Last week, I shared the big news that the giant of TTRPG’s, Dungeons & Dragons from Wizards of the Coast, has teased either a 5.5 or 6th edition release in 2024. In the last few years, we have gotten some great new content from “Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything” and “Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft” along with the Unearthed Arcana. But what do I want to see from a complete update to D&D?
Let’s start with the revision of rules for races published in Tasha’s. I would love to see an expansion of these rules, and/or an expansion to the customization for Backgrounds. These two character options give amazing flexibility when creating a character concept, and letting players expand their ideas and characters would be a great start to a new edition. While there are great third-party supplements that expand the possible roster of adventurous, having these rules in an officially released rulebook would be a big step forward.
While the first item is a big one, some personal wishes would be an expanded weapons list. Here on the Variant Ventures blog, you’ll find plenty of my opinions on the current armory in 5e and how to improve on them, and I would like to see an expansion to this in a new ruleset. The extensive tables of 3e and 3.5e may not need a return, but I would like more differentiation between things like the Longsword, Battle Axe, and Flail, as an example. Each weapon does 1d8 damage of a physical type, and maybe has a single extra thing, like the Versatile trait. I would like to see something to make each weapon a bit more unique. The roster could also be expanded with more unique weapons, like the Double Scimitar or similar out-of-the-box variety.
Lastly, I would also like to see expanded rules for spell customization or creation. While there is support for this in 5e, it is not something I see often. Many players, myself included, feel bound to the “good” spells, while others linger unused in the rule books. Giving a way for any class, casting or not, to modify spells or magic items would give players and GM’s a lot of flexibility to make their character’s and their worlds their own. What would this system look like? No clue, but I want to see it.
What are you looking forward to from the new D&D edition? What would you like to see added, revised, or removed? Make sure to let us know in the comments, we would love to hear your thoughts on this upcoming edition!
