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.

​

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.

 

[Parmandur]

Alright, the important part, the art:

• Main Wizard, Aasamir female
• Abjurer, edit: Dwarf male! End editnot clear if thisnis the actual key art since it breaks format, but it seems to be a Human female hanging out with Driz'zt
• Diviner, Tiefling female
• Evoker, Elf male
• Illusionist, Gnome female

And a bunch of fun Spell art, with some familiar faces (Melf, Bigby, Tasha, etc.)

 

[Parmandur]

"Wizards were fine. We made a few nip tucks and that's it "

You can order the PHB on D&D Beyond...

Let's be real, the new art and Spells are a bigger draw than any Class tuning.

 

[Remathilis]

Not sure why they axed necromancer in 5.5. Saving it for the paid DLC?

Could you have phased that with any more prejudice?

Every class got four subs. For most, that was a higher amount. For wizard and cleric, it's a haircut. They picked the most played subs first.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Wrong game.

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.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Not going to lie, the new illusionist is making me feel like you could get up to some real Looney Toons shenanigans...

Create the illusion of a door in a wall.
Walk through the door and close it behind you.
Pursuers try to burst through the door and slam face first into the wall instead.

Couldn't you do that before?

 

[GarrettKP]

Alright, the important part, the art:

• Main Wizard, Aasamir female
• Abjurer, not clear if thisnis the actual key art since it breaks format, but it seems to be a Human female hanging out with Driz'zt
• Diviner, Tiefling male
• Evoker, Elf male
• Illusionist, Gnome female

View attachment 369569View attachment 369570View attachment 369571View attachment 369572

And a bunch of fun Spell art, with some familiar faces (Melf, Bigby, Tasha, etc.)

View attachment 369573View attachment 369574View attachment 369575View attachment 369576View attachment 369577View attachment 369578View attachment 369579View attachment 369580View attachment 369581View attachment 369582View attachment 369583

Go read the Beyond Wizard article. The Abjurer is in there for some reason. A dwarf man with an eyepatch.

Also pretty sure the Tiefling Diviner is a woman.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

Alright, the important part, the art:

• Main Wizard, Aasamir female
• Abjurer, not clear if thisnis the actual key art since it breaks format, but it seems to be a Human female hanging out with Driz'zt
• Diviner, Tiefling male

Looks more like a Tiefling female to me, even though they've canonically said back in 2e that Tieflings are more commonly intersex or non-binary (depending on ones interpretation) than other species.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Could you have phased that with any more prejudice?

Every class got four subs. For most, that was a higher amount. For wizard and cleric, it's a haircut. They picked the most played subs first.

Wizards and clerics have more built-in variety expected by the players of those classes. They're simply not equal in that regard.

 

[Kurotowa]

Interesting to see the split between GOO Warlock and Illusionist Wizard.

GOO Warlock gets to omit V and S components, Illusionist only V components and needs to work around disguising the S gesture. Illusionist gets access to all the powerful high level illusion spells, GOO can take invocations for at-will Silent Image and Disguise Self so they can be used casually and repeatedly. Illusionist really doubles down on illusions, culminating in Illusory Reality at 14th level, while GOO branches out into telepathy and enchantment spells to compliment their illusions.

After UA7 I was wondering if GOO Warlock wasn't the better at illusions than the Illusionist. With these changes, it's clear they've both got their strong points but go in different directions with it.

 

[tetrasodium]

Already on subclasses. Yep, this one's going to be short, unless they start really going in depth on spell changes.

son't want to spoil the surprise they didn't