D&D (2024) Developer Video on Druid/Paladin/Expert Feedback

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WotC has posted a video discussing initial feedback on the One D&D Druid/Paladin playtest, along with survey results from the Expert playtest. Some highlights for discussion:

Druid: The developers recognize that the template version of wild shape is contentious. If they retain this approach, they would plan to add flexibility to those templates. If they revert to monster stat blocks, they might allow Druids to choose a limited number of options, with a default selection provided.

Paladin: The new version of smite is still intended to work with critical hits. If ranged smite persists, its damage may be adjusted through the internal balance/playtesting process.

Ranger: The updated Ranger scored very well in the playtest. Some players did miss the choice of options in the Hunter subclass.

Bard: All of the Lore Bard's features scored welll, but the overall subclass rating was mediocre. They attribute this to the loss of Additional Magical Secrets, which many saw as the key attraction of this subclass.

Rogue: The change to limit sneak attack to the Rogue's own turn scored poorly. The developers generally like moving actions to a player's own turn to keep the game moving quickly, but in this case, the change doesn't seem to be worth the loss of tactical flexibility.

Feats: With the exception of epic boons, all the feats in the Expert packet scored well. The developers are still loking at written feedback for fine tuning.

Conspicuously not mentioned were the Arcane/Divine/Primal spell lists, which were the focus of a lot of discussion during the Bard playtest.

 

[Bolares]

Controversially, as this perception has been baked into the community for years, I actually hard disagree it actually does skip or trivialize travel and exploration segments.

My post is not based in community perception but in my personal experience DMing for rangers in exploration/hexcrawl based campaigns.
By raw: "Your group can’t become lost except by magical means."
There is nothing about re-rolling, you cannot become lost.

 

[Emberashh]

My post is not based in community perception but in my personal experience DMing for rangers in exploration/hexcrawl based campaigns.

Then I question why you skipped mechanics for no reason.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I don't like the template version unless you have tweaks - but a select list also works for me.

One thing I have done that this would bring back is dinosaurs-as-treasure for druids.

Both solutions would solve my biggest kvetch, so I'd be cool with either. I suspect feedback will lead towards the set list.

As a DM I have to tell players "no, your character hasn't seen a dinosaur before" so many times.

Honestly, I'd be fine with open-ended wildshape choices provided they amended the line "magically assume the shape of a beast that you have seen before" with "in the course of gameplay." That way would make it so much more clear-cut, so I don't have to debate whether a gnome from Shadowdale has ever seen an octopus before they started adventuring.

Potentially problematic depending on setting, though.

Potentially, but in the case of Dark Sun (the most salient setting example I can think of at the moment), there'd already have to be so many other tweaks to the core assumptions that one more wouldn't be a big deal.

 

[Bolares]

To me that's the same as telling the fighter "you cannot miss an attack"

 

[Bolares]

Then I question why you skipped mechanics for no reason.

I accidently hit reply. And come on, I've treated you with respect, even if I disagree with you at some point, no need for this tone...

 

[Minigiant]

And when you are in the terrain, exploration is an auto-win in a lot of situations.

The easiest solutions were to give a small bonus in all terrains and a bigger bonus in your favored ones. OR all the ranger to collect or retrain terrain bonuses. And make said bonuses bonuses and not autowin.

TCOE and ODND took the IMHO lazy route.

 

[Bolares]

The easiest solutions were to give a small bonus in all terrains and a bigger bonus in your favored ones. OR all the ranger to collect or retrain terrain bonuses. And make said bonuses bonuses and not autowin.

TCOE and ODND took the IMHO lazy route.

In my ToA campaign I gave the ranger expertise on relevant skills when on his terrain. So he was still very capable, but not an auto win

 

[Emberashh]

By raw: "Your group can’t become lost except by magical means."
There is nothing about re-rolling, you cannot become lost.

You need to look at the Getting Lost mechanics and what "Lost" actually means.

Getting Lost represents a 1d6 hour penalty before you can reattempt the navigation check. Not getting lost means you skip the time penalty, and redo the check.

Also has to be said too that its still possible to get lost by magical means. If you're still having the party travel through mundane forests, even without a Ranger, in later tiers of play you're not really embracing the sort of escalating stakes the game expects.

You should be trekking through the Torture Forests on the Island of Pain across the Ocean of Doom, not through the same quaint forest filled with boars that was may be a challenge in the first session.

I accidently hit reply. And come on, I've treated you with respect, even if I disagree with you at some point, no need for this tone...

The question remains, however. Especially when you're saying you're trying to run a hex crawl; why bother goinf through that prep if you're just going to skip it?

 

[Kobold Avenger]

Their rationale behind Tiny size being high level is generally not what I'd use Tiny size for as a Druid. I think if they want to unlock a size for combat, it should be Huge Size. It goes back to how I think the wildshape forms should be purpose based, and not environment based. A scout form should be the thing, they revert to Humanoid form if they take any sort of damage or lose a saving throw.

I don't think any of the concerns about Bards and uses of Bardic Inspiration were mentioned in that video, because that and the "use half of the Arcane spell list" were my main things against that version of the Bard.

I really like Paladins being able to smite with a ranged attack. Why not have some Paladin armed with a pistol and a rapier, be able to smite with the pistol before using the rapier with the next attack roll.

 

[lkj]

Yeah, that was bewildering, to say the least. People used tiny shapes for scouting, and that's it.

As noted above, that was the problem. Given the other changes, the new rules would create an absurd use case where you basically have the rabbit from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. They didn't want that. But I agree that they need to just add a change that makes the tiny form less robust and makes it a scouting option (thereby allowing it at a low level). And it sounds like that's what they'll probably do, based on the video (unless they go back to a curated MM list, in which case the problem goes away-- as Crawford noted)

Though, honestly, I would have enjoyed the murder bunny for at least a few sessions.

AD