The Future of D&D 5, Part 4: Conjuring Complexity
Embarking on another week, we continue our deep-dive into the OneDnD Play test series. Our focus for today is the Wizard class, the final class to review in the Unearthed Arcana Play Test #5. If you haven't gone through the reviews for the Fighter, Barbarian, Sorcerer, or Warlock, I suggest visiting the link below. It's beneficial to read them first, as I'll be referencing some previous discussions. Upon examining the Wizard, I found a mix of changes; some of them good, others not so much. This class presents perhaps the most convoluted iteration of the spells-as-abilities system in the entire playtest, and I'm unsure of my feelings towards it.
The Wizard
One of the most iconic classes in the game (and everyone’s mental image of TTRPGs), I considered the Wizard a peak magic user. Extensive study of magic gives them knowledge that exceeds most of the other classes in the game. The 5E class really nailed that mark, making a character that could accumulate spells and have extreme flexibility. So the changes here should be interesting.
Core Class
Starting off, we see some changes for what a Wizard’s Spellbook will do, under the Class Feature of the same name. This feature combines all the rules from the spellbook into one location, covering the size, number of pages, and how you add spells to it (which I will go into below). A notable change is that now a spellbook can also double as a wizard’s arcane focus. So a wizard can look even more iconic, holding their tome of vast knowledge while they fight.
Adding spells to a spellbook has had a slight change as well, and it follows the “Features to Spells” theme that [LINK]started in this play test, with the Sorcerer. This starts (but does not end) with Scribe Spell, the 1st level spell given to Wizards. Scribe Spell is a ritual, so for an additional ten minutes spent, a Wizard can forgo using a spell slot in order to use this. The spell takes the same materials as before and takes 2 hours per level of the scribed spell.
I see these as a mix of good and bad. I feel like allowing a spell book as a focus makes for a very thematic character. In my personal games, I've always allowed wizards to use their spellbooks as arcane foci if they wanted. It was a surprise, then, to see this officially integrated in the playtest. The change does not feel large, but allows a decent amount of flavor to come through. Scribe Spell feels odd as a spell. If the game developers are making this choice to have a template to build around for organizing, it makes sense. But I wonder what players and DMs will gain from having Scribe Spell as a spell. It feels like they manipulated the Class Feature in order to fit into a spell template. If anything, this feels like an organization that would allow for the ability to be more easily accessed in a digital setting, something that WotC seems to move towards.
At level 2, Wizards would gain the new Academic Class Feature. This feature allows Wizards to roll with Advantage when taking the Study action, the newly proposed action that represents when a character recalls information about something. They have also moved the Arcane Recovery class feature to level 2, but otherwise remains the same.
To me, Academic just reads as “Wizards have advantage on Intelligence Checks”. While this ability feels appropriately flavorful for an all-knowing student of the arcane, mechanically it feels extremely powerful, especially at 2nd level. Looking at the Study action, it feels like it will cover a lot of the use of the Intelligence based Ability checks, which furthers my point. While I am sure that was not the intention, it feels incredibly powerful to give to a 2nd level character. An alternative would be to allow advantage rolls on Intelligence checks involving skills that the character is proficient with. Also, you can restrict the usage of this to a specific number of times in a day.
From 5th to 9th level, we see three more features packaged as spells: Memorize Spell, Modify Spell, and Create Spell. (It's extremely annoying that the Class Features just reference the spell and add it to the spell book without including the spell itself.) These spells let a Wizard have even more control of the magic they create.
Starting off, the 3rd level spell Memorize Spell allows a Wizard to switch out prepared spells during an adventuring day. Casting the spell takes 1 minute and you can do it ritually. Upcasting this spell allows for an additional spell to be replaced for each spell level above 3rd.
At 7th level, Modify Spell lets a Wizard tweak their magic. This 4th level spell, also able to be cast ritually, allows a Wizard to change some elements of a spell they have prepared. Besides the color, sound, and smell, they can change one of the key elements of it. These include removing a component, not allowing Concentration to be broken, changing damage type, increasing range, adding a Ritual ability, and only affecting allies or enemies. These changes last until the Modify Spell is cast again, or the Wizard takes a Long Rest. It also has synergy with the Create Spell that comes later.
Create Spell, the final in this list, caps off these new Spell-abilities (Spellbilities?) by allowing a Wizard to take their newly changed spell and add it to their spell book. Characters cannot cast ritually the spell, and take an Arcane Focus material component that is worth 1,000 GP per level of the spell altered by Modify Spell. This requires the user to meditate on the spell for 1 hour. If this succeeds, the Wizard must begin Scribe Spell within the next 10 minutes. If they meet all these requirements, then the Wizard now has their own custom version of the spell.
A lot of thoughts come to mind with this new trio of spells. I love the flavor behind these three spells. To me, this represents that knowledge and mastery that builds over the course of a Wizard becoming an expert in the arcane. They start off being able to swap out spells, move to changing spells, and end with creating their own spells from what they have learned in the past. The execution, however, leaves a lot to be desired.
If this system becomes official, someone will make a ton of money selling index cards with the flowchart for these spells on them. I have had to review the order and specifics of this system multiple times. Let’s say we have a wizard named Elara. She wants to modify the Fireball spell. Under the new system, she would have to do the following steps. First, she would need to cast the Modify Spell, either taking 1 minute and a 4th level spell slot or 11 minutes ritually with no spell slot. Immediately after completing Modify Spell, Elara casts Create Spell as a reaction to casting Modify Spell. She expends an Arcane Focus worth 3,000 gp (1000 for each spell level), and concentrates on this spell for the next hour. Once that is done, Elara will have 10 minutes to cast Scribe Spell and add the altered spell into her spellbook, a process that takes an additional 6 hours and 300 gp worth of fine inks. At that point, Elara’s Fireball becomes one of her known spells. This whole process took around 8 hours, cost 3,300 gp, and gives a new 3rd level spell. Realistically, this process cannot be done while adventuring or Elara would be unable to interact for a day. So it comes down to Downtime. Especially in the official modules, downtime is not always guaranteed.
I also feel that Modify Spell has a mixture of useful and overpowered abilities in it, specifically the Concentration change. I feel that making Concentration on a spell unable to be broken is a bit too powerful and will already step on the toes of War Caster a little. While it requires resources and is individually done, I would rather it become a spell that allows for “War Caster-lite” effects, giving advantage or a decreased DC on Concentration checks.
I feel that how complicated the process gets causes it all to lose any benefit of turning these abilities into spells. Modify Spell needs higher spell slot levels for additional modifications, but other than that, none of the trio get anything specifically. Spells refer to Wizard-specific elements, so other classes cannot use them.
My alternative here would be to group these abilities into as a few named features as possible. Perhaps the four spells could become the “Arcane Expertise” Class Feature. At 5th level, it gives the benefit of swapping spells, and then gains an additional ability at the levels corresponding to each new spell-ability. The process stays complex, but it feels like the needless spell formatting can be abandoned.
At 15th level, the feature Spell Mastery is available, previously unlocked at 18th level. The wording remains the same, allowing for one 1st or 2nd level spell to be designated as a spell the Wizard has mastered, making it always prepared to be cast without the use of a Spell Slot. The spell slot never increases past 2nd level, but characters can change the spell over the course of 8 hours of study.
18th level finishes the Wizard features with Signature Spells. Like Spell Mastery, this designates spells to be always prepared and be able to be cast without a spell slot. This allows for two 3rd level spells to be designated and allows for one casting per spell per Rest without expending a spell slot.
These were Class Features originally at higher levels that have been moved down to make room for the Epic Boon. Neither feature has had a change in the wording, so their power remains. Despite that, I feel like these are balanced enough that at this level we will not see any real unbalance in the gameplay.
Overall Thoughts
These recent changes feel aligned with the concept of a Wizard. They feel powerful and a bit too complicated. The new framework behind how a Wizard can interact with their spellbook feels interesting, and aligned with my idea of the class. What player who creates a Wizard has not imagined putting their own spells into their spellbook, entirely of their own design? Modify Spell and Create Spell give the player a taste that bends the rules of the game in a way that feels very in line with a Wizard. We also see Academic giving the class its place as keeper of knowledge regarding any Intelligence Checks.
I think that some of these changes go a bit too far. Modify Spell removing Concentration feels too powerful to me, even at the cost. Inversely, I almost feel like this system that allows players to modify spells and make them permanent will leave more experienced players unsatisfied with their choices. This setup gets so close to making a new spell but falls short. More experienced players who have casters often look towards 3rd party material, or seek to make a spell entirely their own, especially Wizards. Since this proposed set of spells takes them quite close to that, I feel it will push more to want to go that route. The Dungeon Master's Guide needs to have a system for creating spells.
These new options may cater to a player wanting more ways to exert control over the game, and I see that with a lot of players who choose Wizard. If the goal was making an “advanced” class, I feel like that mark was met. Whether this fits with the new style will remain to be seen.
Evoker
For the new subclass, we have the old School of Evocation Wizard subclass, now called the Evoker. The play test notes at the beginning that they will use this new naming convention for all classes moving forwards. So we can assume that now we will have Illusionist, Enchanter, Abjurer, and Necromancer. The change seems to emphasize the type of Wizard over the School of Magic, which may separate a Wizard from formal teaching.
When players choose the subclass at 3rd level, they will start with the Evocation Savant. This updated Class Feature adds two 2nd level or lower Arcane Evocation spells to the Evoker’s spell list, and adds them to the spell book automatically. All Evocation spells take half the gold and time as other spells to be added into a spellbook. The current feature only gives the latter ability.
Evocation Savant’s extra benefit feels like a decent way to add a little more flavor to the subclass by providing some of the chosen spell types immediately. I imagine this will remain the same for most, if not all, the other Wizard subclasses. While not super exciting, it feels like a good way for a Wizard to expand in their chosen role, which is often how they decide their subclass.
The next change comes at 6th level. They have expanded Potent Cantrip to work with both attack rolls and saving throws on Cantrips. Now an Evoker’s cantrip attacks will at least do half damage. This feels like a logical change to the spell, and one that remains in line for the theme of the subclass.
Overall Subclass Thoughts
To sum up, the Evoker class remains largely familiar, with a few subtle additions and the new spell-abilities, though expansive, seem a bit too broad and possibly overcomplicated. The wizard has always had a lot of their features in the core class, with the subclass providing a bit of flavor. I feel like the Evoker here maintains that, with minor change. We see some free spells upon taking the subclass, which feels thematically appropriate, and will be a delightful bonus early on. But besides that I see little change, or elements I dislike. An Evoker has added abilities with Evocation magic, and can use them better.
Glossary Rule Changes
As a final note, there were some changes made to the Rules that can be found in the Rules Glossary. I want to go over these here briefly, and give my overall thoughts at the end. I will break these into two groups: New and Revised Entries and Removed Entries.
New and Revised Entries
Starting off, we see that they have adjusted the Death Saving Throws since the last play test. Previously, when a character dropped to zero, they would gain the Dying condition, which was triggered when a character dropped to 0 hit points. This condition, mentioned in the previous play test, gave the Unconscious condition and dictated the rules of Death Saving Throws. Now we just have Death Saving Throws, and mention that characters stabilize at 1 HP, but remain unconscious.
The new Influence action, one of the three new methods in which players can interact with the world around them, has had a clarification added to showed that the DM calls for the use and assigns the DC, clarifying the original wording to further ensure that only the DM can start this action.
Finally, we see that Truesight now specifically mentions that visual illusions appear transparent, allowing them to succeed on saving throws against them automatically.
Removed Entries
Three tools, namely the Artisan's tools, Gaming Set, and Musical Instrument, were also removed along with the Dying condition and should be mentioned in the Tool Proficiency section. The Tool Proficiency entry still exists, letting you add your Proficiency Bonus to any Ability Check made with that tool. You also get advantage when you use an Ability Check you're proficient with.
Overall Thoughts
Out of the three Revised entries, I think the Influence action is most worth talking about. I have seen this new action have mixed reception in the community. Some people feel it provides structure to the social pillar of the game, something that currently does not exist in the main game. Others feel that by making these rules, players will game-ify the social encounters more, seeking to have characters use specific abilities instead of roleplaying in the game. I am in the former group and have reasons that are strengthened by the revision.
For a more experienced Dungeon Master, and a more experienced table, the social pillar of the game can be a place to slip into the guise of your character. You have time to try your best to use your wits along with your character’s personality to gain favor, retrieve information, or avoid paying that bar tab that got way out of hand. At a table full of people comfortable with this part of the game, it really can be the most fun. I have many memories of how silly character interactions have turned into amazing boons (or equally hilarious complications). But not all players and parties are this way.
Newer DMs can find social encounters overwhelming. Especially with eager players excitedly dog-piling onto an unwitting NPC, this moment snowballs. Newer or more introverted players might also find this to be very useful. A lot of players use D&D (and other TTRPGs) to be characters they are not. So while the Bard may be deft and cutting with words, the Bard’s player might not be as eloquent. Leaning into the roleplay can be fun, but sometimes this can give an unfair advantage to the more charismatic players at the table. As a final note, these rules exist in the Dungeon Master’s Guide in some form, though they are buried deep in it.
My only other thought is that with those general tools being removed, the developers decided to keep specific tool sets with individual layouts. I think this makes sense, especially if we want to have tool proficiency play a larger part in the game. Individual tools specifying what they can and cannot do should help balance this out.
Epic Boons
Epic Boons have been a point of controversy. I personally think they're too generic, even with all the changes we have seen up to this point. Providing blanket options based on group feels like it misses the point of having a capstone ability. What do you think about them? Do they add to the game, or do they diminish the uniqueness of a character's journey
Conclusion
We come to the end of the Unearthed Arcana review, and I have to say that while Wizard was not bad, I found some changes confusing. Making a spellbook able to be an Arcane Focus felt like a good choice for the character. It allows for flavor without changing too much, and I suspect many tables allow that, anyway. The new spell-abilities feel like they were applied with too broad of a hand, and it shows here. A lot of these class specific abilities feel like they gain minimally from becoming spells, and mostly just bloat the spell list. Speaking of spells, the new process to add, modify, and create spells feels cool but overly complex, partially because of the change to spells, but also because of how many go into the entire process. It feels like a wizard's ability because it is complex, but I feel like translating that to gameplay is going to make a situation where Downtime is required in campaigns, or PCs will stop adventuring to power themselves up.
The Evoker class felt fairly similar to what was in place before, and that feels correct to me. A small bonus of spells given at 3rd level and some broader buffs to damage seems like help level 3 wizards get into their flavor.
The extra elements seemed to make sense. The Rules Glossary changes seem to show OneDnD is not getting rid of individual tools that characters can become proficient in. As far as Epic Boons go, I am still not sold, but at least I finally understand why. With that knowledge, I can better submit my feedback, and hopefully change the Future of D&D! Next time, we’ll be doing a review of UA 5, and possibly the state of OneDnD. Be sure to come back to see my thoughts so far!"
What do you think of the Wizard changes? Do you like them? What else would you want to see? Do you enjoy the Epic Boons and can show me the error of my ways? Let me know in the comments below!
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