Having ordered the whole digital/physical bundle (something I wish they could have involved my local game store in) and having a subscription to D&D Beyond, I am, apparently, going to have access to the new PHB in an hour and twenty minutes or so.
I've been following the development of the new core books very closely, so I'm not anticipating any huge surprises, but I have been thinking about what I want to do with it.
The first real question, of course, is whether the entire character-building system will be fully working after the site comes back from maintenance. If it isn't fully implemented, then I'll obviously have to wait.
But I think my plan is to start by reconstructing my three original D&D characters with the new system.
The first is a human Great Old One Warlock. This subclass got one of the biggest glow-ups of the revisions, which I'm very excited about. While the improved Pact of the Blade is certainly enticing (and I'm tempted to make another Warlock with that whole thing, possibly an Undead Warlock if I can extend the "Expanding Spell List" into the new "Patron Spells), this character actually has his Tome/Book of Shadows written into his backstory, so I'll definitely be sticking with that. I was so-so on Nobles getting the Skilled feat (if I recall correctly) but given that he's human, he'll get his pick of the other ones, so I'll need to think about which he should take (Tough is always appealing, if a bit boring).
The second is my Dragonborn Eldritch Knight fighter. Unlike the Warlock, I actually got to play him for a long time, getting him to level 12. While the changes to spellcasting have made Fireball-Action Surge-Fireball impossible (they've even killed Thunderwave-Action Surge-Thunderwave, sadly, even with the weird exemption where Fighters are casting spells as part of the attack action, though you can still Green-Flame Blade-Action Surge-Green-Flame Blade) I overall think the character will be much more powerful, especially as he'll be able to weave in Lightning breaths along with his attack cantrips and his normal attacks (here I'll be curious to see how easy it is to use spells from older non-PHB books, as GFB and Booming Blade are pretty core spells for an Eldritch Knight, with no real replacements in the new PHB).
Finally, I've got a character I also played up to level 12, but I'll probably be making a lot of adjustments. Initially conceived as a Wood Elf Shadow Monk (largely due to the fact that Wood Elves got bonuses to Dexterity and Wisdom in the 2014 PHB) it'll be hard not to take the Sailor background to get Tavern Brawler. This might have to actually be a new character, but I'm thinking a Monk, either Way of Mercy or Way of Shadow (while the new Elements Monk is cool, I'm still skeptical about having to spend an FP to engage their "battle-mode"). Obviously, I'm going to build this character to start with Tavern Brawler and pick up Grappler at 4th level. Now, I could go with my original "expanded" concept of making him an Air Genasi, but I'm now playing an Air Genasi Rogue in a Wild Beyond the Witchlight game, so I might try something else. Even if not going Drunken Master (the subclass of my original Monk) I could play that up and maybe be a Dwarf. Alternatively, I could be a big hulking Goliath (particular ancestry... honestly Hill makes a lot of sense, but I could imagine going with nearly all of them...) Hold on, if we make him a Cloud Goliath sky pirate? One who has gotten really good at grappling so he can throw foes off of airships? Yeah... this is kind of an amazing idea. And Way of Shadow works kind of for a Pirate/Ninja idea.
Anyway, I'll also want to just read the PHB cover to cover (so to speak).
I've been tentatively talking about allowing players to convert to the new rules, though I'll need to upgrade to a Master subscription and create a campaign so I can share it all. For the DMs in the two games I'm playing in, I haven't gotten official word, but I think both are probably enthusiastic to let us try (and the Witchlight game is only at level 2, so it's not like we're really set in our ways yet).
I am very excited to start my next campaign with these rules from the start. I have a sense that characters will just feel a little more capable at level 1 (which, to be fair, is better news for a bunch of experienced players like mine than someone just getting into the game).
Anyway, I've killed about 19 minutes writing this, so hopefully the site will be back up when it's scheduled to be.
No comments:
Post a Comment