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Author Topic: 5e Unearthed Arcana Playtest Update: What is the End Goal?  (Read 2407 times)

rocksfalleverybodydies

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5e Unearthed Arcana Playtest Update: What is the End Goal?
« on: March 11, 2021, 09:19:46 PM »
So this Unearthed Arcana 5e that seems to be happening, is there more to it than just creating new humanoid races?
Was just reading the latest playtest release:
https://dnd.wizards.com/articles/unearthedarcana/folk_feywild

Is there some specific world that is being developed to house all these variations?  Yay, a rabbit, hobgoblin option and other wildlife assortments. Whoopee.  Why not just make set rules for converting the MM creatures for player character use and be done with it?  My dream of playing an Ochre Jelly will be finally fulfilled.  Is every 'naughty' humanoid creature in the game eventually going to get a 'just misunderstood' variant?

Is there some inherent desire from the player base for all these character race options?  I'm just not hanging with the right RPG crowds I guess.  The days of a DM being able to roughly memorize what the player races are capable of seem pretty impossible now.

Maybe some interesting rule changes are coming but if Tasha's is any indication, I'll just stick with the 3 original books as I'm not seeing anything really groundbreaking happening here, which is kind of sad for what is arguably the most influential RPG system on the market.  Meh.

Seems after the 5e core, they started to run out of steam and are just releasing whatever now.
C'mon WOTC, let's see something really new and exciting, rather than throwing stats on the cutesy animal of the month please?

Omega

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Re: 5e Unearthed Arcana Playtest Update: What is the End Goal?
« Reply #1 on: March 11, 2021, 11:21:28 PM »
I've been a part of the playtests from the start.

You may be misreading this.

The UA entries are online articles and present playtests for material that might some day make it into a future book.

So far I have seen stuff we playtested and sent feedback on make it into both "everything" books and two of the setting books, and a bit more. Mostly new class paths. Oddly new races have been few so far. Mostly just varients on existing ones.

Often whats presented in UA ends up changed a little, or alot by the time it sees print. The arificer is the one most changed as we really had to stress how overpowered it was compared to other classes in its original form, and more feeback in version 2.

The current Folk of the Feywild UA may be for some planned or proposed Fey book, or part of some entry in another "guide to monsters" and so on.
« Last Edit: March 11, 2021, 11:38:47 PM by Omega »

TJS

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Re: 5e Unearthed Arcana Playtest Update: What is the End Goal?
« Reply #2 on: March 12, 2021, 01:55:30 AM »
Yeah, possibly a fey book.  Or maybe just some kind of options for a fey based adventure path

Let's be clear though.  These are not playtests.

They get released for a month and then they post a poll.

This is opinion polling.  It's likely only a small percentage of people who respond to these polls have actually used these options in a game, and of those that have, they almost certainly have not used them enough to have an relevant opinion based on playtesting.

Omega

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Re: 5e Unearthed Arcana Playtest Update: What is the End Goal?
« Reply #3 on: March 12, 2021, 02:07:11 AM »
I know they listen to the actual playtest feedback otherwise the Artificer wouldnt have been totally overhauled. The polls are a bit weird but it allows feedback as well. If anyone bothers.

TJS

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Re: 5e Unearthed Arcana Playtest Update: What is the End Goal?
« Reply #4 on: March 12, 2021, 02:15:08 AM »
I know they listen to the actual playtest feedback otherwise the Artificer wouldnt have been totally overhauled. The polls are a bit weird but it allows feedback as well. If anyone bothers.
I'm sure they listen to feedback.

It's just that the feedback is not going to be based on playtesting in any meaningful sense.

Releasing this material lets them:
- know if they've made something that can easily be broken because some white room optimiser will spot it in 30 seconds.
- know if it's going to piss of a section of the fanbase for any reason.
- know if people think it's broken, in which case they'll change it (even if actual playesting would have revealed it is not.)

It basically just seeking "I reckons".

This is why they have so much trouble with with Psionics. A sizable contingent of the fanbase obviously dislike psionics.

You can't possibly playtest a class or subclass in the space of a month in any meaningful way in your ordinary home games. Therefore any opinion you give in a survey on that is not based on meaningful playtesting.

Torque2100

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Re: 5e Unearthed Arcana Playtest Update: What is the End Goal?
« Reply #5 on: March 12, 2021, 09:09:35 AM »
It's kind of sad to see what's happening to DnD 5e.  5e is probably my favorite version of DnD since AD&D (even if it's just a knock off of Castles and Crusades).

I will still probably play it because 5e is a good product but stick with the 3 core books.

Armchair Gamer

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Re: 5e Unearthed Arcana Playtest Update: What is the End Goal?
« Reply #6 on: March 12, 2021, 09:30:19 AM »
It's kind of sad to see what's happening to DnD 5e.  5e is probably my favorite version of DnD since AD&D (even if it's just a knock off of Castles and Crusades).

  Why not stick with Castles & Crusades? It's one of the reasons I never bought the 5E core.

S'mon

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Re: 5e Unearthed Arcana Playtest Update: What is the End Goal?
« Reply #7 on: March 12, 2021, 11:15:23 AM »
It's kind of sad to see what's happening to DnD 5e.  5e is probably my favorite version of DnD since AD&D (even if it's just a knock off of Castles and Crusades).

I will still probably play it because 5e is a good product but stick with the 3 core books.

I decided to stick with PHB + XGTE for my current campaign, no feats or multiclassing. Game runs like a dream!  8) Whoever did the actual core design work on the 5e PHB did great.

Torque2100

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Re: 5e Unearthed Arcana Playtest Update: What is the End Goal?
« Reply #8 on: March 12, 2021, 12:33:55 PM »
It's kind of sad to see what's happening to DnD 5e.  5e is probably my favorite version of DnD since AD&D (even if it's just a knock off of Castles and Crusades).

  Why not stick with Castles & Crusades? It's one of the reasons I never bought the 5E core.

Because, much like 3.5 before it, 5e is what everyone's playing and well I actually do quite like 5e pre Tasha's Cauldron of Raw Sewer Effluent.

Ghostmaker

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Re: 5e Unearthed Arcana Playtest Update: What is the End Goal?
« Reply #9 on: March 12, 2021, 01:47:48 PM »
I would like to note that Tasha's Cauldron is basically 'the big book of Unearthed Arcana we liked and decided to stick into the game'.

rocksfalleverybodydies

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Re: 5e Unearthed Arcana Playtest Update: What is the End Goal?
« Reply #10 on: March 12, 2021, 03:49:53 PM »
Ah, the name UA threw me off and I thought it was a product under actual development.  My mistake.  Appreciate the clarification.

Then I doubt I'll be seeing any real radical developments as I assume WOTC would keep those under wraps until they are in the process of making some big release or a new edition.

I would like to note that Tasha's Cauldron is basically 'the big book of Unearthed Arcana we liked and decided to stick into the game'.

Needed more polearms.

<sp>
« Last Edit: March 12, 2021, 03:53:34 PM by rocksfalleverybodydies »

Mistwell

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Re: 5e Unearthed Arcana Playtest Update: What is the End Goal?
« Reply #11 on: March 12, 2021, 03:55:44 PM »
So this Unearthed Arcana 5e that seems to be happening, is there more to it than just creating new humanoid races?
Was just reading the latest playtest release:
https://dnd.wizards.com/articles/unearthedarcana/folk_feywild

Is there some specific world that is being developed to house all these variations?  Yay, a rabbit, hobgoblin option and other wildlife assortments. Whoopee.  Why not just make set rules for converting the MM creatures for player character use and be done with it?  My dream of playing an Ochre Jelly will be finally fulfilled.  Is every 'naughty' humanoid creature in the game eventually going to get a 'just misunderstood' variant?

Is there some inherent desire from the player base for all these character race options?  I'm just not hanging with the right RPG crowds I guess.  The days of a DM being able to roughly memorize what the player races are capable of seem pretty impossible now.

Maybe some interesting rule changes are coming but if Tasha's is any indication, I'll just stick with the 3 original books as I'm not seeing anything really groundbreaking happening here, which is kind of sad for what is arguably the most influential RPG system on the market.  Meh.

Seems after the 5e core, they started to run out of steam and are just releasing whatever now.
C'mon WOTC, let's see something really new and exciting, rather than throwing stats on the cutesy animal of the month please?

I had not seen this yet. Thanks for posting it. My daughter (about to turn 10) asked me yesterday if she could play D&D with me, and told me she wanted to play a fairy. I said sure, but knew I would have to piece something together for her. Now boom, next day, there it is a UA on a fairy player race that reads pretty decent.

As for why this one? Yeah they have some setting book or supplement in mind. The cycle runs around 6 months, so around 6 months from now we could see a book featuring these things. Looks like Feywild, though at one point long ago I think they mentioned an Alice in Wonderland inspired something, so this could be that as well. Maybe a Dungeonland/Through the Magic Mirror redo?
« Last Edit: March 12, 2021, 04:04:32 PM by Mistwell »

rocksfalleverybodydies

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Re: 5e Unearthed Arcana Playtest Update: What is the End Goal?
« Reply #12 on: March 12, 2021, 04:04:01 PM »
My misgivings about WOTC's progress seems to have resulted in something positive after all so I guess that's something.