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."

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

 

[Micah Sweet]

Greyhawk and the Realms, no.

Dragonlance was created deliberately as the first formal adventure path and the setting grew from that. You were supposed to play the War of the Lance with your players either playing the characters of or taking the place of the party.

And the big difference between then and now is that we've been through the 90s. We've seen the impact of metaplot on gameability of settings, both D&D (Faction War anyone? Time of Troubles? Spellplague?) and the oWoD. Creating settings round metaplot back then was understandable because it was unexplored.

I did have sympathy. I thought you were wrong about metaplot in RPG products for reasons I explained. But most of my actual sympathy vanished when you asked "Why would its ignorable existence be an issue for anyone?" Which is why it was after that I brought up the explicit parallel to what you were asking from others and what you don't do with modern Ravenloft; you are asking for people to ignore things they don't like that has a direct impact on the way they play while refusing to do the same to things that don't impact you at the table.

You're talking to a 4e fan Yes it hurts. And I try to share the good parts of 4e when I can.

I enjoy them too. But I also enjoy stories that are tight and complete. And I dislike metaplot when it makes the actual stories worse (thinking for example of the DCEU, the Dark Universe Cinematic Universe that got no further than the Mummy, and a few other things). Metaplot, as I've explained, in my experience always makes settings worse for play at the table and can lead to it getting far worse.

I prefer serial storytelling to one and done most of the time. Even the episodic stuff I like at least tends to exist in a shared universe.

 

[Neonchameleon]

I

I would feel far better about all this if I didn't have to listen to people constantly tell me that the things I like suck and I was wrong to like them.

Honestly I'd like to hear why you liked the old Ravenloft. Again, as a 4e fan you've my sympathy over that part.

And I'd say you're never wrong to like things that already exist and aren't actively immoral - but may be wrong to want more of them. The two are not the same.

 

[Parmandur]

The proposed changes to Goliath and Dragonborn aren't. Changing the breath weapon mechanic doesn't hurt, but making them suddenly be able to fly does. On the Goliath, Stone's Endurance is already there, so is powerful build, but not the other options, and making Goliath's that suddenly change sizes changes who they are. I would recommend making the other giant lineage options feats that a Goliath can take, and perhaps even making large size an option but going back and forth between sizes when a prior Goliath character couldn't is not just changing the mechanic of an existing ability, it effectively makes them a different race. On the Dragonborn, perhaps make developing wings a feat for Dragonborn or just make winged Dragonborn a sub-race that has them instead of the breath weapon, and include a feat that allows dragonborn to develop both, but suddenly saying that existing characters have wings that they didn't have isn't backward compatible.

These are different options, not better, though subject to further balancing. The new Goliath is missing features from the old one. The math balance for the OneD&D options shown so far us the same as the 2014 PHB, even if they are getting sexier.

It remains to be seen if they can make the old Subclasses plug and play, but they seem to be making the effort.

 

[Parmandur]

@shadowoflameth & @Maxperson note that this go around WotC is even more explicit that old Subclasses from existing books are going to be usable in the final 2024 books:

 

[MockingBird]

I like metaplots. It gives me ideas for my game.

 

[Pedantic]

@shadowoflameth & @Maxperson note that this go around WotC is even more explicit that old Subclasses from existing books are going to be usable in the final 2024 books:

I'm not sure that's what's implied there. That more strongly suggests a commitment to publishing updated versions of all existing subclasses, or to providing conversion guidelines. Particularly as they've said they plan to harmonize the subclass feature schedule this time around.

 

[Remathilis]

Honestly, I was just hoping for a little sympathy here. How would you like it if something that brought you great joy was unceremoniously ended, and your peers in the community loudly declared how much better things are without the things that you liked? I refuse to believe that that's a weird attitude to have.

I'm going to assume you don't have children. If you did, you'd be numb to being told the stuff you like is old and lame. Heck, I used to work with children and I wasn't that old (30) and I was tragically unhip. It's part of growing old. It's not the same world man. Tastes change. Attitudes change. Your chinos and Blink 182 CDs aren't in style. It can be hard realizing you aren't the target demographic anymore, but that's life.

Put another way

 

[Scribe]

I'm going to assume you don't have children. If you did, you'd be numb to being told the stuff you like is old and lame. Heck, I used to work with children and I wasn't that old (30) and I was tragically unhip. It's part of growing old. It's not the same world man. Tastes change. Attitudes change. Your chinos and Blink 182 CDs aren't in style. It can be hard realizing you aren't the target demographic anymore, but that's life.

I have a kid. What really got me was when advertising was clearly not directed at me anymore. That was when I knew I was old.

I will say, my musical taste is still better than anything 'popular' today however.

 

[Incenjucar]

All the old stuff that isn't horribly regressive still has a place. The 2E Elves handbook was absurd even on the day it was released but it's still a fun read if you're up to learn about all the new powers elves could have from the power of radness and how also they have cybernetic limb technology and also that one time an elf had the hots for a talking tree.

 

[Faolyn]

I've used plenty of elements from setting material. I just don't play in the settings themselves. That utility, and the story, are enough for me. Its no different than cannibalizing pieces of an official adventure.

But you realize that a lot of people do use the setting material as setting material, not as stuff to cannibalize, right? And that for these people, it's obnoxiously hard to use metaplot material in a non-metaplot game?

I get that you enjoy reading the books, but you have to realize that you're not actually using the books the way they were intended, i.e., as game material. And that the books need to be written for people who actually do use them as game material.