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.

 

[Imaro]

This is disappointing. I guess they are moving away from even giving lip service to supporting a variety of playstyles.

There's an ability score improvement feat... for all practical purposes taking this feat is the same as the trade off in the 2014 books.

 

[Emerikol]

There's an ability score improvement feat... for all practical purposes taking this feat is the same as the trade off in the 2014 books.

So a DM could just say that is the only available feat? I guess that would work.

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

So a DM could just say that is the only available feat? I guess that would work.

In addition to other changes, this is exactly what I plan to do if I switch to 2024.

 

[Laurefindel]

So a DM could just say that is the only available feat? I guess that would work.

Definitely feasible.

I mean the feature is called "Ability Score Improvement", and the feature's text goes something like "you gain the Ability Score Improvement feat or another feat for which you qualify"; my feeling is that this was the intention from the beginning.

 

[Nefermandias]

So a DM could just say that is the only available feat? I guess that would work.

Wouldn't work at all for most tables. People (players, really) don't like to have restrictions placed upon them.
Feats as baseline is the biggest turn off for me in this new PHB.

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

Wouldn't work at all for most tables. People (players, really) don't like to have restrictions placed upon them.
Feats as baseline is the biggest turn off for me in this new PHB.

If I were to announce to my table they need to make more choices than race+class, they'd go into full panick mode.

Having to open the book and sort through a whole 3 pages of Feat? Dream on, man. Want me to do your taxes too?!?

 

[Emerikol]

Wouldn't work at all for most tables. People (players, really) don't like to have restrictions placed upon them.
Feats as baseline is the biggest turn off for me in this new PHB.

I haven't noticed it being that difficult to introduce campaign specific rules. I could do far more than ban all feats and it would be accepted.

 

[Nefermandias]

I haven't noticed it being that difficult to introduce campaign specific rules. I could do far more than ban all feats and it would be accepted.

Good for you, but you miss my point.
With the old rules, there was no need to "ban" anything because feats were opt-in in the first place.

 

[Emerikol]

Good for you, but you miss my point.
With the old rules, there was no need to "ban" anything because feats were opt-in in the first place.

I know that. I just was saying that I wouldn't have problems adjusting the rules when it comes to players.

 

[Imaro]

Good for you, but you miss my point.
With the old rules, there was no need to "ban" anything because feats were opt-in in the first place.

Its not technically banning, it's restricting. And I don't think any group that wants to play without the complexity of multiple feats would have a problem with it.