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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[DEFCON 1]

My overall reaction to this playtest packet is p much the same as the previous ones, which is that there’s some stuff I like, some stuff I don’t, but NOTHING that makes me say “Oh, yeah, THIS is why we need a new edition.”

Still doesn’t feel like it serves any real need that 5E either isn’t already serving or couldn’t with like one Tasha’s-style update book instead of re-launching all the core books.

Then you can keep playing with the 2014E books. Nothing wrong with that. The 2024E books can be for those players who want the changes.

If some players choose not to use Xanathar's or Tasha's and only use the 2014E PHB... we don't question why those two books still got published. So it'll be the same for the 2024E books. They will be there for those who want them, and easily ignorable for those who don't.

 

[OB1]

Yeah - I agree with the changes to species & backgrounds, but I still feel like one "Droop's Guide to Who You Are" rules supplement book could handle that.

It could, but I wouldn't mind an updated PHB that takes the best/most popular updates from the last eight years along with the new species/background rules and a few other small changes and makes them the entry point for new players. Add in some new art and slap 50th anniversary edition on the cover and it well sell plenty of copies to existing fans.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

and this is a good thing, exactly what I want to say: it is totally individual, what constitutes a full edition change, not some lable you can put on it.

see the point is to lable it... to be able to say "i'm playing this and your playing this so we have the same base line. or I am playing this and you are playing that so we have a diffrent baseline...

by now, today in the 2014 version of the game (5e, 16th3, next what every you want to lable it) we already have sub break downs...
"Im playing 5e"
"I'm playing 5e with the tash rules and that MotM rules"
"I'm playing 5e with some of the MotM rules but not the tasha rules"

I don't see the point in adding "2014" and "2024" to it

 

[Burnside]

Then you can keep playing with the 2014E books. Nothing wrong with that. The 2024E books can be for those players who want the changes.

If some players choose not to use Xanathar's or Tasha's and only use the 2014E PHB... we don't question why those two books still got published. So it'll be the same for the 2024E books. They will be there for those who want them, and easily ignorable for those who don't.

I run many games for nearly a hundred players, using DNDBeyond. I suspect DNDBeyond won't continue to support 2014 5E once OneD&D launches.

 

[Remathilis]

Those people would probably say, that 2e dark sun is a different edition, because races and classes and even ability score generation differ way more from standard 2e, than OneDnD from 5e...
Or skills and powers would be an edition change from 2e, because they are completely changing how skills work and more...

So there really is no common ground to say when it is appropriate to say, something is a whole new edition.

I go farther than that. 2e Dark Sun was a separate game masquerading as a D&D supplement because they chose not to make a proper separate PHB for it. So little of the 2e Core Rules apply to it, that it was more like a d20 spinoff game (like Star Wars) to 3e than an actual D&D setting.

That's why it bothers me when people say they want settings in D&D to be as wildly different as 2e settings were. They really want every setting to reprint a new version of the Cleric with wildly different abilities and power levels? Where you can't use Xanathar or Tasha's because it's options aren't accounted for is compatible? They really want every setting to be its own mini RPG that is vaguely compatible akin to WoD?

I digress. I just rather like the idea that options found in all books and settings are compatible and we don't need five versions of the cleric cluttering up D&D Beyond.

 

[Azzy]

again I don't care what we call it as long as we admit it isn't the same as the 2014 game... We can call it 6e, or 5.5, or anniversary edition, or 5e revised

If you want to re-litigate what constitutes an edition, please make a thread dedicated to it so the rest of us can discuss the actual playtest without what pretty much comes across as threadcrapping.

 

[clearstream]

I'm not terribly surprised to see that Druids now Wildshape (at level 1!) into a more generic statblock that you can flavor however you want, similar to the Ranger pets in Tasha's.

Druid continuing to use their own hit points alone makes me more interested in the new version.

 

[dave2008]

I run many games for nearly a hundred players, using DNDBeyond. I suspect DNDBeyond won't continue to support 2014 5E once OneD&D launches.

What do you mean by "support" currently old monster designs just have the "legacy" tag and can still be used. I would imagine they could do something similar for classes, rules, or even whole books. I have a hard time imagining they are going to prevent you from using the '14 PHB you purchased. Now, maybe that version will not be for sale anymore.

 

[Maxperson]

Did I miss it or did they overlook a druid reverting back with his prior hit points when he dies in wild shape?

"Wild Shape. As a Magic action, you transform into a form that you have learned for this feature. You start knowing one form, Animal of the Land, which is detailed in the “Wild Shapes” section later in this class’s description. You stay in that form for a number of hours equal to half your Druid level or until you use Wild Shape again, have the Incapacitated condition, or die. You can also end Wild Shape early as a Bonus Action."

They way that reads you would revert back but still be dead.

 

[shadowoflameth]

My initial thoughts on the new play test. (haven't played yet). I like Wildshape at 1st. There never was a good reason for it to wait one level. The changes to how it works are BAD. The template creature ends the argument about can you use that beast? have you ever seen one before? but it also takes away the actions and powers of the actual creature. 'So you're a horse now?', 'Yes, but I don't attack with hooves, I'm a horse with claws that does piercing damage. 1d8, just like a Wolf. except that I can't knock the target prone. I can't trample like a horse either. Just say you have the attacks and actions of the creature except for whatever exceptions that use the druids abilities, and the druid can customize how it looks. The Temporary hit points are the big concern. No temporary hit points in many cases means that there's no reason to Wild Shape. If the feeling is that 5e gives the druid too many, then perhaps base it on CR. Say 5THP per CR of the creature. Being Tiny doesn't need to be a higher level ability. Mr. Crawford said in the release video that the intent is for the Wildshape to make the druid a tank but it takes away the main tank ability of the power. BAD.

TLDR Don't take away a creature's actions and abilities in Wildshape, don't take away THP. Don't withhold being tiny there's no good reason for it.

I'll mouth off about the Paladin separately.