Sneak Preview: Next week's article on the new Minotaur UA and Shield Master nerf

Dungeons & Dragon's May 2018 Unearthed Arcana updated the Minotaur race. With three years since the original release, the improvements in the race design can tell us a lot about what lessons the Wizards of the Coast D&D team learned in that time.

Here is the new version of the Minotaur's Hammering Horns from the May 2018 Unearthed Arcana: Centaurs and Minotaurs:

Here is the old version of the Minotaur's Hammering Horns from the May 2015 Unearthed Arcana: Waterborne Adventures:

What Changed?

Timing. Due to some very nuanced language, the Minotaur can now use Hammering Horns in the middle of its Attack action. This is important because the prior language would require the entire Attack action (i.e. all attacks) to resolve before the Minotaur could trigger Hammering Horns.

Decision Making. The timing nuance requires a Minotaur with multiattack to make a decision upon hitting. While the Minotaur can trigger Hammering Horns on their first hit, they could be pushing their foe out of range. This may not be an issue, due to the fact that characters can move between attacks (Player's Handbook p. 190). Also, you get a cool thematic bullrush feel when you attack-push-move-attack. However, if a Minotaur decides to wait on using Hammering Horns until their final attack, they may miss out on the benefit.

Action Economy. Hammering Horns now requires the Minotaur to make a shove as a reaction, not a bonus action. I am using the Action Tracker in my playtesting to see if this makes a difference in how much the Minotaur can do each round.

Restrictions. The ability was refined by adding size and reach restrictions. Instead of saying that you "cannot use" the shove to knock prone, the ability was rewritten to only enable you to push. This language is a little confusing, since "shove" is a defined attack that allows you to knock prone (Player's Handbook p. 195). This should probably be changed to "push" (or another term) if the mechanical effect is to remain the same.

Saving Throw. Instead of granting an automatic push, the new rule installed a Strength saving throw. While a good limiting mechanic, this also creates confusion with the "shove" terminology. The shove attack requires a skill contest, whereas Hammering Horns sets a DC.

Why Did It Change?

The intention of the Hammering Horns changes is reflected in D&D Lead Rules Designer Jeremy Crawford's recent ruling reversal on the Shield Master feat:

This ruling is all about action timing. The old Hammering Horns trigger functions the same as Shield Master, differing only in its use of "when" instead of "if" terminology. You had to resolve your full Attack action and then you could use Hammering Horns as a bonus action attack. Crawford verifies this in a few follow-up tweets.

This is where things get interesting. Even though we are talking about the Shield Master bonus action, we see Crawford add reactions to the same category. He clarifies that this ruling is about (bonus) (re)actions that trigger. He also explains that movement is an explicit carve-out to the Action economy.

Three days later, three-year-old Hammering Horns isn't designed like Shield Master any more. The new rule does three things differently that are reflected in Crawford's comments:

• Using a reaction instead of a bonus action.
• Creating an explicit exception that allows you to interrupt your Attack action.
• Mechanics that encourage you to use your movement in the middle of your Attack action.

I'd wager that Crawford decided the Shield Master rule needed a revisit after hammering out the Minotaur mechanics. It's interesting to see design philosophy manifest within core rulings and revised playtest material almost simultaneously. We see that philosophy simply stated here:

Good homebrew expresses themes in clear, concise text. When crafting features that are an exception, be explicit. Especially when it comes to action economy. The evolution of the Minotaur's Hammering Horns shows just how true that is.