D&D (2024) WotC On One D&D Playtest Survey Results: Nearly Everything Scored 80%+!

In a 40-minute video, WotC's Jeremy Crawford discussed the survey feedback to the 'Character Origins' playtest document. Over 40,000 engaged with the survey, and 39,000 completed it. I've summarised the content of the video below.

High Scorers

• The highest scoring thing with almost 90% was getting a first level feat in your background. This is an example of an experimental thing -- like advantage and disadvantage in the original 5E playtests.
• Almost everything also scored 80%+.

About The Scoring System

• 70% or higher is their passing grade. In the 70s is a thumbs up but tinkering need. 80% means the community wants exactly that and WotC treads carefully not to change it too much.
• In the 60s it's salvageable but it really needs reworking. Below 60% means that there's a good chance they'll drop it, and in the 40s or below it's gone. Nothing was in the 50s or below.

Low Scorers

Only 3 things dipped into the 60s --

• the d20 Test rule in the Rules Glossary (experimental, no surprise)
• the ardling
• the dragonborn

The next UA had a different version of the d20 Test rule, and they expect a very different score when those survey resuts come in.

It was surprising that the dragonborn scored lower than the ardling. The next UA will include new versions of both. The main complaints were:

• the dragonborn's breath weapon, and confusion between the relationship between that dragonborn and the one in Fizban's Treasury of Dragons.
• the ardling was trying to do too much (aasimar-like and beast-person).

The ardling does not replace the aasimar. The next version will have a clearer identity.

Everything else scored in the 70s or 80s.

Some more scores:

• new human 83%
• dwarf, orc, tiefling, elf tied at 80-81%
• gnome, halfling tied at 78%

Future installments of Unearthed Arcana

• The next one will have new ardling and dragonborn, a surprise 'guest', and a new cleric. It will be a shorter document than the previous ones, and the one after that is bigger again. Various class groups.
• Warrior group digs into something teased in a previous UA sidebar -- new weapon options for certain types of characters. Whole new ways to use weapons.
• New rules on managing your character's home base. A new subsystem. Create bases with NPCs connected with them, implementing downtime rules. They're calling it the "Bastion System".
• There will be a total of 48 subclasses in the playtest process.
• New encounter building rules, monster customization options.
• New versions of things which appear in the playtest after feedback.

Other Notes

• Playtests are a version of something with the assumption that if something isn't in the playtest, it's still in the game (eg eldritch blast has not been removed from the game). The mage Unearthed Arcana will feature that.
• Use an object and other actions are still as defined in the current Player's Handbook. The playtest material is stuff that has changed.
• Thief subclass's cunning action does not interact with use an object; this is intentional. Removed because the original version is a 'Mother may I?" mechanic - something that only works if the DM cooperates with you. In general mechanics which require DM permission are unsatisfying. The use an object action might go away, but that decision will be a made via the playtest process.
• The ranger's 1st-level features also relied too heavily on DM buy-in, also wild magic will be addressed.
• If you have a class feature you should be able to use it in the way you expect.
• If something is removed from the game, they will say so.
• Great Weapon Fighting and Sharpshooter were changed because the penalty to the attack roll was not big enough to justify the damage bonus, plus they want warrior classes to be able to rely on their class features (including new weapon options) for main damage output. They don't want any feats to feel mandatory to deal satisfying damage. Feats which are 'must haves' violate their design goals.
• Light Weapon property amped up by removing the bonus action requirement because requiring light weapon users to use their bonus action meant there were a lot of bad combinations with features and spells which require bonus actions. It felt like a tax on light weapon use.
• Class spell lists are still an open question. Focus on getting used to the three big spell lists. Feedback was that it would be nice to still have a class list to summarize what can be picked from the 'master lists'. For the bard that would be useful, for the cleric and wizard not necessary as they can choose from the whole divine or arcane list.

The playtest process will continue for a year.

 

[Charlaquin]

"the d20 Test rule in the Rules Glossary" .

Er, what was that???

Automatic success on a natural 20, automatic failure on a natural 1, and critical hits being a player-only thing (and only on weapon attacks). Might also have been referring to Inspiration on a natural 20, but I don’t think so.

 

[Blue]

If they think it might to getting what they want, they will. Its not like there are any consequences. I'm not responding to the survey at all, as given my preferences i see it as a waste of effort, but I can definitely see someone lying in a survey if it might push the game closer to what they want.

This comes across as the people that don't vote, yet grumble about the government. If you are not willing to put in the effort to try to make something better (in your view), if you later complain about you end just being hypocritical.

 

[Oofta]

One thing I want to touch on is a comment Crawford makes around 25:55 about the ranger and mother may I.

What he's saying is basically, unless the DM bought into the features of the ranger, they never came up and so made the ranger feel less useful than the design team intended.

As a referee who's frustrated by the 2014 ranger, as a player who loves the ranger fantasy, and as a fan who's really bothered by the lackluster presentation of the exploration pillar in 5E, I can say the exact reason why I avoided rangers and the ranger features in play. It was because the features amounted to a skip button. The ranger just auto succeeded. There was no risk, no play, no rolls...just I win. That meant they weren't fun in actual play, so we stopped playing through those bits. Because a scene where you just narrate how awesome a character is and they auto succeed at a pillar of play is dull and boring. The UA ranger with expertise is much better. Because there's a risk of failure, there are rolls involved, there's a chance of something interesting happening instead of "yep, I'm awesome. I win."

Tends to be the same issue for some people with high level rogues once you get reliable talent. Unless the DM sets up scenarios where literally no one without expertise can hope to achieve the target required, a straight skill check becomes boring.

EDIT

Spoiler: D20 TEST

D20 TEST
The term d20 Test encompasses the three main
d20 rolls of the game: ability checks, attack
rolls, and saving throws. If something in the
game affects d20 Tests, it affects all three of
those rolls.
The DM determines whether a d20 Test is
warranted in any given circumstance. To be
warranted, a d20 Test must have a target
number no less than 5 and no greater than 30.
ROLLING A 1
If you roll a 1 on the d20, the d20 Test
automatically fails, regardless of any modifiers
to the roll.

ROLLING A 20
If you roll a 20 on the d20, the d20 Test
automatically succeeds, regardless of any
modifiers to the roll. A player character also
gains Inspiration when rolling the 20, thanks to
the remarkable success.
Rolling a 20 doesn’t bypass limitations on the
test, such as range and line of sight. The 20
bypasses only bonuses and penalties to the roll.

 

[Zaukrie]

Automatic success on a natural 20, automatic failure on a natural 1, and critical hits being a player-only thing (and only on weapon attacks). Might also have been referring to Inspiration on a natural 20, but I don’t think so.

I hope NPCs get crits, but I'd trigger cool effects over damage..... But that seems unlikely.

 

[Charlaquin]

The majority of respondants certainly seem to.

Presumably because they, you know, liked what they saw.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

"the d20 Test rule in the Rules Glossary" .

Er, what was that???

I hope that means skills and saves are not longer 20 auto pass 1 autofaill

 

[GMforPowergamers]

My bet is they'll go with modern spellcaster archetypes, like:

Warmage (protection/anti-magic, party buff and terrain damage)
Elementalist (boomboom spells and elemental summons)
Beguiler (illusions and enchanment)
Necromancer (curses, debuff, creepy summons)

Maybe Oracle (divination and spirit summoning)?

I would love the wizard to have more ivocative subclasses

 

[Oofta]

"the d20 Test rule in the Rules Glossary" .

Er, what was that???

D20 tests kind of combine ability skill checks and pretty much everything else. The rule was that you get an auto success any time you get a 20 and an auto fail on a 1. So have that cliff that can't be climbed? Go ahead and try anyway, you have a 5% chance of success!

 

[overgeeked]

Tends to be the same issue for some people with high level rogues once you get reliable talent. Unless the DM sets up scenarios where literally no one without expertise can hope to achieve the target required, a straight skill check becomes boring.

Absolutely. But at least with that it's not until level 11, which is rare air indeed. World of difference from a 1st-level feature.

 

[Cadence]

Some feels like this, but with a long ballot and no line before you get to it?