Wizards of the Coast has been testing new content for One D&D, the next edition of Dungeons and Dragons, and the results are in about one particular species in consideration. The Ardlings, a potential new playable race that the Dungeons and Dragons game designers considered adding, were not received well enough during playtesting to make it into the new version.
The Ardlings, who are celestial creatures with animal heads, were one of the many proposed additions to One D&D. One D&D was first announced in August 2022, and has been in development since. Even with the D&D Open Game License controversy that caused delays, as well as threatening the game's future and the company's relationship with fans, the designers themselves have been committed to making D&D better and more accessible for others. Players have continued to give feedback for the development of One D&D, which is scheduled to be released in 2024 for D&D 5e's 10-year anniversary.
The main issue with Ardlings is that they currently lack context within the D&D world. They don't have a specific part to play in any campaigns or parts of the world, and to some players it felt like they came out of nowhere. However, many players love the concept of the Ardlings, with some people already making fan art, and game design architect Jeremy Crawford says it's possible that the species will be added in a later update to the game.
Besides the Ardlings, Wizards of the Coast has been playtesting many other potential changes to the game, including changes to the Cleric class, the Dragonborn race, and the Goliath race, which have all received high approval ratings. They are also planning on releasing virtual maps and playing spaces as an alternative or supplement to physical maps with miniatures.
The game designers want players to be enthusiastic about all the changes they're making, and won't include those changes if many players are feeling lukewarm about them. D&D is constantly evolving as players try their own new rules and homebrews, and the game designers are working to reflect the current state of the game and how it is played.
Some people, however, are unhappy with the current state of One D&D and the monopoly that Wizards of the Coast has on D&D as a whole. Another D&D publisher Kobold Press is working on Project Black Flag as an alternative to One D&D. After the Open Gaming License scare, which was widely seen as an attack from Wizards of the Coast on content creators and the D&D community at large, players have been rightfully nervous about the future of their game. It's opened up avenues for other similar tabletop role-playing games to gain popularity and potentially become alternatives if another crisis occurs. In the meantime, Dungeons and Dragons is still an extremely popular game with dedicated designers, creators, and players.
One D&D is currently in development and is projected to be released in 2024.
Source: ComicBook
