D&D 5E Player's Handbook Official Errata

There's a new printing of the 5E Player's Handbook a'coming. It "corrects some typos while clarifying a few rules." But for those of us who already have a 5E Player's Handbook, there's a one-page PDF of official errata now available. It contains 51 items, covering classes, equipment, feats, spells, and more.

Download it right here! The errata has already been incorporated into the free Basic Rules.

 

[the Jester]

Crawford has clarified that contagion effects work after three saves. Makes the spell relatively useless given most combats don't last three rounds or are over by that time. So no cool and effective disease delivery spell in 5E. Over-nerfed again by the designers.

It's not a combat spell. It's a plot spell. At least, IMHO.

And better in this form- which, as a plot spell, is pretty effective and powerful- than an overpowered stun-lock kill-legendary-creatures-while-they-can't-even-act monstrosity.

 

[Obryn]

...but again, it's not actually a change, since that is what it meant before; that's how I read, and how the devs consistently clarified it when asked. The only thing being fixed was making the actual rule already in place unambiguous. If people were doing that with Sorlocks, they were mistaken from the get-go.

Clearly their fault for not accurately divining the platonic ideals of those rules in the developers' minds.

Also, we have always been at war with Eastasia.

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

That's a ridiculous assertion.

If I understand the claim correctly, it's that "it is ridiculous for a wizard for scribe a cantrip scroll, since it's castable for free." I don't quite buy the argument prima facie (you could scribe e.g. Mending or Message scrolls to give to other people) but neither am I really persuaded yet that the economics of scribing cantrips make sense. It might be ridiculous to find a cantrip scroll.

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

It's not a combat spell. It's a plot spell. At least, IMHO.

You can use it tactically too--you just have to be willing to disengage from combat temporarily. E.g. wizard makes himself and druid invisible and the druid casts Pass Without Trace; they both sneak up on the waiting Balor; druid casts Contagion on the Balor and then the wizard immediately Dimension Doors them both 500 feet straight up out of the dungeon (Feather Fall to prevent damage).

 

[bganon]

You can use it tactically too--you just have to be willing to disengage from combat temporarily. E.g. wizard makes himself and druid invisible and the druid casts Pass Without Trace; they both sneak up on the waiting Balor; druid casts Contagion on the Balor and then the wizard immediately Dimension Doors them both 500 feet straight up out of the dungeon (Feather Fall to prevent damage).

Balors have truesight. And magic resistance, FWIW. And in the rare case that the Balor fails all three saves, Contagion still only lasts seven days. So now you have a firm time limit on finding your way back to a pissed-off Balor who's now going to be very actively preparing to end you. Sounds like a plot spell to me!

 

[Celtavian]

It's not a combat spell. It's a plot spell. At least, IMHO.

And better in this form- which, as a plot spell, is pretty effective and powerful- than an overpowered stun-lock kill-legendary-creatures-while-they-can't-even-act monstrosity.

We already had this discussion. It's not any more a plot spell than any spell used to effect the game world. Fireball is a plot spell by your definition because it resolves something in the adventure. There are only spells that are used for specific effects in the game world. Some that apply immediately like a combat spell, some that can be used over time. Contagion is now a spell with some narrow uses, some of them in immediate combat, some not.

 

[Celtavian]

You can use it tactically too--you just have to be willing to disengage from combat temporarily. E.g. wizard makes himself and druid invisible and the druid casts Pass Without Trace; they both sneak up on the waiting Balor; druid casts Contagion on the Balor and then the wizard immediately Dimension Doors them both 500 feet straight up out of the dungeon (Feather Fall to prevent damage).

What are the chances a Balor fails three Con saves?

I can see the spell being effective if cast on a low Con creature that can move around like a caster. Not everything has a great Con. I'm probably overestimating the nerf. Now it's a combat spell that must be more carefully targeted, where before it was a spell that locked up a win. Not as many creatures have huge saves any longer. I need to remember that. This is three saves total before missing three saves.

 

[Parmandur]

Clearly their fault for not accurately divining the platonic ideals of those rules in the developers' minds.

Also, we have always been at war with Eastasia.

Of course I am not implying any moral dimension to the misunderstanding of the rule; the error is factual, not ethical.

But the reality is, the rule works the same way with the errata as it did when the PHB was published. The wording has been refined, but the meaning remains as it was originally (and in play, for myself).

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

Balors have truesight. And magic resistance, FWIW. And in the rare case that the Balor fails all three saves, Contagion still only lasts seven days. So now you have a firm time limit on finding your way back to a... Balor who's now going to be very actively preparing to end you. Sounds like a plot spell to me!

True. Balors might be a bad example. It would work on Vampires though: their Con is only +4.

 

[Obryn]

Of course I am not implying any moral dimension to the misunderstanding of the rule; the error is factual, not ethical.

But the reality is, the rule works the same way with the errata as it did when the PHB was published. The wording has been refined, but the meaning remains as it was originally (and in play, for myself).

No, that's incorrect. A vague rule is not the same as, and doesn't operate the same as, a clearly worded and specific rule.

The designers have chosen one interpretation of the published vagueness. Whether or not this more closely matches the ideal rule that existed only in their minds is irrelevant. These represent changes to the (vague and/or poorly-written) published rules, which were until now the rules of the game.