D&D (2024) One D&D Cleric & Revised Species Playtest Includes Goliath

"In this new Unearthed Arcana for the One D&D rules system, we explore material designed for the next version of the Player’s Handbook. This playtest document presents the rules on the Cleric class, it's Life Domain subclass, as well as revised Species rules for the Ardling, the Dragonborn, and the Goliath. You will also find a current glossary of new or revised meanings for game terms."

Claim Unearthed Arcana now! - D&D Beyond

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WotC's Jeremey Crawford discusses the playtest document in the video below.

 

[shadowoflameth]

Easy to just say that they rediscovered a lost power if you're changing mid-campaign. Permanent Large breaks things.

Permanent Large may be too much unless it comes at later levels, but that's why I suggest a feat, but it doesn't really break encounters any more than flight does, and players can already fly with some races. If it is game breaking, limiting it to 10 minute hulk outs won't fix it anymore than 10 minute flight. 'Hey there's an obstacle. I'll fly over it in one round. Hey, there's a big boulder. No problem, my Goliath Rune night will just lift, move or smash that.' It doesn't solve a balance problem and it adds a mechanic that we don't need. Like I said, either allow it or not. If Goliath can't just be large, the Duergar can already do it temporarily. So can anyone with Enlarge.

 

[Maxperson]

So, nothing. You have absolutely nothing. Thanks so much for the help.

I never, ever asked you to list "every possible way to come up with hard evidence". I asked you for a single example. A lead for what you would want. What could convince you. Because I don't know how your brain works. I don't know what you will accept as evidence. I'm not going to go on a wild goose chase across the corners of the internet looking for evidence that you will inevitably dismiss. We've done this dance before in previous discussions. I've seen you do it with other people too.

So I'm not going to engage in your wild goose chase. Instead, if you want evidence, you have to tell me what you want. Give me one or two leads or things that I could feasibly track down or find even anecdotal evidence for. And if you're not going to do that, well, that just proves that you're not arguing in good faith, doesn't it?

Again, I don't want you to go looking. That's not what I'm asking for. I'm not interested in any chases, goose or otherwise. You know the difference between objective and subjective, so you know that what you listed about Reddit was subjective.

All I want to know is if you have anything objective right now, that you base your opinion on. If yes, then just tell me what that evidence is. If no, then tell me that as well.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

Again, I don't want you to go looking. That's not what I'm asking for. I'm not interested in any chases, goose or otherwise. You know the difference between objective and subjective, so you know that what you listed about Reddit was subjective.

All I want to know is if you have anything objective right now, that you base your opinion on. If yes, then just tell me what that evidence is. If no, then tell me that as well.

So you don't actually want that evidence you were asking for. Yeah, you're not arguing in good faith. And I'm not sure that we've ever had a constructive conversation on this site, so I'm Ignoring you. Goodbye for the foreseeable future.

 

[Incenjucar]

Permanent Large may be too much unless it comes at later levels, but that's why I suggest a feat, but it doesn't really break encounters any more than flight does, and players can already fly with some races. If it is game breaking, limiting it to 10 minute hulk outs won't fix it anymore than 10 minute flight. 'Hey there's an obstacle. I'll fly over it in one round. Hey, there's a big boulder. No problem, my Goliath Rune night will just lift, move or smash that.' It doesn't solve a balance problem and it adds a mechanic that we don't need. Like I said, either allow it or not. If Goliath can't just be large, the Duergar can already do it temporarily. So can anyone with Enlarge.

Permanent large complicates the heck out of things and is a significant power boost to many character builds and is a problem for others. Flight should outright be assumed after a certain point, but having to adjust adventures for large characters really messes things up on a balance and architecture level. Temporary is fine. Temporary is not permanent.

 

[Maxperson]

So you don't actually want that evidence you were asking for. Yeah, you're not arguing in good faith.

What's not in good faith is you baselessly accusing me of bad faith when you quote me saying, "All I want to know is if you have anything objective right now, that you base your opinion on." which is all I've ever asked for from you. It's gross bad faith to try and twist it into me seeking something you don't have and need to go fetch.

And I'm not sure that we've ever had a constructive conversation on this site, so I'm Ignoring you. Goodbye for the foreseeable future.

Sounds good. At this point it's clear to me that you are basing your claim that no metaplots are objectively better on your subjective experiences and have nothing to support your claims. That's the only conclusion I can come to when you continue to evade a clear and direct question asked of you multiple times and then accuse me of bad faith the way you did above.

Have a good one(and that's sincerely wished. I don't take things personally).

 

[Micah Sweet]

Permanent Large may be too much unless it comes at later levels, but that's why I suggest a feat, but it doesn't really break encounters any more than flight does, and players can already fly with some races. If it is game breaking, limiting it to 10 minute hulk outs won't fix it anymore than 10 minute flight. 'Hey there's an obstacle. I'll fly over it in one round. Hey, there's a big boulder. No problem, my Goliath Rune night will just lift, move or smash that.' It doesn't solve a balance problem and it adds a mechanic that we don't need. Like I said, either allow it or not. If Goliath can't just be large, the Duergar can already do it temporarily. So can anyone with Enlarge.

I just don't see a good reason not to just make Goliaths large. They sure as heck are size L in my games.

 

[Incenjucar]

I just don't see a good reason not to just make Goliaths large. They sure as heck are size L in my games.

Adventures are made for small and medium characters and it would be very expensive to start building them for large characters too for the rest of the run of the game.

 

[Mecheon]

Goliaths were initially designed in 3.5E as basically Half-Ogres that weren't Large. Because 3.5E's Large had its whole Set of Things going on, so Goliaths came along as a more... Player friendly option. Well, either that or 'we need a race in Races of Stone that isn't just dwarves and gnomes'. But their whole thing is being "Medium but kind of close to Large" so, don't think they should be touching Large myself

Also like, their stats were just. Half Giants without the psionic talents

 

[Umbran]

So you don't actually want that evidence you were asking for. Yeah, you're not arguing in good faith. And I'm not sure that we've ever had a constructive conversation on this site, so I'm Ignoring you. Goodbye for the foreseeable future.

Mod Note:
It is good for you to be thoughtful, and control your exposure to things that don't work well for you.

It is kind of cheap for you to take a personal parting shot before doing so. Ignore isn't there so you can lob an insult and then hide under cover. It isn't like your announcement will "teach" anything except that you can be rude.

The next time you feel the Ignore function would be useful to you, please make use of it, but do so without announcing it, please and thanks.

 

[Pedantic]

On the topic of Large goliaths....is there any real benefit to being Large in 5e? We've got increased carrying capacity and lifting heavy stuff, and the mixed benefit/penalty of a larger footprint in combat, letting you block more space but be surrounded and attacked by more people in melee. Outside of that, there's nothing intrinsic to being big that's actually helpful. The Enlarge/Reduce spell gives us +1d4 weapon damage and advantage on strength checks, but there's no real reason to assume any such benefit carries over to PC that are always big, and maybe a vague idea that they should have some kind of reach, but nothing in the rules that makes that intrinsically so.

From an adventure design perspective, all that being Large lets you circumvent is maybe lifting something that's too heavy for a medium PC? That just doesn't feel like it's going to come up enough, and it's easy to design around if it does. You might run into penalties for squeezing in combat in some places, but squeezing will explicitly allow a Large creature to fit anywhere a Medium one can walk normally. I suppose some adventures might have exceptionally small holes that a medium creature needs to squeeze through, but again, that feels easy to work around.

The impact feels frankly just quite small mechanically, and when it does come up, it's mostly a detriment to the PC. I think we're firmly in an aesthetic choice territory, given how size works in 5e, not a design or balance concern.