D&D (2024) New One D&D Playtest Shows Us The New Druid & Paladin

WotC has released the fourth One D&D playtest document. This 29-page PDF includes the druid and the paladin with Circle of the Moon and Oath of Devotion subclasses.

Druid. The Druid class and Circle of the Moon subclass are ready for playtesting here.

Paladin. The Paladin class and Oath of Devotion subclass are ready for playtesting here.

Feats. Several revised feats appear here for your feedback, with more revised feats coming in future articles.

Spells. More spells are ready for playtesting, with a focus on smite spells, Find Familiar, and Find Steed.

Rules Glossary. The rules glossary has been updated again and supersedes the glossary in previous Unearthed Arcana articles. In this document, any underlined term in the body text appears in that glossary, which defines game terms that have been clarified or redefined for this playtest or that don’t appear in the 2014 Player’s Handbook.

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[Yaarel]

The Druid loses Planeshift spell?

Maybe the Planeshift spell can split into two separate spells.

For Primal Druid, shift Fey, Ethereal, and Elemental.

For Divine Cleric, shift Shadow and Astral (including Celestial and Fiend).

 

[Yaarel]

Because most of the core isn't changing, so it's only a .5. It's certainly not going to be fully compatible with all of those changes, though, despite what a lot of people are claiming.

Kyle Brink compares 2014 to 2024 with 3.0 to 3.5.

That seems fair. He knows what the design goals are. It is an informed comparison.

 

[Hussar]

Do players actually use the Planeshift spell? I've never seen it cast by a player in all the years I've played D&D.

But, going back to the druid for a second. I think that the issue here, to some degree is that a number of people who choose to play a druid do so because of the complexity. I know that appealed to me. The complexity of the class is the draw - for me at least. With that complexity comes a very high degree of versatility, which, again, appeals to some players.

The problem is, there just isn't enough of us to really justify a "complicated class". Players, IMO, aren't interested in doing homework, by and large. And, let's be honest, a druid can get REALLY complicated, REALLY fast. Combine summoning with shapeshifting, and possibly an animal companion or two, and now your game comes to a grinding halt every time the druid's player's turn comes up. Constantly having to recalculate stats - tracking two pools of HP quite often, never minding tracking those 8 wolves you just summoned which the Artificer just boosted with temporary HP, and so on and so forth.

I really don't blame anyone for shying away from Druids simply because it can get to be a massive PITA at the table unless the druid player is 100% on the ball all the time. Which, sure, if the druid player is, then great. But, many players aren't.

At the end of the day, a druid is possibly the most (or at least in the top 3) complicated class in the game. Which means if we're going to reduce complexity to make the class more appealing to players and tables, it's going to lose a lot of versatility. It's like the old engineering saw where you can have it good, fast or cheap, pick two. You cannot have highly versatile full casters that play fast. It's just not possible.

 

[Yaarel]

I feel the "secret Druid language" should be to commune with an element: Air, Earth, Fire, Water, or Plant or Beast.

In other words, speak Auron, etcetera or "with animals", telepathically.

Everyone one who speaks any elemental language does so telepathically, but both speakers must share the specific elemental language to initiate a telepathic conversation.

 

[Yaarel]

I'm thinking of including a list of features to add to the animals, like Spider has a poisonous bite and can climb walls, wolf has a trip attack, bear might do a bear hug for more damage if both attacks at level 5+ hit, etc.

Can these extra options be done as cantrips that additionally work while Wildshaping?

It seems thematic to have animalisic powers while in Humanoid form that relate to the Beast form.

 

[cbwjm]

Can these extra options be done as cantrips that additionally work while Wildshaping?

It seems thematic to have animalisic powers while in Humanoid form that relate to the Beast form.

I wouldn't want a druid player to have to take cantrips to get the animal form they want, I think it should be something tied to wildshape.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

My thoughts:

• Happy metal armour restriction has gone.
• Not a fan of the new wildshape. Especially combined with the fact that they're doubling down on wildshape being the main core feature of druid. What if I want to play a nature themed caster not based on turning into animals?
• New divine smite and smite spells are awesome. Really happy with those.
• I'm making jealous swordmage noises towards paladin getting all this spellstrike type stuff.
• I understand why the paladin subclass capstone has gone, but it's sad to see it go.

Channel Nature is the core feature, not Wild Shape, which is just one possible use for it, there are others.

My question is will multiclass druids and either Paladins or Clerics have single poolof uses for channel divinity and channel nature?

 

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

Channel Nature is the core feature, not Wild Shape, which is just one possible use for it, there are others.

Something like 1/3 of all the druid's class features relate to wildshape, That's about as core as it gets.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

I love the faithful steed feature, it's my favourite thing they did for Paladin's, but I'd add "when you cast find steed, treat the spell slot level as double for the purposes of it's stat block" so a Paladin's steed is not weaker then a clerics and I encourage everyone to do like wise in the feed back.

 

[shadowoflameth]

This is the Way.

Agree. In this play test, you can be a wolf, you can even be a wolf that looks like a gorilla as flavor, fine, but you can’t knock the target prone like a wolf without using your bonus action. I recommend that

1. If the Temporary Hit Points are broken, then say, 5thp for a medium beast, 10 for a large, 15 for huge and 20 for gargantuan.

2. If knowing any beast is too much, say you start knowing 1 beast form per point of Wisdom bonus, and that you can learn others as you see them or level in Druid. allow swimming forms at a later level, and flying form after that. Let the form have its own actions including special attacks and abilities except it gets your wisdom bonus to x,y, and z.

3. There is no good reason to give Elemental Wild Shape only to the Circle of the Moon. Make Wild shape a bonus action for all druids. In this play test, I have to think to come up with reasons for the Druid to Wild Shape at all at any level.

If swimming is unavailable ‘til 7th and flying until 10th, being tiny does not need to be restricted to 11th. At 1st level, the druid can potentially have a familiar, and by 7th level the Druid can use Polymorph to take other forms anyway (Including tiny and flying forms). Other full caster classes can use the Fly spell by 5th. It is not unbalanced in any manner. Perhaps make feats that allow Elemental Wild Shape, Tiny Wild Shape, or other creature types.