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.

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.


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.
2Dec 2021.jpg
 

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Could people drop "but not all warlocks" thing that makes the discussion to go into circles? It doesn't matter.
It’s pretty central to the argument, when people are claiming that having a difficult relationship with a patron is central and essential to the warlock identity.

Which is compete nonsense. The player is perfectly free to choose a patron who is disinterested or has goals that are perfectly aligned with the player.

The only reason there might be conflict between the PC and the patron is because the PLAYER has chosen to make it do.
 

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It’s pretty central to the argument, when people are claiming that having a difficult relationship with a patron is central and essential to the warlock identity.

Which is compete nonsense. The player is perfectly free to choose a patron who is disinterested or has goals that are perfectly aligned with the player.

The only reason there might be conflict between the PC and the patron is because the PLAYER has chosen to make it do.

And then what? That the player may have chosen it doesn't mean they should play the patron and choose what the patron does. Players invent antagonists, enemies, and other NPCs in their background all the bloody time. The GM still plays them. But that this NPC is the source of the PCs powers is an additional complication the book does not at all address and I think it should!
 

And then what? That the player may have chosen it doesn't mean they should play the patron and choose what the patron does. Players invent antagonists, enemies, and other NPCs in their background all the bloody time. The GM still plays them.
Not necessarily. Sometimes the player plays them, sometimes the DM does it. It varies. There is no one right way to play D&D.
But that this NPC is the source of the PCs powers is an additional complication the book does not at all address and I think it should!
The player can invent any NPC complication they want, irrespective of class. Their farther is a domineering noble who wants to marry them off advantageously. They are the ex-lover of a deity. Whatever. These things are not associated with any particular class, and the way they are handled is going to vary enormously between tables.
 

Micah Sweet

Level Up & OSR Enthusiast
Not necessarily. Sometimes the player plays them, sometimes the DM does it. It varies. There is no one right way to play D&D.
The way you say that implies that it's equally likely either way. Do you believe that? I only speak for myself, but outside of henchmen in combat I've never seen an NPC roleplayed by an active player in nearly 40 years of playing, no matter who invented them or what game I'm playing. It can definitely happen, but I don't believe it's anywhere near as common as you imply here.
 


Micah Sweet

Level Up & OSR Enthusiast
Sure. I quite often deal out NPCs to the players to run, even if they haven't created them. They are pretty good at playing them as written, rather than spontaneously deciding to hand over all their gold to the party.
Then our experiences differ, which again brings this down to preference. We're all in the same boat.
 



jasper

Rotten DM
Players Handbook 2024 review

TLDR, a new edition with the marketing lying about not being a new edition. Being an old gamer, and remembering the changes between all the editions. This is a new edition like the change between 1E and 2E. Just enough where players will get confused if they don’t remember which book they read from. And yes you can still play the 2014 adventures with little headache but this was true back when the 2E rules came out.

At 384 pages it is only 94 pages shorter than the 3 books of the original Advance Dungeons and Dragons first edition pages. The layout out is great. The art work varies from okay, good, great, and oh my gawd I only have one shade of paint.

Chapter 1 is totally great for new people.

Chapter 2 is great too. It is written for totally new people. Minor grip on the languages changes. Thumbs up for the Standard Array by Class. But Multiclass Spell caster chart on page 45 has me going hmm.

Chapter 3 is where the major changes start. All subclasses now only get their abilities at level three. This is a great change if you are going to programing software. The good thing is spell lists for the class are in the class section. Each subclass gets one page of information if the art was properly cropped.

Chapter 4 Backgrounds just moves the deck chairs around. Where in 2014 races excuse me species gave stat bumps, now your background gives you stat bumps. And now humans just get an extra feat for being human. So instead of people choosing a species to be the best build for class x, it is now going to be background y is the best build to for class x. Gripe there more art that substance in this part of the chapter.

Species again changes because why not. The good part is one page one race. Gripe in just fifty years Orcs go from green pig nose (see Return of Jedi guards) to grey skin Spanish elf eared fang dudes.

Chapter 5 Feats are now mandatory. And occasionally level locked. Some help with role playing; the others are just dice play options.

Chapter 6 rewrites the equipment lists with the additional complication of weapon mastery where you can now do damage on a miss using the graze property. The pictures of weapons and armour are nice. Tools get a light update with expanded definition on how to use or craft items with them. Some light crafting rules for equipment, healing potions, and spell scrolls are included but not much detail.

Chapter 7 Spells has some major, minor, and editing changes. An addition spell type Emanation is added but not explained to page 366. The major change is one spell per turn if it uses a spell slot.

Appendix A The multiverse is one page and one picture with a very light description of the planes. This continues WOTC tradition of showing lore to the door.

Appendix B Creature Stat Blocks give a look at what the monster manual stat blocks will be like. They just tighten up the description block.

Appendix C Rules Glossary is a welcome needed addition.

Index is great as only few cases of See something else. Everything else points to the page needed.

Problems. There are already day one errata on the electronic version. So somehow updates were needed even before it went to press, and the print copy was not delayed.

Final thoughts. Get someone to buy you the first printing copy and wait till the second printing has all the current errata before laying down your hard earn cash.
 

Emerikol

Legend
Players Handbook 2024 review

<snip>

Chapter 5 Feats are now mandatory. And occasionally level locked. Some help with role playing; the others are just dice play options.
<snip>
This is disappointing. I guess they are moving away from even giving lip service to supporting a variety of playstyles.
 

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