D&D (2024) Jeremy Crawford Gives an Overview of the New Unearthed Arcana

The upcoming Unearthed Arcana playtest packet for One D&D gets a preview from WotC's Jeremy Crawford. This is apparently the largest of these playtest packets so far, and the biggest Unearthed Arcana they have ever done, at 50 pages long.

It contains 5 classes, new spells, new feats, a revised rules glossary, and the new weapon mastery system.

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[OldSchoolGamerGirl]

*i have played games where some character classes were totally useless in adventures. Sometimes even the wizards, because designers felt that spells are so powerful that spellcasters only have a low chance to actually cast them without killing themselves...

I said D&D is 2 games balanced, but RIfts is like 7, maybe 8. Deadlands/savage world can be VERY caster unfriendly.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

it almost feels like 2 balanced games...

like you take monk, fighter, barbarian, rogue (remove caster subclasses) and make the ranger and paladin the main casters MAYBE warlock or artificer you have some well balanced but not perfect classes.
If you take wizard, cleric, druid, bard, warlock, artificer with the paladin getting a slight boost and the ranger being given a bit of a boost you have okay balanced classes that more or less let you play the same...
the issue is when the default game is a fighter a rogue a cleric and a wizard you are playing at 2 different levels.

I see where you are coming from. But we had no issues with fighters playing with wizards and so on either. I guess at very high level the differencewill be noticible though. Until level 10: no problem.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

What games were these? Sounds interesting.

Arcane codex for example. Very caster unfriendly. You can easily burn out forever.

 

[James Gasik]

I agree with most points. I also see theoretical imbalance. But at the table, people are feeling that they are doing a lot to help the party. Even the ranger. Even the monk.
Even though wizards have more abilities to help the party it is sometimes a burden. They have to do do this, while fighters and rogues can play as they like.

I think the game is quite well tuned*. Perfectly playable. But still having some imbalances that are probably partially necessary in the D&D genre.


*i have played games where some character classes were totally useless in adventures. Sometimes even the wizards, because designers felt that spells are so powerful that spellcasters only have a low chance to actually cast them without killing themselves...

Oh you tried to play Mage as well?

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

it almost feels like 2 balanced games...

like you take monk, fighter, barbarian, rogue (remove caster subclasses) and make the ranger and paladin the main casters MAYBE warlock or artificer you have some well balanced but not perfect classes.
If you take wizard, cleric, druid, bard, warlock, artificer with the paladin getting a slight boost and the ranger being given a bit of a boost you have okay balanced classes that more or less let you play the same...
the issue is when the default game is a fighter a rogue a cleric and a wizard you are playing at 2 different levels.

I think we should go back to the old naming scheme, just more of it.

Fighting Dude.
Magic User.
God Squadder.
Skill Brah.
Pact Person.
Conaner.
Hippie.
Annoying Ethicist.
Aragorn Drizzt Hybrid.
Welcome to my Fist.
Magic User 2: Electric Boogaloo.
Tool Time.

Oh, and Target Practice.

 

[OldSchoolGamerGirl]

Oh you tried to play Mage as well?

old or new world of darkness?

 

[James Gasik]

old or new world of darkness?

Old, where you have phenomenal cosmic power IF you have the correct Spheres (and the levels of those Spheres) the Storyteller feels are necessary for your spell, then you have to decide if it's Vulgar or Coincidental, then you get to make a high difficulty roll with likely 3-4 dice (Arete and Spheres are very expensive and you actually need permission to gain Arete, as it comes after a personal moment of enlightenment) in a system where if you roll a 1 on a d10, it subtracts a success, and if you have no successes and roll a 1 you botch, which in this game causes you to accrue Paradox which has a good chance of making you explode, implode, get yanked into an Umbral realm, or just about anything else the Storyteller can imagine.

Oh and possibly getting the attention of other Wizards who want you dead, dead, dead, and don't have the same limitations to use their magic as you do, because they more or less control consensus reality.

Which means, at the end of the day, it ends up being a game about playing Wizards who don't Wizard.

(Disclaimer: this is based on my memory of attempting to play and run Mage, the exact mechanics vary from edition to edition and between my mind and reality. Several White Wolf games have this theme of "here, have cool supernatural powers...don't you dare think about using them". YMMV on how much fun this is.)

 

[Velderan]

Oh, and Target Practice.

I assume that one is bard?

 

[Marandahir]

I assume that one is bard?

Yes, but that name fails to recognise how Bards have gone from that role to being the DM-PC + Live Gamer's favourite class and thus gained significant power accordingly.

I don't want to go back to the 3e Bard days for sure. I love that the Bards can almost have it all now. But let's not pretend they're still target practice.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Yes, but that name fails to recognise how Bards have gone from that role to being the DM-PC + Live Gamer's favourite class and thus gained significant power accordingly.

I don't want to go back to the 3e Bard days for sure. I love that the Bards can almost have it all now. But let's not pretend they're still target practice.

Oh, I don't pretend. I actualize.

How many dead bards does it take to change a light bulb?

Spoiler

At least 58, because my basement is still dark.