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.

 

[Amrûnril]

Counterspell as in PT7.

This is disappointing to me. I much prefer the flavor that counterspell disrupts the spell itself (based on spell levels and arcana), with disrupting the caster (based on constitution saves) being the province of martial abilities.

I recognize that the 2014 version was probably overpowered, but the dynamics it created around spell level choice seem a lot more interesting and strategic than making every counterspell come down to a constitution roll. My preferred adjustment would be to make success automatic only if counterspell is cast at a higher level than the spell being countered, rather than the 2014 rule of higher or equal.

 

[Undrave]

That's a pretty good name for a bandit group.

Hmm... if you got 108 guys maybe Water Margin - Wikipedia

Evoker = blast mage. It's not a meaningful word because evoking has too wide an array of meaning but the concept is 100% clear. Sorcerers are better at it but why should they have all the fun?

Abjure is a "near occult" word meaning to reject or cast out. It's something that people could have run into in religious or occult contexts, or fiction (both fantasy and urban fantasy) to mean similar things. And it goes with a decently strong concept and one that you'd expect to find adventuring.

Compare with "conjurer". That's rabbit-out-of-hat stuff. Or transmuter (alchemist?).

When I say "it doesn't mean anything" I mean in terms of bringing a certain image to someone who's not familiar with the particularities of D&D. You tell someone who's only a little familiar with fantasy that they can choose between playing an Illusionist or an Abjurer, they've probably got a way better idea of what an Illusionist does. Evoker and Abjurer are just not very... evocative names. They don't conjure any specific image or sound particularly mysterous like a 'Way of Shadow Monk' or an 'Horizon Walker'.

 

[Neonchameleon]

Hmm... if you got 108 guys maybe Water Margin - Wikipedia


When I say "it doesn't mean anything" I mean in terms of bringing a certain image to someone who's not familiar with the particularities of D&D. You tell someone who's only a little familiar with fantasy that they can choose between playing an Illusionist or an Abjurer, they've probably got a way better idea of what an Illusionist does. Evoker and Abjurer are just not very... evocative names. They don't conjure any specific image or sound particularly mysterous like a 'Way of Shadow Monk' or an 'Horizon Walker'.

Again I disagree about Abjurers. The word itself brings up exorcists to me (with the rite actually using adjure but not abjure).

But again the worst this way are the ones where the image is wrong; stage conjurers, magic item enchanters, and alchemist transmuters.

 

[Remathilis]

That's a pretty good name for a bandit group.

Or a folk band

 

[Yaarel]

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

I love it.

These illusory "conjurations" are the 5e version of old school "shadow magic". 4e remixed the old school Shadow Plane to form Feywild and Shadowfell.

So Fey magic being a form of Illusion makes sense.

Meanwhile, these are something like an illusion being reinforced by a physical force.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Compare with "conjurer". That's rabbit-out-of-hat stuff. Or transmuter (alchemist?).

Conjurer should be "summoner." In previous editions, the spell school was "conjuration/summoning," and "summoner" is an evocative name (with lots of spell support and more on the way).

(And yes, summoners should get angry at being called a "mere conjurer," Gandalf-style. And then sic a demon on whoever dared do so.)

Since the artificer isn't going anywhere, leaning into a spellcaster that changes their shape and the shape of others (which isn't a big thing with druids) is the way to go with the transmuter although, yeah, it could probably use a better name.

 

[UVAtom]

Making the subclasses based strictly on the spell school is still a boring idea and I wish they had moved away from this.

Pathfinder moved away from spell schools in the remaster and I wished they hadn’t. I feel like the new schools are a strict downgrade, with the exception of battle wizardry, which is just evocation reskinned.

 

[Undrave]

Pathfinder moved away from spell schools in the remaster and I wished they hadn’t. I feel like the new schools are a strict downgrade, with the exception of battle wizardry, which is just evocation reskinned.

The school can still be there, but they don't need to be the sole basis for the Wizard subclass.

 

[Undrave]

Conjurer should be "summoner." In previous editions, the spell school was "conjuration/summoning," and "summoner" is an evocative name (with lots of spell support and more on the way).

You get it!

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

The school can still be there, but they don't need to be the sole basis for the Wizard subclass.

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.