D&D (2024) 2024 Player's Handbook preview: "New Spells"

[FitzTheRuke]

A Bastion is a homebase. According to the playtest, it is magical perks for having a homebase. The main critique of the playtest was, it was too much of a minigame, and it didnt integrate well with economic rules in the 2014 Players Handbook. Also, the minigame encouraged "saving up" the points for a better reward at higher levels, which effectively meant the minigame was less played. The designers confirm it will be in the 2024 DMs Guide, but we dont know if there was any revision of the playtest version.

It was one of those things that I was SUPER EXCITED to see in the playtest, and when I read it, my eyes just glossed over and I gave up before even really finishing reading the whole document. I really hope that it doesn't make it in without some major overhauls.

 

[Yaarel]

It was one of those things that I was SUPER EXCITED to see in the playtest, and when I read it, my eyes just glossed over and I gave up before even really finishing reading the whole document. I really hope that it doesn't make it in without some major overhauls.

Me too. In my games, a homebase is super important with future characters growing up in and inhereting it from earlier high level characters. I would love formal rules for a Bastion, but it needs to be a normal part of the game.

One overhaul of the playtest I would like: let characters buy realestate in the Players Handbook, as normal, like buying a ship. But let the Bastion separately add magical perks to any properties the characters happen to have.

 

[Parmandur]

Is Evard a Drow?

Not originally, but Bigby wasn't originally a Gnome.

This Evard has weird skin, but no Elf features? Could be Warlock weirdness?

 

[SkidAce]

I am admittedly trying to guess at why they'd mention Guidance in this video, when they are not keeping the UA reaction version.

'you say a skill it boosts and concentrate on it' okay, how does that solve the I CAST GUIDANCE spam every minute? You just added a word, so people will go I CAST GUIDANCE SKILLNAME any time a check comes up.

Ah well, it's staying banned in my games.

/small tangent

I find enforcing the touch requirement, and asking then to RP their character doing it, and reminding them its obvious spell casting (V,S) slows it down enough to be tolerable.

"Clerichand walks over to where the king is debating granting aid with the group's leader, Warstrike, and touches the fighter 'Asmodeus grant you his favor in this debate'.

Hehe.

 

[SkidAce]

On a serious note, I rarely see my players cast guidance ahead of time, then concentrate.

I mean they could, but they usually forget until it time for a check.

 

[fluffybunbunkittens]

Dragon's Breath (that Draconic Sorcerers now get) is a lv2 spell, bonus action to cast, action for touched target to do a 15ft cone 3d6 elemental attack, up to 1min/concentration. So it's like Burning Hands on repeat, but costs you your concentration, so this is just for flavor.

Treantmonk said that the playtest spells are the same in the final product, even ones that really should have gotten changed. Barely any spell changes (especially nerfs) besides what we already saw.

 

[Kurotowa]

No mention of Green-Flame Blade and Booming Blade, despite bringing up that spells aimed at specific subclasses made it in. That has implications for subclasses like Eldritch Knight and Arcane Trickster, and some niche Bladelock builds. Sure, you can use the pre-Revised versions. But I fully expect a lot of DMs to discourage that to various degrees.

Unless and until we find out they're actually in the Revised PHB, it's probably better to not include them in theorycraft balance comparisons.

 

[Parmandur]

On a serious note, I rarely see my players cast guidance ahead of time, then concentrate.

I mean they could, but they usually forget until it time for a check.

What, you mean your players don't always make maximally optimal decisions in a white room enviroment???

 

[Weiley31]

Yeah, saw this coming: I recall Crawfford saying in like 2019 or so that he was treating his Sage Advice Compendium as practice for rewriting the PHB someday.

Let's hope he didn't adopt his weird ruling about holding magical shields without wielding them...

Just as long as Magic Missiles stays the GO TO double tap option when you need to kill something and waste their Death Saves.

 

[fluffybunbunkittens]

Blade cantrips missing is such a glaring omission... but I guess they want to keep them as paid extra content.

I think EK having to use cantrips other than those two would be more interesting, but they are not built for that (because for every other attack cantrip, they'd have to use their mediocre Int).