D&D (2024) First playtest thread! One D&D Character Origins.

[Ruin Explorer]

Oh, yeah, especially after what we saw today I think big changes to the Classes are on the menu. In fact, I predict that overhauling each Class is mostly what the playtest will be: 13 Classes, one a month, through next year? Leaving wiggle room for revision playtests gets us to Crawfords "year, maybe a year and a half" time frame

Yeah that seems fairly plausible, though I do wonder if the tempo might be somewhat faster than that, given we're only getting like two weeks with this before feedback starts.

 

[Charlaquin]

Just got through the video.
You have to use Inspiration now. It's tied to feats and racial powers.
You have to do Initiative the way they say. It's also tied to a feat.
But the worst. The absolute worst. Monsters can't crit. Damage is a static, predictable number.
Do these designers even play the darn game?

Not only do they play it, they pay attention to how it’s being played by their target audience.

 

[Parmandur]

Well pbbbth. I finally got a free moment at work, and decided to unpack this "ONE D&D" topic myself, before I had gotten too swept up in all of the hype and emotion. And I'm gonna have to walk back my previous post about this not being a "new edition of the game."

First, some required reading (my footnotes in orange):

Spoiler: From the D&D Beyond FAQ Page

What is One D&D?

One D&D is the code name for the next generation of Dungeons & Dragons, bringing together three initiatives that will shape the future of the game:

• D&D Rules. This takes what we love about fifth edition and updates the rules of the game to reflect the feedback we have heard from players and where the game is today.[1]
• D&D Beyond. This will be the platform for your digital D&D collection, content, and tools.[2]
• D&D Digital Play Experience. In early development, D&D Digital will offer an immersive player experience, rich creation tools for Dungeon Masters, and a connected space for DMs and players to get together and play D&D.[3]

Our goal is to give you more D&D wherever you play, whenever you want.

Is One D&D introducing a new edition of D&D?

It’s bigger than that. [4] One D&D will usher in the next generation of D&D with new and more comprehensive versions of the core rulebooks that millions of players have enjoyed for the past decade. The rules will be backward compatible with fifth edition adventures and supplements[5, 6] and offer players and Dungeon Masters new options and opportunities for adventure. The evolution of fifth edition has shown us it’s less important to create new editions of the game and more important to grow and expand the game you love with each new product.

What does backward compatible mean?

It means that fifth edition adventures and supplements will work in One D&D.[5,6] For example, if you want to run Curse of Strahd in One D&D, that book will work with the new versions of the core rulebooks. Our goal is for you to keep enjoying the content you already have and make it even better. You’ll see this in action through the playtest materials, which you will be able to provide feedback on.

What is changing with the One D&D rules?

There will be many fundamental updates to D&D that we will collect your feedback on.[7] In the upcoming Unearthed Arcana playtest content, you’ll see proposed updates to character backgrounds, races, classes, feats, information presentation, and more. Ultimately, the answer to what will change depends on what we hear from you throughout One D&D playtests.

When will the One D&D rules be released?

The new core rulebooks are expected to be released in 2024.[6]

Where can I find out more and stay up to date on the latest One D&D news?

To keep up to date on One D&D, sign up for D&D Beyond. Then, hop into your account settings and update your email preferences to receive communications from D&D Beyond. You can expect news on One D&D roughly monthly[8].

So having read through all of that, slowly and carefully, with a keen eye on not just what they were saying but also how they were saying it, and what they were careful not to say, I have the following take-aways.

1. They are going to collect some feedback, and then update the 5th Edition rules. They very carefully dodge the question about whether or not it's a new edition--either because they haven't decided yet, or they don't want to make peoples' heads explode.

2. Weird statement about D&D Beyond being "the platform for your digital D&D." This isn't news; D&D Beyond has been around for ages. I wonder why they mentioned it here, in this FAQ about One D&D?

3. They mention something called "D&D Digital," and from the description they give, it reads like a VTT program like Roll20 or Foundry. Now I'm starting to understand why they mentioned D&D Beyond in point #2, above.

4. They asked themselves a yes-or-no question, and then didn't answer it. It really drives me crazy when people do that! Anyway, they will neither confirm nor deny that this is a new edition of the game. In fact they carefully avoid it altoghter, talking about "new versions," "many updates," "the next generation," and "evolution" instead.

5. They dodge and deflect the question about a 'new edition,' then go on to talk about backwards-compatibility--something that wouldn't need to be discussed at all if this wasn't a new edition. They confirm that "fifth edition adventures and supplements" will be compatible, and give a specific example with the Curse of Strahd adventure.

6. They don't say the same for the core rulebooks, though. Instead, they confirm that there will be new versions of the core rulebooks, and they are expected to be released in 2024.

7. Now they finally confirm that the rules are changing. And they will be collecting feedback on these changes in upcoming Unearthed Arcana content. It sounds like they already have some UAs written for backgrounds, races, classes, feats, and something called 'information presentation,' and there will be more to come. As for how broad these changes are going to be, they tell us that it will depend on what they hear "throughout One D&D playtests."

8. There will be monthly updates. Also, an active D&D Beyond account is required. This suggests that the materials will be distributed through DDB, and it's likely that from all of the talk about "your digital D&D" that the playtests and feedback will be managed on DDB as well.

Yeah, it's a new Edition, but they don’t want to do it like it was for prior editions, so they are changing the terms for marketing. They want to emphasize continuity.

 

[Charlaquin]

I am not sure how to "fix" it at all.....but here and in Level Up, I feel like some of hte things that are racial traits should really be in backgrounds. It isn't a big deal at all, and really doesn't change much once the game starts, frankly.

Oh, I see. Yeah, there are some things I feel that way about too, and will say so in the survey.

 

[Benjamin Olson]

So it turns out that about half of all my 5e characters have been half-elves. Mechanically the combination of favorable ability score bonuses, two unrestricted skill choices, and darkvision gave me what I wanted, and lore-wise since I basically just want to play a human, but don't want one who is completely just a boring human, it suited me as well. Long ago my first D&D character ever was a Half-Elf.

But, even beginning to read the section from the playtest on racial hybrids I was excited, that maybe with these somewhat simplified racial features they would seize the opportunity to let you mix and match racial features of hybrids. But instead you get mix and match cosmetics, but mechanically they've adopted the Muppet system where Kermit and Miss Piggy's children are a bunch of frogs and a bunch of pigs.

They're killing my Half-Elf for this?!

 

[Parmandur]

Yeah that seems fairly plausible, though I do wonder if the tempo might be somewhat faster than that, given we're only getting like two weeks with this before feedback starts.

They said about once a Month, but time will tell.

 

[cbwjm]

Not sure how that monster damage is going to turn out in the end, but I do know that when I started 5e and used static monster damage that my players preferred that I roll damage instead, they preferred there being that variability. Same with crits, getting hit by a crit can be just as exciting as hitting with a crit.

 

[Kurotowa]

Oh, yeah, especially after what we saw today I think big changes to the Classes are on the menu. In fact, I predict that overhauling each Class is mostly what the playtest will be: 13 Classes, one a month, through next year? Leaving wiggle room for revision playtests gets us to Crawfords "year, maybe a year and a half" time frame

That's a little spread out. It doesn't leave any room for revisions or other releases, like the full feat list or updates to spells. I'll put my money on them releasing classes in packs of three or four at a time. Something substantial enough to get real feedback on, but not so huge to overwhelm testers.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

As a catgirl type, I disagree, but

I guess I shouldn't generalize about catgirls, it's not right lol.

But okay, I take your point, I just know a lot of other people who play catgirls and similar across various games (video and TT) and the idea of them being able to temporarily sprout pretty magical glowing wings would be like A+++ yes please material to an awful lot of them. If they had permanent big honking feathered or leathery wings that would not be remotely well-received though for most of them.

 

[Haplo781]

So it turns out that about half of all my 5e characters have been half-elves. Mechanically the combination of favorable ability score bonuses, two unrestricted skill choices, and darkvision gave me what I wanted, and lore-wise since I basically just want to play a human, but don't want one who is completely just a boring human, it suited me as well. Long ago my first D&D character ever was a Half-Elf.

But, even beginning to read the section from the playtest on racial hybrids I was excited, that maybe with these somewhat simplified racial features they would seize the opportunity to let you mix and match racial features of hybrids. But instead you get mix and match cosmetics, but mechanically they've adopted the Muppet system where Kermit and Miss Piggy's children are a bunch of frogs and a bunch of pigs.

They're killing my Half-Elf for this?!

Half-Elf isn't going away.