D&D (2024) 2024 Player's Handbook Reveal: "New Wizard"

"The paramount collector of spells."

"The paramount collector of spells."

Open your spellbooks, everybody. Today we get a Wizard video.


The last version of the class was in the UA Playtest 7 package (PT7). It's not clear how much they'll say here. Of the base class, I am hoping that they have recanted the level 5 ability, Memorize Spell (or perhaps shifted it to needing a short rest). They've said that the PHB will get clearer rules for how illusions work -- maybe they'll talk about that? Other than that, I think the most they can do is show us some revised spells: Will the revised version of Counterspell be kept? Any surprise Necromancy reveals? Let's find out.

OVERVIEW
  • "the paramount collector of spells": "many" of new spells are for the wizard.
  • As in PT7: cantrip change after long rest (level 1); scholar -- expertise in an academic field (at 2)
  • NO MENTION OF ARCANE RECOVERY
  • NEW: Ritual Adept broken out as a new class feature. They can cast spells in their spellbook, as before, but here ID'd as a new feature.
  • NEW: Memorize Spell at 5: you can swap a spell after short rest.
  • Each subclass gets a new version of Savant: free spells in spellbook of preferred school. 2 free spells of favored class, and a new spell for each spell level (so every 2 levels, as in the playtest. This isn't what is said in the video, but has been corrected elsewhere.
SUBCLASSES
Abjurer
  • new abjuration spells feeds back onto how subclass functions.
  • NEW: Arcane Ward at 3: resistance, immunity applied before the Arcane Ward.
  • NEW: Projected Ward a 6: your friend's resistance is applied before the ward for them.
  • NEW: Spell breaker at level 10: Counterspell and Dispell Magic are both prepared (PT7 did not include Counterspell). Dispell Magic is a bonus action.
Diviner
  • NEW: Third Eye at 10. As in PT7, bonus action to activate; 120' darkvision, see invisibility. NO MENTION of Greater Comprehension ("read any language")
Evoker -- "all about bringing the boom"
  • As in PT7: Potent Cantrip at 3 applies to cantrips both with a saving throw or an attack roll.
Illusionist -- "we felt that the subclass needed more" (YAY)
  • NEW: Improved Illusions at level 3:
    • cast illusion spells with no verbal components. (FUN)
    • illusions with range with at least 10' is increased to 60' (no-- by 60' to 70').
    • you get minor illusion cantrip, with both visual and audible
    • you cast minor illusion as a bonus action.
  • NEW: Phantasmal Creatures
    • summon beast and summon fey spells always prepared. These MAY BE changed from conjuration to Illusion, and the illusory version can be cast without expending a spell slot, but the summoned version, only with half the hit points. ONCE PER DAY.
    • illusions can step on a trap to set it off (?!)
    • (replacing Malleable Illusions, which I complained about here. This is so exciting.)
  • NEW: Illusory Self triggered by you being hit by an attack (not when you are targeted). As in PT7, you can get more uses by giving up a spell slot of level 2+.
SPECIFIC SPELLS
  • NEW: school shift to Abjuration: no examples
  • Counterspell as in PT7.
  • GUIDANCE ON ILLUSIONS in Rules Glossary. E.g. How are they affected by environment?
    • spell descriptions also clarified. Rules Glossary to be discussed in future video (also conditions, areas of effects, guidance on teleportation, telepathy, "
  • "being dead" to be discussed in Cleric Video. Tease...
So this gave much more than I was expecting, and it looks amazing. Playing an illusionist will now be much more clearly not a "mother may I?" situation, which (I feel) has long been the case. I think I got most of what I'd asked for in the PT feedback.
 

log in or register to remove this ad


log in or register to remove this ad

Pauln6

Hero
I wanted Divine Soul instead of Clockwork Sorcerer, but DS's opposites are uts subsubclasses Evil, Good, Chaos, Law, and Neutral. Instead they went Wild (Chaos), Clockwork (Law), Dragons vs Aberrations.
I wanted my shadow sorcerer to get an update too. I have missed shadow magic but it has not escaped my notice that the illusionist class feature to conjure phantasmal creatures is basically a version of shadow monsters. Maybe something akin to that, costing a reduced spell point cost is doable.
 

deadman1204

Explorer
people love to go on about how wizards are soo OP, which is mostly on paper only.
Heck, unless your gm is giving the wizard extra money for spells (or directly giving extra spells) sorcerers can get more spells than wizards can.
Spell list aside, wizards are the most boring class in the game. All the subclasses are irrelevant, because it doesnt' differentiate one wizard from another. They all have the same spell set, and none of the subclasses make them better at those kinds of spells. They're mostly just a few ribbons to use when not casting the same spells as every other wizard.

Its honestly a total design failure by WOTC.
 

tetrasodium

Legend
Supporter
Epic
people love to go on about how wizards are soo OP, which is mostly on paper only.
Heck, unless your gm is giving the wizard extra money for spells (or directly giving extra spells) sorcerers can get more spells than wizards can.
Spell list aside, wizards are the most boring class in the game. All the subclasses are irrelevant, because it doesnt' differentiate one wizard from another. They all have the same spell set.
I enjoy playing wizards & enjoy when someone plays a wizard at a table where I'm GM, but I agree wuth just about everything except for the "boring" bit.
 

FrogReaver

As long as i get to be the frog
people love to go on about how wizards are soo OP, which is mostly on paper only.
They are (at least at higher levels). People do tend to overstate the degree of their OPness in most games as players usually don't use the really broken stuff (simulacrum, etc), but not being as OP as people claim in normal campaigns isn't the same as not being so at all.

I find more commonly that people see 'bad' wizard players and conclude wizards are nothing special.

Heck, unless your gm is giving the wizard extra money for spells (or directly giving extra spells) sorcerers can get more spells than wizards can.
Spell list aside, wizards are the most boring class in the game. All the subclasses are irrelevant, because it doesnt' differentiate one wizard from another. They all have the same spell set, and none of the subclasses make them better at those kinds of spells. They're mostly just a few ribbons to use when not casting the same spells as every other wizard.

Its honestly a total design failure by WOTC.
I don't find the subclasses are irrelevant in 2014 at all. There are some that don't get playstyle defining features till way later though (conjuration as an example of good late game features - unbreakable concentration on summons and extra temp hp for them, really changes the calculus on how effective such spells are).

Evoker - You get to fireball on top of the party. This significantly changes how wizards play.

War Mage - You can lean heavily into the initiative boost and nearly always go first. Open the encounter with a strong control spell before the enemies and your allies can engage.

Divination - 6th level feature lets you cast spells like arcane eye/clairvoyance/scrying for relatively little cost which opens up a very different playstyle.

Bladesinger - Provides high AC and concentration while opening up a melee playstyle. Can feel a bit generic unless you really lean into the melee aspect.

Essentially the value of particular spells in a particular circumstance changes depending subclass.
 

Moonrabbit

Villager
Could you have phased that with any more prejudice?

Every class got four subs. For most, that was a higher amount. For wizard and cleric, it's a haircut. They picked the most played subs first.
I didn’t see swords bards make the list, while wild magic sorcerers did. Your response does not hold water, at least for other classes.
 

Parmandur

Book-Friend
I didn’t see swords bards make the list, while wild magic sorcerers did. Your response does not hold water, at least for other classes.
The new Valor Bard from the UA was one of the 19 or so Subclasses that are essentially entirely new options. And if you look at it, it is a mix of the old Valor with Blade (particularly weapon as Aecane Focus), plus Weapon Masteries.
 

WanderingMystic

Adventurer
I didn’t see swords bards make the list, while wild magic sorcerers did. Your response does not hold water, at least for other classes.
So the priority was that if it was in the 2014 PHB then it had to be in this book with a limit of 4 archetypes per class. Once that number was reached then and only then would they start looking at outside subclasses. While they did take popularity into account they prioritized archetypes having different play styles.
 

WanderingMystic

Adventurer
The new Valor Bard from the UA was one of the 19 or so Subclasses that are essentially entirely new options. And if you look at it, it is a mix of the old Valor with Blade (particularly weapon as Aecane Focus), plus Weapon Masteries.
Yeah I have to disagree with you on that only because sword boards prioritized using bardic inspiration to buff their attacks and got a fighting style neither of were in the play test valor bard.
 

deadman1204

Explorer
I didn’t see swords bards make the list, while wild magic sorcerers did. Your response does not hold water, at least for other classes.
Because its false that it was the "most popular". Crawford contradicts himself CONSTANTLY, yet everyone takes everything that falls out of his mouth as biblical.
They decided on the number 4, then picked subclasses that were opposites. Like an offensive/defensive duo. You can find this pairing in all 48 subclasses. They by far did not pick the most popular ones.
 

Voidrunner's Codex

Related Articles

Remove ads

Voidrunner's Codex

Remove ads

Top