So, Wizards of the Coast has confirmed that they're working on a new edition of D&D to launch in 2024. Only it's not a new edition because they're 'getting rid of editions' and this will just be "One D&D".
this will last... until such point that they decide they want to make money off of a new core book and other add ons, to sell them to the people who already have them
They can tapdance around doing whatever they want to try to improve the bad implications of years and years of lore, but they don't actually care about D&D as a functional game with design goals that aren't "sell as many copies as possible by being barely adequate at a lot of things and not specialized in any of them"
There are tons of people coming to D&D wanting a rules light storygaming experience and just ignoring half the rules anyway, and also believing that all TRPGs must have that many rules because it's the only game they've ever seen.
tbf if u want an especially cynical read: if they did something exactly as half baked as Catalyst did for Shadorun Anarchy, it would make shit tons of money
They're meant to more directly mirror Tieflings (which... Aasimar already did, but whatever) and can grow wings and cast some spells determined by their celestial heritage
i also feel like it gives people a bad expectation for what it's gonna be like because you and your friends or the people you find in a pick up group are not gonna be like that
Also, Orcs are gonna be a core race in One D&D's PHB, but with all of their traits being gifts from their god meant to make them survive in a world filled with monsters.
So not just an unusually high tier of experienced dming, but also you get people roleplaying in a seamless almost radio drama way with a lot of the communication and discussion around that roleplaying or time to think removed.
i'd have to like see the rest of the ruleset. but idk if they're leaning into the tactical combat again or if they're trying for the jack of all trades thing again
They keep talking about how they've been watching people play for the past decade, which, given how the most popular and visible games tend to go, makes me think they might be leaning more towards a story-heavy system
i did get to play some star wars saga edition which was kind of the testing bed for a lot of ideas that went on to appear in 4e, but i don't remember it well and it wasn't run well
(Also, they're leaning hard into the multiverse existing here and I can't help but feel that's partially due to it being so prevalent in media nowadays)
Also, you have the option to choose whether your characters are Medium or Small for several of the races in here, with a Small Human being, like, two to four feet tall. And I'm just like "Good luck adventuring when you're two feet tall"
i wasn't that into 4e back in the day but at this pint in my life i'm like "wizards, just admit it's a combat-focused game and lean into it, for the love of god."
just... build a tactical fantasy combat game then also write something and call it "D&D adventures" or w/e that operates on a stripped down ruleset for people to doodle around in without having to do the hacking themselvres
Anyway, humans get proficiency in a skill of their choice, inspiration whenever they long rest, and can pick any feat they want at level 1 (in addition to their Background feat)
Ardlings, as mentioned, are the Egyptian god people with animal heads, with three legacies: Exalted (Chaotic Good), Heavenly (Lawful Good), or Idyllic (Neutral Good). They grow wings and fly for thirty feet as a Bonus Action, they get free spells at 1st, 3rd, and 5th level depending on their legacy, and they have Resistance to Radiant damage.
Dwarves have darkvision, resistance to poison, Advantage on all saving throws involving poison, +1 to hit points at every level up, Tool proficiency with Jewler/Mason/Smith/Tinker Tools, and they all gain Tremorsense if they're touching stone, which idk what is
Elves have darkvision, Elven Lineage (which changes depending on what kind of elf you are. Wood elves are faster, High elves automatically memorize Prestidigitation but can memorize any other cantrip after a long rest, and Drow have 120 feet of Darkvision. Those're all the statted out ones.)
They have Advantage on all saving throws against the Charmed status effect, have Proficiency in Perception, and are immune to all sleep effects. They Long Rest in only four hours and are never unaware during it.
Gnomes are taller than the smallest human (they bottom out at three feet as opposed to two!), have darkvision, have Advantage on Int, Wis, and Cha saving throws, and gnomish lineages (forest or rock gnome) that decide what free cantrips you get.
Oh, and if a gnome spends 10 minutes casting prestidigitation, they can create a tiny clockwork device that mimics one aspect of the prestidigitation spell.
Halflings are smaller than gnomes (I feel like that's backwards), have Advantage on all saving throws involving the Frightened status effect, they can move through the space of any creature a size larger than them (but can't share the space), they can reroll Nat 1s, and they have Proficiency in Stealth.
Orcs can Dash as a bonus action and gain temporary hp when they do, have darkvision, can lift/carry/drag/push like they were one size category larger than they are, and can go "No I don't" when they hit 0 hp and go to 1 hp instead (but need to long rest between uses of that)
I'll say this: So far their cultures have all been typical of D&D in the past, but Orcs are now noted for being willing to make peace with enemies and living in harmony with their neighbors and the natural world. And they tend to stick to territory claimed by their ancestors.
Tieflings now have fiendish legacies: Abyssal (Descended fromdemons, might have fur, horns, and tusks, smell funny, Resistance to Poison), Infernal (Descended from Devils, Resistance to Fire, horns, spines, tails, spells like sulfur or smoke), or Cthonic (looks like cadavers or succubi/incubi, or some other Neutral Evil fiend, Resists Necrotic.)
Tieflings are most commonly found in Sigil, but thanks to the actions of a bunch of Tiefling heroes, they're accepted just about everywhere in the multiverse, despite their demonic looks and heritage.
Backgrounds are simple. You can make any background you want. They all get to bump ability scores by 2 for one and 1 for another, unless you decide to bump up three scores by 1. You get two Skill proficiencies. You get a Tool Proficiency. You get to learn a language (other than Common). You get 1 first level Feat. And you get 50 GP to spend on equipment.
Another lets gives you Luck Points equal to your Proficiency Bonus which lets you give Advantage to yourself or Disadvantage to anyone else (regained on Long Rest)
Oh, and you're only supposed to roll a d20 Test if the target for success is greater than 5 or less than 30. Which, I guess, lets us know that One D&D doesn't plan for people to have enormous bonuses to rolls.
THEN AGAIN it might also just be trying to combat that thing where people have a resource they never use because they don't know when they'll get it again
Nat 20 as an autosuccess also applies to everyone. It's only the crits that explicitly don't. Also only player characters get Inspiration from a Nat 20.
Will Inspiration after every nat 20 and every long rest (if human) and any bit where you've done something "particularly heroic or amusing" and any time you listen to someone with the Musician Feat play an instrument?
No word on Bardic Inspiration, but Musician Feat now lets a player give inspiration to a number of allies equal to their proficiency bonus, to be refreshed after every short or long rest
tbh I have no problem with them designing a mechanic to grant people an advantage to use at the time of their choosing on long rests/Nat 20s, but don't lump it in with the existing inspiration mechanic
the no enemy crits thing is questionable to me mostly because this is supposed to be compatible with 5e, but that immediately renders the grave cleric ability to cancel enemy crits useless
The Bard's Magical Secrets ability, letting them snag a spell from any other spell list, is significantly less useful now that there's only three spell lists.
then also write something and call it "D&D adventures" or w/e that operates on a stripped down ruleset for people to doodle around in without having to do the hacking themselvres
and what if i am
D&D players: [spit blood in their eyes]
"Yeah, yeah, I've got a heavy crossbow, too."
Weapons and Unarmed Strikes have a special feature for player characters: Critical Hits.there's some shit like this in werewolf too