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.

 

[mellored]

I would be shocked if the next Everything book wasn't filled with non-school subclasses for the wizard (as well as the remaining school-based ones). WotC limiting themselves to four subclasses in the PHB really puts a crimp on things.

It's the biggest PHB ever.

They have to draw the line somewhere.

 

[ECMO3]

Or Clerics of the Cove.

Cleric's are pretty freaking powerful too.

 

[Staffan]

What do you call supplements that come after the core you have to pay for? Even worse in this case, since it seems likely most of the forthcoming "supplemental" material won't even be new concepts, but rather updates to 5.5 for stuff we can already do now in 5.0.

"Expansions" or "supplements". Or maybe "sourcebooks".

The Illusionist getting free conjuration spells is funny, its like the majored in Illusions, minored in conjuration.

The line between illusion and conjuration has always been a little thin. Particularly since permanent summons seem to be more of a warlock thing.

Artificer is to me a different enough concept from wizard to be its own class. I mean, even WotC, which seems to hate the idea of new 5e classes, gave us that one.

In fairness, they tried giving us a wizard subschool in an Unearthed Arcana first. I guess the feedback on that was quite negative.

Out of this list of 4, Abjurer is the one I would have cut first. Mostly to bring back the Necromancer (which is far more iconic), but also because the Abjurer just doesn't fill the "white mage" niche that it's purported to fill, due to being entirely devoid of healing spells (save for like a few strange necromancy outliers).

For whatever reason, necromancy has traditionally been more of a cleric thing in D&D anyway.

 

[Undrave]

I would be shocked if the next Everything book wasn't filled with non-school subclasses for the wizard (as well as the remaining school-based ones). WotC limiting themselves to four subclasses in the PHB really puts a crimp on things.

It's more balanced than the absurd ammont of space taken up by Wizard and Clerics in the 2014 PHB. Spells already take up so much room!

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

It's more balanced than the absurd ammont of space taken up by Wizard and Clerics in the 2014 PHB. Spells already take up so much room!

If it didn't mean another $50 charge for every D&D group, putting all the spells over third level in another book makes a lot of sense, especially since most groups won't ever actually use -- beyond reading and going "wow, neat" -- high level spells.

 

[Micah Sweet]

In fairness, they tried giving us a wizard subschool in an Unearthed Arcana first. I guess the feedback on that was quite negative.

Fairness to who?

 

[Micah Sweet]

It's more balanced than the absurd ammont of space taken up by Wizard and Clerics in the 2014 PHB. Spells already take up so much room!

Well, virtually every class uses them...

 

[Chaosmancer]

I know people are upset that the wizard didn't get all 10 options it had immediately in the PHB. But on the other hand, it was absolutely absurd that the old PHB had nearly half the classes with only two subclasses (barbarian, bard, druid, ranger, and sorcerer) while the wizard had 8.

And, even if they wanted to give 10 subclasses for every single class, giving us 120 options instead of 48... they would have had to design a lot more new classes, because most classes have between 8 and 9 options (with the druid having only 7).

Yes, you might need to homebrew a little to play that Conjuration wizard you have been dying to play with updated rules... but I'd much rather have all the classes presented on an even footing for once.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I know people are upset that the wizard didn't get all 10 options it had immediately in the PHB.

It was clearly a bad use of real estate in 2014. And I don't think we'll be waiting terribly long to the get the rest of the subclasses. I would be shocked if we don't start seeing UAs for them in early 2025.

 

[Undrave]

If it didn't mean another $50 charge for every D&D group, putting all the spells over third level in another book makes a lot of sense, especially since most groups won't ever actually use -- beyond reading and going "wow, neat" -- high level spells.

Let's be honest: you could easily split the game into two (Lv 1-10 and Lv 11-20).