D&D (2024) New One D&D Playtest Shows Us The New Druid & Paladin

WotC has released the fourth One D&D playtest document. This 29-page PDF includes the druid and the paladin with Circle of the Moon and Oath of Devotion subclasses.

Druid. The Druid class and Circle of the Moon subclass are ready for playtesting here.

Paladin. The Paladin class and Oath of Devotion subclass are ready for playtesting here.

Feats. Several revised feats appear here for your feedback, with more revised feats coming in future articles.

Spells. More spells are ready for playtesting, with a focus on smite spells, Find Familiar, and Find Steed.

Rules Glossary. The rules glossary has been updated again and supersedes the glossary in previous Unearthed Arcana articles. In this document, any underlined term in the body text appears in that glossary, which defines game terms that have been clarified or redefined for this playtest or that don’t appear in the 2014 Player’s Handbook.

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[Willie the Duck]

Yeah, I'm perfectly happy with fixed stat blocks for Druids and summons. I hate when new monster books become new PC abilities. It just becomes "find the optimal damage per CR and then smash that button." Like that's not a deep or compelling strategy or tactic. Especially when its, "stop the game and find something buried in the Monster Manual that has the random ability I need." It discourages picking forms that fit your character and encourages picking the rarest, least realistic creature in the book.

However, I hate that Wild Shape is still siloed into a de facto combat-only ability. When the Wizard gets Alter Self a 3rd (2nd), Water Breathing at 5th (3rd), Fly at 5th (3rrd), and Polymorph at 7th (4th), it's really aggravating that Druid can't do better than that with it's defining class feature that's supposed to let you do exactly that.

I want wild shape give us a travel form (climb, swim, fly, or move quickly), a combat form, a stealthy/scent form, and (for Moon Druid) an elemental form. Make the travel and stealthy forms not suitable for combat. You turn into a squirrel or mole or spider or codfish or sparrow. Scale each form by level, and give them to the Druid at or before the level the Cleric and Wizard get the spells that do the same thing.

I understand why wildshape needed some changes.
However, I don't like being stuck with the generic stat block.

Just freewheeling here -- what about some additional druid spells which turned you into fieldmice with a level 1 spell, spiders with a level 2, birds at level 3, etc?

 

[Micah Sweet]

If your a 2014 character, use the 2014 one. If your new, use the new one.

Magic affects different people differently.

I mean, explain why a druid can shape shift buy a fighter can't.

They belong to different classes that aren't both named, "druid".

 

[mellored]

They belong to different classes that aren't both named, "druid".

And?

Here.
You have druid (2014)
And druid (2024)
Just pretend they are different classes. And that this the new PHB is called PHB 2.

That should fix any dissonance you're experiencing. This is a splatbook.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

1) Probably the newer one, because I kinda hate the old one. For most spells, I'll probably just let them pick.

abither thing we disagree on, I don't like it being heroism...

2) Why would any 2 people have exactly the same abilities?

I don't think they need to be exact, but they system needs to be... like you could almsot make one druid and one shaman... but the status effects and feats and spell details (heck just actions) are so different.

The nature spirits/deities/whatever their source of power gave them different blessings, that's all. The idea that 2 characters, in the fiction, would expect to gain the exact same supernatural blessings over time just wildly strains credulity.

Using this argument I could play a 2e druid...or a 4e warlord with the same amount of work at rearrangeing basics... maybe slight

 

[Mistwell]

Noticed there is no level where all your beast attacks count as magical for purposes of resistances and immunities, other than the elemental attacks from the Moon Druid subclass?

 

[GMforPowergamers]

You really, really don't. If I have a 2014 druid, a LU druid, and a 2024 druid at my table simultaneously, why would that bother me as the DM?

again I am sure you can make it work... but the work just to make status effects and spells work seems like such a waste of time

 

[Argyle King]

Just freewheeling here -- what about some additional druid spells which turned you into fieldmice with a level 1 spell, spiders with a level 2, birds at level 3, etc?

To improve game balance, I understand limiting wildshape more.

I suppose going with a familiar could be a better option for someone wanting non-combat uses for animals.

For me personally, my perception is a pattern of removing aspects of the game which allow interaction with non-combat pillars of play. Hopefully, that's just a mistaken perception based upon limited information about 5.1.

I also notice an effort to simplify more. While I can see the positives to that, I would also like some options for someone wanting more complexity.

Getting back to thinking about the Druid: I am curious if we'll eventually see 3.5-style feats to modify Druid (class) features or something like Prestige Classes or Paragon Paths to modify how a class works.

 

[dave2008]

Except that now you get both, right?

you get +2 to an ability, AND and Epic Boon which includes +1 to an ability. [[edit -- orig. mistyped +2]]

I suspect this is an editing error.

No, that is just for 20th level (IIRC, to lazy to check) At 20th lvl you get the +2 ASI and an Epic Feat (which could give you an additional ASI depending in the epic feat). However, after 20th level you can take an Epic Feat every 30,000 XP and those don't double with an ASI.

 

[Kobold Stew]

No, that is just for 20th level (IIRC, to lazy to check) At 20th lvl you get the +2 ASI and an Epic Feat (which could give you an additional ASI depending in the epic feat). However, after 20th level you can take an Epic Feat every 30,000 XP and those don't double with an ASI.

You are right. The double bonus is only at level 20.

 

[Weiley31]

My worry is just how flimsy the new moon druids are

Use old Circle of Moon druids for the battle/tanky Druids that focus on Wild Shape.

Replace current/default Druid's Wild Shaping Rules with the UA version to represent Druids who don't dedicate fully to war in their Wild Shape forms.