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.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

To be fair, there is also the very legitimate criticism that being of mixed heritage does not make you exactly like one parent or the other

Not being of mixed heritage does not make you exactly like either parent either. That’s why we have sexual reproduction. But whatever, differences are cosmetic. It doesn’t give you special powers. A cockerpoo is still a dog, with all the same abilities as other dogs.

Of course, everyone is of mixed heritage if you go far enough back.

And that there are an awful lot of half-elf characters that (seemingly) can't be rebuilt using the new rules

The rules work just fine for the original half elf, Elrond. Better than the old rules in fact.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

Not being of mixed heritage does not make you exactly like either parent either.

Of course. I'm not sure that has anything to do with the discussion, though. Much of this has to do with long-standing US racial politics, which you and I probably don't fully understand, and can't discuss at any rate.

That’s why we have sexual reproduction. But whatever, differences are cosmetic. It doesn’t give you special powers. A cockerpoo is still a dog, with all the same abilities as other dogs.

I mean, that helps when everyone is the same species of human. Human(oids) in our fantasy are a bit different to that, though, right?

Of course, everyone is of mixed heritage if you go far enough back.

Sure. Still not much of the point, though!

The rules work just fine for the original half elf, Elrond. Better than the old rules in fact.

Yeah, but D&D has often tried to file the serial-numbers off of its Tolkien-thefts, while embracing its thefts of other fantasy authors! (Okay, this is just a snide aside, let's not read too much into it).

 

[SteveC]

They are not “cut” . They just do not have unique mechanics. Which, if you were interested in half elves because of “iconic characters” rather than power gaming, wouldn’t matter at all.

That's an argument you can apply to any content, though. Half-Elves were (are) a popular race. Half-orcs were/are too. The decision to cut them was political and not something I'm going to discuss here. But there's no more need for a "gnome" or "halfling" to be in the book ... or really any other character race.

Let's just be honest and say, "We're uncomfortable with the connotations of these two, so we're pulling them." And then the people who like them will be upset, but that's baked into the cake, and something I doubt anyone writing the books cares much about.

But let's not say that the only people who want unique mechanics are power gamers, that's just silly.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I mean, that helps when everyone is the same species of human. Human(oids) in our fantasy are a bit different to that, though, right

Many Europeans have Neanderthal DNA, but being hybridised with a different species doesn’t give them any abilities different to other humans.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

Many Europeans have Neanderthal DNA, but being hybridised with a different species doesn’t give them any abilities different to other humans.

Well, maybe not now that it's down to a tiny %, but it may have made quite a difference back when they were HALF Neanderthal!

 

[Maxperson]

They are not “cut” . They just do not have unique mechanics. Which, if you were interested in half elves because of “iconic characters” rather than power gaming, wouldn’t matter at all.

1. That's not a half-elf. It's lipstick on a pig(human or elf).
2. It's also false. Many/most of us who like mechanics to match the roleplay would also want unique mechanics for a unique race.

 

[Maxperson]

They are cut from the PHB. I don't think that they will be cut from the game. For now, you can use the 2014 version, and we'll see a replacement someday, I just about guarantee it.

(Note: I know you, Mistwell, know all this, I'm just spitballin' random thoughts, not trying to lecture).

To pick a nit, they are cut from the game, as much as anything was cut(including changed) from the 2014 rules. They are not in the new rules as of this moment. They just will probably be reintroduced later.

 

[Maxperson]

Not being of mixed heritage does not make you exactly like either parent either. That’s why we have sexual reproduction. But whatever, differences are cosmetic. It doesn’t give you special powers. A cockerpoo is still a dog, with all the same abilities as other dogs.

Some dogs have significantly better senses of smell. Others are smarter or dumber than the average dog. That Cockapoo doesn't have jaws that lock once it bites like a pitbull does. Others are much faster than dogs of their size and shape. And more.

They do not all have the same abilities.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

To pick a nit, they are cut from the game, as much as anything was cut(including changed) from the 2014 rules. They are not in the new rules as of this moment. They just will probably be reintroduced later.

I'm not sure that I understand the distinction that you are trying to make.

Some dogs have significantly better senses of smell. Others are smarter or dumber than the average dog. That Cockapoo doesn't have jaws that lock once it bites like a pitbull does. Others are much faster than dogs of their size and shape. And more.

They do not all have the same abilities.

Not even close. Dogs are a particularly bad example, as I don't think there is anything else that is so diverse while technically being the same thing.

It really argues the opposite point as to what it seems that Paul was going for, when you consider that if you crossed a St Bernard and a Chihuahua, you'd get something that very likely couldn't be remotely modeled by the "statblock" of either of its parents.

 

[Maxperson]

I'm not sure that I understand the distinction that you are trying to make.

When they made the new rules they cut the half-elf from the game. Sure you can use the old rules for it, but there's no half-elf in the current incarnation of D&D. It HAS been cut from the game, even if they intend to bring it back later.

Like I said, though, it's a nitpick since you can easily use the 2014 rules.

Not even close. Dogs are a particularly bad example, as I don't think there is anything else that is so diverse while technically being the same thing.

It really argues the opposite point as to what it seems that Paul was going for, when you consider that if you crossed a St Bernard and a Chihuahua, you'd get something that very likely couldn't be remotely modeled by the "statblock" of either of its parents.

Yep.