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

[DarkCrisis]

They made what they thought we wanted, not what we actually did. Which is why Dragon Dice, Spellfire cards, and other projects failed and cost them large amounts of cash. Don't let the lack of shareholders fool you, TSR was as oblivious to their customers as any public company.

You say that like we didn't want a revival of Buck Rogers.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Really? My experiemce tells me that DMs spend more money than all players together. Also WotC is heavily invested in increasing the fun for DMs by making stat blocks more useful. Also keeping DM spells im the book. Giving better guidelines. Better organization.

What you say is mostly not correct, at least one sided.

One DM spell that they've mentioned, and we have no actual evidence of any non-player side improvements or changes, because all the playtests and previews have been about the PH. There is no proof of what you're saying, and they've had ample time to provide some. Assuming they care about players more than DMs is not unreasonable.

 

[Stalker0]

so, working as intended?

if players are smart and they can control the frontline and prevent backline to be outflank, then they should be rewarded.

If that's the perspective, than why not make shield +10 AC, or +15 AC? Heck lets just make them immune to attacks?

The point is that we know there is an amount of strength for shield that is weak, one that is reasonable, and ones that are overpowered. The notion that you can ignore shield doesn't work in many cases from my argument before. So it then comes back down to.... is a +5 to AC for shield "too much"?

 

[Micah Sweet]

They made what they thought we wanted, not what we actually did. Which is why Dragon Dice, Spellfire cards, and other projects failed and cost them large amounts of cash. Don't let the lack of shareholders fool you, TSR was as oblivious to their customers as any public company.

I never said otherwise. I said they made what they wanted to make. Why they wanted to make it (and I'm sure there were multiple reasons) is a separate issue.

 

[Remathilis]

I never said otherwise. I said they made what they wanted to make. Why they wanted to make it (and I'm sure there were multiple reasons) is a separate issue.

A pile of tripe made from the heart is not better than a product made by a soulless corporation. Both companies gotta keep the lights on. The graveyard of failed music careers are full of noble auteurs that made the concept album they wanted and nobody bought.

 

[Micah Sweet]

A pile of tripe made from the heart is not better than a product made by a soulless corporation. Both companies gotta keep the lights on. The graveyard of failed music careers are full of noble auteurs that made the concept album they wanted and nobody bought.

I disagree. Anything made from the heart has value.

And WotC is NOT having trouble keeping the lights on! I really hate that hyperbolic expression.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

This is not correct. The parties in CR are constantly limited in their casting of Heroes Feast due to the difficulty in acquiring the material component. Mercer rarely allows them to purchase more than 1 at a time from any given major city (and sometimes requires a day or two to find one or have it made), and if they are out in the wilderness, they can't just trade in 1000 gp to get another.

I am no longer listening to campaign three, but if they're limiting their casting, that's new. All the time they spent screwing around in the arctic in campaign two, they cast Heroes Feast every single time, to the point that Mercer would double-check with them when they didn't mention it at the start of the adventuring day.

 

[Remathilis]

I disagree. Anything made from the heart has value.

And WotC is NOT having trouble keeping the lights on! I really hate that hyperbolic expression.

Value is determined by the user. If you don't want, need, or the use for something, it has no value. Resale shops are full of handmade items someone gave away. Sentimental value only goes so far.

 

[Chaosmancer]

This option makes it too easy. Therefore the problem is that all the options don’t make it too easy?

not going to agree on this and that is ok.

We have healed in combat despite the high opportunity cost. Its last ditch.

If there is not much of an opportunity cost it’s an easy calculus. Of course healing in combat is not the best route much of the time. But if you keep me on my feet so I can recover and misty step out, mission accomplished. Or smite big or cast fireball, etc.

No one is taking big hits each round and doing puny heals as the main counter. If you heal it is strategic with some other end in mind.

But this is literally the problem. No one healed. No one who understood the game math ever took Cure Wounds. Instead, they took Healing Word, waited until their ally was down, then bonus action got them on their feet so they could misty step/fireball/smite ect. This is why people got furious at Healing Word, why people constantly demanded an end to pop-healing. Because it was the only effective healing in-combat. The only healing strategy that actually worked the vast majority of the time.

It doesn't make anything "too easy" again, that fight where my cleric was constantly healing my allies every single turn? It was nearly a TPK. And because of Mass Suggestion, I didn't have an option beyond healing them. But because my healing was actually effective, I was able to keep everyone up.

As to overpowered spells, it seems better to fix them than pump other stuff up. Psychologically though no one likes nerfs. Change is usually unidirectional and I know that.

So is it magic missile or burning hands you think is overpowered compared to a 2nd level spell? Because those were the examples I was using, to showcase how utterly deplorable Cloud of Daggers was. Which of these 1st level spells needs nerfed in your opinion?

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

In some groups it is, in others it isn't.

Fair.

That said, I don't think WotC should design content with the idea that the DMs will fix the balance after publication by controlling how much gold and other resources player characters can lay their hands on. A major spell -- WotC now sells a book called Heroes Feast, so it's something they're making part of their public brand -- should be as balanced as they can make it, from day one.