D&D (2024) New One D&D Playtest Document: 77 Pages, 7 Classes, & More!

There's a brand new playtest document for the new (version/edition/update) of Dungeons of Dragons available for download! This one is an enormous 77 pages and includes classes, spells, feats, and weapons.

Unearthed Arcana Playtest

Unearthed Arcana Playtest Materials Get Unearthed Arcana playtest content, try it out in your game, and provide feedback! Check back regularly for ...

www.dndbeyond.com

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 updated rules on seven classes: Bard, Cleric, Druid, Monk, Paladin, Ranger, and Rogue. This document also presents multiple subclasses for each of those classes, new Spells, revisions to existing Spells and Spell Lists, and several revised Feats. You will also find an updated rules glossary that supercedes the glossary of any previous playtest document.

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[CapnZapp]

Naw... they're gonna fix about 11 or 12 things that people have been complaining about for the past nine years and put them in a new book. And that'll be more than enough changes to make a lot of folks drop the 40 bucks for it.

Somehow I don't think most people are as clear-eyed as you.

Alternatively, that they aren't as accepting as you of paying $3.30 or so for each individual fix.

 

[DEFCON 1]

Somehow I don't think most people are as clear-eyed as you.

Alternatively, that they aren't as accepting as you of paying $3.30 or so for each individual fix.

Well, then they can just flip through the 5E24 book on the shelf when it gets released next summer, see what changes WotC made to the stuff they didn't like, and then incorporate those changes themselves into their 5E14 game. Whatever works for them!

 

[CapnZapp]

Have to wait and see. More of a 1E to 2E or 3E to 3.5.

What works in 5E is the core balance between casters and warriors. It is, in my mind, completely superior overall to any other edition of D&D or Pathfinder, but there is ample room for improvement. What I would have liked is a new edition filling the biggest gaps in 5E.

• The game doesn't offer nearly enough customization for veteran gamers. By far the most pressing issue is: once you've decided your class and sub-class, that's basically it except for spell selection. 17 levels is much too many without a new major life path choice.
• The game has completely abandoned the value of gold
• WotC doesn't seem to have the self-confidence to revitalize the high levels

A 6th Edition where you start by
...compressing most (if not all) level 12-19 non-spell abilities; giving them out over perhaps levels 9-12, and then inventing new actually powerful stuff to hand out at actual high levels. Either that, or admit defeat by making the PHB cover only levels 1-12. This does have one benefit: any subsequent book (to cover high-level play) would be judged on its ability to actually make high levels work. By bundling together high levels with the base levels, as WotC has done forever, they can hide mediocre high level rules in plain sight
...adding at least a second tier to subclassing, so at level 10 or 12 or so you can branch out in a new direction, including ones suitable for more epic high level play... These should ideally be completely independent of your earlier choice of subclass and class!
...re-issuing a new edition of Magic Item Compendium would go a loong way of making D&D useful for me without loads of homework

 

[CapnZapp]

Well, then they can just flip through the 5E24 book on the shelf when it gets released next summer, see what changes WotC made to the stuff they didn't like, and then incorporate those changes themselves into their 5E14 game. Whatever works for them!

Maybe. But like we discussed previously; likely there won't be 12 changes. More like 120 changes (if not many times more than that), most of which will come across as change for change's sake, without actually noticeably improving or expanding the overall game.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

What works in 5E is the core balance between casters and warriors.

Long Rest recharge characters are flatly superior to Short Rest recharge or no recharge characters in absolutely the vast majority of plausible/possible situations in 5E.

So, no, that's actually a weak point of 5E, not a strength. It's nowhere near as bad about that as 3E was but also not as good about that as 4E was.

 

[mamba]

Yes, but this phrasing" that was clear from the very start", makes it seem reasonable to make a 3.5 and unreasonable to do something more.

whether that is reasonable is in the eye of the beholder, they made clear to not expect more

The problem with this is that for the most part 3.5E didn't actually change the needle in any meaningful way.

I’d say this is true for 2024 as well

 

[mamba]

A 6th Edition where you start by
...compressing most (if not all) level 12-19 non-spell abilities; giving them out over perhaps levels 9-12, and then inventing new actually powerful stuff to hand out at actual high levels. Either that, or admit defeat by making the PHB cover only levels 1-12.

I am ok with stopping at level 12, I doubt WotC will want to release a second book for the higher levels though, far too few sales

 

[CapnZapp]

Long Rest recharge characters are flatly superior to Short Rest recharge or no recharge characters in absolutely the vast majority of plausible/possible situations in 5E.

So, no, that's actually a weak point of 5E, not a strength. It's nowhere near as bad about that as 3E was but also not as good about that as 4E was.

If 6E would do away with the hard connection between "days" and rests, I would be very happy.

The only sensible way to support both fast- and slow-paced campaigns, say:

• your mission is to clear out the goblin caves. Expect one combat encounter every five minutes or so
• your mission is to cross the Big Desolate Desert. Expect one combat encounter every week or so

Is to simply ignore everyone that goes "you always need one night to regain spells, everyone knows that, and any other notion is completely unrealistic".

Obviously the game should give the GM the ability to state that for the first adventure, a long rest requires, say, twenty minutes of downtime, while for the second adventure, a long rest requires you to find an oasis and spend three days there. (Or some such)

This is almost to the level that it merits inclusion on my earlier list.

 

[CapnZapp]

I am ok with stopping at level 12, I doubt WotC will want to release a second book for the higher levels though, far too few sales

With the quality of high level mechanics so far, that isn't surprising.

 

[CapnZapp]

I’d say this is true for 2024 as well

If you lament this like I do then we're in agreement