D&D (2024) Upcoming One D&D: Unearthed Arcana 'Expert' Classes (Bard, Ranger, Rogue)

WotC has posted a video describing the upcoming Unearthed Arcana playtest document which will feature three of the core character classes, each with a single subclass.

This document is the second in a series of Unearthed Arcana articles that present material designed for the next version of the Player's Handbook. The material here uses the rules in the

2014 Player's Handbook, except where noted. Providing feedback on this document is one way you can help shape the next generation of D&D!

Inside you'll find the following content:

Expert Classes. Three Classes appear in this document, each one a member of the Expert Group: the Bard, the Ranger, and the Rogue. Each Class appears with one Subclass. More Subclasses will appear in Unearthed Arcana in the months ahead.

Feats. Feats follow the Class descriptions, particularly feats available to the classes in this document.

Spell Lists. Three Spell lists-the Arcane, Divine, and Primal lists-are featured here. The Ranger uses the Primal list, and the Bard potentially uses all three, thanks to the Magical Secrets feature.

Rules Glossary. In this document, any term in the body text that is underlined appears in a glossary at the end. The glossary defines game terms that have been clarified or redefined for this playtest or that don't appear in the 2014 Player's Handbook.

 

[darjr]

New spell idea:

Distract Gamer
Casting Time: bonus action
Components: verbal

You make an off-the-cuff statement about any topic involving science, science fiction, medieval arms & armor, or Tolkien. All Gamers within 30’ who can hear you must succeed at a Charisma saving throw or stop whatever they are doing to argue with you. If they preface their argument with, “Actually…” the caster must also make a saving throw or suffer the effects of their own spell.

If casting online they save at disadvantage

 

[UngainlyTitan]

Assuming that the rules on rituals remain basically the same as in 5e (apart from opening them up to every caster), it’s slightly more complicated than that, because you’ll need ten minutes of ritualing before the spell kicks in, and the animals you might be interested in having a conversation with (or some of them, at least) won’t be inclined to wait patiently for ten minutes while you wave your arms about and mutter nonsense before introducing yourself.

You just need a bigger bag of nuts.

 

[darjr]

But its trajectory doesn’t actually lead into Earth. Describing that as “falling towards Earth” is misleading. What it’s doing is passing Earth by, but the path to do so requires circling around it a bunch of times, because of the spacetime warping of Earth’s gravity. If you removed that warp and flattened spacetime out, the moon would just go in a straight line past Earth.

If you removed gravity nothing would fall.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Just a list to keep track:

• ASIs are a feat now.
• Will give the Arcane/Primal/Divine list to 9th level.
• Seems like they changed the nat 20/1 rules again to the old ones.
• Rolling a 1 giving inspiration, I've seen a lot of people suggesting this.
• 40k people did the survey.
• Ranger/Rogue/Bard are the Expert Classes, the others will be part of other groups.
• There'll be feats and magic items that'll have class groups as requirements.
• Those three classes will have expertise, it's the signature feature of Experts.
• They mix stuff from the other groups as well.
• Will be good to have a PC from each group in the party.
• There'll be a list of suggested spells from level 1 to 20, to make it simpler for players.
• Every caster can use rituals, don't need the specific ritual casting feature.
• The level 20 capstones move to level 18, and you get an epic boon at 20.

Thank you so much for this, I was really hoping someone would do it so I didn't have to watch the whole thing!

He mentioned a Warrior group as well.

I mean, I said the transition was going to be like 1E to 2E but I didn't realize it would be that literal lol.

The rules glossary of each supersedes the glossary of previous UAs

Sticking my tongue out at the multiple people who said we wouldn't get this again and we'd get neat little playtest packets, one for each class. Hah!

 

[Micah Sweet]

New spell idea:

Distract Gamer
Casting Time: bonus action
Components: verbal

You make an off-the-cuff statement about any topic involving science, science fiction, medieval arms & armor, or Tolkien. All Gamers within 30’ who can hear you must succeed at a Charisma saving throw or stop whatever they are doing to argue with you. If they preface their argument with, “Actually…” the caster must also make a saving throw or suffer the effects of their own spell.

I fail that save all the time.

 

[Charlaquin]

If you removed gravity nothing would fall.

Yes, but some things would still bump into each other. The Moon and the Earth wouldn’t though. And they also won’t with gravity. So there’s no way in which it can be said that the moon is going towards Earth. It’s going away from it.

 

[darjr]

Yes, but some things would still bump into each other. The Moon and the Earth wouldn’t though.

If you remove gravity I’m not sure what would happen. Nothing might never touch anything ever again. Everything may fly away from each other as fast as possible.

But I do get your point.

 

[Staffan]

Is it, though? Gating Feats by Class Group just seems like restrictions for the sake of restrictions. The thing I like about Feats is that they can allow you to "play against type" and create some outside-the-box builds. What is the upside of limiting that?

Because it lets you create feats and other abilities that (a) interact with common features of the group, and (b) will automatically apply to later additions to the group.

Just off the top of my head, I could see an "show-off" feat that gives an ally inspiration when you succeed (or maybe crit) on a skill in which you have Expertise. This would naturally be restricted to Expert classes.

Then have also some extra "ritual only" spells that do exactly that.
But I still don't see why we need to artificially divide one thing into two.

Because the two do different things, and say different things about the world.

And because there are so, SO many spells on the list that ought to be ritual-only.

 

[Bill Zebub]

But its trajectory doesn’t actually lead into Earth. Describing that as “falling towards Earth” is misleading. What it’s doing is passing Earth by, but the path to do so requires circling around it a bunch of times, because of the spacetime warping of Earth’s gravity. If you removed that warp and flattened spacetime out, the moon would just go in a straight line past Earth.

Because actually it’s trajectory would lead it farther from earth, not closer, if gravity were switched off. RIGHT?!?!??

 

[Art Waring]

But too many "unbalanced" parties is a "problem" that I would argue hasn't actually existed in the past 8+ years of 5E.

Absolutely agree, that's why i used quotations around balance