D&D (2024) Next Playtest Packet

[Henadic Theologian]

It's mntioned the next playtest packet will be bigger. It sounds like Warrior classes will be next with all kinds of Weapon stuff, but because it's suggested various class groups I think that Experts will get an update based on feedback as well.

I could see new warrior feats as well.

No mention of new races, but hope springs eternally.

I doubt there will be many if any new spells in it. Maybe some new rules.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Jeremy came right out and said that they want to shift things like damage away from feats and into class core abilities, so I suspect we won't see a lot of feats that increase damage (like GWM, CE, SS, etc) and instead see more class abilities that do that.

 

[Charlaquin]

I got the impression the next packet was going to be the rest of the priest group, and then the warrior group. Maybe I misunderstood?

 

[tetrasodium]

I too got the impression that it would be the rest of the priest group (druid/Paladin)

 

[Ulorian - Agent of Chaos]

Jeremy came right out and said that they want to shift things like damage away from feats and into class core abilities, so I suspect we won't see a lot of feats that increase damage (like GWM, CE, SS, etc) and instead see more class abilities that do that.

I'd missed that. That's a fantastic idea... those type of feats are exactly why the term 'feat tax' exists.

 

[DEFCON 1]

Yeah, probably druids and paladins, along with perhaps some Expert class updates as well for those features that scored poorly and they want to present new/different options.

Wouldn't expect updates on weapons and armor... as Jeremy talked about a new system they were implementing to give more oomph for them, and that sounds like something that would appear with the Warrior packet.

Having heard that idea from him though... it made we wonder if perhaps they are pivoting away from the Battlemaster and it being the only real subclass to use the Combat Maneuvers system-- into moving Maneuvers (or maneuver-like features) into the weapons themselves so that anyone who uses weapons can now use those maneuvers? Lots of us have often wondered why over the last 10 years that rogues, paladins, barbarians and the like never got the chance to use maneuvers as they seemed like something they might want to-- Rogues being able to Feint, Barbarians able to Goad, etc. If they instead put these things into individual weapons or weapon groups, it would let everyone have the opportunity to have better Trips, Ripostes and so forth. Anyone can use an Unarmed Strike to knock someone prone... but someone armed with a polearm can make a Trip maneuver attack and get bonuses to it (for example).

Plus, they can then make the Fighter subclasses more story specific (like Samurai, Gladiator, Cavalier) rather than "generic" (like Champion and Battlemaster). But people can still get all their martial maneuver goodness if they want it.

 

[tetrasodium]

The magic action got updated to add "abilities". I bet that seeing the study & search action updated similarly and expert abilities getting tagged accordingly as one of the changes to experts on top of actual changes.

 

[Xamnam]

I got the impression the next packet was going to be the rest of the priest group, and then the warrior group. Maybe I misunderstood?

It's somewhat vague:

This UA will be a little shorter than our others. We've realized that the first two were really chunky and so-
They were big!
This one is still big but a little smaller, then the next one after that's going to get bigger again, and we will continue our journey through the classes. So, of course, we have still to go: the Druid and the Paladin to accompany the Cleric in the priest group, and then we have the warrior group, and also the mage group ahead of us.

Can definitely be read that the rest of the priest group will come next, but not for certain.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Having heard that idea from him though... it made we wonder if perhaps they are pivoting away from the Battlemaster and it being the only real subclass to use the Combat Maneuvers system-- into moving Maneuvers (or maneuver-like features) into the weapons themselves so that anyone who uses weapons can now use those maneuvers? Lots of us have often wondered why over the last 10 years that rogues, paladins, barbarians and the like never got the chance to use maneuvers as they seemed like something they might want to-- Rogues being able to Feint, Barbarians able to Goad, etc. If they instead put these things into individual weapons or weapon groups, it would let everyone have the opportunity to have better Trips, Ripostes and so forth. Anyone can use an Unarmed Strike to knock someone prone... but someone armed with a polearm can make a Trip maneuver attack and get bonuses to it (for example).

I expect a combination from what he said: something like "warriors will get class abilities that grant weapon based abilities". Don't ask me for the correct quotation right now, please.

During the next playtest, they did not want weapon based abilities, because it would make monsters too complicated.
I do agree. It is too easy to forget weapon based abilities when having 10 different kind of orcs.
Instead they are making it something unique to the warrior group. Abilities that unlock certain weapon based abilities might actually make those classes more interesting and more powerful compared to other classes with differemt advantages (I fully expect channel divinity on paladin and druid, and arcane recovery on mages in some way, next to expertise for experts).
This might be the best of both worlds: improving warriors and not making the general system too complicated.

 

[MechaTarrasque]

The adjustment to druids is probably pretty straightforward (changing "wildshaping" to "channel nature" and making wild shaping Circle of the Moons' channel nature). Circle of the Moon will probably be the featured subclass, although I think this is a real opportunity to rehabilitate the Circle of the Land, maybe give it some kind of ability to control your environment by bring part of your native terrain into whatever environment you are in (or they could just let you cast Circle spells without using a spell slot, which would be okay, I guess, but feels a little anticlimatic to something like letting the shepherd druid summon a pet or the spoors druid rotting someone from the inside out and turn them into a zombie).

Paladin will probably give us a little more insight into the Warrior group, both by what it does and what it doesn't do. I suspect, like the cleric, they will try to improve channel divinity, possibly creating some design space by moving lay hands into a channel divinity. That could open up a subclass specific ability spot.

I think the Warrior group will try to give fighters/barbarians/monks something that other PC's that hit things don't get (I am hoping for something like the bloodied condition or some special ability that takes concentration to use). Likewise, the Mage group will try to give wizards/sorcerers/warlocks something that other PC's who cast spells don't get. Those are potentially pretty big deals.