D&D (2024) First playtest thread! One D&D Character Origins.

[Weiley31]

It is totally weird that Powerful Build and Elven Trance is pretty much the same. Like Brave is updated and the Dwarves with Poison are. So, I don't get it.

 

[Aldarc]

Unless the game makes poison damage useful, the Abyssal Tiefling will be pretty bottom of the barrel.

 

[billd91]

I really, really don't like the stat bonuses being tied to backgrounds. This is, in my opinion, a serious mistake.

There was this ... discomfort, this tension, with stat bonuses and class. If you played a "dex class" but your race was dwarf, you were at a bit of a disadvantage for example, because you didn't get to boost your main stat.

Shifting the stat bonuses to the background just re-creates the same problem in another place. I want to play a cleric, but I didn't grow in a temple, I was a criminal before my PC "found god"? well, that's a wisdom bonus I'm not getting.

so instead of race choice being somewhat constrained, now backgrounds are. There was an opportunity to fix this problem, and instead WotC just moved it around.

I'm OK with this shift because of a few things:
1) the tension between racial stat bonus and class was never a "problem", it was just a desire for people to have all the best bonuses for their class regardless plus the racial features they wanted without any consideration for making trade-offs between class and racial archetype. Tensions like that aren't a bad thing.
2) Putting them with background gives you a reason to put together a rationale why you'd develop the attributes that would most advantage you in your latter decision to become a member of a class as you customize the background. In the case of a boost to wisdom, surely there are some types of criminals that would benefit or even specialize in being perceptive, noticing threatening situations, and being able to assess people - perhaps as security for some more important criminal gang, or as a lookout, or someone who ferrets out the unaffiliated con artists working in the gang's territory. That might even be worth swapping the stealth skill for insight. In any event, it should be pushing you to think of how it all works together rather than picking your best bennies a la carte.

 

[Weiley31]

I missed that in my read through... that's true. Another new ability that isn't represented (like dragon born replaceing attack with BW)

Oh yeah your right: No Fizban Breath Weapon update too.

Goodness, 2024's gonna look a bit weird if these aren't in by default.

 

[overgeeked]

Are backgrounds really more significant considering its a wild west and everyone can make up anything? Whats the significance of being a noble when at best it gives you a small boost to diplomacy or something.
Compare that to RPGs like Warhammer where being a nobles is a huge deal.

I'd prefer some middle ground. The current version of the noble, with their automatic peasant mind control is rather silly.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

There's a good chance they may bring in some of the rules from Xanthar's regarding toolkits and crafting, though.

They already have. Advantage if both skill and tool apply.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

The Trance that let Astral Elves swap things was suggested as something unique to them.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

Unless the game makes poison damage useful, the Abyssal Tiefling will be pretty bottom of the barrel.

Lots of creatures deal poison damage.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

The Trance that let Astral Elves swap things was suggested as something unique to them.

yeah but then the shadar kia and gith got it too

 

[Havrik Stoneskimmer]

Is it a bit weird that backgrounds no longer give any kind of roleplaying benefit? Like how criminals had an NPC contact in the criminal underworld, or how sailors can secure free passage on a ship. Maybe these are just abridged versions of the backgrounds and don't include that sort of thing? Or maybe they are moving away from that sort of thing since it can just be roleplayed as needed as things that naturally lead from the characters' background.

The Spelljammer set includes the Wildspacer background, which as a feature allows you to ignore the usual disadvantage on melee weapon attacks in zero gravity. I don't see anything like that here.