UA to Become Weekly! Pendleton Ward Helped On New AP!

WotC is currently at Gamehole Con, a convention in the US Midwest. According to a GameholeCon attendee at one of WotC's D&D panels, featuring Jeremy Crawford, Chris Perkins, and Mike Mearls, Unearthed Arcana (Mike Mearl's monthly rules column) is going to become a weekly column. Not only that, Sage Advice will be pausing for a while while Jeremy Crawford joins Mearls on the UA columns. There will be a new Unearthed Arcana every Monday, with the next being three new barbarian options.

WotC's Chris Perkins also said that "The next D&D story is *not* based on Adventure Time. However, Pendleton Ward did help us create it." Ward is, of course, the creator of the US cartoon Adventure Time.

Photo courtesy of @BasementofDeath
SaveSave​

 

[bogmad]

A Planes book I think is a good bet. VGtM specifically hints Gith might be in an upcoming book, IIRC. It makes sense to me that we could get a Planes book with Gith and perhaps even a Mystic class thrown in...

 

[I'm A Banana]

I've got a tentative guess that gith and psionics will all come bundled together in a Spelljammer-inspired swashbuckling adventure.

Could be wrong, but certainly that is the rich vein my Astral Plane Campaign is mining.

 

[AaronOfBarbaria]

I think all three of those paths seem pretty cool, and nothing seems glaringly over-potent... though I am assuming that Rage Beyond Death is intended that you are dead when you've failed 3 death saves, so you need to be brought back to life rather than just healed a bit, even if that is done before the rage has ended.

 

[Demetrios1453]

I like all three, but I'm really liking the Storm Herald - very cool if you're looking for a nature-themed barbarian. Although I do have to admit that the Zealot's "Rage Beyond Death" is a really nice power...

 

[darjr]

[MENTION=80342]morris[/MENTION];

 

[gyor]

All three are excellent, I like all of them. Two Primal Magic paths and a Divine Magic Path.

 

[Enevhar Aldarion]

Also, from the mention of how many UA articles will be coming over the next few months, I think it is safe to say that the "major rules expansion" book they have hinted at will probably be the crunch book that is released next November. No way for it to come out sooner than that, what with so much playtesting still to be done.

 

[Gadget]

Hmmm....I can't say I would have named the Barbarian as class in need of more sub-classes if I was asked, but I don't really mind these classes at all. Kind of going outside what is usually viewed as the traditional Barbarian bailiwick a bit, they seem very flavorful. I could think of all kind of things for the zealot one.

 

[AaronOfBarbaria]

No way for it to come out sooner than that, what with so much playtesting still to be done.

That depends on how much in-house play-testing has already been done. Not that I know one way or the other, but the public play-testing of these crunchy bits through Unearthed Arcana could be coming at the end of a suitably long in-house play-testing period, and be intended, to use a carpentry analogy because those come naturally to me, to be the finish sanding rather than the saw work.

To phrase my thought differently, and perhaps more succinctly; that depends on if these Unearthed Arcana articles coming out weekly for the time being are meant as a true play-test process, or as a hybrid play-test and preview of the book to come (basically a preview with an asterisk "will be changed if feedback indicates strong enough desire for changes").

 

[Corpsetaker]

Oh, thank the gods we will be getting a whole lotta new options soon. Not that it will stifle those incessantly crying for more. Because it will either not be the *particular* options the want, or it won't be done in the *exact way* they wanted. I just hope its useful and fun for those of us who actually *like* 5e.

So what, we are supposed to like everything they come up with?

Sorry but I'm brutally honest and when I don't like something I'm not afraid to say it. WoTc isn't my friend, they are a business that provides a product, and one that they put out for us to give our honest feedback on. I'm not going to be a Wizards fanboy and applaud everything they put out.

 

[Parmandur]

I 100% agree with both of your assumptions here. VGtM stated they plan on looking into fiends in the future, so I imagine that "Volo's Guide to the Planes" would do deep dives on fiends and celestials at least. Possibly modrons, slaad, and elementals as well, but I'm not sure how must monster lore stuff you can squeeze in there and still do a fairly comprehensive guide to the planes, although presumably the "beastiary" section will be somewhat smaller - you could probably fully update most planar creatures in 50 - 60 pages instead of 100 like on VGtM

I'd almost say Inner and Outer planes could fill separate books, thematically and volume wise...

 

[Demetrios1453]

I'd almost say Inner and Outer planes could fill separate books, thematically and volume wise...

That's true. I assume the Astral would be grouped with the Outer Planes, while the Ethereal, Feywild, and Shadowfell would be grouped with the Inner? The latter has somewhat less to cover, so adding the others to that would fill it out a bit (and give us a nice look into the fey as well). Granted, the Astral might as easily be covered in whatever book gives us psionics...

 

[AaronOfBarbaria]

So what, we are supposed to like everything they come up with?

No, and no one said that you are either.

What [MENTION=1560]Corwin[/MENTION] was getting at is that some folks (note: that doesn't necessarily mean you specifically) refuse to count anything WotC has released that A) they didn't want, or B) they wanted but not in the way that WotC chose to do it as being actual options - i.e. someone saying that WotC has released no new player options between the PHB because the Elemental Evil Player's Guide doesn't count because you have to buy it online, and the SCAG doesn't count because it says "Sword Coast" even though the character options in the book are usable in any campaign setting.

 

[Parmandur]

That's true. I assume the Astral would be grouped with the Outer Planes, while the Ethereal, Feywild, and Shadowfell would be grouped with the Inner? The latter has somewhat less to cover, so adding the others to that would fill it out a bit (and give us a nice look into the fey as well). Granted, the Astral might as easily be covered in whatever book gives us psionics...

Etheral/Astral are wildcards to my mind?

 

[Corwin]

So what, we are supposed to like everything they come up with?

I'm pretty sure that's impossible. We've even heard from certain high profile devs that even *they* don't have 100% their favorite/preferred things in these books. What makes you think you'd have a better chance of having the perfect game than those who *wrote* it?

Sorry but I'm brutally honest and when I don't like something I'm not afraid to say it. WoTc isn't my friend, they are a business that provides a product, and one that they put out for us to give our honest feedback on. I'm not going to be a Wizards fanboy and applaud everything they put out.

You basically just went to a Metallica concert and booed them because you want them to play your favorite Yanni song.

 

[BookBarbarian]

You basically just went to a Metallica concert and booed them because you want them to play your favorite Yanni song.

Play Freebird you Hippies!

 

[Wepwawet]

D&D with Pendleton Ward! Sweet!!!!!!

It would be brilliant a post apocalyptic world like Ooo!

Actually... Dark Sun in some ways resembles Ooo (minus all the colour and sweetness obviously). I'd be ecstatic if PW had anything to do with Dark Sun! (Just wishful thinking, I know )

 

[Olimar92]

I love Ward's work. Adventure Time, Over the Garden Wall, and Bravest Warriors. I do hope we get some good stuff from him, like a conversion of the Ancient Psychic Tandem War Elephant.