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.

 

[Corinnguard]

Have you been to a convention? 1000 attendees probably already think that they are.

I have been to several in the past, just not an RPG convention.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Because it's beginner friendly... you know the most likely to use the default narrative until they get some experience playing the game.

The game is for everyone, not just beginners. They couldn't have put any wiggle room in their narrative?

 

[pemerton]

The game is for everyone, not just beginners. They couldn't have put any wiggle room in their narrative?

Why do you, who keep advocating that people do their own thing regardless of what WotC has said and published, care about whether or not there is wriggle room in WotC's published narrative?

 

[Micah Sweet]

Why do you, who keep advocating that people do their own thing regardless of what WotC has said and published, care about whether or not there is wriggle room in WotC's published narrative?

Because there a lot of gamers out there who don't listen to me and insist in following WotC's example. I'd like their example to be better, that's all.

 

[Corinnguard]

Wriggle room aka Rules As Interpreted.

 

[Imaro]

The game is for everyone, not just beginners. They couldn't have put any wiggle room in their narrative?

Experienced players don't need it and it would just be another uneccesarry decision point for a true begginer.

 

[Imaro]

You can have a thousand PC warlocks in a game if your game was held at an RPG convention. Just convince a thousand attendees to be one for a day.

Sorry no prize those are multiple games. We will need 1000 warlocks all playing in a single game all using the default narrative exactly as written.

 

[Maxperson]

The game is for everyone, not just beginners. They couldn't have put any wiggle room in their narrative?

It really doesn't matter. As I pointed out, a beginner is still going to be a beginner a few sessions later when the reach 3rd level.

 

[Corinnguard]

Sorry no prize those are multiple games. We will need 1000 warlocks all playing in a single game all using the default narrative exactly as written.

So, you don't want your name in the Guinness Book of Records for hosting an RPG session with a thousand warlocks in it? Fair enough.

 

[Maxperson]

Sorry no prize those are multiple games. We will need 1000 warlocks all playing in a single game all using the default narrative exactly as written.

I don't mind if you disagree with me, but grossly twisting what I said in order to mock me isn't cool.