D&D (2024) WotC Fireside Chat: Revised 2024 Player’s Handbook

In this video about the upcoming revised Player’s Handnook, WotC’s Jeremy Crawford and Chris Perkins reveal a few new tidbits.

• The books are near final and almost ready to go to print
• Psionic subclasses such as the Soulknife and Psi Warrior will appear in the core books
• Named spells have art depicting their creators.
• There are new species in the PHB.

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[Maxperson]

Wow. It’s almost like different systems allow you to build different characters.

Imagine that.

That was my point

I mean “racially unique” half elf? In what way is a 3e half elf unique considering it has no abilities that another race doesn’t have?

No other race has its combination of abilities. Unlike with 5.5e where there is no such thing. You are either fully human or fully elf and then call yourself half-elf.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

A lot of people felt/were overwhelmed by the magnitude of the options available and for those people, the system was a hindrance. For people who weren't, though, and who could and would dig through a dozen or more books looking for the perfect class/prestige class/skills/feats/spells, etc. to achieve a concept, there isn't a better edition out there for reaching the vision.

I used to say of 3.5 "The good thing about D&D 3.5 is that there's a rule for everything. The bad thing about 3.5 is that there's a rule for everything"

Different strokes for sure.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

That was my point

That's not really your point, though - your point seems to be that everyone could make more character concepts with 3.5 than they will be able to with 5.24. Now, leaving aside that we don't really entirely know what we'll be able to make with 5.24, I think it's a bold claim, and I think you're going to get a lot of pushback. In particular, when the designers, who probably ought to know, have claimed otherwise.

(And taking into account that you seem to be discounting any 5e builds that you couldn't build with 3.5 and only focussing on builds that you DID build in 3.5 that you can't, for whatever reason, in 5e.)

I admit that I am not anywhere near as impressed with 3.5 as you are, but I don't really have any skin in this game. As unbiased as I can try to be: I still think you're mistaken, and seeing 3.5 through rose-tinted glasses. (I'm glad you liked it, though! It was a very popular version of D&D, you're in good company, I'm sure!)

 

[Hussar]

That was my point

No other race has its combination of abilities. Unlike with 5.5e where there is no such thing. You are either fully human or fully elf and then call yourself half-elf.

That's simply not true.

The only thing that distinguishes a 3e elf from a half elf is a couple of skills. Elves gain +2 on Listen, Search and Spot while Half-elves are given +2 on Diplomacy and Gather Information. Oh, and elves get a couple of weapon proficiencies that most classes get anyway.

Wow, they are so truly distinct and unique. Good grief, it specifically says that half elves are considered an elf.

But it all comes down to how you define "unique". In your 3e game, all half elves are identical. They all have exactly the same traits. You cannot have a half elf that doesn't share the same traits as every other half elf in the PHB.

In my 5e (2024) game though, I could have five half-elves in the group and not a single one shares a single trait. How's that for unique? Not a single one of them would share a single trait. I'd say that that's far more unique.

I can play a traditional half-elf simply by using the "elf" traits. It's virtually identical to the 5e (2014) version. As in, AFAIR, the only change would be a couple of proficiencies. Or, I can go wild, have a half elf half silver dragon, use the Silver Dragonborn traits and poof, I'm good to go.

Unique races for the win.

 

[Maxperson]

That's simply not true.

The only thing that distinguishes a 3e elf from a half elf is a couple of skills. Elves gain +2 on Listen, Search and Spot while Half-elves are given +2 on Diplomacy and Gather Information. Oh, and elves get a couple of weapon proficiencies that most classes get anyway.

Wow, they are so truly distinct and unique. Good grief, it specifically says that half elves are considered an elf.

But it all comes down to how you define "unique". In your 3e game, all half elves are identical. They all have exactly the same traits. You cannot have a half elf that doesn't share the same traits as every other half elf in the PHB.

In my 5e (2024) game though, I could have five half-elves in the group and not a single one shares a single trait. How's that for unique? Not a single one of them would share a single trait. I'd say that that's far more unique.

I can play a traditional half-elf simply by using the "elf" traits. It's virtually identical to the 5e (2014) version. As in, AFAIR, the only change would be a couple of proficiencies. Or, I can go wild, have a half elf half silver dragon, use the Silver Dragonborn traits and poof, I'm good to go.

Unique races for the win.

Show me one other race with that combination of abilities? The race is unique, not individual half-elves. At least when it comes to racial abilities.

It says they are considered an elf for the purposes of items and effects keyed to elves. They have elven blood in their veins, so elven stuff works for them. They are not however an elf. If they were an elf, they would have all elven abilities exactly the same as the elven race.


And not one 5.5e elf will ever be uniquely half-elven as a race. Every last one of them would be fully one parent race or the other. That's not racially unique at all. Your "half" elf "half" silver dragon will just be a silver dragon that assumed humanoid form and got stuck that way. Non-existent half-races for the lose.

Unique doesn't equate to major difference. No other race in 5e has that particular combination of racial abilities.

 

[Parmandur]

And taking into account that you seem to be discounting any 5e builds that you couldn't build with 3.5 and only focussing on builds that you DID build in 3.5 that you can't, for whatever reason, in 5e.

Yeah, particularly this feels odd to me: bring able to distinguish minutae of whether someone is good at climbing abd swimming or just one of them is fat less significant to character concept, for me, than the Background system , tge expanded array of Species, and Class/Subclass vonbos. There are no Warlocks in the 3E PHB, nor Drow, Psionics, Tieflings, Dragonborn, or Goliaths.