Highlights
- One DnD, the newest edition of Dungeons and Dragons, will be released in 2024 with significant additions and changes to classes like the Sorcerer.
- The Bastion system will make it easier for players to create strongholds, while the Dungeon Masters Guide will be restructured to help new DMs learn the game.
- The Sorcerer class will receive buffs to its signature mechanic, Metamagic, as well as more spells and new subclasses, making it a more versatile and exciting class to play.
The newest edition of tabletop RPG Dungeons and Dragons, officially named One DnD, is hitting the shelves in 2024 and it comes with significant additions and changes to classes like the Sorcerer. It will also feature tweaks to some core gameplay elements and add new mechanics, which fans can try in the latest playtest. Wizards of the Coast, One DnD’s developer, is using it as an opportunity to adjust and improve the game before its official launch.
One DnD is meant to be backward compatible with DnD 5e, so players don’t need to unlearn the rules they’ve gotten used to in the past few years. The biggest addition is the Bastion system, which makes it easier for players to create a stronghold for their party. The Dungeon Masters Guide will also be restructured to make it easier for new DMs to learn the game. The developers will also tweak features and backgrounds significantly. However, the most exciting additions and changes went to the classes.
One D&D Unleashes the Sorcerer by Improving Metamagic
Sorcerers have taken the backseat to the Wizard for quite a long time because of the latter’s larger arsenal of spells. One DnD aims to close this gap by buffing the Sorcerer’s signature mechanic: Metamagic. In the current playtest, players can use two Metamagic options for the same spell starting from level 7. Once they reach level 20, they’ll be able to use Metamagic once for free every turn. The Heightened Spell option, which makes it difficult for enemies to do saving throws when hit by the Sorcerer’s abilities, now costs two sorcery points instead of three.
Metamagic also received some nerfs, with Twinned Spell’s redesign letting the player repeat a spell from the previous turn by expending sorcery points instead of spell slots. This is weaker compared to the DnD 5e version, which players can use to hit two different creatures using the same single-target spell in one turn.
The Sorcerer Gets More Spells and Subclasses
One of the weaknesses of Sorcerer builds in Dungeons and Dragons is the class' lack of spells. Now, it has a cap of 22 spells compared to 15 from the previous edition. The Sorcerer also gets Innate Sorcery at level 1, which improves spell save difficulty class and attack rolls. These additions, along with improvements to Metamagic give the player more options for spellcasting every turn.
The One DnD Sorcerer will also get subclasses imported from an existing sourcebook called Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything. The first is the defense-focused Clockwork Soul, whose spells are focused on protecting and cleansing allies, as well as debuffing enemy spells. One of its remarkable abilities is Restore Balance, which lets them interfere with the advantage or disadvantage rolls of a nearby creature. They can use this to save party members from tough situations or make it more difficult for opponents to attack prone allies.
Another subclass that made it from the sourcebook to One DnD is Aberrant Mind. This is great for players who want to be the Professor Xavier of their team, with its psychic abilities that are great for both combat and roleplaying. Its flagship ability is Psionic Spells, which give the player 11 additional abilities as they level up. However, its most interesting ability is Telepathic Speech, which they can use as a magical voice call with their allies. DnD's Sorcerer can also use this ability to mess with a non-player character’s head to distract them from guarding their post. However, the Sorcerer and the receiver should share a common language for this spell to work.
The Sorcerer has always been an exciting class because of its ability to bend the nature of spells using Metamagic and its diverse subclasses. Its lack of versatility in terms of spells held it back in previous editions. However, One DnD seems to be making up for these disadvantages by giving the class a more diverse set of abilities and improving Metamagic.
One DnD is currently in development and is set to release in 2024.