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.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

A way to do this is to suggest that the player creates the patron as a secondary character, with the distinction that they can’t actually do anything apart from talk to the primary character.

I mentioned my sorcerer with the evil symbiont. Occasionally the symbiont would take over my character, just long enough to say or suggest something evil.

This to me seems like rather dissatisfying way to play the Faustian bargain narrative.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

This to me seems like rather dissatisfying way to play the Faustian bargain narrative.

An actual "Faustian bargain" would not be fun for anyone. Remember the story? Faust doesn't gain anything worthwhile.

If the patron is giving the orders and making decisions, and that patron is controlled by the DM, then that is removing player agency. And they get nothing in return for giving up agency - a wizard still has more powerful magic and has complete agency too.

The way round this is for the player to control the patron, that way you still have the narrative of a minion being controlled by their patron, but the player still has agency over their character.

 

[Ulorian - Agent of Chaos]

Come on now, nothing Fluffybunbun said is on the level of histrionics. They did explain that they think sometimes Dungeon Dudes do not read the rules they're talking about in detail but just give a surface level opinion based on how they assume it works. That seems like a brief but clear objection to me.

Here are my thoughts on this kind of stuff. If you have an opinion, please state it. And if that opinion is disparaging, that's fine! If it is, though, back it up, with, you know, facts and stuff. Otherwise, it comes across as one person who disagrees with another person who then chooses to cast aspersions on that other person rather than the argument. It's weak; it makes it seem like there is no argument to be made, so personal attacks are the only resort to 'make your point'.

 

[fluffybunbunkittens]

Posts like the one you made are just noise, frankly.

I gave you a method to resolve this issue for yourself - read the comments of the video. If that is too much work for you, well, that's a shame on one of us.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Here are my thoughts on this kind of stuff. If you have an opinion, please state it. And if that opinion is disparaging, that's fine! If it is, though, back it up, with, you know, facts and stuff. Otherwise, it comes across as one person who disagrees with another person who then chooses to cast aspersions on that other person rather than the argument. It's weak; it makes it seem like there is no argument to be made, so personal attacks are the only resort to 'make your point'.

Shouldn't you have to back up positive opinions too?

 

[Imaro]

Why you think that people of average or better intelligence would have a problem looking at and easily understanding four low level spells.

I never said this...

 

[Maxperson]

I never said this...

You've implied it since my argument is that it's plenty easy for new players to understand just by looking and you keep arguing against it being simple and easy for them to understand.

 

[Maxperson]

An actual "Faustian bargain" would not be fun for anyone. Remember the story? Faust doesn't gain anything worthwhile.

If the patron is giving the orders and making decisions, and that patron is controlled by the DM, then that is removing player agency. And they get nothing in return for giving up agency - a wizard still has more powerful magic and has complete agency too.

I disagree with this assessment. The player is gaining a PC with a very different style of play than any other character has. That difference in style and roleplay is very much something that the player is getting in return.

If you don't want that kind of style of play and roleplay, play the wizard instead. If I choose warlock, I am choosing it in large part BECAUSE of the nature of the patron and the PC.

 

[Imaro]

You've implied it since my argument is that it's plenty easy for new players to understand just by looking and you keep arguing against it being simple and easy for them to understand.

No i haven't... my point has been before selecting a feature that bu RAW cannot be changed you should as a player have some experience playing the game and using the basic mechanics of your class. I've also stated reading something in a book and actually doing it are not the same. Otherwise one could just read a book about surviving in the wilderness and be a survivalist with no problem.

 

[Imaro]

Dbl post