D&D (2024) New Unearthed Arcana Playtest Includes Barbarian, Druid, and Monk

The latest Unearthed Arcana playtest packet is now live with new barbarian, druid, and monk versions, as well as new spells and weapons, and a revised Ability Score Improvement feat.

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WHATS INSIDE

Here are the new and revised elements in this article:

Classes. Three classes are here: Barbarian, Druid, and Monk. Each one includes one subclass: Path of the World Tree (Barbarian), Circle of the Moon (Druid), and Warrior of the Hand (Monk).

Spells. New and revised spells are included.

The following sections were introduced in a previous article and are provided here for reference:

Weapons. Weapon revisions are included.

Feats. This includes a revised version of Ability Score Improvement.

Rules Glossary. The rules glossary includes the few rules that have revised definitions in the playtest. In this document, any underlined term in the body text appears in the glossary.

 

[Bolares]

I understand that the old spells could slow down the game if you are summoning a bunch of creatures and that it needed to be changed, but I disagree that this is the way to fix it. It should still conjure a creature not some aoe dissociated effect.

Then you would just cut the summoning spells from tasha? This is what I don't understand from this argument. The thing you are asking for will be in the game, in a way more refined way than conjure used to do. To me this new spells are all upside because they change some outdated and almost always worse spells and give them a new spin. Sure, they are not conjuring beings are we are used to, but I think they still fit the narrative well.

 

[Horwath]

Cure wounds and healing word must be combined in one spell.
just call it Healing.
Remove the roll, just heal 10 HP per spell level.
Damage is chaotic, healing should be reliable.
Casting and range from healing word; Bonus action, 60ft.

Since it's a Bonus action spell, you cannot cast any other spell except cantrips on your turn, so power is checked here.

Also it gives healer something to do with their Action and not just feel like a heal-bot.

As an option give possibility to split healing between caster and the target.

Healing domain should give +3 HP healing per spell level.

 

[DaedalusX51]

Then you would just cut the summoning spells from tasha? This is what I don't understand from this argument. The thing you are asking for will be in the game, in a way more refined way than conjure used to do. To me this new spells are all upside because they change some outdated and almost always worse spells and give them a new spin. Sure, they are not conjuring beings are we are used to, but I think they still fit the narrative well.

No make them like Tasha’s but with different stat blocks and abilities. Why make them so different they don’t even do what their name implies?

 

[Bolares]

No make them like Tasha’s but with different stat blocks and abilities? Why make them so different they don’t even do what their name implies?

I'm sorry, but making them like the tasha's spells and then still adding the tasha's spells to the PHB makes no sense to me. It's basically the same spell with minor changes to stat blocks. To me that's a waste of space compared to the interesting designs we see here. And they ARE doing what their name implies. They are conjuring animals, elementals, fey... the conjuring creatures just do a set effect. Summoning a new ally for you to use in your turn is not the only viable way to represent the conjuring fantasy. Final Fantasy does summons for decades and they are completelly different. Something not being what you are used to doesn't mean that the new thing does not make sense.

 

[Yaarel]

Maybe the Dex for heavy ranged doesnt bother me. The scenario is, the heavy range has the longer distance, which requires better Dex to snipe the distant target.

 

[Weiley31]

I understand that the old spells could slow down the game if you are summoning a bunch of creatures and that it needed to be changed, but I disagree that this is the way to fix it. It should still conjure a creature not some aoe dissociated effect.

I think that's the point or what not: Thanks to Tasha's, you already have a much improved version of spells that "summon/conjure" a creature. There would be no point of having the Conjure X spells and then people would be complaining they are trap options or what not.

 

[Parmandur]

I guess I just see this as the wrong way to fix the problem. Does the Druid really need more aoe concentration damage spells? I was really happy with the last few UAs and they just keep taking 1 step forward and 2 steps back for me. I don't need to summon a bunch of low CR monsters but at least have whatever it conjures have a stat block and be targetable.

That's what the Summoning Spells do.

 

[Parmandur]

-I don't think they've changed the changed anything about Weapons (they still have dex 13+ for heavy ranged) or the Glossary section.

The Rules Glossary hasn't changed for several playtests, those are just the total list of core rule changes slated for the new books.

 

[Bolares]

To be sure if something changed in a section of the document, check if that section has a design note. There is no design note in the glossary, so you can safely assume there is no change

 

[Remathilis]

This is one of those situations where the conjure spells should be retired, but that would make the game incompatible, so they kept the names and wrote new spell effects.

Inelegant, but kinda the only option.