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

www.dndbeyond.com

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

 

[cbwjm]

Just center from the center of the creature and the problem is solved. Why does D&D over complicate everything?

It doesn't really overcomplicate things though. If you have an aura that extends 10 feet from you, saying it still extends 10 feet from you when your new size is a 10-foot instead of 5-foot square isn't complicated. I think it would be more complicated, and also a little weird, to have your aura's radius to shrink as you grow.

 

[Reynard]

That would make it so some auras don't even extend past the bodies of large enough creatures.

So fix those creatures. Think results. It's so weird to me that RPGs and D&D in particular can't just design around intent. "Everything within 10 feet takes 1d6 lightning damage." OK. Just do that. It's not hard. Are you with 10 feet of the lightning monster? Then you take 1d6 lightning damage. Stop overcomplicating it.

 

[Rabulias]

A minor point of interest in this packet, a few spells changed schools. Looks like they are trying to rebalance the spell distribution by taking some toys away from evocation? I don't know. Healing magic continues its confusing journey over the course of the game. Four more editions of D&D and curing magic can be assigned to every school of magic at least once. I think 3.x had the best idea to make a specific subschool for healing, but even that was weird placing it under conjuration. And some spells (earthquake, flaming sphere, reincarnate, shatter, stoneskin) are going back to their AD&D roots.

Here is a quick table of the changed spells with their schools through D&D history.

SPELL	AD&D 1	AD&D 2	D&D 3.0	D&D 3.5	D&D 5e	OneD&D
Aura of Vitality	N/A	N/A	N/A	Transmutation	Evocation	Abjuration
Blindness	Abjuration	Illusion	Transmutation	Necromancy	Necromancy	Transmutation
Deafness	Illusion	Illusion	Transmutation	Necromancy	Necromancy	Transmutation
Contingency	Evocation	Evocation	Evocation	Evocation	Evocation	Abjuration
Cure Wounds	Necromancy	Necromancy	Conjuration (Healing)	Conjuration (Healing)	Evocation	Abjuration
Dancing Lights	Transmutation	Transmutation	Evocation	Evocation	Evocation	Illusion
Earthquake	Transmutation	Transmutation	Evocation	Evocation	Evocation	Transmutation
Flaming Sphere	Transmutation/Evocation	Evocation	Evocation	Evocation	Conjuration	Evocation
Glibness	N/A	N/A	N/A	Transmutation	Transmutation	Enchantment
Hallow	N/A	N/A	Evocation	Evocation	Evocation	Abjuration
Heal	Necromancy	Necromancy	Conjuration (Healing)	Conjuration (Healing)	Evocation	Abjuration
Healing Word	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	Evocation	Abjuration
Mass Cure Wounds	N/A	N/A	Conjuration (Healing)	Conjuration (Healing)	Evocation	Abjuration
Mass Heal	N/A	N/A	Conjuration (Healing)	Conjuration (Healing)	Evocation	Abjuration
Mass Healing Word	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	Evocation	Abjuration
Power Word Heal	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	Evocation	Abjuration
Prayer of Healing	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	Evocation	Abjuration
Produce Flame	Transmutation	Transmutation	Evocation	Evocation	Conjuration	Evocation
Reincarnate	Necromancy	Necromancy	Transmutation	Transmutation	Transmutation	Necromancy
Sending	Evocation	Evocation	Evocation	Evocation	Evocation	Divination
Shatter	Transmutation	Transmutation	Evocation	Evocation	Evocation	Transmutation
Stoneskin	Transmutation	Transmutation	Abjuration	Abjuration	Abjuration	Transmutation
Telepathy	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	Evocation	Divination
Thunderwave	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	Evocation	Transmutation

NOTES:

• I did not play 4th edition, so it is not listed here, but I gather from Googling that spell schools went away in 4th edition? Can someone familiar with 4e confirm?
• Except for the Conjuration (Healing) subschool, I have listed schools in the table above as their 5e equivalents. AD&D 1st edition had necromantic (now necromancy), alteration (now transmutation), and illusion/phantasm (now illusion).
• Blindness and deafness were separate spells in AD&D 1st edition (with different schools), so I have separated them here. They were combined into a single spell from AD&D 2nd edition onward.
• AD&D 1st edition allowed multi-school spells; flaming sphere was an alteration/evocation spell.
• Heal changed schools in this packet, but was not called out with an asterisk.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

So fix those creatures. Think results. It's so weird to me that RPGs and D&D in particular can't just design around intent. "Everything within 10 feet takes 1d6 lightning damage." OK. Just do that. It's not hard. Are you with 10 feet of the lightning monster? Then you take 1d6 lightning damage. Stop overcomplicating it.

. . . That's exactly what D&D 5e does. Your change would mess that up.

What people have been mentioning, the more squares you occupy on a battlefield (i.e. if you're of a larger size than medium), then your auras consequently get to effect more squares on the battlefield. And you get to reach more squares on the battlefield with your attacks.

It's not "complicated", it's just a consequence of how sizes work in D&D 5e. And it's not necessarily a bad thing, but it does make balancing Large races a problem.

 

[mellored]

I did not play 4th edition, so it is not listed here, but I gather from Googling that spell schools went away in 4th edition? Can someone familiar with 4e confirm?

Effectively, yes.
Wizard attacks still labels of evocation, illusions, etc.. but I can't remember a single time it mattered.

 

[cbwjm]

Effectively, yes.
Wizard attacks still labels of evocation, illusions, etc.. but I can't remember a single time it mattered.

That was only when they brought in essentials, right? The Mage class had subclasses that interacted with it.

 

[eayres33]

Your players are probably just getting better at it.

Also, there are plenty of nerfs here as well.

They may be but the player options have become more powerful. Also there are nerfs but since there is a 4 to 1 player to DM ratio and they automatically pass 4 to 1 ratings player preference will win out. If they want DMs to run games they'll need to address that ratio.

 

[mellored]

They may be but the player options have become more powerful. Also there are nerfs but since there is a 4 to 1 player to DM ratio and they automatically pass 4 to 1 ratings player preference will win out. If they want DMs to run games they'll need to address that ratio.

We'll have to see how the spiritual weapon goes, but so far the nerfs to great weapon master and sharpshooter where well received.

And buffing option that where not used before (two weapon fighting) is not really making them more powerful. It's just making that a choice.

Players don't actually like having one option being well above the others, they feel too forced to take it.

 

[Hussar]

Did I miss it the last time around, but, now hidden and invisible are actual conditions! Yay! Stealth rules that actually work.

 

[Minigiant]

According to the Aardling/Dragonborn/Goliath video, Goliath is being added to offer two Big Guy races. Crawford said they wanted to have several choices for a burly character.

Small: Human, Gnome, or Halfling
Big: Goliath or Orc

I wish the same for Stout but the only stout popular fantasy races I know of are dwarves, pigmen, and beaverfolk.