D&D (2024) New One D&D Playtest Includes 5 Classes & New Weapon Mastery System

The latest playtest packet for One D&D has just landed, and features five classes (Barbarian, Fighter, Sorcerer, Warlock, and Wizard) and the new Weapon Mastery system.

In this new Unearthed Arcana document for the 2024 Core Rulebooks, we explore material designed for the next version of the Player’s Handbook. This playtest document presents the rules on the Weapon Mastery property, updates to weapons, new and revised spells, several new feats, and five classes: Barbarian, Fighter, Sorcerer, Warlock, and Wizard. You will also find an updated rules glossary that supercedes the glossary of any previous playtest documents.

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[doctorbadwolf]

This is the first UA that has made me worried that I'm just going to dislike the revised rules entirely.

This is so incredibly bad that it's hard to not lose sight of the gems hidden amongst the wet, hot, garbage.

 

[Minigiant]

How the hell are they having fun playing this stuff?

They don't play by the rules, have homebrew rules, and run pure dungeon crawls.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Assuming Weapon Mastery becomes a base system, perhaps merge that functionality into bullet points of feats, like Fighting Style, Weapon Master, or Weapon Training feats.

For instance, the Great Weapon Master feat (from the Experts pack) already has a "Cleave" bullet point. Why not merge them to make a feat that captures the full essence of Great Weapon Mastery?

GREAT WEAPON MASTER 4th-Level Feat Prerequisite: Proficiency with Any Martial Weapon Repeatable: No​

You’ve learned to use the weight of a weapon to your advantage, letting its momentum empower your strikes. You gain the following benefits:​

• Ability Score Increase. Increase your Strength score by 1, to a maximum of 20.
• Heavy Weapon Mastery. Choose a melee Heavy weapon you are proficient with. You may use the Mastery property of that weapon. Whenever you finish a Long Rest, you can practice weapon drills and change the melee Heavy weapon you chose.
• Mighty Cleave. Immediately after you score a Critical Hit with a Melee Weapon or reduce a creature to 0 Hit Points with one, you can make one attack with the same weapon as a Bonus Action.
• When you hit a creature with a Heavy Weapon as part of the Attack Action on your turn, you can cause the weapon to deal extra damage to the target. The extra damage equals your Proficiency Bonus, and you can deal it only once per turn.

There is a lot there, and it would need to be cleaned up, but something will need to change to address that different abilities use the word "Cleave" differently.

tangentially, did you notice that cleave gives a bonus attack more efficiently than standard dual wielding?

 

[doctorbadwolf]

They don't play by the rules, have homebrew rules, and run pure dungeon crawls.

Not a chance in hell they're not using the rules that they're playtesting, my dude. They are using these rules.

They may not normally play by the rules, and they actively encourage players to treat the rules as guidelines, but there is absolutely no way they are playtesting new rules by not using them.

 

[HammerMan]

oh so counterspell the wizard scribing a spell into his book is cool in your mind?

Part of me wants to make a drow wizard/rogue that is a total troll and sneaks around ruining other wizards do this

 

[Minigiant]

Not a chance in hell they're not using the rules that they're playtesting, my dude. They are using these rules.

They may not normally play by the rules, and they actively encourage players to treat the rules as guidelines, but there is absolutely no way they are playtesting new rules by not using them.

Oh they are playing with these rules.

But they rule over the rules often and play in a narow way where the unforeseen circumstances that the rules don't work are rare.

 

[HammerMan]

…they are.

Whait, didn’t understand what you where saying, my bad. Yes, there shouldn’t be a chnce that a wizard loses scribe spell.

My drow “troll” just hit better

 

[Mirrorrorrim]

tangentially, did you notice that cleave gives a bonus attack more efficiently than standard dual wielding?

I do think the Dual Wielder feat needs to make it easier. They can do something similar to what I just did with Great Weapon Master.

Dual Wielder 4th-Level Feat Prerequisite: Proficiency with Any Martial Weapon Repeatable: No
You master fighting with two weapons, gaining the following benefits:

• Ability Score Increase. Increase your Strength or Dexterity score by 1, to a maximum of 20.
• Dual Wielding Mastery. Choose a weapon you are proficient with that lacks the Two-Handed and Heavy properties. You can use that Weapon as if it had the Light property and Nick Mastery property. Whenever you finish a Long Rest, you can practice weapon drills and change the weapon you chose.
• Quick Draw. You can draw or stow two Weapons that lack the Heavy or Two-Handed properties when you would normally be able to draw or stow only one.

This way merges "Nick" for Rogues and Rangers who focus on Dexterity, and also supports Strength-based Dual Longsword/Battle Axe wielders. It doesn't mess with Finesse at all, so Rogues get no benefit from using 2 longswords.

 

[Bolares]

tangentially, did you notice that cleave gives a bonus attack more efficiently than standard dual wielding?

If you have more than one target…

 

[deganawida]

Weapon Mastery comes close to hitting the mark ... and then whizzes on past the target by another 400 yards.

The optimal way to play any Fighter before level 7, and any other non-Fighter martial ever, will be to carry a golf bag of weapons and switch weapons with each attack for their different mastery properties. Which is maybe hilarious depending on your sense of humor and most definitely clunky.

These Weapon Masteries really just need to be a base set of techniques that martial characters can pick and apply their effects to all their attacks. These techniques can still have their prerequisites to limit which weapons can be used with them, to still give weapons some uniqueness about them, but as they are right now, they're just way too restrictive, while again allowing an avenue to circumvent the restriction that is just ridiculous and clunky.

Or alternatively, give each weapon 2 or 3 mastery properties that they start with, to make switching weapons out of the golf bag less of a necessity for optimal play. With that alternative, Fighters at level 7 or higher can still apply properties to weapons that don't normally have them.

My guess is it's inspired by Diablo 4's Barbarian, much like Diablo 1 & 2 inspired 3.0/3.5.