D&D (2024) D&D 2024 Player's Handbook Reviews

On Thursday August 1st, the review embargo is lifted for those who were sent an early copy of the new Dungeons & Dragons Player's Handbook. In this post I intend to compile a handy list of those reviews as they arrive. If you know of a review, please let me know in the comments so that I can add it! I'll be updating this list as new reviews arrive, so do check back later to see what's been added!

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Review List

• The official EN World review -- "Make no mistake, this is a new edition."
• ComicBook.com -- "Dungeons & Dragons has improved upon its current ruleset, but the ruleset still feels very familiar to 5E veterans."
• Comic Book Resources -- "From magic upgrades to easier character building, D&D's 2024 Player's Handbook is the upgrade players and DMs didn't know they needed."
• Wargamer.com -- "The 2024 Player’s Handbook is bigger and more beginner-friendly than ever before. It still feels and plays like D&D fifth edition, but numerous quality-of-life tweaks have made the game more approachable and its player options more powerful. Its execution disappoints in a handful of places, and it’s too early to tell how the new rules will impact encounter balance, but this is an optimistic start to the new Dungeons and Dragons era."
• RPGBOT -- "A lot has changed in the 2024 DnD 5e rules. In this horrendously long article, we’ve dug into everything that has changed in excruciating detail. There’s a lot here."

Video Reviews
Note, a couple of these videos have been redacted or taken down following copyright claims by WotC.

• 2024 PHB Rules Changes D&D 5.24 (Treantmonk's Temple)
• Dungeons & Dragons Players Handbook 2024 Preview & Review | Key Takeaways and Comparisons with 2014 (Awesome Black)
• 10 Unexpected Changes in the D&D 5E 2024 Player's Handbook (This Effin' GM Games)
• Every Class and Subclass Change for 2024 (d4: Deep Dive)
• D&D Player's Handbook 2024 Winners & Losers! (The Character Sheet on ComicBook.com)
• 2024 Player's Handbook First Look Review (Dungeon Dudes)
• The 2024 Player's Handbook: Full Spoilers Review (DnD Shorts)
• Full Early Review! D&D 2024 Player's Handbook (JoeFudge)
• First Look at the 2024 Player's Handbook for Dungeons & Dragons (GameMasters)
• 2024 PHB Flip through (Jorphdan) [taken down]
• D&D New Player's Handbook, DM's Guide, Monster Manual, and Project Sigil Info (maturemindedgamers)
• 2024 Player's Handbook: Questions Answered! (Alphastream)
• D&D 2024 Player's Handbook Walkthrough (Sly Flourish) [redacted]

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Release timeline (i.e. when you can get it!)

• August 1st: Reviewers. Some reviewers have copies already, with their embargo lifting August 1st.
• August 1st-4th: Gen Con. There will be 3,000 copies for sale at Gen Con.
• September 3rd: US/Canada Hobby Stores. US/Canada hobby stores get it September 3rd.
• September 3rd: DDB 'Master' Pre-orders. Also on this date, D&D Beyond 'Master Subscribers' get the digital version.
• September 10th: DDB 'Hero' Pre-orders. On this date, D&D Beyond 'Hero Subscribers' get the digital version.
• September 17th: General Release. For the rest of us, the street date is September 17th.

 

[Zaukrie]

I came to Sly Flourish's work through his podcast/YouTube presence, rather than as a book or blog writer. I think he does a good job of being fair and transparent in his views.

Not sure how much of his business is being a YouTuber versus the rest of his empire, though.

He answers that question today!

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

He answers that question today!

!

 

[Zaukrie]

!

sort of....YT is NOT his main source of income at all....

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

sort of....YT is NOT his main source of income at all....

That does seem to be the endgame for all of them, once they realize how fickle the algorithm is, even if that wasn't their goal at the start.

 

[DarkCrisis]

He was the touchstone for character optimization during the 3E days. He's practically the saint of character optimization.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Tough talk for someone who can't do 5d12 damage at level 1.

 

[Charlaquin]

I am not trying to. I'm just genuinely curious what the profession means for people, given it's relatively new.

Yeah, to me it means something like “professional celebrity.” While it tends to be associated with “new media” (YouTube, TikTok, Twitch, Instagram, etc.) I think there are more traditional media folks who would also fall into this category - Kim Kardashian being an example that immediately comes to my mind. People who are famous for being famous, and create entertainment content mostly centered around ostensibly providing a window into their lives. Though, when you get down to it, what they’re really presenting is a curated brand image.

The line between “content creator” and “influencer” does tend to be blurrier in new media, mostly because new media creators are very often their own producers, which makes self-promotion an essential element of the job. And creating a believable pretense of authenticity is an important aspect of self-promotion within the new media space.

 

[Yaarel]

If we’re defining “influencer” by being paid to promote products, how is that different than any entertainer who accepts sponsorships? Are NASCAR racers influencers? What about people who act in commercials?

My understanding of “influencer” is that it’s a particular genre of entertainer - particularly, those whose content is centered around the promotion of themselves as a brand.

It would make sense if corporation marketers coined the term "influencer" for someone who can influence a youth demographic to become customers.

But these days, the term seems in use for anyone who might be professional or amateur, journalist or artist, expert or fan, politician or activist, etcetera. It is a vague term for a new technological phenomenon that social media makes possible.

 

[Chaosmancer]

My wife is a professional actor (commercials). She knows many people who call themselves actors but who have never been paid for being an actor. Those are people who act as a hobby, or who are trying to become working actors but are not that yet.

If influencers are not paid, are they really influencers? I think they're people who influence as a hobby or are trying to become working influencers. At some point, if "influencer" is a profession, doesn't it...have to be a profession?

I am not really disagreeing as much as I am just curious about where these lines are drawn or should be drawn and if they evolve over time. Sorry if that was not coming through, I was trying to imply it with question marks.

I do think Treantmonk should be, on some level, considered an influencer. He makes his full time living off of it, despite not being paid by a TTRPG company most of the time (other than YouTube and Patreon funders). I think he has accepted an ad or two for a specific RPG product, but I also think that was relatively minor and almost a favor rather than a meaningful part of his income.

This is... tricky, I think.

For example, anyone large enough to be noticed by anyone on a platform like Youtube has made money. Youtube pays people for content. This would make all Youtubers "influencers" but is that the proper name of what they are doing, or are they "Youtubers"?

Twist this around to another line of work. I write. I write a lot. I've written the equivalent of around 20 standard novels I think by the last time I checked my word count. I have, technically, been paid. I have been given about $15 once by someone who liked my work. Does that mean I can be called a writer, making about $4 a year? If I didn't have that single donation, would I still be able to call myself a writer on the volume of what I have written?

On another point. I would potentially laugh if anyone called Dingo Doodles an Influencer. She has a large platform on Youtube (809K followers) and likely makes money doing what she is doing full time, but essentially all of her videos are either Actual Play videos, or an animated retelling of one of her campaigns. No rules discussions, no real product discussions, it is mostly artistic work. She is a successful YouTuber, but how is she an influencer, if there is nothing being done to "influence" anyone? And, since she makes money animated work... is she an animator and voice actor, even if she never gets hired by an outside company to do that work?

I think it is complicated.

 

[Chaosmancer]

The one I'm seeing people miss is "Shapechange." He has done several videos about how powerful it is.

Well, we know it got altered though, per Crawford's comments. So it seems unlikely to be one he is referencing, since he said they didn't change them.