We've just spotted the first round of updates for the D&D 5.5e core rules, also known as a Dungeons & Dragons Rules Errata. There are changes to some Feats and Traits alongside a bunch fixes and clarifications around spells, particularly those that grant Temporary Hit Points. Changes have been made across the board from the Player's Handbook, to the Dungeon Master's Guide, and even the Monster Manual for one of the best tabletop RPGs around.
These updates come alongside news that new D&D rules are being given to creators for free, which is just one way Wizards of the Coast is patching up its relationship with third parties. The changes will be included in the next print run, which will be available for said creators to do with as they will.
Previously, as it was written in the initial print, Goliaths weren't able to gain any benefit at all from their Powerful Build trait since Grapple isn't actually affected by "advantage on any Saving Throws". With that now being changed to Ability Checks instead, Goliaths will have a much easier time trying to get out of a bind – which was a big reason to play one of these hench so-and-so's in the first place, am I right?
Grapple enjoyers themselves have also gained some clarification in attempting to move a grappled creature (should it be your size or smaller). There was previously some confusion around the phrasing of "your Speed isn’t halved when you move" in the Fast Wrestler benefit. Its rework is a little easier to parse, noting that "you don’t have to spend extra movement to move."
There's also a fix for the Poisoner Feat, in that the Brew Poison effect now ends once you deal damage to your target, as opposed to when hit with the poison item. Telekinetic has also seen a small clarification in that not just its range but also that the "distance it can be away from you both increase by 30 feet". It essentially just confirms exactly how far away Mage Hand could be from the caster, before disappearing.
Aside from Trait and Feat updates, there have been a bunch of changes and clarifications to spells. That includes far more reasonable spell scaling for Conjure Elemental and Conjure Minor Elemental, which reduces damage to 1d8 per spell level, as opposed to the frankly ridiculous 2d8. Conjure Fey has also been nerfed from 2d12 to 1d12 damage per level, which makes a little less sense, since the good scaling was the main thing playtesters seemed to like about the spell.
A clause denoting that Temporary Hit Points do vanish when a spell ends has been added to many descriptions. If there were any arguments popping up at your table about that, Wizards of the Coast has cleared that little loophole up to save you from cheeky players. That said, some spells such as Wild Shape – which also grants Temporary Hit Points – have not had the same clause added, so remain a little nebulous.
As for the Dungeon Master's guide, the most significant change is what we expect was a typo in the original print. The third row of the Random Treasure Hoard table now coughs up 8d8 x 1,000, as opposed to the original 8d8 x 10,000. That's a lot of coin left by the wayside with that zero erased.
You can check out the full rundown of the rules changes on the D&D Beyond changelog, which goes over the Monster Manual changes to stat blocks, as well as some updates for the official 2D VTT, Maps.
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