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.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

I wish we all could be as ambitious DMs as you.

Meanwhile, my advice stands given how most DMs can't be arsed to meet your envious standards.

Actually, I am not very ambitious. I wish, I were. I never think about that beforehand... My players ask and most of the time I just say yes. Or the adventure I play describes the scene.

 

[Maxperson]

"Bonuses mean less than in 3E" is an assertion that can be both true and false.

Yes, in 3E you lived or died with your bonuses. You simply had to have them; the game math assumed you had them = you died without them.

I think you need to re-read what I said. I said bonuses in 5e were LESS important than in 3e.

In 3e bonuses were extremely important since they were baked into the math as PCs advanced.

But that is something differet than saying "a bonus of [enter +1 or +3 or +5] doesn't matter" which your wording does not make sure to avoid the implication of (to put it VERY generously), hence this reply.

In 5e it doesn't. The difference between +2 and +4 is 2 extra hits every 20 swings. Most combats are like 3-4 rounds, which means that until 5th level that's 2 extra hits every 5-6 combats on average, and with the random d20 rolls there's no way you can notice when those extra hits happen. Once you get that extra attack at level 5, it drops to 2 extra hits every 2-3 combats, which still isn't noticeable with random d20 rolls.

And a few points of extra damage a hit spread out over several bags of hit points, which is how 5e balances monsters, is also not going to have a noticeable effect on combat.

Yes, in any given fight a +3 might not matter much.
No, in the long run a +3 matters immensely, don't kid yourself otherwise.

Not really. Any given hit isn't doing much of anything with the extra damage. People come here and say that over 20 levels it's 4847 or whatever extra points of damage, but they don't get to save that up to actually kill something. It will coincidentally on a fairly rare basis, kill a monster, but the player is never going to know when that was.

 

[tetrasodium]

I completely agree. You're free to skin the movement however you like, as long as you don't expect a character to invest in both Strength and Dexterity to keep moving.

A Fighter and a Rogue can certainly be described as moving very differently, just as long as the game mechanics doesn't force either of them to excel at two stats just to be a hero.

As long as the game mechanics doesn't tell Geralt or Arya ACKCHYUALLY YOU CAN'T DO THAT just based on the character's choice of combat stat we are in full agreement.

Why do you seem to be talking about tumble through/overrun occupied spaces? Those mechanics don't exist in 5e.

 

[CapnZapp]

Why do you seem to be talking about tumble through/overrun occupied spaces? Those mechanics don't exist in 5e.

Why do you seem like someone inventing areas of disagreement just to avoid having to agree with someone?

Just a thought.

 

[Pauln6]

Why do you seem to be talking about tumble through/overrun occupied spaces? Those mechanics don't exist in 5e.

They are options in the DMG but as they are options, none of the subclasses really do anything with them.

 

[CapnZapp]

I think you need to re-read what I said. I said bonuses in 5e were LESS important than in 3e.

In 3e bonuses were extremely important since they were baked into the math as PCs advanced.

In 5e it doesn't. The difference between +2 and +4 is 2 extra hits every 20 swings. Most combats are like 3-4 rounds, which means that until 5th level that's 2 extra hits every 5-6 combats on average, and with the random d20 rolls there's no way you can notice when those extra hits happen. Once you get that extra attack at level 5, it drops to 2 extra hits every 2-3 combats, which still isn't noticeable with random d20 rolls.

And a few points of extra damage a hit spread out over several bags of hit points, which is how 5e balances monsters, is also not going to have a noticeable effect on combat.


Not really. Any given hit isn't doing much of anything with the extra damage. People come here and say that over 20 levels it's 4847 or whatever extra points of damage, but they don't get to save that up to actually kill something. It will coincidentally on a fairly rare basis, kill a monster, but the player is never going to know when that was.

Yeah, tell yourself numbers don't matter, that's the ticket.

I really don't know what to tell you. You reply to my posts saying the game is balanced on the "assumption" stats can vary between 3-18; now you're trying to convince me basically that numbers don't matter at all?

I guess I'll simply back away carefully.

 

[Maxperson]

Yeah, tell yourself numbers don't matter, that's the ticket.

They don't. At least not much in 5e. I've seen it in play and if you can't even tell that the extra hits are happening, it can't be that big of a deal.

I really don't know what to tell you. You reply to my posts saying the game is balanced on the "assumption" stats can vary between 3-18; now you're trying to convince me basically that numbers don't matter at all?

Initially I didn't respond to you at all. I responded to Mistwell and then you responded to me. 3-18 wasn't anywhere in my post or your response to me.

 

[tetrasodium]

They are options in the DMG but as they are options, none of the subclasses really do anything with them.

Thanks, found on dmg272. I imagine they went unremembered because with the ability for PCs to run laps around an opponent there is little incentive to risk such an option.

 

[Pauln6]

Thanks, found on dmg272. I imagine they went unremembered because with the ability for PCs to run laps around an opponent there is little incentive to risk such an option.

A bonus action knockdown isn't terrible if your opponent is weak.

 

[tetrasodium]

A bonus action knockdown isn't terrible if your opponent is weak.

Spoiler: eh? 5e dmg272 says this

OVERRUN
When a creature tries to move through a hostile
creature's space, the mover can try to force its way
through by overrunning the hostile creature. As an
action or a bonus action, the mover makes a Strength
(Athletics) check contested by the hostile creature's
Strength (Athletics) check. The creature attempting the
overrun has advantage on this check if it is larger than
the hostile creature, or disadvantage if it is smaller. If
the mover wins the contest, it can move through the
hostile creature's space once this turn.
SHOVE ASIDE
With this option, a creature uses the special shove
attack from the Player's Handbook to force a target
to the side, rather than away. The attacker has
disadvantage on its Strength (Athletics) check when it
does so. If that check is successful, the attacker moves
the target 5 feet to a different space within its reach.
TUMBLE
A creature can try to tumble through a hostile creature's
space, ducking and weaving past the opponent. As an
action or a bonus action, the tumbler makes a Dexterity
(Acrobatics) check contested by the hostile creature's
Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. If the tumbler wins the
contest, it can move through the hostile creature's space
once this turn.

I see nothing about knockdown or prone in those 5e dmg 272 entries. The 3.5 overrun rules did though, are you confusing the two or houseruling it across? I guess the 3.5 bullrush could prone the rusher if they failed badly enough but don't get the impression that you were talking about "weak" opponents failing those