D&D (2024) New One D&D Playtest Includes 5 Classes & New Weapon Mastery System

The latest playtest packet for One D&D has just landed, and features five classes (Barbarian, Fighter, Sorcerer, Warlock, and Wizard) and the new Weapon Mastery system.

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 the rules on the Weapon Mastery property, updates to weapons, new and revised spells, several new feats, and five classes: Barbarian, Fighter, Sorcerer, Warlock, and Wizard. You will also find an updated rules glossary that supercedes the glossary of any previous playtest documents.

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[Vaalingrade]

Why?

6-8 borings a day.

 

[Vaalingrade]

I can see why people are RAGING (no one likes change) but... I'm gonna try this Warlock before I hate it. Crazy, I know!

I'm pretty sure I can be safely identified as one of the biggest advocates of change in this iteration of the game, and I'm going to say this is an unfair and pointlessly antagonistic dig.

 

[Hatmatter]

So this mere mortal with no power somehow not only gets into contact with not just one God-like being but SEVERAL and somehow has the clout to say "I'm going to dabble in all yours powers a bit and maybe choose one later." And these Beings are cool with that?

Those are some pretty laid back creatures.

"Can I just sale you a little bit of my soul for a few spell slots, with an option to buy later? You see, The Fae Queen is running a special next month and I don't want to commit until I see what she's offering on lay-a-way."

I think one narrative possibility, suggested by Crawford in the video, is that the entity very well would not be cool with that: hence a tantazlizing and long-term narrative thread that is the result of the character's own choice.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

DESIGN NOTE: UPDATES TO THE ARCANE LIST Two Bard spells have been removed from the list: Vicious Mockery and Dissonant Whispers. In a future UA, those spells will still be available to the Bard

What are the odds of these becoming class abilities, rather than spells?

Vicious Mockery is almost (but not quite) the Eldritch Blast of bards, in that you have to answer a lot of questions from fellow players if you don't take it.

 

[ART!]

The fact that you can't Cleave with a Greatsword is nonsense. I will probably homebrew these Masteries, so you can pick which one you want for your weapon, within reason, and can have multiple of them.

If I'm misunderstanding how this works, let me know.

 

[TwoSix]

What are the odds of these becoming class abilities, rather than spells?

Vicious Mockery is almost (but not quite) the Eldritch Blast of bards, in that you have to answer a lot of questions from fellow players if you don't take it.

Considering they just turned a bunch of class abilities into spells, not very high. The chances are high that they become class-specific spells, though.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

More thoughts on the document:
Barbarian
-Extending rage with a bonus action makes sense, and puts an end to the bag of rats to maintain rage issues.
-Primal Knowledge, "I'M ANGRY SO I'M STEALTHY NOW!!!" ok, but they do give an explanation for how they can use Strength for stealth checks.
-Brutal Critical, I think adding the Barbarian class level to damage makes it do more damage on average
-Relentless Rage, the "I'M TOO ANGRY TO DIE!" ability is much better with the 30+ HP they get.
-Rage Resurgence, I see follows the other sort of similar abilities
-Primal Champion got nerfed, but then again there wasn't Epic Boons before.
-Intimidating Presence, with the spend a Rage after your 1/long rest use I guess will push for some more strategic uses of rage as a resource.
Fighter
-Fighters get 1 less feat now, or maybe they don't. The table and the text are inconsistent with each other about whether they get one at 15th level or not.
-Weapon Expert and Weapon Adept now make playing a fighter more interesting tactically.
-Still not a fan of the Champion as it's the tutorial subclass of the class that's traditionally been the tutorial class for the game itself. But it's more useful with the replacement for Remarkable Athlete.

 

[Reef]

The fact that you can't Cleave with a Greatsword is nonsense. I will probably homebrew these Masteries, so you can pick which one you want for your weapon, within reason, and can have multiple of them.

If I'm misunderstanding how this works, let me know.

That’s actually a Fighter ability later on: the ability to swap out masteries, and then have more than one available per weapon.

 

[Charlaquin]

Okay: not gonna lie.....

I'll keep the old Pact Boon/Maximized spell slot from before and add it on top of the UA 2023 half-caster Warlock with the 15 Spellslots.

Funny, I might do the opposite - 2014 style Pact Magic with the playtest updates to Pact Boons, Invocations, and patron features.

 

[Xohar17]

6-8 borings a day.

Oooh, my group always do like 3-5 depending on the location and type of campaign.