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This week I put collectively my first 100% One D&D playtest. What meaning is, I requested all the gamers to create their characters utilizing any of the principles within the present two playtest paperwork that utilized to them. I wished to place collectively an journey that was comparatively easy, however was going to work together with plenty of the brand new guidelines.

All of the encounters I designed for this journey ranged from Medium to Deadly, though the encounters they really interacted with ended up being both Hard or Medium, based on the present encounter constructing tips.

The participant characters we had for this playtest included the next:

The Pit Fighter and the Guide had been customized backgrounds created by the gamers. I appreciated that considered one of my gamers had a scientific management group character with the Half-Elf Draconic Sorcerer. We had been undoubtedly heavy on the Expert courses, since that was the place a lot of the playtest focus has been at this level.

The Bard had a TON of skilled abilities, sufficient that I used to be already questioning about current adventures and talent verify DCs, however a lot of the DCs I used on this journey had been based mostly on the “default” DC of 15, or by DCs that had been set in several parts I used to be utilizing, or that had been demarcated within the new guidelines.

Everyone within the celebration was third degree. 

Introduction

The Antre of Soulweaving was created by the Archmage Calibros the Fulcrum, who, in his later years, was so obsessive about the idea of Balance that he believed he needed to take equal and reverse actions with a purpose to protect the cosmos. When he realized that it was nearly unimaginable for him to repeatedly preserve stability in all issues, he determined to create the Antre, which offered a continuing supply of temptation and redemption, guarding a robust relic of fine, and trapping a robust demon. He referred to this as his “Karmic Offset,” one thing that might maintain the stability so he might go about his life doing no matter he wished, assuming the Antre would supply sufficient stability to maintain the multiverse even.

This was, in fact, a horrible, nonsensical concept, and the forces of fine, as they do each era, have employed adventurers to aim to retrieve their relic. They are, in fact, banking on their employed mercenaries to both die early earlier than they’ll by accident launch the demon, or to convey them the relic.

You are these heroes!

The Process

I wished to simulate among the wider play expertise of the sport to the touch on a wider vary of guidelines, however I additionally wished to simplify the principles parts that had been going for use for gadgets that had fewer guidelines connected to them. To simulate the expertise of touring, and to play with the brand new exhaustion guidelines, I had the PCs do the next:

• Make a DC 15 Wisdom Wisdom (Survival) Check
• If this fails, make a DC 15 Constitution save
• Success equals no exhaustion
• Failure equals one degree of exhaustion
• Failure by 5 or extra equals two ranges of exhaustion

I added within the possibility for 2 ranges of exhaustion as a result of I knew they might take a protracted relaxation earlier than exploring the dungeon, and I wished there to be the potential for a long-lasting consequence.

The Ardling Rogue and the Human Ranger each had Expertise in Wisdom (Survival). The Ardling failed her preliminary roll, however the Bard had offered everybody with inspiration with the Musician feat earlier than they set out, and the Ardling made the verify on the second roll. The Bard failed their Wisdom (Survival) verify, then failed their save, and took one degree of exhaustion.

Interrupted Rest

The group took a protracted relaxation earlier than coming into the dungeon, and I had them roll for a random encounter. On a 15-20, they might have an encounter, and the die got here up 20. I had a gaggle of bandits sneak into camp, besides they failed their DC 15 Stealth verify. So everybody was up and conscious after they had been interacting with the bandits.

This was a Hard encounter, however I additionally wrote this in order that if the PCs provided the Bandits something of worth, even when it was minimal, they would depart with a DC 10 verify, and they’d transfer on to different prey with a DC 20 verify. I took these DCs from the Interaction guidelines within the playtest doc. I additionally decided that there was an opportunity to make use of the Interaction motion in fight with this group, even when they did handle to shock the PCs.

Instead of leaning on anybody that had Persuasion or Intimidate skilled, the Ardling Rogue tried to make use of Thaumaturgy to sound extra intimidating. I allowed benefit on the roll, however it didn’t intimidate the bandits to depart. When requested, I didn’t enable a second try and “Interact,” because it already feels fairly beneficiant to permit it as an motion, and to permit it as one thing you could possibly do in fight.

The group was composed of a Bandit Captain, Bandits, an Apprentice Wizard, and Harrengon Snipers. The bandit captain remoted the Orc Ranger and did a whole lot of injury together with her three assaults in multi-attack, and the Apprentice Wizard had a second with Burning Hands. I designed the encounter with a number of giant rocks and timber, and famous on the map what sort of cowl every offered.

I seen having this marked on the map inspired folks to make use of cowl, and I wished to incorporate it in case anybody took any feats or class skills that interacted with cowl. The fight lasted 4 rounds. Once the Bandit Captain, Apprentice Wizard, and one of many Bandits went down, the remaining retreated. The Orc Ranger used his skill to sprint as a bonus motion in fight, in addition to dropping after which coming again up at 1 hit factors.

The Bard burned spell slots to take out Bandits, and as soon as the Bandit Captain was injured, the Ranger was on a roll, as soon as he used Hunter’s Mark and the Hunter’s skill to do further injury to an injured opponent. Between the Ranger and the Rogue, they locked down the Bandit Captain, which was essentially the most harmful NPC within the encounter.

Cover undoubtedly made a distinction when the Apprentice Wizard and the Harrengon’s had been making ranged assaults. The PCs additionally undoubtedly felt like they had been in peril as a result of a lot of the opponents might transfer round sufficient to finally have interaction in Melee (or use a spell, within the case of the Apprentice Mage). Technically, the lengthy relaxation was ruined, however nothing was protecting them from beginning one other one, so principally they took a 12 hour relaxation as a substitute of an 8 hour relaxation earlier than they entered the dungeon.

Welcome to the Dungeon

When the group got here as much as the dungeon, I had all of them make a Wisdom (Perception) verify, at a DC 15, to note that there was a secondary entrance to the dungeon. The main entrance had a Collapsing Roof lure, as per the DMG, whereas the secondary entrance simply wanted to be discovered after which compelled open. The Ardling and the Ranger each managed to search out the key door.

Because the Orc Ranger compelled the door open, he additionally used his darkvision to “scout” the situation along with his darkvision, earlier than the Bard used Dancing Lights to gentle up the world. Every time they obtained to a hallway, the Orc Ranger took the lead searching for apparent issues along with his darkvision, then again away to let the Ardling do her trying to find traps, and so forth.

First Room

The first room the PCs entered was a big round room with two switches within the center, and on the far finish, there have been two fits of armor, holding two swords. The rogue checked for traps, and due to how the Thief subclass is worded, I allowed her to make use of Sleight of Hand for this, with benefit for having related instruments, utilizing Thieves Tools. I’m unsure if that is the meant manner the Thief subclass skill ought to work, however I believe that’s how I learn it.

Once everybody was within the room, the door slid shut behind the group, and a hissing noise, like fuel being compelled into an area, began. The Ardling Rogue tried to drag one degree, and it didn’t transfer, so the Orc Ranger had the Half-Elf Sorcerer maintain her motion to drag the lever on the identical time. They did this, and the hissing stopped, and the doorways opened.

The armor and the swords animated. Even with a crucial hit from one of many swords, this Moderate encounter undoubtedly felt Moderate. The group was extra aware of not utilizing restricted sources for the struggle, and obtained by means of it fairly effectively, though the Ardling was injured from the crucial hit. This struggle took three rounds.

The Second Room

The second room was similar to the primary, with two pocket doorways that slid into the partitions of the spherical room. There had been two levers in the course of the room, however in contrast to the earlier room, there was a pool of inexperienced fluid (acid) in the course of the room.

The Ardling Rogue and the Orc Ranger positioned themselves to drag the levers on the identical time, at which level, they came upon the levers had been truly mimics. I used to be each proud and ashamed of myself to drag off a mimic fakeout. So each had been adhered to the mimics.

I let the Mimics roll with benefit on initiative, and so they rolled abysmally. The Half-Elf Sorcerer obtained a crucial hit with Scorching Ray and did some severe injury to a Mimic. The Human Bard managed to make use of Dissonant Whispers on the Mimic. Without any additional tips on how it will work, I assumed the Mimic would “run” with the adhered Orc Ranger, and the Mimic would have the Slowed situation whereas transferring. Which means the Mimic squealed and moved a complete of 5 toes.

So each Mimics had been badly broken by spells. Unfortunately, the Ardling Rogue was dropped to zero by the Mimic. The Orc Ranger used Thornwhip to snag the Mimic close to the Ardling Rogue, and pulled it into acid, however sadly it was resistant to the acid. It’s treasure was not, extra on that later.

The Bard obtained nearer to the Orc Ranger, which was in all probability a mistake. The Bard was dropped to zero hit factors by the Mimic’s chunk. The Ardling Rogue failed her third demise save. The Orc Ranger completed off the second Mimic, however the Bard was hit by the Mimics chunk earlier than this might occur, and after failing one Death Save, picked up two extra from the crucial chunk, and died. This struggle took 4 rounds.

Wrapping Up

There was extra to the dungeon, however with 50% of the celebration useless, and the evening rising late, we referred to as the playtest session at that time. Going into the dungeon, I had advised the group that they might in all probability brief relaxation as soon as with out penalties, however after that, I might roll random encounters.

After the second room, wanting over sources, everybody actually used up what they’d, and a brief relaxation would have allow them to get again hit factors and extra Heroic Inspiration from the Musician feat, however no spells misplaced, sorcery factors, or Bardic inspiration cube. It might have been tough, particularly since I wrote the ultimate encounter to be Deadly.

The Hallway Not Traveled

Each of the Mimics had 10 Soul Coins in them. The acid within the vat was from Minauros, within the Nine Hells, and I dominated that it might destroy Soul Coins identical to Hellfire. So the celebration misplaced 10 Soul Coins with the Mimic that died within the acid pit.

If they’d made it to the following hallway, there was a Night Hag service provider that was keen to take Soul Coins in trade for varied magic gadgets. She was tasked with gathering the cash, however might solely take them in the event that they had been freely given in barter.

If the PCs weren’t keen to make use of the Soul Coins as foreign money, for every Soul Coin destroyed, they might get a bless spell and non permanent hit level when coming into the ultimate chamber of the dungeon. Alas, none of this got here to go.

Observations

The Orc Ranger felt actually competent at third degree. They didn’t have an excessive amount of extra going for them than a Hunter ranger with Colossus Slayer would have had at that degree, however I do suppose that liberating up Two Weapon Fighting did imply it was simpler to ensure that one of many weapons was going to attach and do the Hunter’s Mark and Hunter’s Prey cube injury.

For me, personally, it did really feel a little bit bizarre that the Ranger was counting on issues like Shillelagh and Thorn Whip in fight, relatively than a sword or a bow. I’m not saying that’s flawed, however it nearly jogged my memory extra of the 4e Warden than a Ranger (though we additionally had a dialogue after the session about how 5e doesn’t have the tanking instruments that 4e had for a Defender model character). The Ranger might have been in bother later within the dungeon, since he had to make use of a spell slot for each a kind of Hunter’s Marks, which is bizarre provided that it’s the Ranger’s “thing” in the identical manner the Rogue’s sneak assault is their “thing.”

The Rogue didn’t actually really feel that a lot completely different in fight. It’s laborious to get a great deal with on how a lot the proliferation of skilled abilities and Expertise may change expectations from one evening of play that didn’t completely depend on abilities used outdoors of fight.

The Sorcerer, clearly, was the fixed, as she was solely interacting with the Background guidelines from the Origins doc. It is price noting that the participant wasn’t thrilled to not have half-elf choices within the Origins doc.

The Bard’s participant was involved that they didn’t take the precise spells, however that’s an fascinating level concerning the modifications to the Bard. Previously, you’ll be selecting the spells you recognize, and would in all probability plan on a broader vary of skills, as a result of these are all of the spells you recognize. This introduces the problem of realizing what subset of all Bard spells to take going right into a given day of adventuring. Specifically, taking spells that did psychic injury didn’t assist in the struggle with the armor and swords.

The Bard helped the Orc hit as soon as, and healed the Orc when he took injury as soon as, however that was all of the Bardic Inspiration he was going to have for the remainder of the dungeon. Healing Word was useful for getting characters again on their toes after they dropped to zero, however it didn’t do a lot in the way in which of giving the PCs therapeutic choices between encounters, since Cure Wounds was off the desk.

Heroic Inspiration

This was in all probability essentially the most I’ve seen Heroic Inspiration utilized in a recreation session. At least somebody used it in each fight. Most of the time it was used a number of occasions. The Bard was human, so that they began with it, and after they rested, the Bard might hand some out once more. There weren’t a whole lot of 1s flying round, however the Orc picked one up in between what the Bard was handing out on a relaxation.

Final Thoughts

• The Ranger feels extra competent, even when the modifications by third degree are a bit minimal in comparison with a Hunter Ranger within the 2014 guidelines
• Two-weapon preventing with out utilizing a bonus motion allowed the Ranger and the Rogue to each use their particular class options extra typically–there was a second the place the Rogue nearly cheated herself out of her crafty motion till she remembered that she nonetheless had a bonus motion
• I’m unsure what the Bard is meant to do
• I, personally, not talking for anybody else, don’t know if the Ranger looks like a Ranger when it leans into cantrip fight–I’m nonetheless digesting this