One D&Dis the next wave ofDungeons and Dragonsproducts, bringing new content to Wizards of the Coast’s legendary tabletop RPG. TheOne D&Dtrailer reveals that the company is moving away from using edition titles, instead planning to expand and perfect the existing Fifth Edition ruleset. This might not be a bad move, asDungeons & DragonsFifth Edition has proved to be one of the most popular systems in the game’s long history, and an updated set of rules and character options could carry that popularity for another decade.
There are three aspects toOne D&D. The first is a slew of rule changes and expansions that will kick off with updated versions of theMonster Manual,Dungeon Master’s Guide, andPlayer’s Handbookin 2024. The second is an overhaul of the D&D Beyond website, giving players new tools and features to support theirD&Dexperience. The final aspect is the D&D Digital Play Experience, an official virtual tabletop that will allow players to play online with 3D maps and characterspowered by Unreal Engine 5.
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The New and Updated Rules of One D&D
Players won’t have to wait until 2024 to start experiencing the rule changes coming in the new Player’s Handbook, Monster Manual, and Dungeon Master’s Guide. Starting from August 2022, Wizards of the Coast will be releasing monthly or bimonthly playtesting materials, allowing players to get their hands on beta versions of the new rules and features. These Unearthed Arcana articles will also give playersa chance to shapeOne D&Das it develops, offering feedback and criticism as they play.
The first of theseUnearthed Arcana articlesis the Character Origins playtest, which is already available to download for anyone who is registered on the D&D Beyond website. The playtest contains plenty of new rules that are focused around backgrounds and race choices. Many of the original Player’s Handbook races have been expanded with new racial traits for the first time, including the ability to choose to be Small rather than Medium-sized for Humans and Tieflings. In addition, the playtest content also outlines the Ardlings, a brand-new race that are influenced by the Higher Planes of existence, just as the devil-like Tieflings are influenced by the Lower Planes.
Changes to D&D Beyond
Compared to the playtest content, very little has been revealed so far about the new features coming to D&D Beyond.inOne D&D. The main attraction highlighted in theOne D&Dreveal trailer is the addition of digital and physical product bundles. These specially-priced bundles will allow players who buy a physical copy of a source or adventure book to also get access to a digital version of that book in D&D Beyond. The first bundle, which contains upcoming bookDragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen, is already available on theD&Dstore.
Buying a physical/digital bundle will give players more than just a digital version of the book in D&D Beyond, however. They will also gain all the preorder perks associated with that digital content, as well as the ability to use and share any rules that it adds through D&D Beyond. It’s this connectivity that allows players to add content directly to the D&D Beyond character creator,expanding theirD&Dcharacter optionswith the new purchase. Players can expect these features to expand asOne D&Drolls out, and it’s already been revealed that they will be able to connect their D&D Beyond accounts directly to the new D&D Digital Play Experience.
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The D&D Digital Play Experience
Players will be able to experience all theOne D&Drule changes and updatesthrough the D&D Digital Play Experience, an official virtual tabletop. At the moment, third-party VTTs like Roll20 and Foundry are the most popular way to playD&D Fifth Editiononline. Wizards of the Coast will now be entering that field, with a brand-new 3D VTT built in Unreal Engine 5. D&D Digital is currently early in development, but footage from theOne D&Dreveal trailer showed that players will be able to customize models, battle maps, and encounters in a 3D environment. The VTT will also utilize a tilt-shift camera technique to give the feel of playing on a real tabletop, and to help separate D&D Digital from CRPGs.
Unfortunately, players who want to get their hands on the new system are going to be in for a long wait. Although no release date has been given for D&D Digital, the D&D Beyond website reveals that Wizards of the Coast is planning to launch a closed beta test of the VTT somewhere in 2023. This timeframe indicates that the company are aiming for the full release to coincide with the finalOne D&Drule updates in the 2024Player’s Handbook, Monster Manual,andDungeon Master’s Guide.
One Dungeons and Dragonsis in development.
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