D&D (2024) New Unearthed Arcana Playtest Includes Barbarian, Druid, and Monk

The latest Unearthed Arcana playtest packet is now live with new barbarian, druid, and monk versions, as well as new spells and weapons, and a revised Ability Score Improvement feat.

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WHATS INSIDE

Here are the new and revised elements in this article:

Classes. Three classes are here: Barbarian, Druid, and Monk. Each one includes one subclass: Path of the World Tree (Barbarian), Circle of the Moon (Druid), and Warrior of the Hand (Monk).

Spells. New and revised spells are included.

The following sections were introduced in a previous article and are provided here for reference:

Weapons. Weapon revisions are included.

Feats. This includes a revised version of Ability Score Improvement.

Rules Glossary. The rules glossary includes the few rules that have revised definitions in the playtest. In this document, any underlined term in the body text appears in the glossary.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

no matter how you want to spin it, a longer bow with longer draw length can store more energy than a shorter bow. If materials is the same, OFC.

I am not talking about the material. I am saying that 130 to 160 lbs recurved bows existed. That were shorter than a longbow. Short enough to be used from horseback. The D&D distinction of shortbow, longbow division is misleading. There is no reason one could not have 1d8 recurved "shortbows" and 1d6 longbows, since sub 100lbs longbows existed for hunting and the like.

 

[Stalker0]

Are people going to start giving female characters a physical penalty to strength as well?

At the end of the day, its a fantasy game made of broad archetypes. If the game wants to allow more archetypes by reducing the pigeonholing I think that's a win. And the problem with a lot of the rationalizations I see here is that they use the real world....which dnd is not.

First lets start with races. The sheer fact that a halfling is a different race than a human throws all of your conventions out the window. Halflings aren't just "short humans", they are a completely different species. Their rules for strength and agility don't (and shouldn't) have to match human experiences. And that's even before we throw in magic into the equation....in a world of magic, its highly likely that various races have a little bit of magical juice within them. So if a halfling is stronger than "physics" would allow.....well that person just has a little more juice in their bones.

 

[Mirrorrorrim]

Are people going to start giving female characters a physical penalty to strength as well?

At the end of the day, its a fantasy game made of broad archetypes. If the game wants to allow more archetypes by reducing the pigeonholing I think that's a win. And the problem with a lot of the rationalizations I see here is that they use the real world....which dnd is not.

First lets start with races. The sheer fact that a halfling is a different race than a human throws all of your conventions out the window. Halflings aren't just "short humans", they are a completely different species. Their rules for strength and agility don't (and shouldn't) have to match human experiences. And that's even before we throw in magic into the equation....in a world of magic, its highly likely that various races have a little bit of magical juice within them. So if a halfling is stronger than "physics" would allow.....well that person just has a little more juice in their bones.

Agreed. Diversity of options and weapon preferences is more important than imposing limits that make certain species just plain worse.

BG3 allows Small characters to use longbows and greatswords. The game is not broken. If this breaks a person's verisimilitude in D&D, I'm sorry that is the line in the sand for them. Because Ability check DCs assume any person can climb 15' of rope (that isn't true in the real world either). Not to mention mystical and magical things exist in the game too. Just let people enjoy their fantasies. If others enjoying their fantasies hurt the naysayer's enjoyment of fantasies, is that naysayer really down for a group shared storytelling experience, or are they a "nuh-uh, do it my way" player?

 

[Horwath]

I am not talking about the material. I am saying that 130 to 160 lbs recurved bows existed. That were shorter than a longbow. Short enough to be used from horseback. The D&D distinction of shortbow, longbow division is misleading. There is no reason one could not have 1d8 recurved "shortbows" and 1d6 longbows, since sub 100lbs longbows existed for hunting and the like.

3.0/3.5e did it very good with mighty bows.
you had d6+whatever STR rating and d8+whatever STR rating, d8 not usable by small races.

 

[Parmandur]

yes, I can see how a 3ft nothing halfling shoots a 6 and a half foot longbow... not a snowballs chance in hell...

Restrictions like that just aren't how D&D works anymore.

 

[Stalker0]

Restrictions like that just aren't how D&D works anymore.

considering the stupidly insane distances in dnd that you can hit moving, armored targets with a bow and do lethal damage....dnd has never worked that way

 

[Parmandur]

considering the stupidly insane distances in dnd that you can hit moving, armored targets with a bow and do lethal damage....dnd has never worked that way

Exactly, it's not a realistic simulation system.

 

[fluffybunbunkittens]

yes, I can see how a 3ft nothing halfling shoots a 6 and a half foot longbow... not a snowballs chance in hell...

To be fair, no regular adventurer situation supports someone lugging around a bow their own height, let alone also being able to take snap shots while sliding under tables.

 

[Yaarel]

To be fair, no regular adventurer situation supports someone lugging around a bow their own height, let alone also being able to take snap shots while sliding under tables.

Thats kinda what a "longbow" is. It is huge.

 

[Yaarel]

Possibly in principle, a Halfling or other Small character can wield a longbow. But it would need to be specially made with certain Japanese techniques in mind for the yumi great bow. The grip of this bow is far down, with the bulk of the bow held up high into the air, and the rest of the bow reshaped to accommodate the different locations of tension.

It is a question if the Small arms are long enough to draw the great bow fully, but I guess it possible.