Hot connected the heels of the 5e reboot of Spelljammer, the squad astatine Wizards of the Coast has revealed One D&D, which markes the opening of "a caller procreation of Dungeons & Dragons."

WotC has been moving connected "what's next" for D&D since past year, but details person been sparse until now. The originative squad appeared successful a abbreviated video during the caller Wizards Presents integer showcase (alongside much info astir the upcoming Dragonlance revival and several MTG crossover events) to explicate their program for the aboriginal of D&D.

Throughout the presentation, the squad elaborate the "three pillars" of this adjacent signifier of D&D, expected to motorboat successful earnest successful 2024. They see ongoing updates to the D&D rules - arsenic we've seen successful caller sourcebooks specified arsenic Tasha's Cauldron of Everything - arsenic good arsenic an enlargement of D&D Beyond, the fashionable integer compendium that Wizards precocious purchased, and (eventually) a acceptable of integer tabletop tools for players and GMs to usage successful their games astatine location oregon online.

The integer toolset, dubbed D&D Digital, is being designed successful Unreal Engine 5 and appears to beryllium an all-in-one hybrid of virtual tabletops similar Roll20 and TaleSpire and customized mini makers similar HeroForge oregon Eldritch Foundry. "Currently, players are cobbling unneurotic each kinds of antithetic apps and websites to person a existent integrated D&D experience," says Kale Stutzman, Principle Game Designer for D&D Digital. "What we privation to bash is really conscionable supply each the tools that the players request to play themselves successful 1 space."

The pre-alpha footage shown during the broadcast showed respective types and sizes of digitally-rendered tabletop minis, from heroes duking it retired with Kobolds and skeletons to a monolithic Black Dragon looming implicit the dungeonscape. While these were apt not from a circumstantial run oregon dungeon presently successful a D&D adventure, that is 1 of the goals of the task - though the squad is besides moving to springiness players the powerfulness to physique their ain worlds, too.

"We mightiness springiness you a pre-made run from america that has an breathtaking castle oregon support with a dungeon wrong of it," says Carlo Arellano, Principle Art Director connected D&D Digital. "But past you're going to beryllium capable to instrumentality this place, instrumentality it apart, and physique your own. We're going to person a truly robust instrumentality for you to beryllium capable to make your ain dungeons."

Despite having an aboriginal physique of the toolset, it's inactive a agelong mode disconnected from release. "Right now, we're successful aboriginal improvement of our integer experience," Stutzman said. "We tin play a crippled relation immoderate dice, spot the miniatures moving astir successful a 3D play space, but that's conscionable the halfway of it."

The biggest displacement - and 1 that players tin get their hands connected overmuch sooner - is however the tabletop D&D squad is approaching the improvement of the crippled itself moving forward. "We did a astute happening with Fifth Edition, by listening to the fans," says Chris Perkins, D&D's Game Design Architect. "And what came retired of that process was a strategy that is stable, that is good loved, that incorporates the champion elements of earlier editions. Now that we person that, we are nary longer successful the presumption wherever we deliberation of D&D arsenic an variation – it's conscionable D&D."

The adjacent iteration of the halfway rules is already successful its playtesting signifier - you tin cheque retired the latest Unearthed Arcana connected D&D Beyond for the archetypal circular of updates and additions. This archetypal merchandise introduces a caller subordinate contention - the Celestial counterpart to the Tieflings, known arsenic Ardlings - and determination are already respective noteworthy rules changes, adjacent considering caller alterations to the strategy successful TCoE oregon Monsters of the Multiverse. For example, characters presently person further Ability people points based connected their lineage oregon taxon - however, these increases are present tied to their Backgrounds successful the updated ruleset, and each Background present besides provides a Feat. Soldiers person +2 STR and +1 CON, for instance, on with the Savage Attacker feat, portion characters with the Street Urchin inheritance get a bonus to Dexterity/Wisdom and the Lucky feat.

"Backgrounds are thing that we took apart, examined each portion of, and rebuilt with the extremity of having [them] play an adjacent larger relation successful your character's identity," says Jeremy Crawford, different of D&D's Game Design Architects, during an extended presumption of the caller playtesting rules. Other large departures from existent 5e rules see definite Feats being tied to a character's level, truncating the 9 existent spell lists for each people into conscionable 3 based connected the magic's root (Arcane, Divine, and Primal), oregon codifying the conception that rolling a Natural 1 always means nonaccomplishment - connected immoderate check, nary substance however skilled a quality whitethorn be.

Crawford says that portion not each the projected changes volition yet go authoritative rules, the investigating volition spell connected for immoderate time, overmuch similar the D&D Next inaugural that yet became Fifth Edition. "The large quality this clip is we're giving feedback connected the crippled we're already playing," Crawford says. "Rather than playtesting fundamentally a marque caller crippled bottommost to top, alternatively present it's similar 'all right, it's the crippled we're playing now', but present let's zoom successful connected this portion of it and think, 'How mightiness we get much fun, much speed, much options here?' And past determination connected to different portion of the crippled until each of that coalesces successful 2024 successful the caller books."

One D&D is scheduled to motorboat officially successful 2024. In the meantime, cheque retired what's connected the skyline for D&D successful 2023, including the revival of different classical setting.

JR is simply a Senior Producer astatine IGN, you tin travel him on Twitter for much video games and tabletop RPG shenanigans.