D&D 5E New Errata Released For D&D PHB, OotA, Xanathar, and ToF

WOtC has published an updated Sage Advice compendium with updated errata for the D&D Player's Handbook, Out of the Abyss, and for Xanathar's Guide and Tome of Foes.

https://media.wizards.com/2020/dnd/downloads/PH-Errata.pdf PHB

https://media.wizards.com/2020/dnd/downloads/OotA-Errata.pdf OOtA

https://media.wizards.com/2020/dnd/downloads/XGtE-Errata.pdf Xanathar

https://media.wizards.com/2020/dnd/downloads/MTF-Errata.pdf ToF

 

[ccs]

Speaking as a DM whose players have exploited the heck out of Healing Spirits for ages (following every tough fight with a "conga line" through the spirit), I'm pretty happy about this change!

You're the DM. You're players only exploited what YOU allowed.

 

[Flamestrike]

Prayer of Healing heals for 2d8+mod on up to six characters

Prayer of healing - casting time 10 minutes.
Healing Spirit - casting time 1 bonus action.

See the other big difference?

 

[Azzy]

The monster statblock.

They are horribly underpowered compared to the other eladrin. They have only a 10 Dex, giving the elf/fey race a +0 to their attacks. They have only a 13 Cha which is weird for Fey (all the other eladrin have an 18) and all of their damage from their attacks does not include a damage rider, which every other Eladrin has (1d8 for the Spring who are casters focusing on enchantment, 4d8 for the healing based Autumn, and 1d8 fire for Summer)

It is just really really jarring. Threw us for a complete loop when the DM gave us an Eladrin Squad to help us fight some invading devils and realized that the Winter were so weak. (Yes, they have Cone of Cold, that does not excuse the rest of this)

Can you email wotc or tweet to Jeremy Crawford about this?

 

[Mistwell]

I thought the original version of the spell was a joke, and not in a good way.

Fair enough but the fix isn't a good fix and more importantly the means of enacting this fix was terrible. The promised they wouldn't do this 4e-style "using errata to balance the game" stuff.

They could have said the intent had always been for the spell to only impact a PC one time per casting, or something like that. But limiting it to caster mod is a pretty blatant "this wasn't the intent we're just nerfing this after telling everyone it was fine for years."

 

[kenmarable]

Am hoping that the Out of the Abyss errata means we are finally going to get a Roll20 version of that very good module.

But I know I'm clutching at straws.

I should be finishing up a 2.5 year Out of the Abyss campaign on Roll20 sometime this summer, so, knowing how things go, they should release it just after that.

 

[Chaosmancer]

The monster statblock.

They are horribly underpowered compared to the other eladrin. They have only a 10 Dex, giving the elf/fey race a +0 to their attacks. They have only a 13 Cha which is weird for Fey (all the other eladrin have an 18) and all of their damage from their attacks does not include a damage rider, which every other Eladrin has (1d8 for the Spring who are casters focusing on enchantment, 4d8 for the healing based Autumn, and 1d8 fire for Summer)

It is just really really jarring. Threw us for a complete loop when the DM gave us an Eladrin Squad to help us fight some invading devils and realized that the Winter were so weak. (Yes, they have Cone of Cold, that does not excuse the rest of this)

Can you email wotc or tweet to Jeremy Crawford about this?

I guess I could, don't do twitter and I just figured since no one else ever seemed to comment on it that everyone else was fine with it. Never thought about emailing the company about it. Do they have an email account for things like this?

 

[LordEntrails]

I understand the importance of RAW and what WotC does. But I think some of you are just way to emotionally attached to it. It's just not that important. These are just rules for a game, and the first rule has always been, 'change the rules to fit your table'.

 

[Blue]

Wait we're doing 4E-style buffs/nerfs in 5E now? I thought they said they'd only be clarifying misunderstandings in 5E. How long has this been going on for? Did I just miss it earlier - I admit given them saying they weren't doing 4E-style errata, I was paying like zero attention to them. I mean that's a gigantic nerf for Healing Spirit right there, and undeniably 4E-style, because it wasn't just missing text, or a "misunderstanding".

As others mentioned, this particular one was matching text and table - one had d6s and one had d8s.

But we did a 4e style "new subsection" errata back in 2018. They added to the DMG a new section that "any effects with the same name do not stack", expanding on the PHB's already existing section that spells of the same name do not stack.

 

[Shiroiken]

Wait we're doing 4E-style buffs/nerfs in 5E now? I thought they said they'd only be clarifying misunderstandings in 5E. How long has this been going on for? Did I just miss it earlier - I admit given them sayng they weren't doing 4E-style errata, I was paying like zero attention to them. I mean that's a gigantic nerf for Healing Spirit right there, and undeniably 4E-style, because it wasn't just missing text, or a "misunderstanding".

Only for this one spell, because it was nearly universally agreed that it was OP. The designer intent was for in combat use, but it was ridiculously better outside of combat. IIRC, Jeremy Crawford suggested this change as a house rule on Twitter only weeks after XGtE came out, due to the number of people seeing the abuse.

As for the actual nerf, I'm not a fan. It's now still useful in combat, but the total amount of healing as a 2nd level spell is kinda meh unless your spellcasting ability is 18-20 (uncommon at low levels unless dice rolls are lucky). When upcast it gets better, but then starts to fall off at about a 5th-6th level slot. While I feel the nerf was necessary, I feel it went too much the other direction, making it sub-par until higher level characters use it.

 

[pukunui]

PHB errata fixed several feats but most notably:
Sentinel can not be used at reach
Polearm master can be used with spears
I think most GMs were doing these anyway but its nice to have it in writing.

That's old errata. The only new stuff is the very minor clarifications for the arcane trickster and the clarification that the heavy weapon property applies to Tiny creatures as well as Small ones.

Also, they forgot to label the new Out of the Abyss errata with the "[NEW]" tag. I've just compared the new one and the old and the new stuff is the Duergar Soulblade change and the Orcus lair action change.

I just don't get WHY they waited this long to do an errata.

My guess is that it just wasn't a priority, but now that they're all in lockdown and working from home, they've suddenly got time to deal with minor things like errata fixes.