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!

---

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]

---

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.

 

[Micah Sweet]

If you need the book to create your narrative justifications for you...They are already devout warriors before swearing their oath... it is this devotion, that empowers the apprentice paladin... there is already a precedent in D&D for this.

So...whatever you want, it doesn't matter? Why bother with having a narrative in the book at all if, whenever the logic fails we should just shine it?

 

[Micah Sweet]

Why not... there are plenty of legends and myths of common folk imbued with holy power.

And every 1-2 paladin just gets it? Just because? Why swear the Oath then?

 

[Micah Sweet]

But it's self-apparent they receive power from something besides the oath since they have minor divine power before swearing it... again there has been a precedent for divine power being granted without need for a class, oath, worship, etc. That's what boons were/are in 5e... divinely granted power for whatever reason.

So they get it from...somewhere...because they have it? That's not only not a narrative, it's not even reasoning.

 

[Imaro]

So...whatever you want, it doesn't matter? Why bother with having a narrative in the book at all if, whenever the logic fails we should just shine it?

The logic doesn't fail... the narrative in the book is a default, that someone can lean on if it fits their concept or if they don't have a concept in mind. That doesn't in any way make it THE concept for the entire class.

 

[Imaro]

And every 1-2 paladin just gets it? Just because? Why swear the Oath then?

First every 1-2 paladin only gets it if the DM rules so (at least for NPC's)... Every 1-2 PC paladin gets it because they are devout warriors.

Because your devout warrior now wants to pledge themselves to a cause, also because in doing so you are granted greater power in the name of said cause....

 

[Maxperson]

And every 1-2 paladin just gets it? Just because? Why swear the Oath then?

Right. Just take 2 levels to get smite, then go into another spellcasting class that gets tons of slots. You can smite any which way you want, because without an oath, you have no oath to break and lose the ability. Mind you, if you willfully break your oath you still lose the abilities from levels 1-2 that aren't tied to the oath.

 

[Imaro]

So they get it from...somewhere...because they have it? That's not only not a narrative, it's not even reasoning.

They get it because they are devout warriors and whatever they are devoted to has empowered them. It's not a hard concept to grasp. They then pledge themselves to an even higher calling by swearing the oath and thus receive greter power in it's service.

 

[Imaro]

Right. Just take 2 levels to get smite, then go into another spellcasting class that gets tons of slots. You can smite any which way you want, because without an oath, you have no oath to break and lose the ability. Mind you, if you willfully break your oath you still lose the abilities from levels 1-2 that aren't tied to the oath.

Yep because there's no precedent in all of fantasy for a holy warrior who failed at becoming paragon and turned to other magical arts... where does it say Paladins loose their powers for breaking their oaths?

 

[Maxperson]

Yep because there's no precedent in all of fantasy for a holy warrior who failed at becoming paragon and turned to other magical arts... where does it say Paladins loose their powers for breaking their oaths?

In the paladin class under breaking the oath.

 

[Imaro]

In the paladin class under breaking the oath.

You mean where it suggests the player may want to talk to their DM about switching to a different subclass or class if they unrepentantly violate their oath ( though there are no rules or mechanics to enforce it)?? No where does it say you auto-loose your power and it even makes it clear that breaking one's oath and repenting are possible.

That's a far cry from... if you break your oath you loose your powers... in fact I don't see that stated anywhere.

So I'll ask again... where is this stated?