Dungeons & Dragons Teases Rule Change to Match Upcoming Movie

By Christian Hoffer

Dungeons & Dragons may be playtesting a rules change that will bring the game a bit closer to what we'll see in the upcoming Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves movie. After announcing that it would be releasing a new One D&D playtest packet on February 23rd, the D&D Twitter account teased a "big update" for the druid class that included a picture of an owlbear. The obvious hint is that druids will be able to wild shape into an owlbear, something not currently allowed under 5th Edition rules but showcased in the upcoming Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves movie. 

In a recent interview, movie co-director Jonathan Goldstein addressed the deviation from the rules, which was (jokingly) criticized by some D&D fans. "We're aware that there was a certain amount of controversy that emerged in the D&D fan community after the first trailer showed our Druid wild-shaping into an owlbear," Goldstein said. "And it was something we discussed a great deal when we were writing it. We know that technically, it's not permissible, but we subscribe to the "Rule of Cool." And we felt that if we, as the dungeon masters of this movie, would let our players do this, then why should we deprive the audience of something that's as cool and fun as this?"

The new playtest packet will include proposed rule changes to the druid and paladin classes, along with a list of previously proposed changes that are either being modified or dropped from the playtest. Yesterday, Wizards of the Coast confirmed that the Ardling, a new species of beast-headed playable characters with celestial origins, was being dropped from the 2024 Player's Handbook in response to feedback from previous fans. 

The new One D&D playtest is expected to drop sometime between 12 PM and 1 PM ET

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