D&D (2024) New Unearthed Arcana Playtest Includes Barbarian, Druid, and Monk

The latest Unearthed Arcana playtest packet is now live with new barbarian, druid, and monk versions, as well as new spells and weapons, and a revised Ability Score Improvement feat.

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WHATS INSIDE

Here are the new and revised elements in this article:

Classes. Three classes are here: Barbarian, Druid, and Monk. Each one includes one subclass: Path of the World Tree (Barbarian), Circle of the Moon (Druid), and Warrior of the Hand (Monk).

Spells. New and revised spells are included.

The following sections were introduced in a previous article and are provided here for reference:

Weapons. Weapon revisions are included.

Feats. This includes a revised version of Ability Score Improvement.

Rules Glossary. The rules glossary includes the few rules that have revised definitions in the playtest. In this document, any underlined term in the body text appears in the glossary.

 

[sevenbastard]

I'm all for doing away with healing spells.

Any rational monster will just spend a action to finish off dowed foes the first time they see a caster bring them back up. I literally tell my players in session zero that most foes are not dumb and be prepared for that exact outcome.

 

[Yaarel]

The description of the Ability Score Improvement feat looks elegant.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

I like pretty much everything here.

This is wildshape by committee. It ticks the boxes and avoids the really obnoxious parts. Wildshape is basically a utility ability where the important forms are horse (for overland travel), spider (for scouting), and owl/bat (for flight) at level 8.

Pretty disappointed on the Moon Druid. No other druid is going to use it much - but what I want from the shapeshifting specialist is to lean in hard to the shapeshifting part and go owlbear, dinosaur, or even at higher level creatures I've literally invented. This is where the templates would be good. A misty stepper that casts in combat is a weird fantasy.

They needed it. And they've also lost some of the nice mastery bonuses.

I think you missed that the PHB would get more beasts.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

And this is a good thing. If healing actually comes close to matching the round's incoming damage then combat doesn't end until spell slots are exhausted. Also it downgrades martials and tanks even further into being the glove puppets.

That really depends on the slots used and the level of the fight. If the healer cast a healing spell on the fighter and that healing is not enough to allow the fighter to act before the healer's next turn then that heal was a wasted action and the healer would be better off doing something to damage or otherwise hamper the enemy. Wait until the fighter actually drops before healing.
This is where the yoyo healing comes from and what incentivises it.
What you want is that the healing spells scale so that it is worth the healers time to drop a higher level slot on the fighter to keep them on their feet rather than letting them drop and heal at minimum.
I would need to do some math to see how the new healing works out but it could be worth it.
Cure wound might be worth taking now.

 

[darjr]

There are a couple few breakout threads for particular topics.

https://www.enworld.org/threads/playtest-8-monk-discussion.701260/

https://www.enworld.org/threads/playtest-8-spell-discussion.701264/

https://www.enworld.org/threads/playtest-8-druid-discussion.701261/

https://www.enworld.org/threads/ua-8-barbarian-discussion.701258/

 

[Vaalingrade]

And this is a good thing. If healing actually comes close to matching the round's incoming damage then combat doesn't end until spell slots are exhausted. Also it downgrades martials and tanks even further into being the glove puppets.

Wait.

Hold on.

I think the italicized part is the real good thing. Makes it nice and clear we only need one substantial combat a day instead of way more than half a dozen filler fights. And make healing something you do to keep people up and healthy. Nothing but wins from where I stand.

And if you want martials to get involved, two word: martial healing.

 

[Neonchameleon]

I like pretty much everything here.

I think you missed that the PHB would get more beasts.

So? Diminishing returns. You want to start with a scouting form (spider) and a travelling form (riding horse) and then get a flying form. Possibly also a fast swimmer.

Most of the rest are alternates; you might find a cat to be better as a scout form than a spider or an elk to go somewhere better than a horse - but it's fundamantally a low level non-combat ability other than for moon druids.

 

[Kurotowa]

What you want is that the healing spells scale so that it is worth the healers time to drop a higher level slot on the fighter to keep them on their feet rather than letting them drop and heal at minimum.
I would need to do some math to see how the new healing works out but it could be worth it.
Cure wound might be worth taking now.

Certainly Cure Wounds looks a lot stronger next to Healing Word when it scales at 2d8 per spell level versus 2d4. Depending on your level, dropping 6d8+4 or 8d8+5 healing looks pretty substantial. Let's do some math.

A martial PC with a d10 hit die and Con 14 has, taking the unrolled HP gains, 52 HP at 6th Level. A caster with an 18 casting stat and using a 3rd Level spell slot on Cure Wounds heals 6d8+4, or an average of 31 HP and a maximum of 52 HP. That's pretty substantial for one action. And that's before you tack on bonuses, like a Life Cleric adding another 6 HP to that amount. Meanwhile Healing Word's 6d4+4 is an average of 19 HP and a maximum of 28 HP. Quite a bit lower, but that's what it costs to save an action.

Is that good enough to make an upcast Cure Wounds worth both the action and the spell slot? I dunno. I doubt anyone could say so authoritatively without compiling a significant amount of Actual Play data. But it's certainly an attempt to make it useful again, and I respect that.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

I like the healing boost.

 

[RoughCoronet0]

As someone who plays with a group that loves throwing big damage and also having big damage thrown at them, I am also happy with healing spells getting a buff.