One D&D Playtest 5: Deep Dive
Here follow my notes and thoughts about the One D&D Playtest 5 packet that Wizards of the Coast released in late April 2023.
For more context and my Standard Disclaimer, check out the introduction to this series.
Weapons & Weapon Mastery
- Shortsword as a martial weapon again? Fine. I’m not sure I cared either way.
- Moving the net to adventuring gear makes sense. It changes from an attack roll to hit to a DEX save to avoid (reasonable). Escape conditions are mainly the same, plus some welcome clarifications.
- Trident got buffed? Okay, I wasn’t using them, but sure.
- Lance got its properties tidied up (fine) and its damage slightly nerfed (meh).
- War pick is now versatile? All right, I think that’s a change players can really… grab on to with both hands.
- Musket and pistol moved from the DMG? Glad to see it from the “put all the same things in the same place” perspective, but I still won’t allow them in my games any time soon.
- Light weapon property is back to basically the 2014 mechanic, just moved to the Weapon Properties section now instead of hiding in the Two-Weapon Fighting rules. I’m a little disappointed to see this get rolled back, but not heartbroken.
- Thrown weapons can be drawn and thrown as a single Attack action. Good!
- Melee weapons, when thrown, use Strength for attack and damage roll modifiers. Finesse weapons use Strength or Dexterity. I like this also.
- Cleave (Greataxe, halberd)? Makes sense. Greatsword having Graze instead of Cleave? Doesn’t make sense. Seems like a nonsense way to differentiate Greatsword from Greataxe.
- Flex (Quarterstaff, spear, longsword, war pick, warhammer)? Cool. Rolling bigger dice is tight.
- Graze (Glaive, greatsword)? Is going to be silly when martials get to 20 STR and are doing 5 damage even when they miss. A fighter with three attacks could miss, miss, miss, and still do 15 damage. Cool for martials, I guess, but still kind of weird.
- Nick (Dagger, light hammer, sickle, scimitar) activates the previous UA version of Light weapons getting an additional attack in the main Attack action instead of a Bonus Action. Makes me a little happier about the reversion on the Light property.
- Push (Greatclub, pike, heavy crossbow) seems like it could be “cinematically” fun.
- Sap (Mace, flail, morningstar) imposes disadvantage on the target’s next attack and makes a lot of sense to me. Let’s hear it for blunt force trauma, everybody!
- Slow (Club, javelin, light crossbow, sling, whip, longbow, musket) reduces speed like Ray of Frost. The choices here work for me.
- Topple (Battleaxe, lance, maul, trident) has targets make a CON save or get knocked prone. All righty!
- Vex (Handaxe, dart, shortbow, rapier, shortsword, blowgun, hand crossbow) gives the attacker advantage on their next attack. Maybe a little broken, but seems fun? I imagine this is like Inigo Montoya when he gets going against Count Rugen.
- The Priest’s Pack now costs more (33 gp, formerly 19), loses the 10 candles, loses the alms box, loses the incense and censer, loses the vestments, loses the waterskin (!!), and gains a lamp, some holy water, and 7 days of rations (formerly 2). Those had better be some pretty good rations! I’m fine with this, I think.
Spells
- Vicious Mockery and Dissonant Whispers have been removed from the Arcane list and will be Bard-exclusives in a future UA. Cool.
- Arcane Eruption (Sorcerer). A weaker Fireball (6d6 vs 8d6) at a higher spell slot level (4), but you get to choose the damage type, and it applies conditions on failed saves. I like the flavor, but maybe have this at third level and I’d take it over Fireball.
- Book of Shadows (Warlock, Pact of the Tome). Cantrip that uses an hour to prep 2 additional spells for extra versatility, and it adds to the damage rolls of other cantrips. Cool. But seems like you’d only get to cast this once, since the book goes away if you cast it again? Huh? Weird – I expected this to be the daily “first thing in the morning” ritual for all Warlocks.
- Chaos Bolt (Sorcerer). Moved from Xanathar. Longer range than Chromatic Orb, little less damage, and the damage type is random. Can sometimes chain to multiple targets, which might be the biggest selling point. Seems on brand for the Wild Magic subclass, but I suspect other subclasses will prefer to use Chromatic Orb unless 50gp diamonds are too scarce.
- Eldritch Blast (Warlock). No mechanical differences, just explicitly locked to the Warlock now. This is the way.
- Hex (Warlock). Now only does extra damage once per turn (formerly on every hit). Upcasting to level 5 or higher now also increases that extra damage. Little bit of a nerf, but makes sense in the context of similar changes. Were Warlocks even doing multi-attack in the past (without dips into other classes)?
- Memorize Spell (Wizard). Spend 1 minute and a 3rd-level spell slot to swap a prepared spell for a spell you wish you had prepared. Upcast to swap more! Seems cool to me, though clearly it comes at a price – that’s one less Fireball or Haste than you would otherwise be casting today!
- Pact Familiar (Warlock, Pact of the Chain). I kind of like the stat block and customization options (dude, I can have a flumph as my buddy?!). I note that the Combat section says the familiar can Dodge+Move, or use your Reaction to attack. This implicitly does not include having the familiar permanently using Help to grant someone else advantage, which always felt broken to me. John will probably hate it. I think it’s probably for the best. They should probably explicitly list all the actions that are permitted to the familiar.
- Pact Weapon (Warlock, Pact of the Blade). Can now bond with a magic weapon in addition to just conjuring one. This weapon gets to use your spellcasting modifier for attack and damage rolls instead of STR/DEX (nice). If thrown, it returns to your hand (ala Thor’s hammer). And it gives a second attack at level 5 – so I guess that’s what the Hex adjustment was meant to address. Overall cool, it’s nice to be able to incorporate loot with this core class feature.
- Sorcerous Burst (Sorcerer). The cantrip version of Chromatic Orb, with exploding damage dice. Could be fun if you roll well, and the extra versatility on damage type is nice, but Fire Bolt wins on dependable raw power.
- Sorcerous Vitality (Sorcerer). Physician, heal thyself! (And remove any of a few conditions.) A nice trick to have in the bag when you’re in trouble and you’re out of potions.
- Sorcery Incarnate (Sorcerer). Recharges some Sorcery Points, unlocks stacking of any two metamagics, and gives Advantage on all spell attack rolls for the duration. Seems okay, but situational, and there are some other really great level 5 spells that could be cast instead…
- Modify Spell/Create Spell/Scribe Spell (Wizard). In theory I like some kind of mechanic for Wizards to experiment and come up with personalized spells, and it gives Wizards something to do with money since Create Spell eats a very pricey Arcane Focus (whose cost scales by level of the altered spell), but I have grave reservations about being able to remove components and concentration checks, and that upcasting lets you modify multiple attributes of the spell. That said, I think being able to turn long-casting-time non-ritual spells into rituals is good. The casting time and duration on Create Spell feel out of sync with the description though – probably to prevent using Modify Spell to make Create Spell a ritual! I was feeling like this intruded too much on the Sorcerer’s territory of magic modification, but the financial and time commitments that Sorcerers don’t have tempers that a little bit. It will be up to DMs to keep this from getting out of hand – a rich Wizard with ample downtime could really mess up the game balance!
Feats
- Epic Boon of Dimensional Travel (Expert or Mage). Essentially a free Misty Step immediately after an Attack or Magic action, plus an ASI. Sign me up!
- Epic Boon of Energy Resistance (Export or Mage). Resistance to 2 types of damage, swappable daily? Redirect some damage to a visible target? And an ASI? Pretty neat, and the versatility is cool (as long as you aren’t planning to go to multiple elemental planes in the same day).
- Epic Boon of Irresistable Offense (Expert or Warrior). Ignore a target’s resistance to martial damage types? And a potential shit-ton of extra damage on nat 20s (based on the stat the feat boosted). Fighters and Barbarians should like this! (I know Torinn would.)
- Epic Boon of Recovery. Get a boost to 50% instead of dropping to 0 hp, and it’s harder to double-tap you when you’re down? Nice. If you’re a high-level person in the habit of getting clobbered, this is going to be nice.
- Epic Boon of Speed (Expert or Warrior). Disengage as a Bonus Action – and also get out of being Grappled and Restrained. Also run really fast. We’re going to have to redo all the math on the theoretical max speed of a Tabaxi!
- Epic Boon of the Night Spirit (Expert or Mage). In dim light and darkness, be invisible with an action, and have resistance to almost all damage. Bonkers. The edgelords are gonna love this…
- Weapon Master. Get access to a lighter version of the Weapon Mastery feat from the Warrior group. I’m okay with this - it’s like the Magic Initiate and similar feats that let outsiders get a taste of a different group.
Barbarian
Base Class
- Starting Equipment. Barbs now start with an Explorer’s Pack, 4 Handaxes, either a Greataxe or a Battleaxe/Shield/gp bundle, and 15 gp. Or 75 gp to just buy things. Seems fine.
- Rage (level 1). Definitely reads better as formatted in the UA. Some tweaks to how it ends (being Incapacitated or donning Heavy Armor, which both make sense to me). It’s now extended by what you do (making an attack roll, causing an enemy to make a saving throw, or using a Bonus Action; formerly extended by taking damage which never felt good to me) and can last longer (10 minutes, formerly 1 minute). Seems good!
- Unarmored Defense (level 1). Stays the same. Sure.
- Weapon Mastery (new, level 1). Like the feat, but Barbs get to have two kinds of mastery at once, bumping up to 3 at 4th level, and 4 at 10th level. The masteries can be changed out after a Long Rest. Seems cool, and the flexibility is appreciated!
- Primal Knowledge (new, level 2). Use Strength for various non-STR skill checks while raging. Okay, I guess?
- Reckless Attack (level 2). Mostly the same, but now extends to all STR-based attacks, not just melee attacks. Nice.
- Subclass (level 3). Just like everybody else.
- Feat (level 4). Just like everybody else.
- Extra Attack (level 5). Unchanged.
- Fast Movement (level 5). Unchanged.
- Subclass Feature (level 6). Same.
- Feral Instinct (level 7). Same.
- Feat (level 8). Just like other classes.
- Indomitable Might (level 9, formerly 18!). Exactly the same, just 9 levels sooner! Cool, I think?! This used to be an extra die of Brutal Critical damage, but that’s just auto-scaling with your level now.
- Subclass Feature (level 10). Like other classes do.
- Brutal Critical (level 11, formerly 9). Now includes any STR-based attack, not just melee. (Nice!) Damage is now equal to your Barbarian level (formerly an extra damage die), so this is now a guaranteed +11 to +20, HECK YEAH!
- Feat (level 12). Just like everybody else.
- Persistent Rage (level 13, formerly 15). Rage just lasts for 10 minutes now (formerly indefinite). Probably fine? I’ve never been a tier 3 Barbarian before.
- Subclass Feature (level 14). Like other classes do.
- Relentless Rage (level 15, formerly 13). Conceptually the same, but a successful CON save now gives you 2x your Barbarian level in hp – so a guaranteed 30-40 hp! – instead of a measly 1 hp. I think that’s worth the extra wait, frankly!
- Feat (level 16). Same as other classes.
- Rage Resurgence (new, level 17). Get a Rage back when rolling initiative. Handy! This used to be an extra die of Brutal Critical damage.
- Primal Champion (level 18, formerly 20). STR and CON now get a +2 bump each (formerly +4) to a max of 22 (formerly 24). A little nerfy, but it comes sooner, so… fine?
- Feat (level 19). Same as other classes.
- Epic Boon (new, level 20). +2 bump to STR or CON, to a max of 30, plus an Epic Boon Feat. Sure, cool! Smash! Rarrr!
Barbarian: Path of the Berserker
- Frenzy (level 3). No longer gives +1 Exhaustion (yay!). Extra damage while using Reckless Attack + Rage. Works for me!
- Mindless Rage (level 6). Mostly the same, but now ends being Charmed or Frightened rather than suspending those conditions. Easier to manage, and a nice upgrade!
- Retaliation (level 10, formerly 14). Comes online 4 levels earlier with a nice clarification that it works with any melee attack – with or without a weapon! Cool.
- Intimidating Presence (level 14, formerly 10). Extra range if Rage is active. Now based on STR instead of CHA. Failed saves now cause 1 minute of being Frightened (formerly required an Action to extend it!) The old version allowed 24-hour immunity after a successful save, but that’s now removed too; the new version instead requires a Long Rest to recharge, or it can consume a Rage instead. Overall cool, I think, and is thematically more on brand for the higher level.
Overall: Feels like a decent glow-up, and would be a fun HULK SMASH build. I could see myself wanting to play this.
Fighter
Base Class
- Proficiencies. Persuasion is now an option, for the leader-y Fighters.
- Starting Equipment. Fighters now start with chain mail (removes the leather/longbow/arrows combo), a light crossbow and 20 bolts (goodbye, handaxes), quiver, a Dungeoneer’s Pack, 11 gp, and the choice of either a greatsword or a longsword/shield/25 gp bundle. Or 175 gp to buy whatever. I guess the leather/longbow combo is more explicitly a Ranger thing now? Having to choose 2-handed weapon or sword & board definitely makes character creation a little simpler.
- Fighting Style (level 1). Now just pick a Fighting Style feat. I like this - it leans into feats becoming core rules.
- Second Wind (level 1). Now 2x per Long Rest, with more uses coming online at levels 4 and 10. This is probably fine, since Short Rests are rarely guaranteed.
- Weapon Mastery (new, level 1). Like the Barbarian version but even better! Fighters start with 3 masteries, with a 4th at level 4, and a 5th and level 10.
- Action Surge (level 2). The additional Actions are now limited to Attack, Dash, Disengage, and Dodge.
- Subclass (level 3). Just like all the new classes.
- Feat (level 4). Just like other classes.
- Extra Attack (level 5). If it ain’t broke…
- Feat (level 5). Again?! Okay, cool!
- Subclass Feature (level 6) Just like other classes.
- Weapon Expert (new, level 7). Once per Long Rest, change the Mastery property of a weapon you’ve got Mastery of – eg, change Greatsword from Graze to Cleave. Like metamagic, but for weapons. I like it!
- Feat (level 8). Just like other classes.
- Indomitable (level 9). Uses your Fighter level as the bonus when you reroll a failed save. WOW! So that’s +9 to +20! The tradeoff here is that this is now just 1x/Long Rest. But that’s probably enough?
- Subclass Feature (level 10). Just like other classes.
- Two Extra Attacks (level 11). Same as before. The name and wording changed slightly but it’s mechanically identical – just clearer for new players.
- Feat (level 12). Just like other classes.
- Weapon Adept (new, level 13). More weapon metamagic (metamartial?). Give a weapon two Mastery properties instead of one, and choose which to use when attacking (before you know whether you hit or miss).
- Subclass Feature (level 14). Just like other classes.
- Improved Action Surge (level 15). Same scaling mechanic (now you get 2x/rest), but comes online two levels earlier. Nice.
- Feat (level 16). Just like other classes.
- Unconquerable (new, level 17). Use a Second Wind to trigger Indomitable if it’s already been used. Plus healing from the SW! This is sort of like the way Indomitable scaled before, but comes online later and has a resource pool instead of just a static number of uses per Long Rest. This would let you do Indomitable up to 5x per Long Rest, without losing out on the Second Wind healing. It’s kind of a drag to wait to unlock this, but I can see it being VERY welcome at this level of play.
- Three Extra Attacks (level 18, formerly 20). Same as before, but with clearer wording for new players, and two levels earlier.
- Feat (level 19). Just like other classes.
- Epic Boon (new, level 20). +2 bump to STR or DEX, with a max of 30, plus an Epic Boon feat. Cool.
Fighter: Champion
- Adaptable Victor (new, level 3). Rent a skill proficiency after a Long Rest; pick a new one at the end of your next Long Rest. Seems like a good boost to out-of-combat utility, if you know what to prepare for. (eg, “We make our case to the High Council today; I’d better put on my Persuasion pants!”)
- Improved Critical (level 3). Now includes unarmed strikes in addition to weapon attacks. Nice, thank you.
- Additional Fighting Style (level 6, formerly 10). Grab another Fighting Style feat, 4 levels sooner. Nice!
- Heroic Warrior (new, level 6). Free Heroic Advantage 1x per combat. Whaaat?! Cool! Very glad to see more mechanical ways of getting HA. (I bet this is part of why Crawford is having fun playtesting this subclass!)
- Superior Critical (level 10, formerly 15). Applies to both weapon and unarmed attacks, and comes online FIVE levels sooner. WOW!
- Survivor (level 14, formerly 18). The existing mechanic is folded into the Heroic Rally benefit, and this also grants Advantage on death saves, and makes 18-20 act as natural 20s. All this, and it happens FOUR levels sooner. Very nice!
Overall: This is a very good looking refresh IMO, both to the class and subclass. I’m digging the flexibility of the Weapon Mastery system. I’ve also never wanted to play a Champion before, but now I think it could be pretty fun!
Sorcerer
Base Class
- Proficiencies. Sorcerers now get proficiency in all simple weapons. Good.
- Starting Equipment. Sorcerers now start with an Arcane Focus, two daggers, a Dungeoneer’s Pack, a spear, and 28 gp. Or 50 gp to buy whatever. The spear feels like a weird choice, but it weighs less than a quarterstaff and can be thrown, so… okay, I guess? I think as a DM that I’d let a new Sorcerer swap to a quarterstaff if they wanted to.
- Innate Sorcery (new, level 1). This is how they all get Sorcerous Burst and Chaos Bolt as auto-prepared.
- Spellcasting (level 1). 4 cantrips (unchanged), with some suggestions. One cantrip may be swapped out on level bumps (a Tasha rule, I think?). Additional cantrips at levels 4 and 10 (unchanged from 2014). Spell slot progression is unchanged, but prepared spells gets a very welcome boost from a max of 15 to a max of 22! (This doesn’t count always-prepared things like SB and CB from above.) One spell may be changed out on level bumps (again I think a Tasha rule?). As a Sorcerer player, this part makes me VERY happy.
- Font of Magic (level 2). Sorcery Point progression unchanged (max of 20 points). The table for converting Sorcery Points into spell slots now has a minimum Sorcerer level column (so in case you somehow end up with extra SP, you can’t create a higher-level spell slot too soon).
- Metamagic (level 2). Sorcerers now get 3 metamagic options (formerly 2) and can replace one of them after a Long Rest. NICE!!! This is great for letting players try the whole gamut of options instead of committing to two and possibly having regrets. Huge positive change here IMO.
- Subclass (level 3). Yep.
- Feat (level 4). Yep.
- Sorcerous Vitality (level 5). Formerly a dead level. Now the Sorcerous Vitality spell is permanently prepared. Nice!
- Subclass Feature (level 6). Yep.
- Arcane Eruption (new level 7). Another formerly dead level. Now Arcane Eruption is permanently prepared. I didn’t love this spell, but it’s better than getting nothing.
- Feat (level 8). Yep.
- Sorcery Incarnate (new, level 9). Another formerly dead level. Now Sorcery Incarnate is permanently prepared. Situational, as I said above, but still better than nothing.
- Subclass Feature (level 10). Yep.
- Creative Failure by the Design Team (level 11). Unchanged. Dead level. +1 spell known, +1st level 6 spell slot.
- Feat (level 12). Yep.
- Additional Metamagic (level 13). Formerly a dead level, adds 3 more metamagic options. Yes, please!
- Subclass Feature (level 14). Yep.
- Sorcerous Restoration (level 15, formerly 20). Formerly a dead level. Recharge 4 Sorcery Points when rolling initiative or finishing a Short Rest. Nice, a good incentive to actually use Sorcery Points instead of hoarding them! It comes online FIVE levels early and includes recharge on initiative – NICE!
- Feat (level 16). Yep.
- Enhanced Creative Failure by the Design Team (level 11). A newly dead level! +1 spell known, +1 level 9 spell slot. The 2014 version used to offer an additional metamagic option here.
- Arcane Apotheosis (new, level 18). Wish is now permanently prepared, and you can never lose it through casting stress. And it can be used 1x/Long Rest to cast a spell of level 1-8 by using the replicated spell’s slot level and without consuming a 9th-level slot. Note this does not say an Arcane spell, nor does it say a spell you have prepared. So basically it’s a 1x/day “Cast Anything” card, which is WILD. I daresay this might be OP. I didn’t love it at first, but now that I read it closely, it’s definitely growing on me, and it does speak to the class identity. I almost wish (haha) that instead of auto-preparing Wish, it just gave the “Cast Anything” 1x/LR ability… but then it turns out that I haven’t ever actually read the 2014 version of Wish since it has such a bonkers legacy. And… the prebaked effects are welcome… but it still can do the “carefully word a request that the DM will still find a way to twist against you” thing. I’m really torn here – on one hand, it makes a lot of sense for Sorcerers to have a special relationship with the most hardcore spell in the game, but on the other hand, downtime is now utterly broken as the temptation to turn out a 25,000 gp item every few days is pretty powerful. What an interesting mess!!
- Feat (level 19). Yep.
- Epic Boon (new, level 20). +2 CHA, with a max of 30, plus an Epic Boon feat. Cool.
Metamagic Options
- Careful Spell now acts like an Evocation Wizard’s sculpting, causing up to your CHA modifier’s worth of chosen creatures to avoid all AoE damage, though at a 1 sorcery point cost. VERY NICE, makes this option actually viable.
- Distant Spell increases a spell’s range by 30’ x your Sorcerer level. Would be great on an outdoor battlefield – that’s a Fireball with up to 750 feet of range at level 20!
- Empowered Spell is unchanged. Good.
- Extended Spell adds Advantage on saving throws to maintain Concentration. Nice!
- Heightened Spell now only costs 2 Sorcery Points (formerly 3) plus imposes Disadvantage on all saves against the spell (formerly just the first save). Also nice, definitely makes me interested in trying it out.
- Quickened Spell is the same mechanic, but with some important clarifications to make it easier to understand how it interacts with the action economy.
- Seeking Spell got ported over from Tasha.
- Subtle Spell now doesn’t need Material components unless the spell says they’re consumed. Nice, nice, good, yes…
- Transmuted Spell got ported over from Tasha.
- So far this is all looking pretty great, WotC is finally showing Sorcerer some much-needed love! All the metamagics are looking more fun and interesting! Let’s see about…
- Twinned Spell has been nerfed to shit. Instead of letting a single-target spell have a second target within one turn/casting, it lets you cast the same spell on the next turn using sorcery points instead of a spell slot. Crawford keeps insisting it’s overpowered – and maybe that’s true in tier 3 or tier 4 play, but most campaigns never get there, and because of the single-target limitation in the 2014 version, it was always situational enough that I didn’t find myself using it commonly. While dropping the single-target restriction makes this simpler, this version definitely doesn’t deserve the “Twinned” name, and I kind of hate it a lot, to the point that it went from being one of the more fun metamagics to one of the least fun. Boo. Boo!!
Sorcerer: Draconic Sorcery
- Now has a better name (formerly Draconic Bloodline). I look forward to more improvements along this line for other subclasses.
- Draconic Resilience (level 3, formerly level 1). This used to give an AC of 13 + DEX modifier, now gives 10 + CHA mod + DEX mod, resulting in nice improvements at higher levels. Since it kicks in late, it immediately adds 3 hp instead of 1. I overall like this change, but it means levels 1 and 2 are squishier than they used to be.
- Dragon Speech (level 3). Updated to just be about conversing with Dragon-type creatures. Loses the ability to read and write Draconic, and to speak Draconic itself – so you can talk with Dragons, but not with other speakers of Draconic. And it kicks in two levels later because of when the subclasses get acquired. Overall, this is a disappointment. (Unless there are Dragon-type monsters that don’t speak Draconic? That seems like the only upside here.)
- Elemental Affinity (level 6). Loses the connection to a particular color of dragon in the name of simplicity – just choose a damage type instead. Resistance to that damage type is always on instead of requiring a sorcery point to activate. Good.
- Draconic Exhalation (new, level 10). Turn your Sorcerous Burst into a 15-foot cone ala Burning Hands, but with the damage type from Elemental Affinity. Unlike Burning Hands and similar AoE spells, however, this ability makes separate attack and damage rolls for each creature in the cone, instead of a DEX save and a single damage roll. This will lead to uneven damage (which could be fun, or a bummer if the rolls all suck), but it could bog down combat with extra rolls. Then again, those rolls are only made by the player, not the DM, and there’s less overhead from remembering who saved and who didn’t and then doing the half damage on save calculation. So maybe it is faster? I kind of actually want to call up a friend and measure this.
- Dragon Wings (level 14). Formerly activated and dismissed with Bonus Actions and otherwise persisting indefinitely, Dragon Wings now require Sorcery Incarnate to be active in order to manifest, which means they’ll go away after a minute, or if you lose concentration. Crawford said this nerf is because the spell comes online earlier than in the 2014 version, but that’s simply not true as it’s the level 14 feature in both versions. To make up for the nerf, the wings are now spectral, so they won’t wreck your clothes or armor, and at the end of a turn the wings can unleash magical energy damage of your Elemental Affinity type to every creature within 15 feet. These last two changes are cool. Overall I think this is okay, as leaning into/enhancing Sorcery Incarnate feels to me like it ties into the class identity. It still stinks waiting until level 14 for this – most campaigns, even long ones like Frostmaiden or Princes of the Apocalypse, will never get here.
Overall: This is mostly a great glow-up over the 2014 edition. The Twinned Spell nerf sucks immensely, Arcane Apotheosis is probably broken AF, I’m mixed on most of the Draconic features, and I’m really disappointed that there are dead levels at all – though two dead levels is fewer than the six dead levels in the 2014 version, so it’s an improvement at least. By comparison, the One D&D Cleric has 3 dead levels, Bard has 2, and Ranger has 1, while Rogue, Druid, and Paladin have some kind of new feature at every level.
Warlock
Base Class
- Armor Training. Warlocks now get Medium Armor in addition to Light Armor training. Less squishy is good, right?
- Starting Equipment. Warlocks now start with an Arcane Focus (Orb), a book of occult lore, two daggers, leather armor, a Scholar’s Pack, a sickle, and 15 gp. Or 100 gp to buy whatever. Say goodbye to the options for light crossbow (you get Eldritch Blast, it’s fine) and the Dungeoneer’s Pack. Seems a reasonable simplification, though the sickle doesn’t excite me too much, as it’s basically just a dagger that does slashing instead of piercing, and that difference rarely seems to matter. Whatever.
- Pact Boon (level 1, formerly 3). Pact Boons and Subclasses switch places, allowing for low-level warlocks to dabble with lesser entities before signing up for a full-time patron, a mechanic that seems sort of like rushing a fraternity. The Pact determines which attribute you use for spellcasting and gives you an exclusive pact spell. Regardless of Pact, the Pact is how you get Eldritch Blast and Hex. The internet seems kind of spicy about this overall but I think it’s fine, plus it can open up some fun narrative of how your Warlock arrives at their choice of subclass.
- Spellcasting (new, level 1). Another big change that the internet is fussy about – Warlocks now get proper Spellcasting instead of Pact Magic. This provides 2 cantrips (with more at level 4 and 10). Warlocks now get a half-caster progression of spell slots, identical to the playtest Ranger and Paladin. Like the Sorcerer, Warlocks can replace a cantrip and/or a spell on level bumps.
- Eldritch Invocations (level 2). Warlocks start with 2 invocations, just like before, but the progression has been updated to add more invocations, sooner, topping out at 9 at level 17 (formerly topping out at 8 at level 18). Seems like positive news to me!
- Subclass (level 3). Yep. Just like the other classes.
- Feat (level 4). Yep.
- Eldritch Invocation (level 5). Pick one you’re eligible for.
- Subclass Feature (level 6). Yep.
- Eldritch Invocation (level 7). Pick another one you’re eligible for.
- Feat (level 8). Yep.
- Eldritch Invocation (level 9). Pick another one you’re eligible for.
- Subclass Feature (level 10). Yep.
- Contact Patron (new, level 11). Contact Other Plane is now permanently prepared, and it can be cast once per Long Rest without using a spell slot if you’re phoning home, and when doing so you auto-succeed on the saving throw. Seems pretty similar to the Cleric getting Divine Intervention at level 11, so, okay, sure.
- Eldritch Invocation (level 11). Pick another one you’re eligible for.
- Feat (level 12). Yep.
- Eldritch Invocation (level 13). Pick another one you’re eligible for.
- Subclass Feature (level 14). Yep.
- Eldritch Invocation (level 15). Pick another one you’re eligible for.
- Feat (level 16). Yep.
- Eldritch Invocation (level 17). Pick another one you’re eligible for. I assume this is here, since it’s in the chart, but they forgot to copy-paste it in the main text, lol.
- Hex Master (new, level 18). Cast Hex without using a spell slot. Okay, I guess, if Hex is your jam? This used to be a dead level for Warlocks. As a bonus, you can imagine Donkey from Shrek saying “I’m the Hex Master, I’ve mastered the Hex!” You’re welcome.
- Feat (level 19). Yep.
- Epic Boon (new, level 20). +2 to whichever stat you ended up with as your spellcasting stat, with a new max of 30, plus an Epic Boon feat. Party on.
Eldritch Invocation Options
- Lots of the old ones (no pun intended) have been either rewritten or replaced in some way (typically with Mystic Arcanum, but sometimes by being combined with other things; pour one out for Beguiling Influence, Bewitching Whispers, Book of Ancient Secrets, Chains of Carceri, Dreadful Word, Minions of Chaos, Mire the Mind, Sculptor of Flesh, Sign of Ill Omen, Thief of Five Fates, Thirsting Blade, and Voice of the Chain Master). Level-based prerequisites now clearly state they require Warlock levels (good). And good gracious, there are a lot of these things, aren’t there… - Agonizing Blast now uses whatever your spellcasting modifier is (formerly rooted in CHA).
- Armor of Shadows is slightly reworded but effectively unchanged.
- Ascendant Step is effectively unchanged.
- Beast Speech is effectively unchanged.
- Devil’s Sight is effectively unchanged.
- Eldritch Sight is effectively unchanged.
- Eldritch Spear is effectively unchanged.
- Eyes of the Rune Keeper adds some clarification about not decoding secret messages, but is otherwise unchanged.
- Favor of the Chain Master (new, level 9+) enhances the Pact of the Chain by adding effects when the Pact Familiar hits with Eldritch Strike. The effect is determined by the familiar’s creature type. Seems like some fun customization to me?
- Fiendish Vigor is effectively unchanged.
- Gaze of Two Minds (level 5+, formerly no prerequisite) now uses Bonus Actions instead of Actions, no longer causes you to be blinded and deafened, and it lets you cast spells from either your space or the other creature’s space. This is pretty cool and I could see this last bit being tactically pretty fun in play.
- Gift of the Protectors (new, level 9+) enhances the Pact of the Tome lets you basically Death Ward by writing your BFFs’ names in a special page in your Book of Shadows. Aww, cute!
- Hexer (new)?! I don’t even know ’er! If you like Hex, great – its range is now bonkers and you have advantage when maintaining concentration.
- Lessons of the First Ones (new, replaces Beguiling Influence) adds any level 1+ feat that has no prerequisites. On one hand, feats are cool. On the other, this is very, “I dunno, why don’t you just pick another feat?”
- Lifedrinker (level 9+, formerly 12+) enhances Pact of the Blade, adding a die roll of necrotic damage (formerly your CHA modifier), and the first time you hit with it in your turn, it restores hp based on the damage it did. Blood and souls for my lord Arioch!! (I like this change.)
- Mask of Many Faces is effectively unchanged.
- Master of Myriad Forms (level 15+) is effectively unchanged.
- Misty Visions is effectively unchanged, remaining both a hazardous road condition and an excellent porn name.
- Mystic Arcanum (new, level 5+, repeatable) is what everybody on Reddit is upset about. It lets you add an Arcane spell and you can cast it once per Long Rest without expending a spell slot. Doesn’t seem to have any provisions for changing it, so I guess you’d better like the spell you pick out. I think it’s… fine? It provides a lot more choices, and is available at earlier levels, so that seems good to me.
- One with Shadows (level 5+) adds the use of a Bonus Action to ways the invisibility can be ended. Seems like a good clarification to me.
- Otherworldly Leap (level 9+) is effectively unchanged.
- Repelling Blast now requires the target to be Large or smaller. Makes sense (though it would be hilarious pushing gargantuan things back 10 feet with the 2014 version, as if that tarrasque isn’t going to squish you anyway).
- Visions of Distant Realms (level 15+) is effectively unchanged.
- Whispers of the Grave (level 9+) is effectively unchanged.
- Witch Sight (level 15+) gives 30 feet of Truesight instead of specifically calling out shapechangers and creatures “concealed by illusion or transmutation magic”. This is a welcome simplification.
Warlock: Fiend Patron
- Patron Spells (level 3, formerly 1). Replaces the Expanded Spell List, giving spells that you will always have prepared, and lets you cast any one of them without a spell slot once per Long Rest. The spell list is now Burning Hands, Command, Scorching Ray, Suggestion (replaces Blindness/Deafness), Fear (replaces Fireball), Stinking Cloud, Blight (replaces Fire Shield), Wall of Fire, Flame Strike, and Insect Plague (replaces Hallow). It’s never fun to lose out on Fireball, but there are enough other ways to do that if you want (via Mystic Arcanum or just playing a different class).
- Dark One’s Blessing (level 3, formerly 1) now also activates when an enemy dies near you and uses your spellcasting ability modifier instead of just the CHA modifier. I like it!
- Dark One’s Own Luck (level 6) can now be used spellcasting modifier per Long Rest times (formerly once per Long Rest).
- Fiendish Resilience (level 10) is no longer bypassed by magic or silvered weapons. Nice. This would be great in the late game of Princes of the Apocalypse!
- Hurl Through Hell (level 14) now gives its target a saving throw for an opportunity at half damage (formerly, fiends were completely unaffected, and everyone else just took the full damage). Normally once per Long Rest, it can be used again in combination with a level 4 spell slot! Seems fine to me.
Overall: I think I feel pretty positively about the changes to the Warlock. I’ve never been keen to play one in the 2014 rules due to the wonky spellcasting, but I’d be interested in trying out this version. It seems a lot more approachable, gives access to better armor, lets you use more spells more often, and has some cool flavor and RP options. I went into this deep dive feeling kind of ambivalent about them, but now I’m eager to see the other subclasses!
Wizard
Base Class
- Proficiencies. Wizards now have proficiency in all simple weapons (formerly limited to daggers, darts, slings, quarterstaffs, and light crossbows).
- Starting Equipment. Wizards now start with an Arcane Focus (quarterstaff), two daggers, a robe, a Scholar’s Pack, and 5 gp. Or 55 gp to buy whatever.
- Spellcasting (level 1). This is pretty much unchanged from 2014, with one exception – a Wizard can now use their spellbook as an Arcane Focus. (Okay…)
- Wizard’s Spellbook (new, level 1). This puts all the spellbook rules in one place (YAY). A single spellbook is limited 100 spells total, the first of which is Scribe Spell. Casting Scribe Spell is now necessary for copying spells into a spellbook, though it’s not necessary for acquiring spells during level bumps. As before, a Wizard can have more than one spellbook, but it seems like only one is active at a time.
- Academic (new, level 2). Gives advantage on INT checks when using the Study action.
- Arcane Recovery (level 2, formerly 1). Effectively unchanged.
- Subclass (level 3, formerly 2). Just like all the other classes.
- Feat (level 4). You know the drill.
- Memorize Spell (new, level 5). Adds Memorize Spell to your spellbook. This used to be a dead level, only adding level 3 spells.
- Subclass Feature (level 6). Yep.
- Modify Spell (new, level 7). Adds Modify Spell to your spellbook. This used to be a dead level, only adding level 4 spells.
- Feat (level 8). Yep.
- Create Spell (new, level 9). Adds Create Spell to your spellbook. With enough access to resources –perhaps the friendship of a level 18 Sorcerer? – the game is now broken.
- Subclass Feature (level 10). Yep.
- Absolutely Nothing (level 11). This was a dead level before, and is a dead level now. Access to level 6 spells is all you get.
- Feat (level 12). Yep.
- More Nothing (level 13). This was also a dead level in 2014. Level 7 spells are now available.
- Subclass Feature (level 14). Yep.
- Spell Mastery (level 15, formerly 18). Effectively unchanged, this now comes online three levels sooner. Cool for Wizards, I guess!
- Feat (level 16). Yep.
- NOTHING (level 17). This was also a dead level in 2014, but at least you can now cast level 9 spells.
- Signature Spells (level 18, formerly 20). Effectively unchanged, just arriving two levels sooner. Cool.
- Feat (level 19). Did you expect something else?
- Epic Boon (new, level 20). +2 to INT, with a max of 30, plus an Epic Boon feat. Epic!
Wizard: Evoker
- Formerly the School of Evocation. The revised name is part of a pattern of naming the type of Wizard rather than the type or school of magic. I like it.
- Evocation Savant (level 3, formerly 2). Now also adds two level 1-2 spells to your spellbook. Bonus!
- Sculpt Spells (level 3, formerly 2). Effectively unchanged. I don’t feel like waiting for this is too terrible – it’s not like level 2 lasts very long.
- Potent Cantrip (level 6). Effectively unchanged.
- Empowered Evocation (level 10). Now only applies when casting an Evocation spell from the Arcane spell list… which means you don’t get a damage bonus when casting one of your customized Wizard spells! This might be an oversight, or it might be a deliberate nerf to those customized spells (which as I’ve ranted about above, feel pretty broken to me).
- Overchannel (level 14). Effectively unchanged.
Overall: The Wizard has far fewer dead levels (3; previously 8!) and a ridiculous new subsystem for the permanent creation of overpowered spells. When reviewing the notes above, it doesn’t seem like that much change, but the spell creation stuff is a lot. If I were playing a Wizard, I’m sure I’d like it, but from an outside POV it seems like too much.
Rules Glossary
- Artisan’s Tools has been removed from the glossary. Not sure why – maybe the uniform gp cost made this entry rate poorly?
- The Dying condition from the previous UA has been removed and replaced with Death Saving Throws, which as written is quite incomplete. This should get rolled back to what was in the Druid & Paladin UA since it actually, and clearly, explained all the rules.
- The Attack action has had some edits to clarify equipping and unequipping weapons. Finally! The word “either” shows up in two very important places to make sure that you can’t do equip-attack-unequip – you must instead either equip-attack, unequip-attack (if unequipping a weapon not used for the attack), attack-unequip, or attack-equip (if equipping a weapon not used for the attack).
- The Exhausted condition from the previous UA has been removed; exhaustion rules fall back to the 2014 edition. THIS SUCKS. The new exhaustion system was much better and more usable than what was in 2014. I’m shocked that this is gone after making it through several other rounds of UAs. Boo! BOO!!
- Gaming Set has been removed from the glossary. Not sure why. Maybe the uniform gp cost?
- The Influence action has been revised to make it clear that the DM determines when it’s available as well as the DC. GOOD.
- Knocking Out a Creature is the new Knocking a Creature Out. It’s otherwise unchanged.
- Long Rest references “the Exhaustion condition” which makes me think it’s the victim of a slapdash find-and-replace from the removal of the Exhausted condition. I haven’t noticed lazy editing like this in previous UAs.
- Musical Instrument has been removed from the glossary. Not sure why. Maybe the uniform gp cost?
- Priest’s Pack has been removed from the glossary. I guess it’s just equipment now.
- Shortsword has been removed from the glossary. It’s back to the equipment section and is a martial weapon again.
- Truesight clarifies the rules around visual illusions. Seems good.
Overall: Most of these changes make sense (administrative things like removing equipment) or are positive (language clarifications). Reverting the tool stuff to 2014 is weird since it didn’t get an explanation in any of the videos, but, like, whatever. The Death Saving Throws section is now woefully incomplete – IMO this change should get rolled back to how Dying appeared in the Druid & Paladin UA. Reverting exhaustion to the 2014 rules is stupid as hell, easily on par with the most offensive parts of the Sorcerer and Wizard changes.