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.

 

[mellored]

If it was only on the players rolls this would be true, but it isn't.

Just saw the final rules.
And yea, imposing disadvantage on attacks against you would slow things down a bit.

Or rather, it's the same as before.

Using the 5E Monster AC and a base attack roll with no magic, situational or other bonuses you should be hitting about 65% of the time, in play it is more than that with advantage and magic bonuses.

3 attacks * 65% chance to hit = 91% chance to miss at least once.
Polearm master makes it 96% chance.

Also, does it apply to attacks made against you? Or just your own rolls?

Because last I saw you could only reroll your own dice.

 

[Daztur]

The inverse is also true. Someone can't post something positive without 2-3 certain other posters commenting on one of many bad things about 5e or WotC.

And I agree, it is odd - both ways.

Well overall the 5.5e edition wars have been pretty peaceful. Nothing like the 4e ones or even the 5e ones where the 4e fans were pissed about promised DMG "modules" and the acknowledgement stuff.

That makes sense. We just do fights fast in 5e. 10-15 min is pretty typical, with 5 mins a low end. But a high end can be close to an hour. So In a typical 4 hour session we can get 4-6 fights in and still have 3 hours or so for other stuff. Now we typically only get 1-3 fights in about 45 min or so, but you get the idea.

Yeah, my regular game has a lot of time out for snacks, table chatter, etc. etc. we're not really very efficient at getting a lot done and our sessions last less than 4 hours in any case. So I probably prioritize shorter fights more than other people. When I played a weird hybrid D&D game with my two sons (5e PCs run through Caverns of Thracia with monsters having their original 0e HPs etc.) I could often do five combats in an hour easily, but that was helped along by all talk being 100% about the game and 5e PCs cutting through 0e monsters like a hot knife through butter.



For how long 5.5e combat will take it will take a bit of time for people to digest the new rules and for the new meta to solidify. For example 3e DnD works fairly well if you use 2e tactics but if you use the sort of tactics that actually work the best in 3e a lot of the wheels falls off. We'll need a bit of time to see what sort of gameplay the 5.5e rules encourage the most.

 

[Minigiant]

They went five years. Artificer was added in Eberron.

Also why would you assume this edition will make people bored after 10 years of success.

Because they haven't embraced many new ideas and this PHB is very conservative on expansion. This PHB looks good but safe. Safe sells only with a promise of spice.

5e has mainly reprinted the settings, monster, and species of old (Sans 4e) . TTRPGs aren't like CCGs where you can keep going back to the same wells.

5e is near the end of the list of settings that are deemed publicly acceptable. And WOTC isn't Paizo where their adventure design is so good it can make up for having one setting.

Without newness, 5e will be lukewarm when the VTT arrives.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

That is a possibility, but just a possibility. I think they can continue what they are doing for another 10 years, but I can't really see it going much further than that. But I could be wrong about that, who knows. I could also seem them make some small adjustments to their business model of the next 5 years to set up another 5-10 years and no of this necessarily needs to be radical.

I would be down for a 6e, but I know it will not support my style of play. So I am happy to stick with 5e because we have already modified it to our style of play and don't really need anything more form WotC or 3PP (though I still buy most of it).

A lot here could depend on the success or otherwise of third party material. If some of the 5e clones really gain traction or some of their rules become common house rules, I could see those elements becoming incorporated in to official 5e. On the other hand if MCDM or Daggerheart become really popular, WoTC could seek to emulate the elements of those games that are deemed to be at the root of their success.
On the other hand, I would still like to see books adding modular subsystems to the main game.

 

[Aldarc]

From the perspective of someone who likely won't buy the new 2024 books: IMHO, overall, the reception from the early reviewers and previewers of 2024 D&D is mostly positive to very positive. There are likely new problems that lay waiting for people, publishers, and WotC in the 2024 rules, but that involves playing the game to find out. However, I personally do think that (overall) the changes made to the game are mostly a net positive. IMHO, the 2024 D&D rules will be great for people who want an improved iteration of the 5e D&D rules.

 

[R_J_K75]

This is somewhat inevitable given the times but table top will never die. Table top wargaming did not die. It was not replaced by either rpgs not Magic: The Gathering, despite the fears at the time. It will not completely die in the future but there is likely be more growth at the moment in the digital space than in the table top space.

Yes. it will not go away but it feels to me that with each edition/revision there's a push for more digital tools and the face-to-face aspect of the game slowly gets whittled away.

 

[R_J_K75]

WotC has been pretty up front that they are not looking to have players update their books en masse like with an edition change, but instead want to maintain 5e's trajectory.

Its gonna take some change before the win me back.

Most reviews that I've read are pretty positive. I don't take reactions on this forum as indicative of much; as I previously posted, there is a significant segment of posters here who are just generally negative about WotC and/or 5e. When someone who doesn't play or is constantly critical of 5e writes that they don't like the 2024 rules, I'm like /shrug.

I'm not saying you made me out as such, but as much as I;ve grumbled over the last few days, it was I don't agree, its not for me, I'd have preferred...etc., Never said it was a bad game, I cant, Ive never played it. Who knows I may play it down the road but as of now, it doesnt seem like a game I want to play. I'd really love to be proven wrong. But ultimately, 5E never really spoke to me.

 

[R_J_K75]

Yep, and that is unfortunate to me. I am glad a lot more people can play because of online tools, but to me the in person experience is a big part of what makes D&D (or any RPG) so much fun.

Online tools are good, but they do shift the game more to an online crutch. Ive had players create a PC on DnDB only to show up session one with no clue how to play the character, Thats why I'm not a big fan of online tools in some cases,

 

[R_J_K75]

True, at the same time however, VTT allows players who live around the country and around theroleplaying and VTT globe to get together and have an RPG session.

That is awesome. I'd rather see ppl playing than not. VTT is not my thing. Ive tried it and didnt like it but Im glad for those that do like it and Im glad I tried it. face to face gaming and VTT are 2 completely different experiences. I long for the days of a character sheet, 64 pg campaign supplement and a 16-page adventure,

 

[R_J_K75]

It's fun to watch from outside, certainly.

This kind of reminds me of the Ballad of Dwight Frye