Im back! (maybe)

[Bjarkmundur]

Ive been asked to run a YA game in the upcoming weeks. I'm not sure if they will go through with it, but knowing my brain, I probably wont be able to stop once I've started 'thinking'in DnD xD

So, is anyone willing to spend some time giving me a quick rundown on what's been going on since the pandemic hit, both on the forum and in official releases/UA?

I missed you all very much ^^


Edit: What's this "post Tasha's" everyone keeps bringing up??? :O

[Aett_Thorn]

Ive been asked to run a YA game in the upcoming weeks. I'm not sure if they will go through with it, but knowing my brain, I probably wont be able to stop once I've started 'thinking'in DnD xD

So, is anyone willing to spend some time giving me a quick rundown on what's been going on since the pandemic hit, both on the forum and in official releases/UA?

I missed you all very much ^^


Edit: What's this "post Tasha's" everyone keeps bringing up??? :O

Tasha’s is probably the biggest change recently. It introduced a new option for characters to basically get rid of race-based stat boosts, and have a much more flexible stat boost based on what the player wants. So an Elf, instead of getting +2 to Dex as a set stat boost could put that against Str, or Cha, or whatever. It also allows for the swapping of racial traits on a sort of 1-for-1 trade off.

Many older players (including me) aren’t a huge fan because it just allows for even more power gaming mindset for players, even if it does also allow for a dextrous dwarf or dumb gnome. It can change the game balance a bit, but not too much. But it’s something to be aware of.

[Waazraath]

Ive been asked to run a YA game in the upcoming weeks. I'm not sure if they will go through with it, but knowing my brain, I probably wont be able to stop once I've started 'thinking'in DnD xD

So, is anyone willing to spend some time giving me a quick rundown on what's been going on since the pandemic hit, both on the forum and in official releases/UA?

I missed you all very much ^^


Edit: What's this "post Tasha's" everyone keeps bringing up??? :O

Regarding the forum, in a polite conversation, we decided that casters are indeed superior to martial classes in all aspects, that The Punisher is lawful good and that the Sorcer King is the best build ever, surpassing even 3.5's PunPun. :smallbiggrin:

Indeed, Tasha's is the biggest game changer... over all a cool book with lots of interesting options, but a few weird things. Twilight Cleric is rediculous frontloaded (a bit like hexblade warlock) and breaks established norms (300ft darkvision where up to this book it was 60 or 120). Racia rule that allows you to pick your on stats on races, highly empowering races like Yuan-Ti, Mountain Dwarf, and flying races. Also introducing another racial option with a feat and a +2 in whatever stat you want, allowing +3 at level 1.

[Bjarkmundur]

Alright, interesting, I'll have to check that out.

I'm really sad about my signature being gone. It got replaced with a french viagra ad xD. That is some ambitious hacking, if you ask me!
It had links to pretty much every resources I use to run a game. Gonna be a pain to find it all again :'(

What about the sorcerer and the ranger. Did we finally decide on a good fix, or are there still just a million of different OK versions floating around?

[ImproperJustice]

Alright, interesting, I'll have to check that out.

I'm really sad about my signature being gone. It got replaced with a french viagra ad xD. That is some ambitious hacking, if you ask me!
It had links to pretty much every resources I use to run a game. Gonna be a pain to find it all again :'(

What about the sorcerer and the ranger. Did we finally decide on a good fix, or are there still just a million of different OK versions floating around?

Ranger has a bundle of alternative class features that I think, actually help with a lot of the old problems.

This couples with new fighting styles and a few other tweaks gives them some more attractive options overall.

Sorcerors received some additions to the spell list, metamagic flexibility, and two great subclasses with an expanded spell list and options to swap out spells on those lists for spells of specific schools, fundamentally giving them a great deal of spells known.


I for one, love Tasha’s. I think it actually levels the playing field by removing “trap options”, and race optimization. It’s basically updating 5e to do stuff other systems were doing years ago, so that if a player chooses Orc Wizard they didn’t just gimp their character at creation because they don’t have the book memorized.

It also just prevents a wealth of tools and options for fun character builds.

[SpanielBear]

Ranger- the Tasha’s update to the class did a pretty good job (opinions may vary). Optional rules replacing the old favoured foe rules etc. Plus a rework of beast master

Sorcerer- two new archetypes in Tasha’s (Aberrant Mind and Clockwork Soul), both have spell lists that are seen as overwhelmingly superior to sorcerers who came before. Whether this is a change that should be applied to the older bloodlines, or one that goes too far in the other direction, again your mileage may vary.

[Lupine]

What about the sorcerer and the ranger. Did we finally decide on a good fix, or are there still just a million of different OK versions floating around?

Hey Bjarkmundur! Man, I’ve missed seeing you around the forums.

I’m not super sure on sorc: not my cup of tea, so I don’t super follow it.
Ranger, however, has largely been fixed. While some complain that the fix removes some of the ranger feel, I think it works rather well, is entertaining, and pretty flavorful if you let it be. Bonus points if you mix and match to make a Potato Head ranger!

[MrStabby]

Yeah, lots of changes in Tasha's that are controversial - generally whether they are good or bad will depend on your table and playstyle.

Most of the same problems remain - high level play is still unbalanced and wierd. 1st level is very swingy.

Ranger is now largely fixed thanks to alternative class features. For some it's fine, for others a missed opportunity to embrace a deeper reimagining.

There are some new spells you might see, nothing too egregious from a powergaming perspective, indeed I think the new summon spells have generally been well recieved. They allow summoning from a lower level but are also pretty balanced. Nothing like booming blade was or the semi-ubiquitous mage armour, shield, fireball, counterspell, healing word... from the PHB

Speaking of spells, the optional rules in Tasha's bleed the classes together somewhat. A lot of classes get stuff from others lists. Some of these blur identities a bit - others seem like bizarre omissions in the first place (sunbeam on the cleric list, color spray on the bard list).

The big new (or newly big) debate is about what should be considered default. When a rule is "optional", is it a responsible working assumption to assume it's ok in the absence of confirmation or the opposite? What was a minor discussion around feats and multiclassing has assumed a bit more urgency given the divisive nature of some of the optional rules in Tasha's.

Apparently some of the Tasha's stuff qualifies as being political, personally I think this is a bit of a stretch, but might be something to watch out for and to have appropriate sensitivity around at your tables.

New class options are a bit power-creepy, but really not that bad. Genie warlock leads the PHB options, but only slightly. Sorcerer subclasses just blew away any sense of internal balance (I would say they outshine other sorcerers by more than the hexblade does other warlocks); very cool themes though. Cleric options (peace/twilight) are stupidly overpowered in tier one and two, and retain much of their strength after. This is somewhat sad as these are not the levels where clerics were really lacking in fun stuff.

The design shift of making more things scale with proficiency bonus is throwing a bit of a spotlight on multiclassing. Dips are more powerful than ever. This coupled with more feats and more subclasses means there is slightly less need than before for this. It is still needed for some concepts so more something to watch than to fear.

[AvvyR]

Many older players (including me) aren’t a huge fan because it just allows for even more power gaming mindset for players, even if it does also allow for a dextrous dwarf or dumb gnome. It can change the game balance a bit, but not too much. But it’s something to be aware of.

If you stomp out the ridiculous wave of people that only look at Mountain Dwarf and Custom Lineage for +3 to one stat, it actually decreases powergaming by allowing you to choose race based off of what you actually want to play, or what would be interesting, rather that what gives a boost to your primary stat.

Overall, I think the main thing that's come up recently is that it's become painfully clear that we really need a total rewrite 5.5 edition to bring everything into line with the new design philosophy.

[MrStabby]

If you stomp out the ridiculous wave of people that only look at Mountain Dwarf and Custom Lineage for +3 to one stat, it actually decreases powergaming by allowing you to choose race based off of what you actually want to play, or what would be interesting, rather that what gives a boost to your primary stat.

Overall, I think the main thing that's come up recently is that it's become painfully clear that we really need a total rewrite 5.5 edition to bring everything into line with the new design philosophy.

I have a lot of gripes about 5th edition but the more frustrated I get about its deficiencies the more I realise it is because they stand out as blemishes in a great system. The more I discover that is wrong with it, the more sympathy i have with the designers - if it took me this many years and all these hundreds of hours of play to pin down the issues then i can forgive some things slipping under the designers radar.

I think the new stuff is thematically strong, just from a different game to the old stuff. If a 5.5 edition were to be released with the new and old brought into line and with the lessons learned from years of play incorporated... i think it would be a pretty fine product. I would buy the hell out of that.

[Chronic]

I have a lot of gripes about 5th edition but the more frustrated I get about its deficiencies the more I realise it is because they stand out as blemishes in a great system. The more I discover that is wrong with it, the more sympathy i have with the designers - if it took me this many years and all these hundreds of hours of play to pin down the issues then i can forgive some things slipping under the designers radar.

I think the new stuff is thematically strong, just from a different game to the old stuff. If a 5.5 edition were to be released with the new and old brought into line and with the lessons learned from years of play incorporated... i think it would be a pretty fine product. I would buy the hell out of that.

I very much agree, 5e is definitely a great edition and if they are some things I'm not a fan off it's usually fairly easy to fix, either by picking things you like, or by hombrewing, which is really easy to do in this edition.

[MrStabby]

I very much agree, 5e is definitely a great edition and if they are some things I'm not a fan off it's usually fairly easy to fix, either by picking things you like, or by hombrewing, which is really easy to do in this edition.

Yeah, I find myself griping about the things hung off the scaffolding of 5th edition and losing focus on how good the scaffolding is.

[Gyor]

Ive been asked to run a YA game in the upcoming weeks. I'm not sure if they will go through with it, but knowing my brain, I probably wont be able to stop once I've started 'thinking'in DnD xD

So, is anyone willing to spend some time giving me a quick rundown on what's been going on since the pandemic hit, both on the forum and in official releases/UA?

I missed you all very much ^^


Edit: What's this "post Tasha's" everyone keeps bringing up??? :O

Just in 2020 alone you had 2 Campaign Setting books, Explorer's Guide to Wildemount and Mythic Odysseys of Theros (the second MtG setting converted to D&D after Ravnica) and you had a minor edition change (Tasha's Cauldron of Everything).

Tasha's changed how races are done, the fallout of which is still being felt, but it added additional and replacement class features, new ways of doing summoning magic and companion creatures, it brought back psion magic (feats, spells, and subclasses, no Psion class yet). It made Artificers a more general D&D class instead of something Eberron exclusive. It offered up an improved Party Patrons Mechanic to D&D. It changed the game so totally in so many ways that Adventurer's League had to dump PHB +1 rule.

As I said it was a minor edition change with TCoE, other books are still useful, its not a major edition change, but we are in a new era of 5e.

In 2021 we learned that they are increasing the release schedule of D&D books to double D&D revenue by 2023, Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft is coming out in May. The Forgotten Realms is getting a Magic the Gathering crossover standard legal card set (hundreds of pieces of high quality Forgotten Realms art are being made for this set).

For UA's we got Undead Patron Warlock and College of Spirits Bard and for Race we got Hexborn, Reborn, and Dhampyrs all of which are going to the new Ravenloft setting book, and two Draconic Themed subclasses and four Feywild Themed races (Owlfolk, Fairies, Rabbitfolk, and Feywild Hobgoblins) who we don't yet know what they are intended for.

[Bjarkmundur]

Thanks guys, helpful as ever. Gyor was very thourough, and gave me exactly what I needed :)

I think ill get a physical vopy of Tasha's. Seems like a wonderful read. Im also very intereated in that Spirits Bard. Any other big UAs i should look out for? Are the Psion and Artificer complete?

Last time i was around i remember there were a few posts that took the forums by storm, and almost everyone chimed in on, but maybe thats something more for thr homebrew forums. Ill lurk around a bit and see if theres anything big I missed :)

[AvvyR]

I think ill get a physical vopy of Tasha's. Seems like a wonderful read. Im also very intereated in that Spirits Bard. Any other big UAs i should look out for? Are the Psion and Artificer complete?

Artificer was officially printed in Eberron: Rising from the Last war, and then reprinted in Tasha's with an additional subclass. It appears to be in its final form.

Psionics are probably never coming the way people want (not that people would be satisfied with any possible implementation anyway), but Tasha's adds a few psionic themed subclasses, as well as the Telepathic and Telekinetic feats. This is probably all we're going to get.

[Unoriginal]

The Psi Warrior is great.

The Rune Knight is pretty great too, these days you mostly hear about it in Grappling Build discussions because being able to grow bigger is damn good.

The Way of Mercy and the Way of the Astral Self Monk are pretty great additions to the Monk's subclasses. They allow you to do something different with the Monk without clashing with its roles or themes.

Path of the Beast Barbarian is awesome if you want an unarmed Barbarian.

Can't talk about the other new subclasses yet.

[Gyor]

Artificer was officially printed in Eberron: Rising from the Last war, and then reprinted in Tasha's with an additional subclass. It appears to be in its final form.

Psionics are probably never coming the way people want (not that people would be satisfied with any possible implementation anyway), but Tasha's adds a few psionic themed subclasses, as well as the Telepathic and Telekinetic feats. This is probably all we're going to get.

I disagree about a Psionics class, the desire for one is still super high and having a full Psion class for say Darksun eventually, would help sell to the book to none Darksun fans.

[Gyor]

Thanks guys, helpful as ever. Gyor was very thourough, and gave me exactly what I needed :)

I think ill get a physical vopy of Tasha's. Seems like a wonderful read. Im also very intereated in that Spirits Bard. Any other big UAs i should look out for? Are the Psion and Artificer complete?

Last time i was around i remember there were a few posts that took the forums by storm, and almost everyone chimed in on, but maybe thats something more for thr homebrew forums. Ill lurk around a bit and see if theres anything big I missed :)

Happy to help 😁

[AvvyR]

I disagree about a Psionics class, the desire for one is still super high and having a full Psion class for say Darksun eventually, would help sell to the book to none Darksun fans.

Of course there's still desire for it, but I have a strong feeling that maybe a couple more psionic themed subclasses will be the extent of anything more we get, if we do get anything more.

[ImproperJustice]

I really like the the new Druid and Ranger sub classes. They expand a fair bit of the gameplay options for those classes, like everything in Tasha’s.

[MrStabby]

I really like the the new Druid and Ranger sub classes. They expand a fair bit of the gameplay options for those classes, like everything in Tasha’s.

I thought both were thematically cool, but since the subclass that you take to get fireball doesn't have fireball anymore it looks like stars is by far the more fun.

[AvvyR]

I thought both were thematically cool, but since the subclass that you take to get fireball doesn't have fireball anymore it looks like stars is by far the more fun.

Someone said a couple days ago on another thread that they choose not to read any UA specifically to avoid this fallacy. Wildfire Druid is the druid pet class people have been vying for since PHB, and the spirit's teleportation ability has nearly Echo Knight levels of ridiculous utility. But the UA version had fireball, and that's all anyone wants to talk about.

[MrStabby]

Someone said a couple days ago on another thread that they choose not to read any UA specifically to avoid this fallacy. Wildfire Druid is the druid pet class people have been vying for since PHB, and the spirit's teleportation ability has nearly Echo Knight levels of ridiculous utility. But the UA version had fireball, and that's all anyone wants to talk about.

Well I think people who miss fireball, talk about fireball. The people who don't... don't talk about the class so much. I think that there is a reasonable expectation that a wildfire druid would be able to cast good fire spells. I am not saying that there shouldn't be a pet druid, just that if it isn't supposed to be about the fire, don't call it wildfire druid.

[Kane0]

Someone said a couple days ago on another thread that they choose not to read any UA specifically to avoid this fallacy. Wildfire Druid is the druid pet class people have been vying for since PHB, and the spirit's teleportation ability has nearly Echo Knight levels of ridiculous utility. But the UA version had fireball, and that's all anyone wants to talk about.

To be fair, they do specifically ask for feedback with UA. And i'll be damned if I throw away that invitation.

[AvvyR]

To be fair, they do specifically ask for feedback with UA. And i'll be damned if I throw away that invitation.

Well, yes. I'm not saying people shouldn't read the UA's, playtest them, and provide feedback because they absolutely should. That's what it's there for. Rather, that someone else said they don't do so because they don't trust themselves to not get lost in the "It was stronger in UA" disappointment that prevents them from seeing what the final product actually is. I'm playing alongside a Wildfire druid currently, and it's incredible. The build's viability isn't affected at all by the loss of a single spell that does slightly more HP damage (the least interesting thing a caster can do) by virtue of it being the one 5th level spell that only uses a 3rd level slot.

[ImproperJustice]

See, I could care less about Fireball.
I want a Flaming Red Panda that lets me teleport around while I do.....Druid Stuff....

[Kane0]

I'm very homebrew prone so the official content that comes out doesn't really impact me. It does impact my balancing overton window though.

It's probably because I like homebrew that I also like to tell the Devs what I think about their UA.