Let’s Talk About the One D&D Rules Glossary
What game terms and procedures have changed from 5e in the first playtest packet?
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We’ve only had a single One D&D playtest packet to chew on so far, and predictably gamers are losing their minds over various changes from Fifth Edition, whether it’s outrage over wizards no longer being able to crit or (more sadly) anger that racial determinism is leaving the game. I skimmed the material in the “Character Origins” rules glossary in my initial reaction. Now let’s take a closer look at some of these changes to the game.
d20 Test
You can’t get more fundamental than a game’s core mechanic. Since Third Edition first hit shelves D&D has enjoyed a straightforward approach to just about every situation: Roll a d20 and apply modifiers, with success achieved if you reach the target number. The details have changed, but that central concept has held true with the One D&D playtest. So what’s actually new?
Is the roll warranted? First the DM must decide if a roll is even necessary. Anything with a target number below 5 is an automatic success, while one greater than 30 is inevitable failure.
Did you roll a Natural 1? In Fifth Edition the dreaded snake eye was only an automatic failure on an attack roll. Now you have a 5% chance to always choke on ability (skill) checks and saving throws as well, regardless of your bonuses.
Did you roll a Natural 20? The cool flipside to the “fumble on a high-bonus skill check” possibility is that now that beautiful 20 on the die means you succeeded whether it’s an ability check, saving throw, or attack. And speaking of attacks …
Was that Natural 20 a weapon attack or unarmed strike? Meet our first piece of major rules controversy! In One D&D critical hits are reserved for physical attacks. A wizard can auto-hit with a 20, but won’t be inflicting the extra damage of a fighter wielding cold steel. Crits add an extra die of the weapon damage before applying any bonuses.
Note: While I didn’t see it in the playtest document, I’ve seen much discussion that critical hits are becoming a player-only feature of the game. My understanding is that monsters will gain recharging special attacks to replace critical hits for the Dungeon Master. I’ll save commenting on this once we see it on the page and have a chance to try things out.
Arcane, Divine, Primal Traditions
Gather ‘round, children. Let Uncle Jamie tell you about the transition from the first edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons to the second. One of the decisions was to create four broad categories for character archetypes: Warrior, Wizard, Priest, and Rogue. So both a fighter and a paladin were Warriors, just as a cleric and a druid were Priests. (And in Second Edition Druids were an optional example of “a priest designed for a specific mythos.”) Master spell lists for Wizard and Priest were further divided up with Schools of Magic (enchantment, illusion), and the Priest spells were tagged with Spheres (healing, divination). These tags were designed to make it easy to have a customized spell list for different kinds of spellcasters without the need for different lists for each class. It also meant that as spells were added to the game they were automatically incorporated into the available “master list” of spells a character might have access to.
Twenty years later Fourth Edition organized character class abilities based on “Power Sources.” The names might sound familiar: Arcane, Divine, Martial, Primal. Part of the reasoning was similar to what they did for spells in Second Edition, and another because it meant they could introduce classes tied to other power sources—Ki, Psionic, Shadow, etc. Fourth did a good job of defining a character’s place in the game universe and relationship to material and extraplanar powers.
The idea of magic channeling power sources returns in One D&D, and I’m sure there will be mixed opinions. I was originally thinking spells once specific to rangers and paladins would become class features, but instead hunter’s mark and wrathful smite are on the Primal and Divine lists, respectively. Thinking on it, opening up more options to allow players to create a specific character build seems to be a core concept for the game. The danger, of course, is watering spellcasting classes down too much by giving signature spells to everyone. We’ll have to see the new presentation of classes to understand how this will all play together.
Conditions
Several Conditions are included in the Character Origins document, my impression being they only include those directly referenced by features introduced by Race, Background, or Feat. Let’s see how these terms have changed from 5e.
Grappled
Previously being Grappled reduced your speed to 0, you are released if the grappler becomes incapacitated or if an effect removes you from reach. And while those details are all still true in the playtest, there are a few key additions that present a big change.
Attacks against the grappler are made at Disadvantage, the grappler can drag or carry the target but is usually Slowed, and at the end of the target’s turns it can make a Strength or Dexterity saving throw to escape. That last is the biggest news, as it means a creature caught in a grapple no longer has to burn an action to break free. More details on how this all works fall under Unarmed Strikes.
Incapacitated
In Fifth Edition it is very simple—no actions or reactions are allowed when Incapacitated. The playtest document expands on this, adding that concentration is broken, the character cannot speak, and has Disadvantage on initiative rolls.
Slowed
Not a condition in 5e, slow isa spell—one that whammies a target with half movement, a –2 on AC and Dexterity saves, denies reactions, forces the target to choose between action or bonus action on its turn, it is never allowed more than one attack, and spells could be delayed.
I suspect that slow the spell will now cause Slowed the Condition in the new edition. The movement penalty is better defined, attacks against a Slowed creature have Advantage, and it has Disadvantage on Dexterity saving throws. This simplifies things and gives more options to a Slowed character while also making the effective Armor Class penalty and Dexterity save penalties worse. (From a design perspective, Disadvantage is treated the same as –5 to a roll, the reverse being true for Advantage.)
Inspiration
A mechanic new to Fifth Edition, Inspiration allows players to roll with Advantage for almost anything—and the game recommends it to be given from one character to another, a way for players to reward and encourage each other. It is earned via Dungeon Master fiat, usually for roleplaying elements defined on your character sheet (personality traits, ideals, bond, flaws). In the Dungeon Master’s Guide it’s suggested that in addition to these specific roleplaying rewards that Inspiration be granted for heroism, victory, reinforcing the conventions of the genre being played. The book also admits some of the potential flaws in the system as described, in that can encourage metagame thinking about character and story elements.
As a guy who long-ago designed a game that offered dice-rolling rewards for roleplaying elements I totally understand what D&D 5e is going for with their Inspiration rules. I can also tell you that as someone who’s run a lot of games that it’s really difficult to properly keep track of every player character’s personality traits and flaws, and that just the style differences between one player and another lead to uneven Inspiration distribution. It’s a cool idea that’s hard to pull off well, which is why you don’t see Inspiration used at all on a highly popular streaming show.
One D&D’s Solution
The new game keeps the use of Inspiration simple—Advantage on a single roll. But now Inspiration is a resource that’s built into the game’s mechanics and economy. You gain Inspiration whenever you roll a natural 20 (a 5% shot every time you roll the die), and anytime the DM feels like it. I bet the new DMG will include guidelines for still awarding Inspiration for all the old reasons—awesome roleplaying and cool moments or puns so painful the whole table groans. Inspiration is a binary condition—you either have it or you don’t—but if you gain it a second time you can offer your Inspiration to another player. Inspiration disappears at the end of a Long Rest, adding a little incentive to the “just one more room!” mentality that is healthy in any good dungeon crawl.
Now that Inspiration is a game resource better defined in the core rules I imagine we’ll see it included in more class features, feats, and other elements of the game. Human characters now gain Inspiration at the end of every Long Rest, and I’ll be surprised if we don’t see other ways Inspiration can be spent. We’ll have to wait and see.
Long Rest
Fourth Edition earned lots of ire from longtime D&D players purely by its terminology. Cool special abilities from a character were called “Powers” and were defined as “At-Will,” “Encounter,” or “Daily” powers, from weakest (and most frequently used) to strongest. Fifth Edition got away with using the exact same structure but changed “Powers” to “Features” that were either always available or didn’t recharge without a Short or Long Rest.
One D&D keeps the old description of Long Rest but better defines what happens if it’s interrupted. If characters get at least an hour of shut-eye they will at least benefit from a Short Rest, even if it’s interrupted by a monster attack or the horny bard. A good night’s sleep also, unfortunately, erases Inspiration for everyone but human characters.
Tools, Gaming Sets, & Musical Instruments
Among the categories for Tools in the 5e Player’s Handbook, there are over a dozen Artisan’s Tools, different types of Gaming Sets, and plenty of Musical Instruments. Each one requires a separate proficiency to use and the cost for individual items (glassblower’s tools, playing card set, pan flute) varies wildly. In One D&D things work the same way, but in a nod to game balance and ignoring “realism,” all Artisan’s Tools now cost 15 gold pieces, all musical instruments will set your character back 20, while gaming sets cost merely 1.
One thing worth noting is that you can roll with Advantage if you are proficient in a tool and also using a proficient skill for the same task.
Tremorsense
In Fifth Edition you need to crack open your Monster Manual to find Tremorsense, a concept that’s existed in previous editions of the game. It’s under Senses, and indicates that a monster can pinpoint the origin of vibrations caused by anything in contact with the ground or a wall—think the sandworms of Dune or Toph from Avatar: The Last Airbender. You find underground burrowing creatures most often with Tremorsense, such as the Bulette or Umber Hulk.
The One D&D description of Tremorsense is much the same as 5e—going the extra step to state that it’s not considered a form of sight (and thus cannot be affected by features that limit sight). It’s noteworthy in the playtest document because Dwarves have been given this ability related to stone surfaces, activated with a bonus action and lasting for ten minutes. It gives dwarf characters the edge in the right environment when dealing with invisible creatures, burrowers, or if some magical effect prevents darkvision.
Unarmed Strike: Smack, Grapple, or Shove
Dungeons & Dragons has struggled with a grappling problem for decades, with perhaps Fourth Edition being the best example of clean and easy to understand “Grab” rules for its use in the game. Fifth Edition includes Grappling as a type of melee attack, as well as simply causing damage or attempting to shove a creature. It allows a character to switch up the normal attack roll vs. Armor Class to a contest of skills (Athletics and Acrobatics). Anyone stuck in a grapple has to use an action to even attempt escape, forcing a decision between trying to break free or try and kill the grappler.
One D&D’s Unarmed Strike
The mechanics are better-defined. Your unarmed strike is defined as Strength modifier plus proficiency bonus, a successful hit allowing the attacker to choose between damage, grapple, or shove. Damage works the same as 5e, and Grapple gives the target the condition of the same name with an Escape DC of 8 modified by your Strength and proficiency bonuses. A shove either knocks the target prone or pushes it five feet. (Size differences can limit these actions.)
Changes like this are significant, as grappling no longer denies an enemy their action if they want to escape. It also reduces the importance of Athletics and Acrobatics now that they cannot be used in combat as they were previously. Any target successfully hit with a Shove attack can be knocked down or pushed away unless they are much bigger than the attacker. If an enemy is standing next to a cliff all you need to do it score the hit to push them off—no opposed roll required!
These are rules I’d like to use in play before I pass final judgment on whether or not they are improvements to systems we’ve used before.
Expanded Options, More Sharply Defined
From the first playtest packet, One D&D seems most interested in broadening options for player characters while also more tightly defining game terms and rewards. The goal seems to be reducing confusion and time spent adjudicating situations and putting less pressure on the Dungeon Master to remember details in a given moment. The storytelling and roleplaying elements of D&D are more fully separated from the game mechanics, helping players with different kinds of styles and personalities enjoy in-game rewards equally with their friends.
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