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.

 

[Neonchameleon]

Yes. They could use haste for double attacks close to at will, as 1 year more or less does not affect them a lot.

Didn't getting aged by a year force a system shock survival roll?

 

[Ruin Explorer]

We usually get 1 or 2 short rests (if you lucky) per long rest

Wizards and other long-rest casters are the major reason WHY you only get 1-2 short rests at most, though. Giving them a better reason to actually take Short Rests is a good thing for the game. Just giving them yet another overpowered ability once per Short Rest would not be.

That Short Rests are still 1hr is still absolutely stupid, but hopefully the DMG will have some suggestions there.

 

[tetrasodium]

Wizards and other long-rest casters are the major reason WHY you only get 1-2 short rests at most, though. Giving them a better reason to actually take Short Rests is a good thing for the game. Just giving them yet another overpowered ability once per Short Rest would not be.

There is absolutely no reason for any player not playing an artillerist artificer with a turret out to not just shrug and say sure while stonewalling the GM if they try to butbutbut it when the warlock monk or fighter says "we need to stop, I'm out of pact slots/ki/yea my action surge too" after they burned everything on one fight and expects to recover it before the next fight.

That Short Rests are still 1hr is still absolutely stupid, but hopefully the DMG will have some suggestions there.

What is "still absolutely stupid" is failing to provide the gm with a "no Bob [the bar for a successful short rest is up here]" clause to trivially slap down unreasonable short rest demands by pointing out that they are unreasonable rather than resorting to fiat or trolling their players with interruptions they will keep trying to rest through till the gm tpks the party or something

 

[Ruin Explorer]

There is absolutely no reason for any player not playing an artillerist artificer with a turret out to not just shrug and say sure while stonewalling the GM if they try to butbutbut it when the warlock monk or fighter says "we need to stop, I'm out of pact slots/ki/yea my action surge too" after they burned everything on one fight and expects to recover it before the next fight.

This is assuming much more rational and rules-analytical players than most groups have and also no or very limited time pressure. One of the main reasons players (somewhat irrationally) don't do the proper number of short rests is the perception of time pressure combined with the fact that long-rest casters generally have either so much left in the tank that they don't want to stop (usually citing adventure-based time pressure), or even if they're out, won't gain anything from a short rest, only a long one. If short rests were y'know, short, then the time pressure would be a much weaker and less effective excuse/rationale.

What is "still absolutely stupid" is failing to provide the gm with a "no Bob [the bar for a successful short rest is up here]" clause to trivially slap down unreasonable short rest demands by pointing out that they are unreasonable rather than resorting to fiat or trolling their players with interruptions they will keep trying to rest through till the gm tpks the party or something

I mean, that's also stupid, sure.

 

[deadman1204]

How is memorize spell not an incredible power? Not only does the wizard have the best list, but they are only an hour away from being able to access any one of that large repertoire of spells. Its the ultimate magical swiss army knife.

There is a massive missunderstanding in here. People who do not play wizards love to imagine wizards have all spells in the game memorized at all times. In 5th ed, there is NO mechanism to change spells outside of a long rest. In 5.5, you can change a SINGLE spell on a short rest. Thus you go the entire day with what you started with.

Add to this that until you get to high levels, its not uncommon for sorcerers to actually have MORE known spells than wizards. IF your dm isn't handing out free spells, then the wizard only gets 2 per level. Sorcerers have buckets of bonus spells that result in them having more "free" spells than wizards until you get close to 10th level.
To have the magical "every spell" spell list, the player must spend ALOT of money to get the spells. However thats coming from their share of the loot, which means they are NOT getting magic items and other things that everyone else is spending money on. Thus while the party may have decent items, the wizard will often be wearing crap gear so they can afford spells instead. Imagine if a bard or a paladin had to spend money to get their class abilities? The internet would melt down.

If you actually play a wizard, you will see that the vaunted "can do everything white board" is a total illusion. You choose at the start of the day which spells you hope will be useful. You cannot switch unless your dm has some house rule. Thus wizards end up just choosing the most general useful spells - just like a sorcerer....
Yup, we can have a whiteboard fantasy of a 20th level wizard with infinite money doing crazy things, but that never happens. Your 5th level wizard (about average level of ALL games played) will quite often have less spells than the sorcerer, and ZERO other abilities to boot because wizards have "unlimited potential" that is also completely unusuable.
Closing note - sorcerers have the same spell list as wizards too. Its strange how wizards suffer so much from class jealousy and missunderstanding, all of it based on white board simulations that have zero relevance to how games are actually played.

 

[tetrasodium]

This is assuming much more rational and rules-analytical players than most groups have and also no or very limited time pressure. One of the main reasons players (somewhat irrationally) don't do the proper number of short rests is the perception of time pressure combined with the fact that long-rest casters generally have either so much left in the tank that they don't want to stop (usually citing adventure-based time pressure), or even if they're out, won't gain anything from a short rest, only a long one. If short rests were y'know, short, then the time pressure would be a much weaker and less effective excuse/rationale.

No it's pretty much what I see in nearly every group I have played in or GM'd for & it's by design. Wotc designed 5e in 2014 to eliminate all of the hooks necessary to make "time pressure" matter & they did so in service of the tyranny of fun combined with a design that attempts to pigeonhole gameplay into a red team vrs blue team scenario where "DM" should be considered acting in a service role that is so synonymous with terms like "adversary" that PC & rules design should place challenging resisting & thwarting the GM as high in the list of design priorities.

I mean, that's also stupid, sure.

yes... except it ceases to be "stupid" & becomes quite logical design when considered from a PoV where the GM is merely the red team adversary service provider.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

No it's pretty much what I see in nearly every group I have played in or GM'd for & it's by design. Wotc designed 5e in 2014 to eliminate all of the hooks necessary to make "time pressure" matter & they did so in service of the tyranny of fun combined with a design that attempts to pigeonhole gameplay into a red team vrs blue team scenario where "DM" should be considered acting in a service role that is so synonymous with terms like "adversary" that PC & rules design should place challenging resisting & thwarting the GM as high in the list of design priorities.


yes... except it ceases to be "stupid" & becomes quite logical design when considered from a PoV where the GM is merely the red team adversary service provider.

Uhhhh okay. That doesn't reflect how I've seen 5E played IRL or online or in podcasts, but go off, homie.

 

[Stalker0]

There is a massive missunderstanding in here. People who do not play wizards love to imagine wizards have all spells in the game memorized at all times. In 5th ed, there is NO mechanism to change spells outside of a long rest. In 5.5, you can change a SINGLE spell on a short rest. Thus you go the entire day with what you started with.

Add to this that until you get to high levels, its not uncommon for sorcerers to actually have MORE known spells than wizards. IF your dm isn't handing out free spells, then the wizard only gets 2 per level. Sorcerers have buckets of bonus spells that result in them having more "free" spells than wizards until you get close to 10th level.
To have the magical "every spell" spell list, the player must spend ALOT of money to get the spells. However thats coming from their share of the loot, which means they are NOT getting magic items and other things that everyone else is spending money on. Thus while the party may have decent items, the wizard will often be wearing crap gear so they can afford spells instead. Imagine if a bard or a paladin had to spend money to get their class abilities? The internet would melt down.

If you actually play a wizard, you will see that the vaunted "can do everything white board" is a total illusion. You choose at the start of the day which spells you hope will be useful. You cannot switch unless your dm has some house rule. Thus wizards end up just choosing the most general useful spells - just like a sorcerer....
Yup, we can have a whiteboard fantasy of a 20th level wizard with infinite money doing crazy things, but that never happens. Your 5th level wizard (about average level of ALL games played) will quite often have less spells than the sorcerer, and ZERO other abilities to boot because wizards have "unlimited potential" that is also completely unusuable.
Closing note - sorcerers have the same spell list as wizards too. Its strange how wizards suffer so much from class jealousy and missunderstanding, all of it based on white board simulations that have zero relevance to how games are actually played.

Lets start with the simple, "Yes I have played a wizard in 5e".

Now your point about money is...both valid and not. In base 5e, there are no magic items or magic item shops, gold is practically worthless once the fighters get their plate armor, and so any money the wizard spends on spells isn't really a cost at all. Unless of course....the DM is super stingy with gold or does let players buy magic items. This comes back to the fact that gold = spell availability is an antiquated mechanic. 5e did a lot to remove gold as a source of raw power in the game....but the wizard remains a vestigial part of the old model, and I do think new mechanics for that should be considered. Ultimately I can respect at some tables the wizard will have very few bonus spells, but I can equally respect that at some tables the wizard will practically have any spell they want. Its a flaw in the edition design that can radically affect the power of a single class.

On the topic of general spells (aka the wizard always prepares the same "generic" spells each day), this assumes you have NO understanding of what the day will bring, and that is the exact wrong way to approach a wizard. Your a scholar by nature, so you should be planning and researching! If your going through bumbleton forest....I would certainly start the day asking the DM questions like, "can I use x knoweldge to know what general creatures are in that forest? Is it know for any particular dangers? Hey the night before, can I use divination or augury before I go to sleep to check if a few spells might be useful?

If a wizard is going into every day not having a clue what spells they might need....than the wizard isn't being a scholar. That is part of the challenge (and fun!) of being a wizard. Beyond that, this only assumes an adventuring day mindset. But what I find is where the wizard REALLY excels is downtime.

We have a week off. The wizard can one day decides to do divinations all day. the next day prepares comprehend languages so they can talk to a whole variety of people in town. The 3rd day they craft a bunch of walls of stone to help the local village that was attacked by orcs protect themselves. 4th day they decide to add a bunch of new glyphs of warding to the party's secret base to help secure it. Etc etc. When a wizard has time and a plan....they CAN do almost anything, and to me is one of the wizard's greatest strengths.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Didn't getting aged by a year force a system shock survival roll?

Yes.

 

[deadman1204]

Lets start with the simple, "Yes I have played a wizard in 5e".

Now your point about money is...both valid and not. In base 5e, there are no magic items or magic item shops, gold is practically worthless once the fighters get their plate armor, and so any money the wizard spends on spells isn't really a cost at all. Unless of course....the DM is super stingy with gold or does let players buy magic items. This comes back to the fact that gold = spell availability is an antiquated mechanic. 5e did a lot to remove gold as a source of raw power in the game....but the wizard remains a vestigial part of the old model, and I do think new mechanics for that should be considered. Ultimately I can respect at some tables the wizard will have very few bonus spells, but I can equally respect that at some tables the wizard will practically have any spell they want. Its a flaw in the edition design that can radically affect the power of a single class.

On the topic of general spells (aka the wizard always prepares the same "generic" spells each day), this assumes you have NO understanding of what the day will bring, and that is the exact wrong way to approach a wizard. Your a scholar by nature, so you should be planning and researching! If your going through bumbleton forest....I would certainly start the day asking the DM questions like, "can I use x knoweldge to know what general creatures are in that forest? Is it know for any particular dangers? Hey the night before, can I use divination or augury before I go to sleep to check if a few spells might be useful?

If a wizard is going into every day not having a clue what spells they might need....than the wizard isn't being a scholar. That is part of the challenge (and fun!) of being a wizard. Beyond that, this only assumes an adventuring day mindset. But what I find is where the wizard REALLY excels is downtime.

We have a week off. The wizard can one day decides to do divinations all day. the next day prepares comprehend languages so they can talk to a whole variety of people in town. The 3rd day they craft a bunch of walls of stone to help the local village that was attacked by orcs protect themselves. 4th day they decide to add a bunch of new glyphs of warding to the party's secret base to help secure it. Etc etc. When a wizard has time and a plan....they CAN do almost anything, and to me is one of the wizard's greatest strengths.

All this is utterly based on mother may I. If the dm doesn't want you to know, all your diviniations are meaningless. All your "gold is worthless" and "there are no magic shops" only matters if the dm makes it that way. If there are magic item shops in your game, then gold ALWAYS has meaning, and the wizard will always be poor and have crappy gear. If there are no magic item shops in the game, then how does your wizard get any spells, since magic is not available to buy/sell? Sure gold is meaningless, but how are you getting spells if you cannot buy them? You're creating situations where the wizard has free access to all spells, which might happen in your games, but is very much NOT the norm. Again, how does the sorcerer not have more spells than the wizard if you cannot buy them?

No other class in the game is so utterly and miserably dependant upon the dm being nice and giving you so much extra stuff compared to every other player at the table (which will always cause jealousy). Any table where the wizard is getting tons of hand outs (either spell books, or money to buy spells) will cause all the other players to get a bit jealous.

Lastly, your still getting into the white board fantasies. "All good wizards always know everything thats gonna happen". Well, if you look at divination spells they aren't that great. You find out a thing or two that is usually quite cryptic. So great, you blew all your spells on diviniation to find out your gonna need those spell slots... today. OOPS!
ALL divination is mother may I. No dm ever will tell you all the important stuff you need to know to always have optimal spells, EVER. If he does then he needs to be fired cause he's a bad dm. This same old concept that all wizards will always know everything they need is based on fantasy not reality. ITs mainly used to justify why wizards are OP in theory, but it never works that way in practice.