D&D (2024) Unearthed Arcana Playtest Packet 6 Video

[Mistwell]

I continue to be annoyed by references to a single "D&D Multiverse" with canonically established cosmology. One of D&D's greatest strengths is that it can support an infinite variety of settings, yet the developers seem intent on pushing as many players as possible into the same one.

There has always been, and will always be, an implied setting for the game. It will never be a generic set of fantasy game rules and it's a strength of the game that it has an implied setting rather than a generic set of rules. "Tasha's Hideous Laughter" is better for common language and lore for the game than simply "Hideous Laughter" or "Cause Laughter."

 

[Henadic Theologian]

I continue to be annoyed by references to a single "D&D Multiverse" with canonically established cosmology. One of D&D's greatest strengths is that it can support an infinite variety of settings, yet the developers seem intent on pushing as many players as possible into the same one.

Regarding exhaustion, I think this is an illustration of the silliness of evaluating a choice between two options using an approval rating for only one of them. I also think exhaustion is a mechanic that merits more experimentation. In principle, I like the unique effects of the 2014 version more than the across the board numerical penalty of the UA version, but in practice, disadvantage on all ability checks makes the first level too harsh in the sort of exploration challenges where I most often want to use the mechanic.

They still want a DDCU and video game/novel/comic book multiverse and that means a high level of interactivity between various D&D settings. Honestly subtly the multiverse was weaved into mechanics and lore since 2014 (Astral Projection doesn't make sense if you have no D&D style Astral Plane).

 

[Charlaquin]

Thats what I mean, in part, by half-baked. Rules that have to be pieced together from the 9 Winds they got scattered to aren't functionally any different from a loose collection of disconnected mechanics.

Plus for me Ive spent an obnoxious amount of time researching and contemplating the idea of exploration in a TTRPG, so for me, even the pieced together rules are still very lacking, if a decent enough start.

I think they’re great rules, just difficult to grok if you haven’t read them as they were presented in the Next Playtest.

 

[Emberashh]

I think they’re great rules, just difficult to grok if you haven’t read them as they were presented in the Next Playtest.

Like i said, they're okay enough, but they can be better. Like OG Ranger the ideas are solid, but the implementation needed more time in the oven, and instead all indicators are we're throwing out the dough and most of our ingredients for bread.

 

[fluffybunbunkittens]

If they can hammer down the broken spells, the game will be in a much better state

Yes, but, here's their counter-offer: buffing the best spells instead. Eh? Eh?

Tomorrow is gonna get wild.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

I also don't play druids anymore because if the MM/DDB-scraping wildshape rules (and other reasons).

I can't stand major class mechanics recharging on a 1-hour short rest. But if Pact Magic recharging was changed to be a shorter ritual with limited uses, or diminishing returns, I wouldn't have a problem with it.

I would like that. Our warlock used to sacrifice a rat every moring in a hidden ritual.
Of course he used hex on it before and did a short rest after that.

I allowed it, because it made them a bit less short rest reliable, and it was also creepy and a secret from the rest of the party.

So baked in: I hold a 10 minute ritual twice per day to summon my patron to grant me power seems very much in line with the warlock.

 

[Emberashh]

Yes, but, here's their counter-offer: buffing the best spells instead. Eh? Eh?

Tomorrow is gonna get wild.

Forcecage can be broken through brute strength but it requires an Intelligence save.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Stunning strike will not only be smacked down hard but the class will still be somehow starving for both the amount of Ki and uses for it at the same time, and the class will have even more useless ribbon abilities.

Yes please make stunning strike once per turn. And then buff other things.


Being totally reliant on a single feature that is clearly too good while the rest is meh is bad design.

 

[Clint_L]

I hope cleric gets a Domain of Beauty, but have be less of a manipulator, and more of a Muse, like dabbling in Bard, but with a more visual and religious angle, then audiotory.

Thoughts?

No to calling it Domain of Beauty, because that has connotations of the character having to be beautiful. The concept of a bard sub-class that is focused on abstract aesthetics is interesting, though muse seems like more of a passive than active role. So I'm wondering how that gets translated into an active character experience.

 

[Parmandur]

Is anyone excited at this point? I'm in the "just get it over with already" camp.....

Yes, I'm way more excited than I was in August, when I wasn't sure what they were up to. Now that their 100% backwards compatibility language is absolutely in earnest, and theybare following sound principles of keeping user satisfaction at the forefront...yeah, I'm pretty stoked to see what they have cooked up for the Monk, and to see what their serious refined proposal for those other Classes looks like now that they got their whacky ideas out there to test.