D&D (2024) One D&D Expert Classes Playtest Document Is Live

The One D&D Expert Class playest document is now available to download. You can access it by signing into your D&D Beyond account at the link below. It contains three classes -- bard, rogue, and ranger, along with three associated subclasses (College of Lore, Thief, and Hunter), plus a number of feats.

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[Minigiant]

I really don't get that. I think a lot of people will appreciate more nonmagical options.

This is absolute nonsense.

You keep asserting "most people won't allow that!!!!!!" but it's just not true and it's never been true. Even stuff like Pathfinder 1E/2E shows it's not true.

Are most DMs going to let a ranger

1. heal
2. remove toxins
3. remove curses
4. speak with animals
5. speak with plants
6. entangle foes with vines
7. instantly train a beast
8. instantly befriend a beast
9. jump 60 feet
10. gain darkvision
11. breath water
12. shoot exploding arrows
13. charge their sword with fire
14. charge their arrow with lightning
15. meld with stone
16. meld with trees
17. scry
18. defeat scrying

without magic in a way that is still revelant in a adventure?

 

[Haplo781]

Yeah, I think that needs to be expanded with these changes.

Maybe Arcane Recovery allows you to swap out one prepared spell.

 

[Parmandur]

What you laid out was 13 packets with no repeats. Without repeats the playtest fails to give revised anything in time.

I laid out 9 packets, which take us to when WotC optimistic timeline calls for (which does suggest that 11 or so packets is their initial gameplan), and leaves ample time for Crawford's less optimistic 6 additional months of repeat testing before they begin finalizing publication, which will probably be somewhere in June-October of 2024 (the range in which 3E, 3.5, 4E, Essentials, and 5E dropped in the yearly schedule).

 

[CM]

Thief's Fast Hands lets them Search as a bonus action... but trapfinding is a Study action and not a Search action...

Also Fast Hands says that disabling traps and picking locks is a Dex (Sleight of Hand) check that is also made with thieves' tools. The tool proficiency glossary entry states "If you have Proficiency in the Skill that’s also used with that check, you have Advantage on the check too. This means you can benefit from both Skill Proficiency and Tool Proficiency on the same Ability Check."

So a thief proficient in both thieves' tools and sleight of hand gets to add their proficiency bonus twice to lockpicking and trap disarming, evidently.

 

[DeviousQuail]

Thief's Fast Hands lets them Search as a bonus action... but trapfinding is a Study action and not a Search action...

Also Fast Hands says that disabling traps and picking locks is a Dex (Sleight of Hand) check that is also made with thieves' tools. The tool proficiency glossary entry states "If you have Proficiency in the Skill that’s also used with that check, you have Advantage on the check too. This means you can benefit from both Skill Proficiency and Tool Proficiency on the same Ability Check."

So a thief proficient in both thieves' tools and sleight of hand gets to add their proficiency bonus twice to lockpicking and trap disarming, evidently.

I don't see where you get prof bonus twice. Wouldn't it just be attribute + prof bonus + d20 with advantage?

 

[Parmandur]

I laid out 9 packets, which take us to when WotC optimistic timeline calls for (which does suggest that 11 or so packets is their initial gameplan), and leaves ample time for Crawford's less optimistic 6 additional months of repeat testing before they begin finalizing publication, which will probably be somewhere in June-October of 2024 (the range in which 3E, 3.5, 4E, Essentials, and 5E dropped in the yearly schedule).

@Maxperson to lay it out more clearly, in no particular order:

1. Warrior Group Packet, with more Feats, maybe Spells
2. Priest Group Packet, with more Feats and Spells
3. Mage Group packet, with more Feats and Spells

That probably gets us through to the end of 2022

4. The stronghold/home-based Packet, maybe with more Feats and/or Spells
5. Encounter math and Monsters

6. Revisit of the Expert Group, with all Subclasses and any revisions based on the first round
7. Revisit of the Warrior Group, with all Subclasses and any revisions based on the first round
8. Revisit of the Priest Group, with all Subclasses and any revisions based on the first round
9. Revisit of the Mage Group, with all Subclasses and any revisions based on the first round

So that brings us to about August or September next year having covered everything theybhabe committed to, with nearly a whole year before the final publication. And Crawford foresaw followups taking through to February or March before testing is finalized, which leaves ample time for getting to the printer.

 

[Haplo781]

Thief's Fast Hands lets them Search as a bonus action... but trapfinding is a Study action and not a Search action...

Also Fast Hands says that disabling traps and picking locks is a Dex (Sleight of Hand) check that is also made with thieves' tools. The tool proficiency glossary entry states "If you have Proficiency in the Skill that’s also used with that check, you have Advantage on the check too. This means you can benefit from both Skill Proficiency and Tool Proficiency on the same Ability Check."

So a thief proficient in both thieves' tools and sleight of hand gets to add their proficiency bonus twice to lockpicking and trap disarming, evidently.

Adding your proficiency bonus is binary; you either do or you don't. If you have Expertise, you double it.

You never add your proficiency bonus twice to the same roll.

 

[CM]

I don't see where you get prof bonus twice. Wouldn't it just be attribute + prof bonus + d20 with advantage?

Adding your proficiency bonus is binary; you either do or you don't. If you have Expertise, you double it.

You never add your proficiency bonus twice to the same roll.

It was a brain fart. I meant to say that you have advantage on the roll if trained in both sleight of hand and thieves' tools, not double proficiency.

 

[Bill Zebub]

Are most DMs going to let a ranger

1. heal
2. remove toxins
3. remove curses
4. speak with animals
5. speak with plants
6. entangle foes with vines
7. instantly train a beast
8. instantly befriend a beast
9. jump 60 feet
10. gain darkvision
11. breath water
12. shoot exploding arrows
13. charge their sword with fire
14. charge their arrow with lightning
15. meld with stone
16. meld with trees
17. scry
18. defeat scrying

without magic in a way that is still revelant in a adventure?

My two cents: I’ve been arguing for a Ranger without standard spellcasting, but that doesn’t (for me) necessarily mean non-magical.

The model is like to see would be structured like Warlock invocations, where you pick from a list (your list makes a good start) to build the Ranger you want. Like the Warlock, some could be straight up spells and some could be non-spell magical powers.

 

[Maxperson]

I laid out 9 packets,

Sorry, I thought you were saying that the 36 subclasses would be 4 UAs, which would make sense and was where I got 13 from. I really doubt they will be a single UA. That's far too many subclasses to playtest in a few weeks time.

which take us to when WotC optimistic timeline calls for (which does suggest that 11 or so packets is their initial gameplan), and leaves ample time for Crawford's less optimistic 6 additional months of repeat testing before they begin finalizing publication, which will probably be somewhere in June-October of 2024 (the range in which 3E, 3.5, 4E, Essentials, and 5E dropped in the yearly schedule).

There isn't going to be 6 months of repeat testing. Not unless they speed up the release rate of the UAs. 13 packets(which is far more likely than 9) is going to take you to the February 2024 deadline.