classes are losing their iconic weapons and that everyone not a warrior type is going to use spears and maces.

Alternatively, add a first level feat that gives proficiency in some martial weapons. So they PCs don't have to wait until 4th level to use a sword.

I think it's less a matter of being "easier to track" than a matter of allowing modular drop in replacements for weapons armor & spells, probably to fit individual settings or possibly even things like HC adventures. Overall it's a great goal.

 

[Chaosmancer]

Exactly! Cleric's get Divine Intervention, which brings on the flavor of having a GOD come in and help you (or any celestial force) at the higher levels, and Ranger is getting Conjure Barrage...it just feels uneven.

Conjure Barrage and Volley are cool btw, I like them, but I think these levels should have two features, not one. I guess you get new spell levels though so, I suppose that is meant to count for everything.

Popping in on this, I did some counting and measuring. It might be better to think of those abilities as a bizarre class version of domain spells. They get Hunter's Mark for 1st, Conjure Barrage for 3rd, Conjure Volley for 5th... and just nothing for 2nd or 4th.

It would be WAY less confusing if they just made a "Ranger spells" table and filled it in with a 2nd level spell and a 4th level spell. Then it wouldn't feel like separate abilities.

 

[Chaosmancer]

The Druid shows a similarly excellent eye, just really good stuff here. Just good design and Circle of the Sea kicks unexpected ass.

Land needs some help with their wildshape usage, it doesn't keep up with the others.

Short swords MIA for some reason.

Well, the reason would be simplicity. No one seems to be getting proficiency in single weapons anymore, it is all categories, and the rogue is the only one breaking the simple or martial by getting martial finesse.

And mechanically... well, the idea might be they don't need it. Shortswords are 1d6 Light Vex weapons. Handaxes are 1d6 Light Vex weapons. The handaxe is actually better because it can be thrown, so they might not see an urgent need for it.

Now, I will agree, monk with a Jian style blade? Makes perfect sense. Thematically and stylistically fits very well. But mechanics might trump that under the banner of re-flavoring.

Paladin generally seems solid, though boo to nerfing the Ancients aura!

Agreed, that nerf hurts. And I don't know why it happened.

 

[Emirikol Prime]

This new “edition” will be as easy to ignore as 4E was. No one asked for this.

 

[Emirikol Prime]

Nah it adds to the attacks damage.

Eh it’s always been more a cleric thing that is misplaced on the Paladin, but making it a BA just makes it usuable in a fight. It’s fine.

What’s frustrating is that the 2014 version of the smite spells are mostly better than the divine smite class feature, because you’re frightening or whatever at the cost of like 2 average damage and a bonus action.

And you’d still not be a Ranger lol

I mean, the Bard isn’t an even successful at being a Bard, but even with the fact that JoAT fits Rangers more than Bards, what you describe still doesn’t make a Ranger.

God no. Few things would make me ditch D&D quicker.

It’s just a new part of 5e.

There’s dozens of us!

Yes and like essentials one that will be widely ignored.

 

[DavyGreenwind]

Wildshape has slouched back to Monster Manual scraping. My joy isn't sparking.

My hope is that the Player's Handbook has a robust beast appendix. Then it'd almost be like choosing and preparing spells.

 

[kapars]

And mechanically... well, the idea might be they don't need it. Shortswords are 1d6 Light Vex weapons. Handaxes are 1d6 Light Vex weapons. The handaxe is actually better because it can be thrown, so they might not see an urgent need for it.

It unfortunately has a much wider impact. For some reason knowing to wield that single short sword over the hand axe grants access to the Crossbow Expert, Dual Wielder, Charger, Great Weapon Master, Mage Slayer, Polearm Master, Sentinel, and Sharpshooter feats.

If the player chose an Eladrin over their Dragonborn which lets them regain the martial weapon proficiency through trance they regain access to all of these. There’s now an entire chunk of capabilities locked off to picking specific species unless you multi-class. This cannot be good.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Yes and like essentials one that will be widely ignored.

Sure bud.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Agreed, that nerf hurts. And I don't know why it happened.

I suspect they would argue that it's not a nerf, because it now applies to damage types, rather than "spells", so could protect you against general monster abilities and so on, but even if you buy that line, which I'm not entirely sure I do, it's thematically at-odds with the Ancients deal. Stopping magic makes sense because they mess with the Fey/Fiends - most of whom don't even use those damage types (though to be fair quite a few Fey use Psychic damage).

I notice Abjure Foes is at a much higher level and much, much weaker than Turn the Faithless. The only advantage is you can choose to target potentially any enemy and also inflicts dazed, but there's now a (low) target limit, it's level 9 instead of level 3, so will barely/never be seen rather than regularly seen in most campaigns, and whilst it causes Frightened, still, there's no longer a requirement for creatures to move away and to have to use the Dash or Dodge actions. Instead it can sort of hang out trying to grub some damage from somewhere to break the effect. Worse than that even, it can keep attacking normally if it has ranged attacks, even if you're right in its face, just with Disadvantage. So it's gone from an extremely hard CC which basically took out Fey and Fiends for the duration, and sent them vast distances away, to an easily exploitable condition that effectively just temporarily applies Disadvantage. It's not a huge deal but seems like a change for the sake of change more than anything else.

 

[Remathilis]

This new “edition” will be as easy to ignore as 4E was. No one asked for this.

What new edition? This is 14 + Tasha's + errata with new art.