D&D (2024) One D&D Expert Classes Playtest Document Is Live

The One D&D Expert Class playest document is now available to download. You can access it by signing into your D&D Beyond account at the link below. It contains three classes -- bard, rogue, and ranger, along with three associated subclasses (College of Lore, Thief, and Hunter), plus a number of feats.

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[Bill Zebub]

It's the only spells 90% of nonmagical ranger variants copy.

Hell when I say "what about scrying, transmutations, and teleports" they said why does that need to be included?

That's a pretty impressive extrapolation/generalization.

 

[Minigiant]

That's a pretty impressive extrapolation/generalization.

I've read a LOT of nonmagical ranger variants.

90% is lowballing. Few nonmagical rangers homebrew that are published on forums and sites mimic spell higher than 2nd except Lesser Restoration.

 

[Faolyn]

But extra attack and sneak attack aren't identical to spells.

Haste, various smites, and well, any damaging spell cast from hiding... they all have the exact same function as extra attacks and sneak attacks.

That's the point. These "non-spell" abilities that you want to add to the ranger to make a ranger special are word for word identical to SPELLS.

You do realize that Level Up was supposed to be backwards compatible, right? And thus the phrasing was "identical" to mollify people who expected spells.

But this has always been true. Rangers have never had ANY unique spells or mechanics. Like, in the entire history of the game. They had spells drawn from other classes. Rangers could track.

And that's a point of favor for spells? Why not just get rid of rangers and tell people to play fighter/druids instead?

That's about the only unique mechanics rangers have ever had. And, I'm sorry, but, there's no difference between, "I cast Animal Friendship by holding out a piece of meat to the tiger (or whatever the animal is) and making friendly noises" and "I use my Animal Knack by holding out a piece of meat to the tiger and making friendly noises.". It's identical.

There is literally every single difference in the world.

Casting animal friendship on a tiger is something that two non-ranger classes, one archetype, and two races can do. Managing to befriend a tiger simply by understanding animals is something that only rangers can do.

If every class can cast spells, then magic itself becomes boring and non-special. I don't know about you, but I want magic to feel magical, not mundane.

 

[Bill Zebub]

I've read a LOT of nonmagical ranger variants.

90% is lowballing. Few nonmagical rangers homebrew that are published on forums and sites mimic spell higher than 2nd except Lesser Restoration.

Oh, you are talking about the tiny subset of people who want a non-magical Ranger who also write a home brew class. Or, the subset of those who publish it. Or, the subset of those that you read.

What are we talking, 10? 20?

Ummm. Yeah.

 

[Faolyn]

Sorry, D&D hasn't been low magic in decades.
If you mant to play low magic youhave to cut 75% of the monsters,races, and classes.
Default D&D is one the higher side of magic. Only MMOs, MOBAs, CCGs, and wizard worlds have higher magic.

It depends on how you define low magic.

No magic at all? It would probably be better to play a different game.

But a game with very few spellcasters? Say, wizards and priests only, or maybe only those who've made deals with beings strange and foul (warlocks, perhaps even paladins depending on your point of view) can cast, or one where the only magic comes from the warring factions of civilized Gods and wild Nature, or even one with no spells but magic items scavenged from the ruins of a bygone age... those are all possible in D&D and are made easier by having more nonmagical classes.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

I've read a LOT of nonmagical ranger variants.

90% is lowballing. Few nonmagical rangers homebrew that are published on forums and sites mimic spell higher than 2nd except Lesser Restoration.

I think that just goes to show how much WotC wants us to bypass the Exploration Pillar. When everything that circumvents it can be found as first level spells...

 

[Bill Zebub]

I think that just goes to show how much WotC wants us to bypass the Exploration Pillar. When everything that circumvents it can be found as first level spells...

Personally I think the exploration pillar needs to be abandoned as a core Ranger concept, except maybe a couple of ribbons.

 

[Faolyn]

Honestly? I think you’re building mountains out of molehills. Ok. It matters to you. Why should I care to be honest. You’ve made it abundantly clear that there can be no compromise here. It’s 100% non magical ranger or nothing.

Or it could be like I first mentioned for Level Up--a nonmagical ranger with third-caster archetype(s).

Or it could be like at least one other person mentioned--a nonmagical ranger with a warlock-like chassis which includes both magical and nonmagical "invocations."

So not worth a new system.

How would it be a new system? The description of a third caster's spellcasting takes up a few paragraphs and the quarter page needed for the spell table (and theoretically, you could have a single full caster spell table, a single half-caster spell table, and a single third-caster spell table, and then refer to what table is needed in each class. After all, 1D&D has already narrowed down the spell lists so each class doesn't get their own list, so why not do the same thing for the actual tables.

Plus, the instructions for how to use a battlemaster's maneuvers and a warlock's invocations take up very little room, with the maneuvers and invocations taking up not much more. Why would a ranger's abilities be any more difficult?

 

[Zubatcarteira]

I think instead of extra attack Rangers should get the Eldritch Blast cantrip with a bow and arrows as a material component, would make things simpler.

 

[TwoSix]

If I were designing OneD&D, every class would be designed more like the Warlock class. Every class would get a "Pact Boon" (Fighting Style for Martial Characters, Channel Divinity for Priests, etc) and "Eldritch Invocations" (Battlemaster Maneuvers for Martial Characters, Metamagic for Mages, Infusions for Artificers, etc).

I love the idea of warlocking up 5e. Patron becomes a conglomeration of Heroic Origin and Power Source.
Eldritch Blast becomes the ability to make one die+modifier damage + rider effect attack per tier, varying by Origin. (Martials do weapon attacks, casters do cantrips.) Put the real variance in the "Invocations", casters might get stronger long rest "spell" invocations, martials get more at-will/short rest/recharge on initiative "maneuvers" or "stances".

Casters get the ability to use the SR recharge "Pact Magic" slots on known spells, martials use the slots for abilities like Action Surge, Rage, or other offensive or defensive martial benefits tied to class.