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.

 

[Chaosmancer]

Side note, he worked alongside the RPG company Loot Tavern in order to launch Ryoko's Guide to the Yokai Realms for 5e a couple months back.

Couldn't get that originally. Is it as good as hoped?

 

[Chaosmancer]

What's the consensus, good, neutral or bad?

Consensus is generally that it is good.

 

[DarkCrisis]

In what way?

PCs have a lot more going on that effect combat and the battle field than in 5E. I’m interested to see how the DMG and MM balance it out (if at all).

 

[Chaosmancer]

watching DNDShorts video and this sounds like absolute hell for a DM.

But as a player, woo I can dominate in and out of combat even more then before.

Sounds like you watched an entirely different video than I did

 

[Chaosmancer]

PCs have a lot more going on that effect combat and the battle field than in 5E. I’m interested to see how the DMG and MM balance it out (if at all).

Soooo.... Spellcasters are not the end all, be all of all battlefield control anymore?

I see that as a massive boon as a DM. A dynamic battlefield where half my players aren't going "I roll three attacks, 52 damage, is it dead?" is going to be wonderful.

 

[DarkCrisis]

Sounds like you watched an entirely different video than I did

Soooo.... Spellcasters are not the end all, be all of all battlefield control anymore?

I see that as a massive boon as a DM. A dynamic battlefield where half my players aren't going "I roll three attacks, 52 damage, is it dead?" is going to be wonderful.

Sounds overly complicated especially when the DM has to keep track of even more stuff now.

But to each their own. If you enjoy all that record keeping then more power to you.

 

[Kobold Stew]

It appears DnDshorts's video has been taken down. Based on the conditions on the embargo outlined in Treantmonk's video, my guess is that he showed more than he was supposed to (i.e. by posting every page, which probably violates any copyright in any case).

I would be happy to be wrong about this.

 

[mellored]

”do these books make 5E easier to run and make it better”?

Yes and yes for the PHB.

The next question is does it make it $50 easier to run and better. Which is a lot harder to answer.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

It appears DnDshorts's video has been taken down. Based on the conditions on the embargo outlined in Treantmonk's video, my guess is that he showed more than he was supposed to (i.e. by posting every page, which probably violates any copyright in any case).

I would be happy to be wrong about this.

It's up for me.

 

[Kobold Stew]

Weird. I get nothin'.

(or rather I get the review and the hypocrite video, but not the page-by-page.)