Let's get a sneak peak into Tasha's

[Amechra]

So anyone know how the expanded spell lists interact with other features? Is it a feature of a character that they can consider a spell to be part of a class list or is it natively added to the list?

So if I were to play a divine soul, would it access new cleric spells? Or is it a feature of the cleric that they can access a couple of spells not on their list. Or say grabbing both command and dissonant whispers with magic initiate from the bard list.

I think the answer is 'yes' for both of those.

[MrStabby]

I don’t understand the question. Can you provide examples where this would be important?

Ok, so if the expanded spell lists are part of an ACF for a class - effectively "if you play a bard you may select spells from the bard list and also command etc." then you can play the expanded spell list if you are a bard, but not if you have an ability that grants access to something on the bard spell list - like Magic Initiate.

[Segev]

Ok, so if the expanded spell lists are part of an ACF for a class - effectively "if you play a bard you may select spells from the bard list and also command etc." then you can play the expanded spell list if you are a bard, but not if you have an ability that grants access to something on the bard spell list - like Magic Initiate.

Ah. It will depend on exactly how they're worded. Most such things tend to be worded as "these are [class] spells for you," though, so that's my expectation.

[Valmark]

So, do the new summoning spells still not use hit dice for hp locking Sheperd Druid's bonus hp feature out? Or was that changed from UA?

[werescythe]

I am excited for many of the subclasses that were confirmed for this book. The only concerns I have is how Aberrant Mind will function (because I kind of liked both the original Aberrant Mind and the Psionic Soul, so I kind of hope they went with a happy medium and that it isn't just a renamed Psionic Soul) and the amount of spells we're getting (I had kind of hoped their would be more, maybe even a few more tentacle themed spells like Evard's Menacing Tentacles and Evard's All-Seeing Worm).

However, I am still excited for the Fathomless Warlock, Beast Barbarian, Genie Warlock and many of the others.

It feels like a Halloween Party in a DnD Book and I love it.

[x3n0n]

So, do the new summoning spells still not use hit dice for hp locking Sheperd Druid's bonus hp feature out? Or was that changed from UA?

I don't know for sure yet, but based on the UA Drake Ranger companion (which has a similar HP formula and also says it has hit dice), I am hopeful that they will have them as well.

[Valmark]

I don't know for sure yet, but based on the UA Drake Ranger companion (which has a similar HP formula and also says it has hit dice), I am hopeful that they will have them as well.

Hopefully. I know that if I don't see hit dice on those stat blocks I'll develop an irrational hatred for those spells.

[stoutstien]

Hopefully. I know that if I don't see hit dice on those stat blocks I'll develop an irrational hatred for those spells.

It's probably a good example of why having a feature key off HD wasn't a good idea or CR for that matter.

[Unoriginal]

Crawford talks about the Rune Knight:

Spoiler

Show

Notable reveal: the Order of Scribe Wizard is actually a re-work of the Archivist Artificier.

[Arkhios]

Notable reveal: the Order of Scribe Wizard is actually a re-work of the Archivist Artificier.

To be honest, I actually suspected as much. Nice to know my hunch proved right, for once.

[ProsecutorGodot]

Notable reveal: the Order of Scribe Wizard is actually a re-work of the Archivist Artificier.

This was mentioned in the UA it was presented in.

[Unoriginal]

This was mentioned in the UA it was presented in.

Uh, now that you mention it...

[werescythe]

To be honest though, I didn't like the Order of the Scribe's final ability (which I made clear in my survey), so I kind of hope they changed it up a bit.

[Arkhios]

This was mentioned in the UA it was presented in.

Huh. Must've missed the UA.

[Stangler]

I completely agree.

Anyone that knows me is well aware of my optimization side, and I’m usually always in favor of making the players more powerful.

But not at the cost of essentially invalidating others at the table.

And with this, between the EK and the BS.... Oof. Considering now that you can start as a Mountain Dwarf with Medium Armor and +2 to two stats with THIS Bladesinger, it’s tough to make the case for going EK.

I get they nerfed the number of uses of Bladesong. I get it.

But I also really dislike their push of making everything scale off Proficiency Bonus, that’s going to have MASSIVE multi class implications.

The medium armor really doesn't matter much for the Mountain Dwarf Bladesinger since you can't use it with Bladesong. The Mountain Dwarf is still a really strong choice in Point Buy games because of +2 times 2 which really amounts to being able to get two 18s at level 4. It is also a really good choice for non-Bladesinger Wizards, Bards, or Sorcs because of the armor proficiency.

Goblin and Tortle are also really solid choices for Bladesinger.

Meanwhile Human variant is still probably the optimal choice.

[Gignere]

The medium armor really doesn't matter much for the Mountain Dwarf Bladesinger since you can't use it with Bladesong. The Mountain Dwarf is still a really strong choice in Point Buy games because of +2 times 2 which really amounts to being able to get two 18s at level 4. It is also a really good choice for non-Bladesinger Wizards, Bards, or Sorcs because of the armor proficiency.

Goblin and Tortle are also really solid choices for Bladesinger.

Meanwhile Human variant is still probably the optimal choice.

Custom race will probably be the most optimal as you can get darkvision along with the free feat. +2 to one stat is basically the same as + 1 to 2 stat.

[Dork_Forge]

Custom race will probably be the most optimal as you can get darkvision along with the free feat. +2 to one stat is basically the same as + 1 to 2 stat.

It's not the same, great on SAD builds, but the difference is starting with a 17 in one stat and at best a 15 in the next or starting with two 16s.

One of the best cases for that though is taking the +2 in Dex then grabbing the newly unrestricted Elven Accuracy to start the game with an 18 in point buy and super advantage.

[Quietus]

It's not the same, great on SAD builds, but the difference is starting with a 17 in one stat and at best a 15 in the next or starting with two 16s.

One of the best cases for that though is taking the +2 in Dex then grabbing the newly unrestricted Elven Accuracy to start the game with an 18 in point buy and super advantage.

I would honestly wager that there will be something in there that restricts taking a half feat that can bump your starting stat to 18. I won't guarantee that, but I'd say it's 50/50.

[Dork_Forge]

I would honestly wager that there will be something in there that restricts taking a half feat that can bump your starting stat to 18. I won't guarantee that, but I'd say it's 50/50.

Honestly with how it's looking so far I wouldn't hold out much hope for a semblance of balance from the rules in this book.

[AttilatheYeon]

I would honestly wager that there will be something in there that restricts taking a half feat that can bump your starting stat to 18. I won't guarantee that, but I'd say it's 50/50.

Well they already have a precedence for a race with a possible starting 18.

[jaappleton]

I would honestly wager that there will be something in there that restricts taking a half feat that can bump your starting stat to 18. I won't guarantee that, but I'd say it's 50/50.

Nope. Not there.

However.....

Remember that only the new Custom Race is the only one that can start with a Feat that isn’t VHuman.

They get +2 to a stat, Darkvision or a Skill Proficiency, and a Feat. (And I think a language)

So with the half feats available, that’s the only way to start with an 18 in a stat besides being a Changeling, which only lets you start with 18 Charisma.

[rlc]

I actually wonder if they’ll be changing the name of elven accuracy

[Arkhios]

I actually wonder if they’ll be changing the name of elven accuracy

Why, though? Maybe your character just has traces of elven ancestry.

Weirder things have happened.

[jaappleton]

Why, though? Maybe your character just has traces of elven ancestry.

Weirder things have happened.

Or you were heavily trained by Elves in their ways.

I see no reason to change the name.

[Valmark]

The funny part for me will be seeing if the dragonborn-related feats will be changed- or if they won't bother making characters without breath weapons capable of using it.

[jaappleton]

The funny part for me will be seeing if the dragonborn-related feats will be changed- or if they won't bother making characters without breath weapons capable of using it.

A very good question. Something like Dragon Fear, which requires the ability to use a breath weapon.... What happens there?

[x3n0n]

A very good question. Something like Dragon Fear, which requires the ability to use a breath weapon.... What happens there?

Indeed: see also Orcish Fury.

Bountiful Luck is marginally better on non-Halflings, since they don't have a Lucky trait to disable? :)

[Sindal]

Dipping in to give my comments:

1) I like being able to change stats on the races. It's neat and ultimately won't do much harm in my opinion (regardless of how right or wrong that opinion is)

2) Spell customization is a neat idea, granted I've not read the specifics. The only thing I can think of every changing is the damage type of a cantrip here and there to be a little more thematic. If functionality was the same I probably wouldn't stop a player from making a change.

3) Man, I really hope they throw sorcerers a bone. If not now, some day.

4)Looking at the replacement for Favored enemy

"Lv1 Favored Foe replaces Favored Enemy feature and works with foe slayer, When you hit a creature with an attack roll you may mark it as your favored enemy for 1 min or until you lose concentration, first time you hit it each turn you do 1d4 damage, 1d6 at lv6 and 1d8 at lv14, you can use this PB time per LR"

While it's not the lord and savior we might have wanted I'd still happily take it over Favored enemy anyway. For the pure reason that I have NEVER used Favored enemy on my ranger in any way, shape or form. Is this my fault or the DM's fault? Perhaps, but that's still what transpired and I'd rather not put any pressure on my DM to put specific kinds of enemies or npcs into campaigns. I will always have it as an option in combat, and it will always give me a result which is just nice as a class feature. The bonuses I would lose for Favored Enemy could be scryed and found other ways, perhaps even using the new 3rd level ability extra spells to do it.

While it interferes with hunter's mark and other concentration spells like Swift Quiver or Guardian of Nature that are designed for prolonged focus fire fighting, it's at least something I can use as a hunter's mark replacement and focus on other spells for spells known and spells cast. It at least allows comboing with other concentration spells in it.

You could cast Hail of Thorns or Zephyr Strike for instance, get the aoe damage or the free movement and damage advantage as well as the single target damage, and then mark them as your favored foe to trigger the damage from there out. Or just mark someone and have an extra Cure Wounds to spare for later.

Though it would be nice to have a line to it that adds:
•At lvl 6, you become more determined to slay your favored foe. Casting a concentration spell of lvl 1 or 2 does not interrupt Favor Foe's concentration as long as you have targeted your favored foe. At lvl 14, this effect extends to level 3 and 4 spells.

(So recasting hunters mark using your bonus action after your initial target dies, for instance, would still break Favored Foe and require you to remark. Casting Zephyr strike and NOT hitting your favored foe, would also break your favored foe.)

I feel that's a nice addition while not letting you run away with it. Can't be access by dips either.

[Witty Username]

(A) Point of order!

Frost Giants are faster, therefore better at concentrating force. We all know that logistics wins wars. A small squad of Fire Giants would beat a similarly-sized squad of Frost Giants in a melee fight, but in a war the Frost Giants are going to win. The Fire Giants can concentrate all of their forces on a small strongpoint and hold that strongpoint against a concerted attack by all the Fire Giants, but the moment they try to hold territory outside that strongpoint (call it the Green Zone) they invite defeat in detail by the Frost Giants.

24 Frost Giants can annihilate 12 Fire Giants and then annihilate 12 more Fire Giants, just by getting there "the firstest with the mostest."

However, there's no particular reason to assume they'd ever go to war with each other in the first place, whether you're using WotC fluff or TSR fluff.

Creature speed has no effect on overland travel, as per raw. Forced Marches could give advantage to the side of the higher con though.

P.S. The spell research topic is interesting, my take is that spell research doesn't necessarily mean making spells that are outside the phb (you could be the first caster of hypnotic pattern in X world). Second, homebrew can be difficult for some DM's to implement even if my personal thoughts are the existing spell list is not diverse enough. Third, research being unavailable could be in the same boat as magic item creation, incredibly difficult(at least by raw) and not very widespread.
I personally like homebrew spells and similar type in game things and so I use them in my games. As for research, only wizards and so far handled with level up gains.

[Chaosmancer]

Just heard that JC tweeted saying that Booming Blade and Green Flame Blade will still work with Warcaster's Reaction attack.