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.

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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.

 

[Chaosmancer]

Every subclass that was in the playtests, minus brawler and swashbuckler, added psi warrior and soul knife.

Hurts that we are losing the swashbuckler, but I can always use the UA version if I really want to. Or maybe the Assassin and swashbuckler got merged, that could be fun

 

[Chaosmancer]

sounds like they want to prevent players from picking the better version from each book when making one char

Yeah, which we all knew.

WotC had likely seen, like us, the people who were saying "Well, I'll take the 2024 Druid, but use 2014 Wildshape and then get an extra feat, but I'll use the 2014 Great Weapon Master instead of an origin feat and then..." Like, of course WoTC is not going to give verbal approval to people mixing and matching the most powerful options across both versions of the book. That never made any sense as an official stance.

 

[KYRON45]

giving / acquiring X could already be a story in itself too

You’re right. All of the greatest stories are the ones where there’s no mystery or conflict. (Insert sarcasm emoji here).

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Hurts that we are losing the swashbuckler, but I can always use the UA version if I really want to. Or maybe the Assassin and swashbuckler got merged, that could be fun

If the Assassin is even 50% as bad as it was in the UA, I'm genuinely shocked at WotC for sticking with it. Hopefully they did a ground-up rebuild.

 

[Chaosmancer]

Treantmonk, who read the new PHB but cannot talk about most things, says they have not revealed something major about backgrounds. [Edit - though at the end I think he is implying nope, you cannot custom your background like you could in the playtest and must choose one?]

Yeah, I wonder what it is, but I think they are keeping it under wraps until the NDA is up

 

[Kurotowa]

I am sad face that swashbuckler isn't in the PHB -- sorry, psionics fans, but "swashbuckler" is a vastly more popular archetype than D&D-style psychic powers -- but I expect an Everything style book by Q2 2026 at latest which will include all the remaining good stuff from Xanathar's/Tasha's anyway.

My perspective is that if I want a swashbuckler character, all I have to do is make a melee Rogue or finesse Fighter. If I want to color outside the lines a little, maybe a weapon focused Bard or Archfey Bladelock. The rest is attitude and build choices. Nothing about the Swashbuckler subclass in UA really struck me as necessary. Meanwhile the Soulknife is absolutely enabling characters that wouldn't be possible without it.

 

[Chaosmancer]

Agreed. IMO, new players and casual players cannot handle custom backgrounds. Leave that to veteran or hardcore players.

Eh, I think they could have easily moved the custom background to the back of the backgrounds section, and it wouldn't have been any harder for casual or new players than it was in 2014. In other words, most people wouldn't even know it was there.

But I don't want to have to deal with a DM who decides that it is "unfair" if I get to customize a background, and locks the option off for me, because it was only allowed with DM approval. I've done nothing BUT custom backgrounds for the past few years, and I think they just make character creation so much better.

 

[Shardstone]

Eh, I think they could have easily moved the custom background to the back of the backgrounds section, and it wouldn't have been any harder for casual or new players than it was in 2014. In other words, most people wouldn't even know it was there.

But I don't want to have to deal with a DM who decides that it is "unfair" if I get to customize a background, and locks the option off for me, because it was only allowed with DM approval. I've done nothing BUT custom backgrounds for the past few years, and I think they just make character creation so much better.

Well man, get better at sussing out good DMs from bad DMs.

 

[Veltharis ap Rylix]

They figured “awesome-are” sounded better than “ass-um-are”

I've always pronounced it "ace-imar"...

 

[Charlaquin]

Agreed! There were a few scenes that just screamed "Fantasy Town!" to me. I've also appreciated the wide variety of types of people. A gnome woman with a prosthetic, a paladin woman who looks like she is in her 50's, some BIG dudes. I also noted a lot of art that covered different worlds/groups. Saw Raistlin and Carmen, saw Bigby and pretty sure I saw Melf. Mordenkainen with a group of wizards.

All excellent stuff.

I really liked seeing a little person among the humans; being able to choose Small size for a human character already suggested this as a possibility, but seeing it in the art too is really nice.