D&D (2024) Unearthed Arcana Playtest Packet 7 Live on D&D Beyond

Wizards of the Coast posted the seventh playtest packet for the 2024 update to Dungeons & Dragons. The new playtest packet includes updated class material for the Barbarian, Fighter, Sorcerer, Warlock, and Wizard classes.

Highlights for each class:

Barbarian

• New Path of the World Tree subclass and updated Berserker, Wild Heart (formerly Totem Warrior), and Zealot subclasses.
• Attack recklessly for a full round rather than just one turn.
• Path of the Wild Heart (formerly Path of the Totem Warrior) has updated options.
• Brutal Critical gets damage buffs.

Fighter

• New Brawler subclass excels at using improvised weapons and unarmed strikes.
• Tactical Mind and Tactical Shift expand the use of Second Wind.
• Studied Attacks grants advantage on an attack roll against an enemy after you've missed an attack against them.
• Battle Master and its maneuvers have been updated.

Sorcerer

• Innate Sorcery empowers your spellcasting for a limited time.
• Sorcery Incarnate and Arcane Apotheosis boost your Metamagic while Innate Sorcery is active.
• Sorcerous Restoration is available at 5th level and scales with your sorcerer level.
• Wild Magic Sorcery now more reliably allows you to roll on the Wild Magic Surge table.

Warlock

• Pact Magic is back.
• Eldritch Invocations are now available at 1st level and your options have been revised.
• Pact Boons are now invocations, and Mystic Arcanum is once again a class feature.
• Patron Spells are always prepared.
• Updated Archfey Patron, Celestial Patron, Fiend Patron, Great Old One Patron subclasses.

Wizard

• Spellcasting feature now allows you to swap out a cantrip each long rest.
• Memorize Spell is now a feature. Modify Spell and Create spell have been nixed.
• Updated Abjurer, Diviner, Evoker, and Illusionist subclasses.

Universal changes include a return to class spell lists, more features from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, and update to some of the spells including arcane eruption, sorcerous burst, counterspell, and jump.

The official Dungeons & Dragons YouTube account also posted an almost 90-minute-long video doing a deep dive on the playtest packet.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Do you always pick every skill for your class based on your highest stat? So your clerics never take religion, no rogues taking investigate?

I'd certainly never pick Investigate on a Rogue unless I was intending to Expertise it and had like INT14, yeah. That's pretty doable on a Rogue because you can do DEX/CON/INT.

With Religion on a Cleric I'd generally only pick it because you have such terrible skill choices ("Choose two from History, Insight, Medicine, Persuasion, and Religion" - only Insight (pretty okay) and the basically-unused Medicine goes off WIS so you're going to be sucking it up). The skill/stat alignments in 5E are DUMB AS HELL which is unfortunate.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

I don't like the name of the "Magic" action, because I've never thought of the word Magic to be a verb (which all the other Actions are).

But WotC obviously disagrees! I mean, look at this sentence from the action: "When you take the Magic action, you magic something..."

You magic something, do you?

 

[Incenjucar]

I don't like the name of the "Magic" action, because I've never thought of the word Magic to be a verb (which all the other Actions are).

But WotC obviously disagrees! I mean, look at this sentence from the action: "When you take the Magic action, you magic something..."

You magic something, do you?

Magicking is totally wizard.

 

[fluffybunbunkittens]

You magic something, do you?

Never have I seen more natural language.

 

[Parmandur]

I don't like the name of the "Magic" action, because I've never thought of the word Magic to be a verb (which all the other Actions are).

But WotC obviously disagrees! I mean, look at this sentence from the action: "When you take the Magic action, you magic something..."

You magic something, do you?

Apologies in advancefor the pedantry, but yeup, magic can be a verb:

magic (v.)

"transform, produce, effect, etc. as if by magic," 1864, from magic (n.). Related: Magicked; magicking.

magic | Etymology of magic by etymonline

"art of influencing or predicting events and producing marvels using hidden natural… See origin and meaning of magic.

www.etymonline.com

 

[Charlaquin]

I don't like the name of the "Magic" action, because I've never thought of the word Magic to be a verb (which all the other Actions are).

But WotC obviously disagrees! I mean, look at this sentence from the action: "When you take the Magic action, you magic something..."

You magic something, do you?

Yeah. I wish they’d change it to “the Use Magic action,” but just like stealth causing literal invisibility this seems to be something they’ve made up their mind about and have no interest in hearing opinions to the contrary.

 

[Charlaquin]

Apologies in advancefor the pedantry, but yeup, magic can be a verb:

magic (v.)

"transform, produce, effect, etc. as if by magic," 1864, from magic (n.). Related: Magicked; magicking.

magic | Etymology of magic by etymonline

"art of influencing or predicting events and producing marvels using hidden natural… See origin and meaning of magic.

www.etymonline.com

It does have a verb form, but it’s used so rarely in modern English as to sound wrong, even though it is the best kind of correct.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

Apologies in advancefor the pedantry, but yeup, magic can be a verb:
magic (v.) "transform, produce, effect, etc. as if by magic," 1864, from magic (n.). Related: Magicked; magicking.

Nah, that's fine - it was my own pedantry that made me complain about it after all. Oddly enough, I don't dislike "Magicking" as much as I dislike "you magic something". Obviously, I don't consider it a big deal (just big enough to make a post mocking it, nothing more). I'll certainly live with it.

 

[Parmandur]

It does have a verb form, but it’s used so rarely in modern English as to sound wrong, even though it is the best kind of correct.

Interesting, I wouldn't say that it sounds odd particularly, though it is somewhat rare in use.

 

[SkidAce]

"Magic it up...I use that s**t on everything..."



Apologies to Frank's Red Hot.