Dungeons & Dragons Reveals Results of First One D&D Playtest

By Christian Hoffer

Dungeons & Dragons has provided some insight about the results of the first One D&D playtest, which is plotting out a course for the future of the game. Earlier today, Wizards of the Coast posted a new video featuring D&D Games Rule Architect Jeremy Crawford discussing the results of the first One D&D playtest, which was released back in August. The playtest focused on Character Creation rules, with racial features and backgrounds receiving overhauls as part of a planned revised edition of the game due out in 2024. Crawford noted that over 39,000 people completed the first One D&D playtest survey, which asked about the various features presented in the playtest. Surprisingly, responses to the One D&D playtest were overwhelmingly positive, with most features receiving 80% satisfaction or higher. 

According to Crawford, the playtest feature receiving the highest satisfaction rating was players receiving a first level feat as part of their background. Crawford noted that the background feats were an experiment and that he was surprised how the free feat was received by the community. Races in the Unearthed Arcana that rated highly included the human, the orc, the dwarf, the tiefling, and the elf. 

The video also went into detail about how Wizards was interpreting the results of the survey. Anything with a 70% satisfaction rating is considered something that the D&D community wants, while anything with an 80% satisfaction rate or higher is something that the D&D community wants in almost that capacity. Meanwhile, something in the 60-69% range is considered "salvageable" but in need of being re-worked, while anything lower than 60% has a good chance of being dropped. 

Per Crawford, only three features had a satisfaction rating in the 60s – the Ardling, the Dragonborn, and the experimental re-work of the d20 test. Crawford expected the low d20 test score and noted that Wizards actually put an alternative d20 test rule into the second One D&D playtest to see which the community liked more. While the D&D desgn team expected a mixed reaction to the Ardling (a new addition to D&D lore), but the Dragonborn scored surprisingly low due to the implementation of the breath weapon. Both will be re-presented in the next Unearthed Aracana, with the Dragonborn getting a new fifth level ability. Feedback regarding the Aardling was that the race tried to do "too much," with additional questions about the Aardling's relationship to Aasimar. 

The next Unearthed Arcana will include a new version of the Cleric, along with the revised Aardling and Dragonborn and a "surprise guest." Crawford also noted that the One D&D playtest will introduce whole new ways to use weapons and a new subsystem designed to manage a "home base" for the party that incorporates current downtime rules. Encounter rules will also receive an overhaul, as will monster customization rules. 

You can check out the full video below: 

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