D&D (2024) 2024 Player's Handbook Reveal: "New Wizard"

"The paramount collector of spells."

Open your spellbooks, everybody. Today we get a Wizard video.

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The last version of the class was in the UA Playtest 7 package (PT7). It's not clear how much they'll say here. Of the base class, I am hoping that they have recanted the level 5 ability, Memorize Spell (or perhaps shifted it to needing a short rest). They've said that the PHB will get clearer rules for how illusions work -- maybe they'll talk about that? Other than that, I think the most they can do is show us some revised spells: Will the revised version of Counterspell be kept? Any surprise Necromancy reveals? Let's find out.

OVERVIEW

• "the paramount collector of spells": "many" of new spells are for the wizard.
• As in PT7: cantrip change after long rest (level 1); scholar -- expertise in an academic field (at 2)
• NO MENTION OF ARCANE RECOVERY
• NEW: Ritual Adept broken out as a new class feature. They can cast spells in their spellbook, as before, but here ID'd as a new feature.
• NEW: Memorize Spell at 5: you can swap a spell after short rest.
• Each subclass gets a new version of Savant: free spells in spellbook of preferred school. 2 free spells of favored class, and a new spell for each spell level (so every 2 levels, as in the playtest. This isn't what is said in the video, but has been corrected elsewhere.

SUBCLASSES
Abjurer

• new abjuration spells feeds back onto how subclass functions.
• NEW: Arcane Ward at 3: resistance, immunity applied before the Arcane Ward.
• NEW: Projected Ward a 6: your friend's resistance is applied before the ward for them.
• NEW: Spell breaker at level 10: Counterspell and Dispell Magic are both prepared (PT7 did not include Counterspell). Dispell Magic is a bonus action.

Diviner

• NEW: Third Eye at 10. As in PT7, bonus action to activate; 120' darkvision, see invisibility. NO MENTION of Greater Comprehension ("read any language")

Evoker -- "all about bringing the boom"

• As in PT7: Potent Cantrip at 3 applies to cantrips both with a saving throw or an attack roll.

Illusionist -- "we felt that the subclass needed more" (YAY)

• NEW: Improved Illusions at level 3:
  • cast illusion spells with no verbal components. (FUN)
  • illusions with range with at least 10' is increased to 60' (no-- by 60' to 70').
  • you get minor illusion cantrip, with both visual and audible
  • you cast minor illusion as a bonus action.
• NEW: Phantasmal Creatures
  • summon beast and summon fey spells always prepared. These MAY BE changed from conjuration to Illusion, and the illusory version can be cast without expending a spell slot, but the summoned version, only with half the hit points. ONCE PER DAY.
  • illusions can step on a trap to set it off (?!)
  • (replacing Malleable Illusions, which I complained about here. This is so exciting.)
• NEW: Illusory Self triggered by you being hit by an attack (not when you are targeted). As in PT7, you can get more uses by giving up a spell slot of level 2+.

SPECIFIC SPELLS

• NEW: school shift to Abjuration: no examples
• Counterspell as in PT7.
• GUIDANCE ON ILLUSIONS in Rules Glossary. E.g. How are they affected by environment?
  • spell descriptions also clarified. Rules Glossary to be discussed in future video (also conditions, areas of effects, guidance on teleportation, telepathy, "
• "being dead" to be discussed in Cleric Video. Tease...

So this gave much more than I was expecting, and it looks amazing. Playing an illusionist will now be much more clearly not a "mother may I?" situation, which (I feel) has long been the case. I think I got most of what I'd asked for in the PT feedback.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

Seems more are way prettier than a hardcore adventurer would be.

New Abjurer!

View attachment 369599

Looks like a Bond Villian.

Anyways a 11 Ranger Fey Wanderer 6 Wizard Illusion should in Theory be able to combined Summon Fey abilities to Summon a Fey Illusion for 1 minute without consentration.

 

[Twiggly the Gnome]

Between the conjurations and the example art, they seem to be leaning in to a stage magician like schtick for the Illusionist.

 

[Kurotowa]

Isn't Abjuration all about defense? Based on his face, he maybe should have studied harder in school...

What's the point of being an Abjurer and having Arcane Ward if you're not putting yourself in a position to get hit in the face? The unscarred Wizard is the one who never leaves their tower, or spends the whole fight cowering behind the Fighters. Abjurers study defense because they get into the thick of things, not because they're afraid of taking a few hits.

 

[Stalker0]

Illusions have always been sketchy in implementation though. I always figured that was their strength: versatility.

There are definately some pretty standard illusions though that it would be nice to put in the DMG maybe and give some consistency on how they are expected to work.

Here's a classic example: an illusionary wall put up between two characters.

1) Can the illusion maker see through the illusion?
2) People that saw the wall go up, do they see through teh wall? (automatically, need a save)
3) I see an attack go through the wall, do I get a save to think its an illusion? (or is it automatic?)
4) One of my buddies walks through the wall and shouts out "its an illusion!" Do I automatically know its an illusion and see through the wall, do I need to make a save? Does the warning do nothing and I have to do interactions myself?


Walking through an example like this will actually highlight a lot of the designer intentions regarding interaction, saving throws, etc

 

[Kobold Avenger]

Abjurer is the one type of Wizard I feel would bother to learn how to use Heavy Armor, but it would be at least 1 or 2 investments of feats to get (assuming single class Wizard). They'd probably have protective sigils written all over their armor.

 

[Parmandur]

Isn't Abjuration all about defense? Based on his face, he maybe should have studied harder in school...

Think it is meant to convey "this guy puts himself in dangerous situations".

 

[Kurotowa]

Abjurer is the one type of Wizard I feel would bother to learn how to use Heavy Armor, but it would be at least 1 or 2 investments of feats to get (assuming single class Wizard). They'd probably have protective sigils written all over their armor.

One speculative build I saw on reddit was the Porcupine Abjurer. The gimmick is to use Magic Initiate to get Armor of Agathys, because AoA triggers when you get hit not when you take damage. So the Abjurer upcasts AoA and gets into melee where they basically dare the enemy to hit them, because each time AoA deals high retaliatory damage while Arcane Ward soaks the damage and prevents the AoA temp HP from being fully depleted.

I don't know if it's actually practical in a real game, but it's at least a cute build idea.

 

[Stormonu]

I think there's quite a lot of differences between the Artificer subclasses, an Artillerist is quite different from the others. Maybe Battlesmith and Armorer are similiar, but they still play quite differently.

If there were about 6 subclasses for Artificer, I'd feel a lot better about the class - or if the current subclasses weren't so confining. Every armorer comes across as Iron Man and every alchemist comes across as Jekyll & Hyde with the current options. It needs more breathing room to be a full-blown class.

 

[Reef]

Think it is meant to convey "this guy puts himself in dangerous situations".

Yeah, mostly just laughing at the thought. It's definitely a nice piece of art though! Of course, I've pretty much loved most of what they've shown, so no surprise there.

 

[Twiggly the Gnome]

If there were about 6 subclasses for Artificer, I'd feel a lot better about the class - or if the current subclasses weren't so confining. Every armorer comes across as Iron Man and every alchemist comes across as Jekyll & Hyde with the current options. It needs more breathing room to be a full-blown class.

When they revisit the Artificer, I hope they shift away from the pseudo-steampunk stuff and more toward object oriented casting being their core identity. This is where rune magic should sit, and animistic fetish crafting, or incarnum style objects made of pure magic.