After just a read through, I like a lot of the content in this UA. I especially like Goliath being able to pick a giant heritage other than Stone Giant. Cleric looks really cool but I will have to do some playtesting to really compare it to what came before. Moving subclass to 3rd level isn't all that surprising to me.
I'll have to see them in play, they have some solid abilities. Not sure if its too good, not good enough etc.
I feel the same.
The one thing that stuck with me that I didn't really like was picking a second Holy Order at level 9. I would much rather see a buff to the Holy Order you choose at 2nd level.
Thematically I'd prefer that, but the heavy armor option was the mechanical winner by a landslide for most tables i expect so they probably didn't want to lock the other two options out. Thaumaturge maybe as other sub classes come out and better channel divinities maybe, but scholar woo you are as good as a wizard in two intelligence skills. Just give them access to heavy armor from the get go, and let them pick from 3 holy orders at level 2 that seem more balanced. Then have the level 9 be a nice holy order upgrade.
I wonder if they have a different understanding of the rate of damage/healing within game than some of the player base? They have to know the how yo-yo style of healing. It make me think the designers play a different style of game that some of us.
After just a read through, I like a lot of the content in this UA. I especially like Goliath being able to pick a giant heritage other than Stone Giant. Cleric looks really cool but I will have to do some playtesting to really compare it to what came before. Moving subclass to 3rd level isn't all that surprising to me.
I'll have to see them in play, they have some solid abilities. Not sure if its too good, not good enough etc.
I feel the same.
The one thing that stuck with me that I didn't really like was picking a second Holy Order at level 9. I would much rather see a buff to the Holy Order you choose at 2nd level.
Thematically I'd prefer that, but the heavy armor option was the mechanical winner by a landslide for most tables i expect so they probably didn't want to lock the other two options out. Thaumaturge maybe as other sub classes come out and better channel divinities maybe, but scholar woo you are as good as a wizard in two intelligence skills. Just give them access to heavy armor from the get go, and let them pick from 3 holy orders at level 2 that seem more balanced. Then have the level 9 be a nice holy order upgrade.
I agree that Protector and Thaumaturge will likely be the most commonly chosen options hands down. But there is one intersting thing about Scholar. It let's you add your Wisdom bonus to skills that use other ability scores usually. So you can double up on bonuses. If you also find a way to get Expertise in the skills, you can get the highest possible raw bonuses available. That might be interesting for some builds.
After just a read through, I like a lot of the content in this UA. I especially like Goliath being able to pick a giant heritage other than Stone Giant. Cleric looks really cool but I will have to do some playtesting to really compare it to what came before. Moving subclass to 3rd level isn't all that surprising to me.
I'll have to see them in play, they have some solid abilities. Not sure if its too good, not good enough etc.
I feel the same.
The one thing that stuck with me that I didn't really like was picking a second Holy Order at level 9. I would much rather see a buff to the Holy Order you choose at 2nd level.
Thematically I'd prefer that, but the heavy armor option was the mechanical winner by a landslide for most tables i expect so they probably didn't want to lock the other two options out. Thaumaturge maybe as other sub classes come out and better channel divinities maybe, but scholar woo you are as good as a wizard in two intelligence skills. Just give them access to heavy armor from the get go, and let them pick from 3 holy orders at level 2 that seem more balanced. Then have the level 9 be a nice holy order upgrade.
Protector and Thaumaturge both fit well with the way I tend to play clerics so I could see myself happy with either, but the Scholar was not very interesting to me.
I don't like the new ardling. We have plenty of specific beast races already, I didn't feel we needed a generic version. I much preferred the celestial lean that acted as the mirror to the tiefling.
After just a read through, I like a lot of the content in this UA. I especially like Goliath being able to pick a giant heritage other than Stone Giant. Cleric looks really cool but I will have to do some playtesting to really compare it to what came before. Moving subclass to 3rd level isn't all that surprising to me.
I'll have to see them in play, they have some solid abilities. Not sure if its too good, not good enough etc.
I feel the same.
The one thing that stuck with me that I didn't really like was picking a second Holy Order at level 9. I would much rather see a buff to the Holy Order you choose at 2nd level.
Thematically I'd prefer that, but the heavy armor option was the mechanical winner by a landslide for most tables i expect so they probably didn't want to lock the other two options out. Thaumaturge maybe as other sub classes come out and better channel divinities maybe, but scholar woo you are as good as a wizard in two intelligence skills. Just give them access to heavy armor from the get go, and let them pick from 3 holy orders at level 2 that seem more balanced. Then have the level 9 be a nice holy order upgrade.
I agree that Protector and Thaumaturge will likely be the most commonly chosen options hands down. But there is one intersting thing about Scholar. It let's you add your Wisdom bonus to skills that use other ability scores usually. So you can double up on bonuses. If you also find a way to get Expertise in the skills, you can get the highest possible raw bonuses available. That might be interesting for some builds.
I could see that for those that want to multiclass into an Expert Class. Cleric Bard for those choir types for example.
Anyone else think Goliath is actually for the upcoming giants book, rather than 2024? Particularly with how much the flavor talks about giants. And that some of the changes just puts it in line with 2024 species, so its future-proofed.
After just a read through, I like a lot of the content in this UA. I especially like Goliath being able to pick a giant heritage other than Stone Giant. Cleric looks really cool but I will have to do some playtesting to really compare it to what came before. Moving subclass to 3rd level isn't all that surprising to me.
I'll have to see them in play, they have some solid abilities. Not sure if its too good, not good enough etc.
I feel the same.
The one thing that stuck with me that I didn't really like was picking a second Holy Order at level 9. I would much rather see a buff to the Holy Order you choose at 2nd level.
Thematically I'd prefer that, but the heavy armor option was the mechanical winner by a landslide for most tables i expect so they probably didn't want to lock the other two options out. Thaumaturge maybe as other sub classes come out and better channel divinities maybe, but scholar woo you are as good as a wizard in two intelligence skills. Just give them access to heavy armor from the get go, and let them pick from 3 holy orders at level 2 that seem more balanced. Then have the level 9 be a nice holy order upgrade.
I agree that Protector and Thaumaturge will likely be the most commonly chosen options hands down. But there is one intersting thing about Scholar. It let's you add your Wisdom bonus to skills that use other ability scores usually. So you can double up on bonuses. If you also find a way to get Expertise in the skills, you can get the highest possible raw bonuses available. That might be interesting for some builds.
I mean its possible, you'd have to be a expert and the stats to multiclass, have a good intelligence stat and a good wisdom stat all to be good at 2 mediocre skills. I'm sure there is a build that would like it, but I don't think it would bring much to the table past the role-playing. Fun sure but nothing big mechanically, I rolled a 30 on my arcana isnt going to come into play as much as heavy armor.
Anyone else think Goliath is actually for the upcoming giants book, rather than 2024? Particularly with how much the flavor talks about giants. And that some of the changes just puts it in line with 2024 species, so its future-proofed.
After just a read through, I like a lot of the content in this UA. I especially like Goliath being able to pick a giant heritage other than Stone Giant. Cleric looks really cool but I will have to do some playtesting to really compare it to what came before. Moving subclass to 3rd level isn't all that surprising to me.
I'll have to see them in play, they have some solid abilities. Not sure if its too good, not good enough etc.
I feel the same.
The one thing that stuck with me that I didn't really like was picking a second Holy Order at level 9. I would much rather see a buff to the Holy Order you choose at 2nd level.
Thematically I'd prefer that, but the heavy armor option was the mechanical winner by a landslide for most tables i expect so they probably didn't want to lock the other two options out. Thaumaturge maybe as other sub classes come out and better channel divinities maybe, but scholar woo you are as good as a wizard in two intelligence skills. Just give them access to heavy armor from the get go, and let them pick from 3 holy orders at level 2 that seem more balanced. Then have the level 9 be a nice holy order upgrade.
Protector and Thaumaturge both fit well with the way I tend to play clerics so I could see myself happy with either, but the Scholar was not very interesting to me.
I could see a character I could have fun with on any of the options, but I know heavy armor is technically better than scholar.
Changing it to temp hit points instead of a max increase, i didn't notice that at first, good catch. Yeah with all the other temp hit point options it wont get used.
Unless there’s not as many ways to get temp hp going forward. Either way, it’s a cleric spell, choosing it isn’t a long term commitment. If you have other temp sources in the party, you won’t take it, but if you don’t have other sources, it could be a decent choice.
After just a read through, I like a lot of the content in this UA. I especially like Goliath being able to pick a giant heritage other than Stone Giant. Cleric looks really cool but I will have to do some playtesting to really compare it to what came before. Moving subclass to 3rd level isn't all that surprising to me.
I'll have to see them in play, they have some solid abilities. Not sure if its too good, not good enough etc.
I feel the same.
The one thing that stuck with me that I didn't really like was picking a second Holy Order at level 9. I would much rather see a buff to the Holy Order you choose at 2nd level.
Thematically I'd prefer that, but the heavy armor option was the mechanical winner by a landslide for most tables i expect so they probably didn't want to lock the other two options out. Thaumaturge maybe as other sub classes come out and better channel divinities maybe, but scholar woo you are as good as a wizard in two intelligence skills. Just give them access to heavy armor from the get go, and let them pick from 3 holy orders at level 2 that seem more balanced. Then have the level 9 be a nice holy order upgrade.
I agree that Protector and Thaumaturge will likely be the most commonly chosen options hands down. But there is one intersting thing about Scholar. It let's you add your Wisdom bonus to skills that use other ability scores usually. So you can double up on bonuses. If you also find a way to get Expertise in the skills, you can get the highest possible raw bonuses available. That might be interesting for some builds.
I mean its possible, you'd have to be a expert and the stats to multiclass, have a good intelligence stat and a good wisdom stat all to be good at 2 mediocre skills. I'm sure there is a build that would like it, but I don't think it would bring much to the table past the role-playing. Fun sure but nothing big mechanically, I rolled a 30 on my arcana isnt going to come into play as much as heavy armor.
Don't forget that Persuasion is on the list of skills, but other wise it is pretty meh.
Wizard multiclass with Knowledge domain would get expertise in those skills and have room to get high scores in both Int and Wis. It's thematic at least. I know it's not much, but I did think it was at least something interesting about Scholar. I can't think of any other ways to add two ability bonuses to the same skill.
After just a read through, I like a lot of the content in this UA. I especially like Goliath being able to pick a giant heritage other than Stone Giant. Cleric looks really cool but I will have to do some playtesting to really compare it to what came before. Moving subclass to 3rd level isn't all that surprising to me.
I'll have to see them in play, they have some solid abilities. Not sure if its too good, not good enough etc.
I feel the same.
The one thing that stuck with me that I didn't really like was picking a second Holy Order at level 9. I would much rather see a buff to the Holy Order you choose at 2nd level.
Thematically I'd prefer that, but the heavy armor option was the mechanical winner by a landslide for most tables i expect so they probably didn't want to lock the other two options out. Thaumaturge maybe as other sub classes come out and better channel divinities maybe, but scholar woo you are as good as a wizard in two intelligence skills. Just give them access to heavy armor from the get go, and let them pick from 3 holy orders at level 2 that seem more balanced. Then have the level 9 be a nice holy order upgrade.
I agree that Protector and Thaumaturge will likely be the most commonly chosen options hands down. But there is one intersting thing about Scholar. It let's you add your Wisdom bonus to skills that use other ability scores usually. So you can double up on bonuses. If you also find a way to get Expertise in the skills, you can get the highest possible raw bonuses available. That might be interesting for some builds.
I mean its possible, you'd have to be a expert and the stats to multiclass, have a good intelligence stat and a good wisdom stat all to be good at 2 mediocre skills. I'm sure there is a build that would like it, but I don't think it would bring much to the table past the role-playing. Fun sure but nothing big mechanically, I rolled a 30 on my arcana isnt going to come into play as much as heavy armor.
Don't forget that Persuasion is on the list of skills, but other wise it is pretty meh.
True I forgot persuasion, so there is one solid skill choice. Still I'm not sure what build would really want this outside the look at the big numbers thing. A decent charisma and expertise is already pretty much good enough in persuasion tests unless they are really going to change those rules more than they have. Sure your DM can set the DC to 30 or something but just being a bard could get you a +10 to your check fairly early.
If I'm playing a cleric of mystra or a god of knowledge I could see taking it just because it fits.
Wizard multiclass with Knowledge domain would get expertise in those skills and have room to get high scores in both Int and Wis. It's thematic at least. I know it's not much, but I did think it was at least something interesting about Scholar. I can't think of any other ways to add two ability bonuses to the same skill.
We don't really know if Knowledge will still be a Domain since there are only going to be four. It is certainly possible, but Scholar might be their way of phasing that Domain out. It is really too early to tell though.
Wizard multiclass with Knowledge domain would get expertise in those skills and have room to get high scores in both Int and Wis. It's thematic at least. I know it's not much, but I did think it was at least something interesting about Scholar. I can't think of any other ways to add two ability bonuses to the same skill.
I have done a build like that in a previous edition where I maximized the "arcana"(spellcraft technically) skill out as much as possible as the character was supposed to be a magical researcher on expedition. Fun character, not the most optimized but wizards in most editions you really don't have to be.
Anyone else think Goliath is actually for the upcoming giants book, rather than 2024? Particularly with how much the flavor talks about giants. And that some of the changes just puts it in line with 2024 species, so its future-proofed.
Unless they change the definition of temporary hp to allow a character to "stay up."
Thematically I'd prefer that, but the heavy armor option was the mechanical winner by a landslide for most tables i expect so they probably didn't want to lock the other two options out. Thaumaturge maybe as other sub classes come out and better channel divinities maybe, but scholar woo you are as good as a wizard in two intelligence skills. Just give them access to heavy armor from the get go, and let them pick from 3 holy orders at level 2 that seem more balanced. Then have the level 9 be a nice holy order upgrade.
I wonder if they have a different understanding of the rate of damage/healing within game than some of the player base? They have to know the how yo-yo style of healing. It make me think the designers play a different style of game that some of us.
I agree that Protector and Thaumaturge will likely be the most commonly chosen options hands down. But there is one intersting thing about Scholar. It let's you add your Wisdom bonus to skills that use other ability scores usually. So you can double up on bonuses. If you also find a way to get Expertise in the skills, you can get the highest possible raw bonuses available. That might be interesting for some builds.
Protector and Thaumaturge both fit well with the way I tend to play clerics so I could see myself happy with either, but the Scholar was not very interesting to me.
She/Her Player and Dungeon Master
I don't like the new ardling. We have plenty of specific beast races already, I didn't feel we needed a generic version. I much preferred the celestial lean that acted as the mirror to the tiefling.
I could see that for those that want to multiclass into an Expert Class. Cleric Bard for those choir types for example.
She/Her Player and Dungeon Master
Anyone else think Goliath is actually for the upcoming giants book, rather than 2024? Particularly with how much the flavor talks about giants. And that some of the changes just puts it in line with 2024 species, so its future-proofed.
I mean its possible, you'd have to be a expert and the stats to multiclass, have a good intelligence stat and a good wisdom stat all to be good at 2 mediocre skills. I'm sure there is a build that would like it, but I don't think it would bring much to the table past the role-playing. Fun sure but nothing big mechanically, I rolled a 30 on my arcana isnt going to come into play as much as heavy armor.
I was thinking the same thing.
She/Her Player and Dungeon Master
I could see a character I could have fun with on any of the options, but I know heavy armor is technically better than scholar.
Unless there’s not as many ways to get temp hp going forward.
Either way, it’s a cleric spell, choosing it isn’t a long term commitment. If you have other temp sources in the party, you won’t take it, but if you don’t have other sources, it could be a decent choice.
Don't forget that Persuasion is on the list of skills, but other wise it is pretty meh.
She/Her Player and Dungeon Master
Wizard multiclass with Knowledge domain would get expertise in those skills and have room to get high scores in both Int and Wis. It's thematic at least. I know it's not much, but I did think it was at least something interesting about Scholar. I can't think of any other ways to add two ability bonuses to the same skill.
True I forgot persuasion, so there is one solid skill choice. Still I'm not sure what build would really want this outside the look at the big numbers thing. A decent charisma and expertise is already pretty much good enough in persuasion tests unless they are really going to change those rules more than they have. Sure your DM can set the DC to 30 or something but just being a bard could get you a +10 to your check fairly early.
If I'm playing a cleric of mystra or a god of knowledge I could see taking it just because it fits.
We don't really know if Knowledge will still be a Domain since there are only going to be four. It is certainly possible, but Scholar might be their way of phasing that Domain out. It is really too early to tell though.
She/Her Player and Dungeon Master
I have done a build like that in a previous edition where I maximized the "arcana"(spellcraft technically) skill out as much as possible as the character was supposed to be a magical researcher on expedition. Fun character, not the most optimized but wizards in most editions you really don't have to be.
Probably right.
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The Goliath was a nice surprise. One of my favorite PCs was a Goliath Life Cleric. I'm pretty excited to rebuild her and try the new rules.
She/Her Player and Dungeon Master