D&D rules revision ‘shelving’ Brawler Fighter subclass after playtest feedback

After releasing a new subclass for the Fighter in Unearthed Arcana, Wizards of the Coast has announced that the Brawler will not be part of next year’s overhauled Dungeons & Dragons Core Rulebook.

For over a year now, Wizards of the Coast has been preparing for the next phase of Dungeons & Dragons with a series of public playtests. These allow players to try out new content and share their feedback with the developers to help them craft the 2024 Core Rulebook.

In addition to adjustments to existing content, the Unearthed Arcana sometimes introduces mechanics, such as brand-new subclasses. One of these is Playtest 7’s Brawler subclass for the Fighter class.

However, the developers have confirmed that, following playtester feedback, the Brawler has been cut from next year’s rules revision.

Wizards of the Coast may revisit the Brawler subclass later on

In a video that also discusses Wizards’ process and intentions for the 2024 Core Rulebook, D&D game designers Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford shared the survey results for Playtest 7.

While most of the feedback for subclasses included in the playtest was quite positive, they revealed the Brawler didn’t make the cut.

According to Crawford, the Brawler was the only subclass to miss the 70% positive feedback goal this time around.

The reasoning for the mixed feedback seems to boil down to the subclass’ unclear niche. Meant to be a Fighter that focused on Unarmed Strikes and Improvised Weapons, many found it too close to the existing Monk and Barbarian classes.

Because of this, the Brawler will not be included in the new rules. However, there is good news for those who enjoyed this subclass, as Perkins and Crawford left the door open to revisiting it sometime in the future.

“Sometimes, it’s just not the time for something,” Crawford explained, “and we can put the idea on a shelf and we can come back to it.”

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