D&D 5E Xanathar's Guide to Everything -- new mechanical expansion/UA book! -- November 10 with a limited-edition cover by Hydro74

[ppaladin123]

I'd like to see the earth/stone sorcerer show up.....but not as a sorcerer. I've been craving a proper swordmage for a while. Maybe we'll get an "oath of the arcane" paladin subclass?

 

[Chaosmancer]

I do find it odd that they are thinking of only including two subclasses for each. Most of the UAs had 3 or 4 subclasses which would mean a significant amount of content is getting passed over.

I'm also curious what kind of downtime activities they would be including, because I was hugely disappointed in the UA and I'm hoping that got a serious overhaul.



What are the chances that old UA material, from before the push, is going to make it? Stuff like the Demon Summoning Spells of "That Ol'Black Magic" or the Eberron stuff, or even the seafaring stuff.

It will be interesting to see what the actual contents are, and I really hope it ends up being worth buying because I'd love to have official versions for a lot of those UA subclasses, they can be a lot of fun.

 

[dagger]

Jeremy Crawford: Each class gets "2 or more"

 

[Mouseferatu]

These books should have a large amount of flavor (what others improperly call "fluff"). If a D&D book--any D&D book--doesn't give the reader cool story, character, and world ideas from sources other than mechanics, it has failed. If it isn't interesting to read, in addition to being useful in play, it has failed.

One can certainly debate the ratio of mechanics : flavor appropriate for a given book, but I have zero interest in any book that is pure mechanics, or any edition that supports such a thing.

 

[lkj]

Just an observation-- but I suspect mass combat might not make it in. Mearls mentioned on Twitter recently that he considered the mass combat UA a flop.

https://mobile.twitter.com/mikemearls/status/870316678718017537

And I think the ranger won't be there. They've mentioned before that they want to find a way to deliver it that won't make people feel like they have to buy a whole new book for a revision. This tweet from Mike seems to suggest that method won't be through the guide to everything:

https://mobile.twitter.com/mikemearls/status/871592041204994050

AD

 

[Enevhar Aldarion]

Product page is up and live:

http://dnd.wizards.com/products/tabletop-games/rpg-products/xanathars-guide-everything

It says new feats will be included. And no page count listed yet.

 

[Demetrios1453]

Product page is up and live:

http://dnd.wizards.com/products/tabletop-games/rpg-products/xanathars-guide-everything

It says new feats will be included. And no page count listed yet.

Nice, that certainly clarifies some questions posed here.


So it does appear that this book will be indeed a "reverse-Volo's", with the villain musing on those meddling adventurers, and how to best deal with them. Presumably it's happily ruminating all this to its beloved goldfish.

Cavalier, Inquisitive, and Horizon Walker are definitely in!

"Dozens" of feats and spells. So not only will we get new feats, but a decent selection of them. And all the worries that we would only see "starter" spells seems to be unfounded.

 

[pukunui]

The "system to give your character a unique, randomized backstory" sounds intriguing!

 

[Mouseferatu]

The cavalier? Huh.

I love the idea. I've wanted a 5E cavalier for a while. But I hope it's drastically changed from what we got in UA. I really wasn't taken with that one.

 

[Li Shenron]

Is there a handy list of all the UA subclasses that have been posted to date?

Artificer
Alchemist
Gunsmith

Barbarian
Ancestral Guardian *
Storm Herald
Zealot

Bard
Glamour
Satire
Swords *
Whispers

Cleric
Forge
Grave
Protection

Druid
Dreams
Shepherd *
Twilight

Fighter
Arcane Archer *
Cavalier ***
Knight
Monster Hunter +
Samurai
Scout +
Sharpshooter

Monk
Drunken Master
Kensei *
Tranquility

Mystic
Avatar
Awakened
Immortal
Nomad
Soul Knife
Wu Jen

Paladin
Conquest *
Redemption
Treachery

Ranger (not counting those for the revised class)
Deep Stalker
Horizon Walker ***
Monster Slayer
Primeval Guardian

Rogue
Inquisitive ***
Scout

Sorcerer
Favored Soul *
Phoenix
Sea
Shadow
Stone

Warlock
Hexblade
Raven Queen
Seeker
Celestial (AKA Undying Light) *

Wizard
Artificer +
Lore Mastery
Theurgy
War Magic


Notes:

- We already know that the new classes Mystic and Artificer will not be in XGtE.

- We already know that subclasses marked with *** will be in XGtE.

- Subclasses marked with * we recently asked for an extra feedback round and thus they are highly likely to be included in XGtE.

- Subclasses marked with + have been superseded by others and thus they are highly unlikely to be included in XGtE.

It's almost funny (but really not) how the number of prospect subclasses in XGtE is descreasing at every new tweet... first "3 subclasses per class" (36), then "2 or 3 subclasses per class" (24-36), then "more than 25 subclasses", then "2 subclasses per class" (24), then "more than 20 subclasses". To be on the safe side I'd stick with expecting only the 3 specifically mentioned!

But then I must say I don't care that much... What WotC decides to put in XGtE is not my problem, it's their problem. Because if I really like something from UA, and it doesn't make it to any official book, I can still use the UA version. I don't care if it's not "official" because I don't play official events or tournaments, and if I decide to play them one day, I don't have to pick exactly one of those options, there are plently of playable stuff in the PHB. I don't even care if it's not "finalized" because the truth is that most of UA stuff is playable with no adjustments, and supposed problems just come up because some specific players (you know who you are) want them to come up, in which case I'd deal with them the usual way: fix the stuff with a hammer or... fix the player with a hammer.

So as [MENTION=1288]Mouseferatu[/MENTION] wisely say, what will matter is if the book as a whole is not just useful but also inspiring to read and look at (i.e. artwork!). It's really only going to be WotC's problem if it's not.

---

As an aside note, there is one generally disappointing trend in 5e for me, that has been going on since the playtest years. Fortunately the edition as a whole is IMHO the best ever in many ways, but this trend I don't like: it's the fact that every single time, first they come up with the most original ideas, and sometimes they create some hype about them, then between the community apparently giving the most conservative possible feedback and the editors probably wanting to play safe, those most original ideas are typically discarded in favor of more "normal" stuff. Not to sound offensive, but this IMHO says a lot about how everyone (both designers and gamers) overestimates their own "creativity" in this hobby.

[With regard to the subclass topic, IMHO the most original ones in concept have been the Tranquility Monk, the Redemption Paladin, and the Undying Light Warlock, and I could bet that none of these will make it to the book]

(Edited to reflect the latest UA)