D&D 5E (2014) New D&D Next Playtest package is up (19/9/2013) [merged threads]

[Weather Report]

That's neither proficiency nor does it apply to all Charisma checks.

So what is it?

 

[1of3]

A bonus to a certain type of Charisma check, commonly referred to as a skill.

 

[Mistwell]

We played with the new rules a bit last night.

Cleric gets FIVE spells at second level, two domain and three regular? Plus cantrips, including an attack cantrip? That's more spells than the mage. Am I reading that all right?

 

[Salamandyr]

Is it? I mean, apart from Dis/Ad it's the only rule that hasn't changed in any packet, beginning from the very first one. To me they appear very set about that..

It's been modified once, and actually a lot of racial abilities have carried over from packet to packet.

If it does make it to the final packet, I won't mind. Like I said, it's a little underpowered, but it's sexy, and it promotes general competence, which is important to me. So the fact that my human fighter won't be quite as good a fighter as the dwarf will be compensated because I'll be slightly more dashing and intelligent, if only in a marginal, largely nonmechanical sense.

What I really hope we don't wind up with is the early 4e paradigm, where you were largely "intended" to play a specific race with a specific class, and if you chose not to, you could do it, but you'd lose out on a lot of the bennies.

If someone doesn't care what race they play, I'd really rather they default to human.

 

[Weather Report]

As long as I can ignore it completely, that is the point,

 

[Campbell]

We played with the new rules a bit last night.

Cleric gets FIVE spells at second level, two domain and three regular? Plus cantrips, including an attack cantrip? That's more spells than the mage. Am I reading that all right?

From my reading you don't gain spell slots from your domain. Domain spells are always prepared, but use the normal slots.

 

[Weather Report]

A bonus to a certain type of Charisma check, commonly referred to as a skill.

And if you do not use those Skill thingies?

 

[Gundark]

Proficiencies I don't like as is. One, its odd that you add the bonus to everything except armor.

Because you would end up with a zero sum situation, the proficiencies with attacks would be cancelled by proficiency with armour

 

[DEFCON 1]

Minor issue I noticed, but definitely something that needs to be addressed:

Tool Proficiency granting the exact same bonus as a Skill Proficiency.

Specifically... I'm looking at the Disguise Kit. Several Backgrounds (like the Charlatan and Guild Thief) grant you proficiency in both Deception and the Disguise Kit. However... what does having a Disguise Kit get you? It allows you to add your proficiency bonus to your Charisma (Deception) check. Something you already get because you already have the Deception skill. If you have the Deception Skill... the Disguise Kit Tool is worthless. Basically those two Backgrounds are now one Tool short, because they are giving you proficiency in a Tool you don't need to use.

I can understand why you would want both the Disguise Kit Tool and the Deception Skill in the game... because certain Classes or Backgrounds might grant the Disguise Kit Tool without the Skill. Therefore allowing that person to gain the proficiency bonus to the specific check of rolling Charisma (Deception) when using a disguise and not on any other Charisma (Deception) check. But if you are granting a Class or Background the Charisma (Deception) Skill... there is absolutely no reason to also give them the Disguise Kit Tool, because it serves them no purpose. They need to replace that Tool with a different Tool or an additional language.

This exact phenomenon also applies to the Wanderer Background and his gaining both the Strength (Athletics) Skill and the Climber's Kit Tool. When you already have Athletics, the need for the Climber's Kit is made nil (because it grants proficiency in Strength (Athletics) checks to climb, which you already have with the Skill.)

 

[Jeff Carlsen]

No race has penalties.

I know. And I hate that.

What a waste of space, unless the chart/table is different.

It's not a waste of space if it serves a purpose. In this case, reducing the amount of page flipping a player needs to do in order to level a character. The cost, in this case, is adding a single column to a table that is already going to be the full width of a page regardless of content.