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.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Oh, I don't think it was subtle at all.

Wasn't really trying to be subtle, but I am sorry if my words offended you. I'll try to dial it back.

 

[Older Beholder]

Simple, old school silver age of comics-inspired. Black and white, without nuance. I know I'm generalizing.

Thanks, someone else answered as well.
It doesn’t sound like such a bad thing to use as inspiration.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Thanks, someone else answered as well.
It doesn’t sound like such a bad thing to use as inspiration.

It's fine if that's what you want, but if I'm dropping $50+ on a book (and I don't really care about art), I want more than that from my plots. At least comics of the era (make mine Marvel) usually had interesting characters.

 

[Older Beholder]

It's fine if that's what you want, but if I'm dropping $50+ on a book (and I don't really care about art), I want more than that from my plots. At least comics of the era (make mine Marvel) usually had interesting characters.

I mean, it’s one style of play the new books will cover. But I doubt it’s the only style on offer, it’s just one of the more popular ones. (Nor is it anything new to D&D)

 

[Kurotowa]

Meanwhile I'm over here loving that aspect of Paladins, and wishing Clerics and Warlocks via Gods/Patron had some of that mechanical weight and consequence, as a player.

If you weren't there, you don't know. The forums were flooded with Paladin players complaining about being forced into artificial no-win situations that would strip them of all their class abilities. There were DMs who from all reports made it a personal goal to force every Paladin PC into falling. It was so overdone it was a running joke. That's why 5e makes it harder to break your Oath and lessens the penalties for doing so.

No one says that you should burn the Wizard's spellbook to teach them a lesson. Barbarians are not being forcibly dosed with tranquilizers so they can't Rage in order to spur character growth. But some people get a bug up their butt about any PC whose class features invoke an outside source, and get fixated on the idea of cutting them off or turning their sponsor against them.

Can it be done well? Sure, sometimes. Tropes are tropes for a reason. But it's a powerful spice, one that shouldn't be overused and isn't appropriate for every dish.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I mean, it’s one style of play the new books will cover. But I doubt it’s the only style on offer, it’s just one of the more popular ones. (Nor is it anything new to D&D)

Never said it was new. In fact, I'm rather tired of WotC's seemingly endless renditions of it. I'm obviously not a fan of much that is currently considered popular in gamer culture.

 

[Hussar]

That's why 5e makes it harder to break your Oath and lessens the penalties for doing so.

And it gets worse. Back in the day, paladin's being forced to fall happened more often than it should. But, clerics? Clerics had no restrictions at all. You could murder puppies all day long and it never mattered. Because clerics had no code of conduct at all. So, my LG paladin does X and becomes a fighter. My LG cleric does exactly the same thing and... nothing happens.

It wasn't only that it was unfair to paladin players, but, it was also completely arbitrary as to who it actually applied to. For some bizarre reason, my LG paladin of Pelor had a stricter code of conduct than the High Priest of Pelor.

 

[Horwath]

Then why bother with classes based on narrative concepts at all? Why not just have a laundry list of cool powers with point costs to choose from?

Because you want to have it as a bonus part of your gameplay, but no power level of a class should be tied to style of roleplay or how you roleplay.

that is why todays paladin is so much popular than 3E paladin tied into RP straitjacked that annoyed somewhat the player of that paladin and most certainly rest of the party as most of the time the LG paladin was THE fun killer.

power level is power level

roleplay is roleplay,

those two things should not mix when designing feat(ures) of D&D

 

[Azzy]

Then why bother with classes based on narrative concepts at all? Why not just have a laundry list of cool powers with point costs to choose from?

The hilarious inanity of this statement should go check The Hero System community. Where you have a laundry list of powers and modifiers with point costs. Yet, still, GMs and players turn those lists into a narrative concept. Who knew?

 

[Horwath]

So, my LG paladin does X and becomes a fighter.

correction, your LG paladin becomes fighter without bonus feats, so basically over glorified commoner.