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]

How do you know that? Are you extrapolating how you would deal with it to other people again?

Because of having introduced quite a lot of new players to the game in 5th edition.

When I started D&D with BECMI, and again with the 1e PH, I read those books pretty much cover to cover before I sat down to make a character, let alone play a game. I've done the same ever since. Who's to say your opinion on the matter is any better than mine?

Because you are saying what you did personally 40-is years ago, I'm speaking from having introduced people to this very edition in multiple settings, over multiple years. Even if you want to call them equal chances, there is still another problem for you here. Let's play some what-if.

WHAT IF! The Player does read that text and decides not to choose a patron until level 3? Then they will make a story that reflects that choice.

BUT WHAT IF! The player does not like that, and wishes to choose their patron earlier? Then... they can. They absolutely can.

BUT WHAT IF! The DM refuses to allow them to do that? Well then... firstly the DM can't then turn around and complain about not knowing who the patron is to role-play, because they don't know explicitly because they made that choice. Secondly, the DM cannot stop the player. At all. There is no way for the DM to stop the player from saying their PC made a pact with a Fiend or a Great Old One. Full Stop. A DM has no avenue to make that call.

So the only possible problem comes from a player deciding to make a story without an explicit patron, and the DM not liking that, and having to deal with it for three sessions. That's it. That is the worst case scenario, assuming you are correct and the player reads that text and they interpret it as a rule (which it isn't) and they don't get redirected by their DM.

 

[Chaosmancer]

So just to be clear: we need a rule to stop players authoring incoherent fiction, when a perfectly coherent fiction is available to them?

I thought it was widely held that rules should be written on the assumption that game participants will do sensible things,= not stupid things.

Yes, this is quite literally one of the positions being taken.

The second position is that the DM is facing an undue burden of not knowing who the Warlock's patron is between the levels of 1 and 3, and therefore cannot roleplay or introduce any presence from the patron.

 

[Stormonu]

The Warlock should have a mechanic that they can never survive to 20th level. At 11th level, their patron put them through an impossible deathtrap that turns them into an NPC monster. Like the old Drider lore from Lolth.

/sarcasm

 

[Micah Sweet]

Because of having introduced quite a lot of new players to the game in 5th edition.



Because you are saying what you did personally 40-is years ago, I'm speaking from having introduced people to this very edition in multiple settings, over multiple years. Even if you want to call them equal chances, there is still another problem for you here. Let's play some what-if.

WHAT IF! The Player does read that text and decides not to choose a patron until level 3? Then they will make a story that reflects that choice.

BUT WHAT IF! The player does not like that, and wishes to choose their patron earlier? Then... they can. They absolutely can.

BUT WHAT IF! The DM refuses to allow them to do that? Well then... firstly the DM can't then turn around and complain about not knowing who the patron is to role-play, because they don't know explicitly because they made that choice. Secondly, the DM cannot stop the player. At all. There is no way for the DM to stop the player from saying their PC made a pact with a Fiend or a Great Old One. Full Stop. A DM has no avenue to make that call.

So the only possible problem comes from a player deciding to make a story without an explicit patron, and the DM not liking that, and having to deal with it for three sessions. That's it. That is the worst case scenario, assuming you are correct and the player reads that text and they interpret it as a rule (which it isn't) and they don't get redirected by their DM.

You realize that, by introducing all those players to 5e, you are creating a second source of information and understanding to them (the books, and you)? I'm talking about folks with only the books to guide them, not a veteran with a long history of teaching newbies. I hope you see what I'm saying here.

 

[Micah Sweet]

The Warlock should have a mechanic that they can never survive to 20th level. At 11th level, their patron put them through an impossible deathtrap that turns them into an NPC monster. Like the old Drider lore from Lolth.

/sarcasm

High level githyanki get killed by their lich-queen for the same reason. That would actually be a cool story point for a warlock.

 

[Chaosmancer]

You realize that, by introducing all those players to 5e, you are creating a second source of information and understanding to them (the books, and you)? I'm talking about folks with only the books to guide them, not a veteran with a long history of teaching newbies. I hope you see what I'm saying here.

You realize that by introducing new players to the game, I had to field ideas like "What if I was a warforged stuffed full of 26 souls of dead children", "I want to be Sun from RWBY", "Can I be a mute sentient slime with a pet mouse?" and ect.

When I'm constantly being asked about things not even in the rulebooks, why would I think that exact same energy wouldn't exist without me? Are you trying to claim that people can only be creative and eager to make a character with a backstory if they have an experienced GM introducing them to the game?

 

[AK_Ambrian]

It's odd that the 'Worlds of Adventure' section on page 5 of the new 2024 PHB specifically mentions Dark Sun, which I don't think they will ever publish anything for again but does not mention Mystara, which is in the upcoming Worlds & Realms book and also the setting that most people consider the Keep On The Borderlands to be in, which is going to be the basis for the new 2025 Starter Set.

 

[Micah Sweet]

It's odd that the 'Worlds of Adventure' section on page 5 of the new 2024 PHB specifically mentions Dark Sun, which I don't think they will ever publish anything for again but does not mention Mystara, which is in the upcoming Worlds & Realms book and also the setting that most people consider the Keep On The Borderlands to be in, which is going to be the basis for the new 2025 Starter Set.

Perhaps that part of the book was written before WotC decided to use Mystara and throw Dark Sun into a deep hole like they're ashamed of it.

 

[AK_Ambrian]

Perhaps that part of the book was written before WotC decided to use Mystara and throw Dark Sun into a deep hole like they're ashamed of it.

Could be but it would have been as simple as deleting two words from the document. I am happy they mentioned it because maybe a few new players might decide to look it up online someday and find out about Athas.

They list eight settings: Greyhawk, Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance, Spelljammer, Planescape, Eberron, Dark Sun and Ravenloft.

No mention of Mystara, Birthright or Hollow World.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Could be but it would have been as simple as deleting two words from the document. I am happy they mentioned it because maybe a few new players might decide to look it up online someday and find out about Athas.

They list eight settings: Greyhawk, Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance, Spelljammer, Planescape, Eberron, Dark Sun and Ravenloft.

No mention of Mystara, Birthright or Hollow World.

In my idea It would have been an oversight. Mistakes happen.