D&D (2024) 2024 Player's Handbook Reveal #1: "Everything You Need To Know!"

Each day this week, Wizards of the Coast will be releasing a new live-streamed preview video based on the upcoming Player's Handbook. The first is entitled Everything You Need To Know and you can watch it live below (or, if you missed it, you should be able to watch it from the start afterwards). The video focuses on weapon mastery and character origins.

​

There will be new videos on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday this week, focusing on the Fighter, the Paladin, and the Barbarian, with (presumably) more in the coming weeks.

 

[overgeeked]

I wouldn't game with people that didn't choose fun over specific details. Were telling stories about hero's saving the day and stealing mountains of gold from monsters who no doubt earned it legally. Let go from time to time and loosen up on the specific details.

I completely agree. The vast majority of 5E players I've gamed with over the last decade do not...unless it goes in their favor...granting bonuses rather than inflicting penalties. Cool new powers, awesome. Restrictions of any kind, rage quit.

 

[KYRON45]

I completely agree. The vast majority of 5E players I've gamed with over the last decade do not...unless it goes in their favor...granting bonuses rather than inflicting penalties.

I weep for you.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

The thing I learned most is that the first syllable in aasimar is "ah". (I assume this means I don't watch enough videos).

I was wrong about them basing it on the Ardling 1.0, but on the bright side, they just turned Celestial Revelation into a choice when you use it, instead of a subrace. Honestly it never felt like lore based Subrace choice, except for the Fallen Aasimar, which I assume will have to be refluffed. They may add in new ones maybe. They changed it from a permenant choice point to a daily choice point, does that make it the most complex race?

And I pronounced it Ass-e-mar.

 

[Horwath]

SO
MUCH
AWESOME
ART!!!

want to trade 75% of those for double amount of sub-classes and more feats...

 

[UngainlyTitan]

I think some people were always just waiting to pounce on compatibility because it means different things to different people. I always assumed that the backward compatibility meant that you could more or less use adventures form the past 10 years with the new rules--just insert new versions of monsters, spells, magic items, etc. But others expected compatibility means everything would be seamless and you could interchangeably use every rule and mechanic from any book.

And of course some figured they could use this to exploit the system to their advantage (Oh, we are fighting goblins? Well I insist you use the 2014 goblins because while they have a higher AC, they have few hit points… what's that, they are led by a bugbear? Well we demand you use the 2024 bugbear because its attacks are weaker. Don't worry team, my 2014 Melf's acid arrow paired with 2024 mage armor should make this fight go smoothly!).

This is pretty much the compatibility they promised.
From the FAQ

What do you mean by 'compatible?'

It means that your collection of D&D adventures and supplements will work with the 2024 core rulebooks. For example, if you want to run Curse of Strahd, that book will work with the 2024 versions of the core rulebooks. Our goal is for you to keep enjoying the content you already have and make it even better. You’ll see this in action through the playtest materials, which you will be able to provide feedback on.

 

[KYRON45]

This is pretty much the compatibility they promised.
From the FAQ

So now that we have the facts about the compatibility....now what?

 

[FitzTheRuke]

Edition has a specific meaning in the context of RPGs, and has been used since TSR times and across the industry. A new set of core books that invalidate the previous core books does not match that definition of "same edition". We have an established term, establish by the very company publishing this, for what they did. A half edition. Like 3ed to 3.5.

We've just been boggled by the fact that they weren't honest that was what they were doing. It fits the definition. But... do sales drop off, especially of new material, when a new edition is announces? We saw that with 3.5 to 4e and 4e to 5e. I don't know if that's why they haven't used the proper terminology for the change, but the terminology that they did use - it's the same edition - is not upheld by what they did. This is not industry usage of "the same edition".

Again, we all knew that it was an update. If it's truly "5e:, then like every other 5e book that came out you can mix and match. You can't. And again, the problem isn't that you can't, the problem is that they have been insisting by their choice of terms that you can.

One of the problems with insisting that they are being dishonest:

I feel like they've been clear, consistent, and honest about what the new books were going to be from the start. I ALSO feel (unlike you) that the term "Edition" has never once been consistently used throughout D&D history, doesn't work very well, and is best left to rest.

So... am I being dishonest too? Or does WotC and I just disagree with your assertions? Maybe, consider, that we just don't agree. They're actively calling it "Fifth Edition Revised" and that's really as good a name as any. You might prefer "5.5" or some other (IMO silly/wrong) name, but that doesn't make your choice better and my choice dishonest (rude) - it just makes them different.

It's just a choice. Companies get to choose, among a bunch of options, all of which have merits and flaws, what to name their stuff. This is a smart name, nothing more.

 

[Kurotowa]

This is pretty much the compatibility they promised.

Reading comprehension is a skill not everyone gets proficiency with, and the DCs seem surprisingly high. It's a little like those people who watch a movie and come away with the idea that the villain makes a good point, despite the hero finding the counter-argument that demolishes the villain's claims in the third act. People read a second hand bullet point summery of an announcement, and instead of going to the primary source to get the full story they just sort of fill in the details on their own with whatever their gut tells them feels right.

I saw this happen again and again when a new MMORPG expansion was coming, and I saw it happen throughout the entire last couple of years of them working on Revised 5e. People get their information through a game of Internet Telephone, and make up their own details to fill in the blanks, and then get very upset when the actual facts turn out to be different.

 

[see]

That would require the Hex Blade making the cut for the core PHB, which does not appear to be the case.

List here:

Yeah, so, has anybody actually written down that list of subclasses anywhere that it can be read?

 

[mamba]

The first video was a good hype promo, but I want to see more of a delve in how they "glowed up" the game.
I suppose I could wait for the new SRD.

I understood that to refer to the art, in which case the SRD would not help you…