D&D (2024) What's your favorite rule change?

[Scribe]

Uh I think I liked changes to Berzerker. I'd have to double check.

 

[lall]

What’s yours mellored? The old sorcerer capstone is at level 5. The new capstone is great. In retirement, my sorcerer should almost never have to cast a spell with V, S, or M. Tip-top etiquette.

 

[Vael]

Outside of the general glow-up on classes, hopefully making them all more fun to play, I like the new casting rule (No two spell slots in a round, over the earlier can only cast a cantrip if you use a spell slot on a bonus action spell) and exhaustion rules because they provide the same benefit to the game but will be easier in play.

 

[Sulicius]

• Barbarians getting more stuff to be good at outside of combat (10 minute rage!)
• Monks being more playable and having less wonky subclasses (looking at you Four Elements!)
• Exhaustion
• Getting rid of magical bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage.
• Moon Druids not being broken in Tier 1
• Assassin Rogues having usable features
  

The list goes on and on, hard to say what I like most!

 

[mellored]

What’s yours mellored?

Hard to pick just one favorite.

So I'll cheat a bit and say the increased versatility of martials to do more than just damage. Which includes weapon mastery, feats getting +1, and added skills boosts.


For the first time ever, in any edition, I am tempted to play a fighter.
Though still only up to level 11.

 

[Vael]

One thing that hasn't been heavily discussed, but I've noticed a heavy push (aside from weapon masteries and Stunning Strike) towards cutting down two-stage resolution of effects. Spells and effects generally have either a saving throw or an attack role, not both. Apparently a lot of the CR 1 beasts in the back of the PHB no longer have saving throws attached to their attacks.

• Dire Wolf now just knocks a Huge or smaller creature prone on a hit, no save.
• Giant Spider poison bite has no secondary save, but the paralysis effect is gone and the damage is lower
• Brown Bear also now can knock prone on a hit.

They've also had a general reduction in HP. So if this a sign of what to expect in the new MM, I do think that combat will at least not take longer to resolve.

 

[Charlaquin]

One thing that hasn't been heavily discussed, but I've noticed a heavy push (aside from weapon masteries and Stunning Strike) towards cutting down two-stage resolution of effects. Spells and effects generally have either a saving throw or an attack role, not both. Apparently a lot of the CR 1 beasts in the back of the PHB no longer have saving throws attached to their attacks.

• Dire Wolf now just knocks a Huge or smaller creature prone on a hit, no save.
• Giant Spider poison bite has no secondary save, but the paralysis effect is gone and the damage is lower
• Brown Bear also now can knock prone on a hit.

Huh… how strange that they did this, and yet some weapon mastery effects still proc on a hit and then trigger a save. Also if I recall correctly, there are a few Battlemaster maneuvers that still do this, Stunning Strike still does it, I think a couple of rogue Cunning Strikes do it… I don’t actually think two-stage resolution is a big deal, but if they made an active effort to reduce them, it’s strange that the effort doesn’t seem to have extended to PC abilities.

 

[mellored]

Huh… how strange that they did this, and yet some weapon mastery effects still proc on a hit and then trigger a save. Also if I recall correctly, there are a few Battlemaster maneuvers that still do this, Stunning Strike still does it, I think a couple of rogue Cunning Strikes do it… I don’t actually think two-stage resolution is a big deal, but if they made an active effort to reduce them, it’s strange that the effort doesn’t seem to have extended to PC abilities.

Only one weapon mastery has it.

They have been eliminated where it's reasonable to do so (Ray of Sickness), but not where it would cause something to be overpowered.

 

[pukunui]

Uh I think I liked changes to Berzerker. I'd have to double check.

I’m not sure if I would count this as my favourite, but it is one that I am currently using in my Mad Mage campaign, where one of my players is playing a berserker. He greatly appreciates the change to Frenzy.

 

[mellored]

Bump.

Now that more people got the book, any other changes people like?