D&D (2024) Speculation on the next UA in April

[FitzTheRuke]

when we playtested it, I thought it waas too good to jsut get an extra attack for useing the weapon you wanted to use anyway, But we shall see.

But... you still don't get your Ability Mod to damage. All it does to TWF is stop it from wasting your Bonus Action, which is good for Cunning Action and a few other things, but is hardly gamechanging.

I think the Fighter subclass will be the Champion, not the Battlemaster. Can they make the simple fighter subclass more interesting/effective? Same goes for all the other SRD-subclasses they seem to be sticking to. How will they measure up?

Yeah, that'll be interesting. I have high hopes for the Champion, actually. I like simple builds. A little more meat to it wouldn't hurt, though.

Barbarian: With the changes made in Tasha's I am happy where the barbarian is, I just hope the Berserker class gets made playable. I really want more non mystical options for my barbarian.

Shouldn't be hard at all to make the Berserker better than it is. It's always seemed like something that didn't quite work the way it was intended to.

I feel like whatever they do to the sorcerer will basically be washing its neck for the headsman's block of removal in 6e.

If they do anything with the Sorcerer in 6e, I hope it will be to make the arcane half-caster BLASTER that it was in the D&DNext playtest. Only 20 years too late!

I think there are too many sorcerer fans, and as long the 2024 sorcerer can capture/redefine a proper identity that is supported by mechanics, then it is going to be just fine. If it is still a little shy, there is another decade to play around and figure it out.

Exactly! Only, now I'm kind of interested in what they do to make it work for the next 10 years... maybe they'll point it in a new direction.

 

[The Shadow]

Agreed, but it has been proven that it's difficult to represent that mechanically in a way that's fair to both practicioners.

The very most I could see happening is it becoming a subclass of wizard. (Or both of them becoming subclasses of 'Mage' or something.)

 

[Mirrorrorrim]

I think the sorcerer has a genuine niche as the bloodline users of magic, as opposed to the scholarly mages. I don't see it disappearing.

I agree about the current niche, however I think that they should move away from "bloodline" being the primary assumption for sorcery power, and focus more on being exposed to powerful magic (blood being but one possibility of many), like being present during a magical manifestation that unlocks the latent sorcerous potential in any creature that has a soulspark (like humanoids).

Let's let people multi-class into sorcery that is not bloodline-related. Want to multiclass into Sorcerer at a later level? Work with your DM to set up an encounter that can open that spark. Did you survive dragonfire, or get healed by a celestial couatl? Were you hit by a Beholder's ray that altered your reality slightly and opened you to the existence of mentalities beyond time and space? Stuff like that.

 

[Parmandur]

I think having access to metamagic is a potent niche, and I hope the new Sorcerer leans more into that.

I just finished reading the Stormlight Archive books to this time, and am doing a listen through of the Wheel of Time. I feel that the Knights Radiant are a great reference point for how Warlocks can work, and the Aes Sedai for Sorcerers.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I agree about the current niche, however I think that they should move away from "bloodline" being the primary assumption for sorcery power, and focus more on being exposed to powerful magic (blood being but one possibility of many), like being present during a magical manifestation that unlocks the latent sorcerous potential in any creature that has a soulspark (like humanoids).

Let's let people multi-class into sorcery that is not bloodline-related. Want to multiclass into Sorcerer at a later level? Work with your DM to set up an encounter that can open that spark. Did you survive dragonfire, or get healed by a celestial couatl? Were you hit by a Beholder's ray that altered your reality slightly and opened you to the existence of mentalities beyond time and space? Stuff like that.

When sorcerers were instituted back in 3e, I couldn't see them as anything but mutants/metahumans from a comics-style universe. We used to call them, "the mutant menace".

 

[The Shadow]

I agree about the current niche, however I think that they should move away from "bloodline" being the primary assumption for sorcery power, and focus more on being exposed to powerful magic (blood being but one possibility of many), like being present during a magical manifestation that unlocks the latent sorcerous potential in any creature that has a soulspark (like humanoids).

Let's let people multi-class into sorcery that is not bloodline-related. Want to multiclass into Sorcerer at a later level? Work with your DM to set up an encounter that can open that spark. Did you survive dragonfire, or get healed by a celestial couatl? Were you hit by a Beholder's ray that altered your reality slightly and opened you to the existence of mentalities beyond time and space? Stuff like that.

Sure, that makes sense to me. People who inherently magical in some way.

 

[Sir Brennen]

I agree about the current niche, however I think that they should move away from "bloodline" being the primary assumption for sorcery power, and focus more on being exposed to powerful magic (blood being but one possibility of many), like being present during a magical manifestation that unlocks the latent sorcerous potential in any creature that has a soulspark (like humanoids).

Let's let people multi-class into sorcery that is not bloodline-related. Want to multiclass into Sorcerer at a later level? Work with your DM to set up an encounter that can open that spark. Did you survive dragonfire, or get healed by a celestial couatl? Were you hit by a Beholder's ray that altered your reality slightly and opened you to the existence of mentalities beyond time and space? Stuff like that.

I don't see any reason a character couldn't multiclass into sorcerer after first level in the current rules. Sometimes the magic in one's bloodline takes a while to manifest.

But also, there's nothing preventing re-interpretation of a bloodline into some other source that gives the character their spider abilities innate magical powers. It's right there in the Sorcerer description: "Sorcerers carry a magical birthright conferred upon them by an exotic bloodline, some otherworldly influence, or exposure to unknown cosmic forces".

I think the problem is there too many sorcerer subclasses that heavily suggest a bloodline specifically, however, like the draconic lines. The Shadow Sorcerer at least mentions specifically your powers might be from either a creature of the Shadowfell, or exposure to its energies in some way.

 

[OldSchoolGamerGirl]

But... you still don't get your Ability Mod to damage. All it does to TWF is stop it from wasting your Bonus Action, which is good for Cunning Action and a few other things, but is hardly gamechanging.

That's just it, we never saw it as 'wasteing' infact it was a hard choice to Cunning action OR two weapon fight from turn to turn, and now the choice is "I can do both"

it feels like a free extra that wasn't needed

 

[OldSchoolGamerGirl]

When sorcerers were instituted back in 3e, I couldn't see them as anything but mutants/metahumans from a comics-style universe. We used to call them, "the mutant menace".

we not only did this but we ran an Xmen light game that way

 

[FitzTheRuke]

That's just it, we never saw it as 'wasteing' infact it was a hard choice to Cunning action OR two weapon fight from turn to turn, and now the choice is "I can do both"

it feels like a free extra that wasn't needed

I play a LOT of rogues and while I never found that dilemma to be frustrating, I never found it to be interesting, either. OTOH, As a DM, I have had to remind rogue players that they couldn't disengage after attacking with two weapons. (Many of my players are either less experienced with the game or just more... casual about the rules than I am). I'd rather not have to do that. YMMV.