I haven’t posted much on D&D lately. If you follow this blog you know that after the OGL mess this January I have said that, depending on the Wizards of the Coast’s (WotC) behaviour between now and the time the next version of D&D is released in 2024, and my opinion of that version, I will not be buying any Wizard’s of the Coast products. Here are my latest thoughts regarding this.
I’m still not giving Hasbro [WotC is a subsidiary or Hasbro] any of my money at least until after they release the 2024 version of D&D, if then.
As a side note – they have said that they will not be calling it a new edition but will be referring to the current edition as the 2014 edition of Dungeons & Dragons and the new version as the 2024 edition of Dungeons & Dragons. I agree that, based on the most current play-test, it does look more like a rules update than a new game. For now, I will be referring to it as D&D v5.5
At the current time I like the proposed changes to 5e, but I also like the new game rules that Kobold Press is proposing for their Tales of the Valiant (ToV). The two games will be different from each other, but they will both be based on the current version of D&D with revisions, changes, updates, and new content. They both insist that they will be backward comparable with existing 5e content. So, when the new books come out next year, I have several options. 1) I could ignore both and continue playing 5e. 2) I could believe WotC was censer when they apologized for the Dungeons & Dragons Open Gaming License fiasco, and start using the new v5.5 rule books. 3) I could switch from D&D to ToV or some other RPG (I am leaning toward ToV over the alternatives).
Here are my thoughts:
I am a long time supporter of WotC and I would hate to give up on them by switching to a different gaming company. Hashro’s purchase of them in 1999 didn’t seam to have much effect on WotC until after Chris Cocks became CEO of Hasbro on February 25, 2022. The changes were subtle at first, but they came to a head January this year with the OGL thing.
Hasbro has made it clear that their goal is to get more money from D&D players. They realize that DMs spend much more on WotC products than the players do and they want to get more of the players money. Their plan appears to make D&D primarily an on-line game with the v5.5 Virtual Tabletop (VTT) that they are developing, coupled with D&D Beyond. That way they can charge a monthly fee for each player and offer a lot of customizing options, each of which you can get for a small fee. Even if they make it free for the players to join a game, WotC will still make a lot of money on the micro transactions. And they can offer even more things for the DM to buy, such as 3D objects and tools to create custom 3D dungeons along with animations, special effects, furniture, commoners and monsters.
When I first saw their VTT preview I was excited. It looked great. I thought it would be wonderful to play. But now I am not sure how well that will work for me as a Dungeon Master. First of all I may have to upgrade my PC or get a new one to handle the real time 3D at a decent rate. Perhaps if I stick to playing on-line with adventures that are published by WotC that include all of the 3D maps and monsters, that would work. Especially if it were something like a dungeon crawl where the PCs couldn’t go anywhere off the map. But for me to use it for a home grown campaign or to play one of the many 5e adventures I currently have as a PDF or in a print, the VTT would need to have a 2D ability to draw the encounter map and to import 2D JPG files, something like Fantasy Grounds or Roll20. But if I use their new VTT it will need to be a lot better than the Fantasy Grounds, that I am currently using.
For one thing, I bought a copy of Fantasy Grounds including a copy of the 5e version of the Player’s Handbook, the Dungeon Masters Guide and the Monster Manuel a couple of years ago. This was a one-time purchase which they say will allow me to continue playing with it as long as I want to. With it, for example, I am currently running the “The Age of Worms” adventure path that was published over twelve instalments from July 2005 through June 2006 in Dungeon magazine. I am importing 2D maps that others have drawn and made available on the internet. If the WotC new VTT won’t allow me to do that, I won’t be interested. Also, if there is a monthly fee along with a requirement to link to D&D Beyond with a requirement for another monthly fee for that, those will be strikes against it.
If I decide to not use the new VTT and continue using Fantasy Grounds, I will be surprised if WotC makes a Fantasy Grounds version of the new PHB and MM available for purchase. They seem to be intent on forcing everyone onto their platform.
And, what if I just buy the new D&D 5.5 books, and don’t play on-line or take the time to revise all the rules on my copy of Fantasy Grounds? Up until now, WotC has published Errata for the PHB and others from time to time with corrections and revisions, and include those in the next release of the book. Will they continue to do this? I think that the temptation will to be to make those changes to the on-line versions of those books that you access through the VTT or D&D Beyond and forget about the errata updates. It appears that they are looking at the physical books as only something that collectors will purchase. If they do that, you will only know if you are using the latest rules if you are using Wizards’ VTT, or at least D&D Beyond. I also wouldn’t be surprised if they combine their new VTT with D&D Beyond at some point.
Another thing – when you “buy” a book on D&D Beyond you are not actually buying anything. What you are doing is paying for a “license” to access a copy of that book when you log onto their web platform. If the site goes down, or the company goes out of business, or they simply decide to change the wording of the conditions that you accepted when you clicked on at the bottom of the pages of text that you never read when you “bought” the book, then you will no longer have access to it. If you think that could never happen, look at what they tried to do with the OGL. There is no reason to think that everything that you “buy” on their VTT will be any different. As an example of what they could do instead: A copy of the Fantasy Grounds program exists on my hard drive. When I run it, it links to their on-line site, but it would run even if I were disconnected from the internet. When I purchased Fantasy Ground versions of the D&D books, I downloaded copies of them onto my hard drive. These are similar to PDF files, except they can only be opened with the Fantasy Grounds program, and all the rules, monsters, NPCs, etc. that they contain are available for me to use in Fantasy Grounds. I regularly backup the folder that they are in. Whenever I update Fantasy Grounds, it checks to see if anything else that I have purchased has been updated and will replace them with the newer versions. If Fantasy Grounds were to disappear from the internet, for any reason, I could still link to others site-to-site and continue to play with everything I have purchased. WotC could do something similar if they chose to.
So what am I going to do?
Well, it depends. ⚫ If either v5.5 or ToV becomes obviously head and solders better than the other, I will probably use that one. (I will post a side-by-side comparison once they are both published.) ⚫ If the v5.5 books are not available for Fantasy Grounds, I will probably switch to ToV. I have already supported their Kickstarter and included purchase of the Fantasy Grounds versions of the books.
In a post I made in 2021 “D&D 5E – How to Publish D&D Content” I gave an overview on the Open Gaming License (OGL) and the System Reference Document (SRD). It looks like recent developments by Wizards of the Coast will be changing all of this.
If you haven’t heard about the upcoming changes, I refer you to these excellent posts.
In the second Unearthed Arcana playtest document for the upcoming new rulebooks scheduled for 2024 they re-defined the Inspiration rules. I have some issues with the new version.
These are my thoughts on the latest play test version of INSPIRATION.
Currently the Player’s Handbook says “you can give up your inspiration to give [another] character inspiration.” (PHB p.125) They left this out of the new proposed rules. Perhaps they think it is no longer needed because the players will be getting it much more often. I think it should be included.
1) They renamed it, now calling it “Heroic Inspiration”. Evidently they are calling it “Heroic Inspiration” to differentiate it from “Bardic Inspiration” or “Cunning Inspiration”, both also defined in this new document. This is consistent with many other minor wording changes to make the rules more consistent. This is good.
2) You can roll your d20 before deciding whether or not to use your Inspiration. I think this is a good change. It is how I have been doing inspiration for years.
3) They previously had you loosing inspiration at the start of a long rest. They have removed that. I have no problem with that change.
4) They previously had you getting inspiration when you rolled a 20 for a d20 Test. I liked that. They changed it to rolling a 1 instead. This is the one I have a problem with. Here’s why I disagree with the way it is currently presented:
Let’s say I don’t have inspiration and I roll a 1 on my d20 Test. I receive inspiration. I use it re-roll my d20. If I do this every time, I will always just re-roll any time I roll a 1. This would be the same as making it a rule that you get to re-roll whenever you roll a 1. I don’t like it.
Let’s say I do have inspiration. I roll a 1 on my d20 Test. I would receive inspiration, but I already have it, so I give it to another player. I then use the one I have to re-roll my d20. If 2 the players agree to do this every time, they will always just re-roll any time they roll a 1.
They need to be careful if they intend to fix this. If they try to fix it by adding “You don’t receive Heroic Inspiration until the end of your turn.” Or “You can’t use Heroic Inspiration on the same turn that you receive it.” Or something similar. That might fix it.
But, what if they add back the ability for one player to give another their inspiration? I like it when someone rolls a 1 and another player gives them their inspiration so they can re-roll. If you can’t use your inspiration on the same turn you receive it that could never happen.
I think the best way to fix this is to change it back to receiving inspiration on a roll of 20 instead of a roll of 1. Then allow players to give their inspiration to another player. I understand trying to make a critical fail not sting so bad, but not at the expense of removing the player’s ability to give their inspiration to someone when they need it.
I am sure you have seen the announcement by now. If you missed it, here is a link:
WotC Announcement
This is all in preparation for the new version of D&D that is scheduled to be released in 2024. They are calling it “ONE D&D” for now. They are getting away from release or edition numbers. If you are familiar with the software AutoCAD, they did the same thing some years back. After release 14 of AutoCAD came AutoCAD 2000, then AutoCAD 2002, etc. It looks like this is what they will be doing with Dungeons and Dragons. They may also change the official name from “Dungeons and Dragons” to “D&D”. I noticed that they are now referring to the fifth edition Player’s Handbook as the 2014 Player’s Handbook.
Note regarding Editions: Not referring to different releases of D&D as editions is not a new idea for D&D. The current 2014 version of the Player’s Handbook has no mention at all of any edition. We players are the ones that have christened it 5E. Looking at the covers of earlier editions I can only find two that have any mention of an edition or version: the “Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, Second Edition, Players Handbook” (1989), and the “Dungeons & Dragons Player’s Handbook, Core Rulebook 1, v.3.5” (2003). The others simply refer to it as “Dungeons & Dragons” or “Advanced D&D”.
They seem to be bending over backwards to insist that the new rules will be comparable with the current edition of D&D. There are some very good marketing reasons for this and I hope they make using existing books with the new release as painless as possible, but the new release is looking to me a lot like it should be thought of as D&D 6E. Not that that is a bad thing. I prefer the majority of the proposed new rules to the existing ones – so far.
They have started play testing the new rules, a few rules at a time. If you would like to participate in the play testing, or simply see what the new rules may look like, The first set of rules that have been released is called “Unearthed Arcana 2022 Character Origins”. It is in the form of a PDF file you can download a copy by logging into D&D Beyond. If you aren’t a member of D&D Beyond you can access it HERE.
This 21 page PDF contains new rules for Character Races, Character Backgrounds, Starting Languages, Feats, and in what they call a “Rules Glossary” where they list rules and terms that are new or changed.
Here is a quick overview:
RACES
It takes special note of the fact that each of these races have a “Creature Type” of Humanoid. Obviously, this anticipates the future inclusion of other creature types.
It looks like they will be listing Human first, which makes sense for new players. The new list of available races are Human, Ardling (a new race), Dragonborn, Dwarf, Elf, Gnome, Halfling, Orc (another new race), and Tiefling. Notice that Half-Elf and Half-Orc have been removed, but your two parents can be any available huminoid race. You get the size, speed, and special traits of one parent and mix and match visual characteristics you want from your two parents.
Your character’s race no longer gives you any ability score increases.
They are no longer divided into “common” and “uncommon” races.
There are no alignment suggestions for your race.
Subraces are being replaced by Lineages.
The speed for each race is now the same, 30 feet (exception: the wood elf speed is 35 feet).
All races get the Common language. Dragonborn also get Draconic. All other races get a language provided by their background and can choose one additional language. You don’t automatically get Dwarvish, Elvish, Goblin, Halfling, or Orc just because you happen to be that race.
Here is a list of what I see as the biggest change for each race. There are other changes as well.
Human
Humans can be Small or Medium. There is no longer a variant human option. Feats are no longer an optional rule. Everyone gets a 1st-level feat based on his background. Humans also get one additional 1st-level feat.
Ardling (A new Player Race)
Ardlings can be Small or Medium. An Adling is kinda like the opposite of a Tefling. Rather than their heritage tied to the Lower Planes, an Adlings heritage is tied to the Upper Planes. Their head resembles an animal, has some innate spell casting ability, resistance to radiant damage, and can sprout spectral wings and fly a number of times equal to your Proficiency Bonus per long rest [ I will be referring to this as (PB/LR). It looks like this is replacing things that were renewing after a short rest.]
Dragonborn
They now get Darkvision. Their breath weapons have changed a little.
Dwarf
You don’t get any weapon or armor proficiencies. They are moving all of those to your background. The Stonecutting feature has been improved to give you Tremorsense out to 60 ft. for 10 minutes (PB/LR).
Elf
You get a cantrip at first level and a spell at 3rd and 5th level. You can cast each of these once per long rest for free, or you can use any spell slots you may have to cast them.
Gnome
You now have Advantage on all Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws (not just against magic). They replaced the Speak with Small Beasts trait with the Speak with Animals Spell and replaced the Tinker trait with the ability to create a Tiny clockwork device that can produce an effect from the Prestidigitation cantrip.
Halfling
No more Lightfoot or Stout. No more hiding behind other creatures – you get Naturally Stealthy but it only gives you Proficiency in the Stealth Skill.
Orc (A new Player Race)
Orcs have darkvision, can Dash as a bonus action (which gives then temporary hit points PB/LR, count as large carrying capacity and push, pull, drag or lift, and drop to 1 point instead of 0 once per long rest.
Tiefling
Tieflings can now be Small or Medium. You get the Thaumaturgy cantrip. Like the Elf, you also get a cantrip at first level and a spell at 3rd and 5th level. You can cast each of these once per long rest for free, or you can use any spell slots you have to cast them.
CHARACTER BACKGROUNDS
This says nothing regarding Alignmant, Ideals, Bonds, or Flaws. It would be okay with me if they dropped Ideals, Bonds, and Flaws but they may show up in a future Unearthed Arcana.
Although the current Player’s Handbook has rules for customizing your background, not many players do that. These new rules makes building your own background the preferred method but also provides some pre-made backgrounds that you can use, or modify using the provided rules.
The rules to create your background are simple. Abilities: You get 3 points to add to your ability scores, add one to 3 abilities or 2 to one and 1 to another. Skills: You get proficiency with 2 skills. Tools: You get proficiency with 1 tool. Language: You get one language from your background. Feat: you get 1 first level feat. Equipment: You buy whatever you want. You get 50 gp to buy it with. You keep any coins that you don’t spend.
LANGUAGES
After creating your characters background you can add one aditional language. Common Sign Language has been added as a standard language and Thieve’s Cant has been added as a rare language.
FEATS
The document defines several first level feats. Each feat has a level, some have prerequisites, and some can be taken more than once (repeatable).
None of the first level feats add to your ability scores.
RULES GLOSSARY
I may give my thoughts on the new and revised rules and game terms in a future post.
One last comment:
Don’t forget that everything in “Unearthed Arcana 2022 Character Origins” is for playtesting. These are proposed new rules that they are requesting we users try out and report back to them. Based on your feedback any or all of these may change before the new Player’s Handbook, Dungeon MAster’s Guide and Monster Manual are published in 2024. There will be many more of these, possibly several different versions.
Tell me (or, more importantly, tell Wizards of the Cost) what you like or don’t like about any of this and why.
Dungeon Master Assistance 