D&D (2024) Jeremy Crawford Gives an Overview of the New Unearthed Arcana

The upcoming Unearthed Arcana playtest packet for One D&D gets a preview from WotC's Jeremy Crawford. This is apparently the largest of these playtest packets so far, and the biggest Unearthed Arcana they have ever done, at 50 pages long.

It contains 5 classes, new spells, new feats, a revised rules glossary, and the new weapon mastery system.

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[Parmandur]

I'm assuming you're referring to College of Eloquence from Tasha's, which at level 6 gives the bard Unfailing Inspiration.



It's pretty clear who keeps it, the target which in the text I quoted is referred to as the creature.

How does that apply to the playtest 2024 bard? Let's look at the text for inspiration dice from the UA for Bard:


So a target has to fail a roll for the bard to be able to use their reaction to give them an inspiration die. They roll the die, add the result to their existing failed roll, and if the result still fails and the bard has Unfailing Inspiration, the target keeps the die for their next failed roll is how I would read that. It could use a little cleaning up to clarify that, maybe putting a limit on how long the target can keep the inspiration die. It doesn't seem like a broken mechanic to me.

The only really odd interaction I found for the Bard, was the College of Creation and how it substantiated Inspiration dice. Bit that still works, just...differently than originally intended.

 

[HammerMan]

I'm assuming you're referring to College of Eloquence from Tasha's, which at level 6 gives the bard Unfailing Inspiration.

Yup

It's pretty clear who keeps it,

Oh man it’s good you’re here to tell me what is and isn’t clear at my table. Can you see the future too or just other peoples tables? Or are you just double down on pretending people pointing out issues are liers or at least dismissing them?!?

the target which in the text I quoted is referred to as the creature.

Except in 2014 that target always kept it and had the choice of when to spend it. Now the bard uses a reaction when a roll is made.
So by the new rules who gets to use it the target creature or the bard?

How does that apply to the playtest 2024 bard? Let's look at the text for inspiration dice from the UA for Bard:


So a target has to fail a roll for the bard to be able to use their reaction to give them an inspiration die. They roll the die, add the result to their existing failed roll, and if the result still fails and the bard has Unfailing Inspiration, the target keeps the die for their next failed roll is how I would read that.

About 1/3 of my table agreed with you. (Including me if it matters) but about 1/3 (including the bard player)said no that bards don’t give inspiration to use when ever they use there reaction to grant it to rolls they choose now.
The final group (including the DM) said it was confusing and could go either way.

After being called dumb and even out right a lier in the warlock thread I didn’t bring this up on here just so I can be called those things again.

It could use a little cleaning up to clarify that, maybe putting a limit on how long the target can keep the inspiration die. It doesn't seem like a broken mechanic to me.

Nobody said it was broken they said it doesn’t work as written. It is “broken” not in the too powerful version but broken in the “not working as intended” way.

 

[HammerMan]

A very partisan response it seems to me. Good guys and bad guys.

This is what drove some posters away from here. Any version of disagreement becomes “you aren’t with us so your against us”

 

[Faolyn]

How often are we going to debate whether WotC is lying about OneD&D being a stealth incompatible 6th edition? We've been debating since the announcement. We're five packets into the playtest. Do you really think at this point WotC is going to go "welp, you caught us. 6e is here and your 5e stuff will explode in the next 30 minutes. Buy the new books or die."?

Maybe if it wasn't the same people making the same arguments over and over like it's Groundhogs Day, I'd say there was some genuine confusion about the nature of the update. But at this point, it's purely rhetorical debate that collapses one-upsmanship with no one being convinced (or open to convincing) until the mod locks the thread.

Personally, I don't think WotC is lying. I'm not sure that there's a lot of people who think WotC is deliberately lying. But I think there's likely going to be unintentional traps and disparities or OP choices, because WotC isn't that great at balancing things and including the necessary information, so that the the source books will be not as compatible with the other not-edition as WotC thinks that they're going to be.

 

[Justice and Rule]

I just think they're likely overstating how compatible things will remain over time. I suppose I see it more as marketing pitch than lie, with the move over time likely to be towards designs that fit the original less and less... classwise, that is. I don't think this really applies to the adventure side of things, which are written in a more general format and don't rely on particularly specific uses of character abilities to advance in.

 

[OldSchoolGamerGirl]

About 1/3 of my table agreed with you. (Including me if it matters) but about 1/3 (including the bard player)said no that bards don’t give inspiration to use when ever they use there reaction to grant it to rolls they choose now.
The final group (including the DM) said it was confusing and could go either way.

I agree with the bard player. WOtC has given the control entirely to the bard in the playtest, so taking part of that away doesn't seem right.., the trouble is the duration, how long can you hold it.

 

[mamba]

what do you think you are doing right now?

telling you my perspective. You told me yours, I don’t see why I should not do the same.

You want me to shut up because it is not the same as yours?

 

[Umbran]

Mod Note:
I've just closed a couple of threads, and lo and behold, very similar issues show up here.

Please stop repeating arguments. Once a thread gets shut down, you should take that as a warning for every other thread you are in on similar topics.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

The one we ran into was elegance (I think) that lets you choose to spend the die and if you fail you can keep the die to use it again. However the new system is not that you have the ability to spend it.
So the confusion was who “keeps” it the bard or the target.

Respectfully, I think you’ve overthought this one. The text of the level 6 feature of the Eloquence Bard says that “When a creature adds one of your Bardic Inspiration dice to its ability check, attack roll, or saving throw and the roll fails, the creature can keep the Bardic Inspiration die.”

The creature keeps it. That is totally unchanged by changing the BI mechanic to a reaction. When they add your die to a roll and it fails, they keep the die. That’s it.

2014 bard, the creature just uses it when they roll, 2024 probably uses it as a reaction, which is a slight nerf, but that’s it.

I think there is one (it might be 3rd party have to look) that when you use your bardic inspiration choose a second target but that target won’t be useing something right then and there.

I’d have to see it to comment fully, but if the reaction BI feature makes it to print, it doesn’t seem like a big deal to include half a sentence clarifying how to deal with this sort of thing.

Edit: in light of moderation

There isn’t much point in discussing things at all if we just assume they will fix everything anyway.

Discussing potential issues is distinct from harping on every last little potential sticky wicket until other people are getting tired of even discussing any of it as a result.

Okay so what?

So…it’s compatible. It works with both versions.

The only thing that doesn’t work is trying to create a Frankenstein class by cherry picking base class features between the two.

If you choose the 2014 warlock, you use that warlock. You use its spell list, Spellcasting table, you use its invocations, its versions of the pact boons, etc.

If you choose the revised warlock, you use the PHB (2024) spell access, invocations, Spellcasting table, proficiencies, etc.

The only way there could be an incompatibility is if the 2014 subclasses can’t work in the revised class, or the reverse. Since we know that they’re gonna try a few different Spellcasting models for the class, I’m just not seeing compatibility as a useful topic of discussion yet, in this case. What matters is where the class as written works. Compatibility can be solved when a model has been chosen.

 

[OldSchoolGamerGirl]

Personally, I don't think WotC is lying. I'm not sure that there's a lot of people who think WotC is deliberately lying. But I think there's likely going to be unintentional traps and disparities or OP choices, because WotC isn't that great at balancing things and including the necessary information, so that the the source books will be not as compatible with the other not-edition as WotC thinks that they're going to be.

I just think they're likely overstating how compatible things will remain over time. I suppose I see it more as marketing pitch than lie, with the move over time likely to be towards designs that fit the original less and less... classwise, that is. I don't think this really applies to the adventure side of things, which are written in a more general format and don't rely on particularly specific uses of character abilities to advance in.

yeah the only people I see pushing the "wotc is lying" narrative are one or two fringe cases and a whole lot of strawmaning... like the theoretical person who buys WotC books, follows WotC news, is playtesting the new WotC game AND hates and actively wishes ill on wotc... and for the books they are tryign to get made to fail.