D&D (2024) WotC Fireside Chat: Revised 2024 Player’s Handbook

In this video about the upcoming revised Player’s Handnook, WotC’s Jeremy Crawford and Chris Perkins reveal a few new tidbits.

• The books are near final and almost ready to go to print
• Psionic subclasses such as the Soulknife and Psi Warrior will appear in the core books
• Named spells have art depicting their creators.
• There are new species in the PHB.

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[Parmandur]

And if Soulknife was added, what Rogue subclass did they remove or did they just up the subclass count and if do by how much?

Probavly Swashbuckler.

 

[Kobold Stew]

Pretty sure I remember them saying the stuff left over from XGE and TCE that doesn't get plugged into a new core book will get republished in a standalone book (they could call it "Xanathar's and Tasha's Tasty Leftovers").

Can you find a source for that? Throw in the species from MotM, and I'd buy it in a flash.

 

[Parmandur]

They mention Melf been depicted, casting Melf's Acid Arrow, but no mention of there being a depiction Evard casting Evard's Black Tentacles which would be something I'd be interested in seeing.

I believe they have said in the past that all of the named Spells are getting their named iconic depicted.

 

[Stalker0]

For those who need a TLDR, here is the blackbox AI summary of the video.

• Jeremy Crawford and Chris Perkins discuss the new revised Players Handbook in a fireside chat.
• They have announced some art for the book, showcasing the Fantastic art throughout all three books.
• They are currently in the print review phase, making final tweaks and looking under the hood at the number of spells.
• The feeling of the book being a real thing comes when they have the physical book in their hands, but printout reviews are the closest they get to that feeling before the fully printed book comes out.
• The art and text were developed closely together, with the art speaking directly to the text on the page.
• The outlines for the books had to be incredibly detailed because they are the foundation for the game.
• Every page, every spread has to be planned in advance, ensuring that the art has a place in each chapter and next to specific sections.
• The pages in these books are the most valuable, and they had to earn their keep by delivering new, fun, or enhanced content.
• The books will have new elements, reorganization, brand new things, new spells, new feats, new class features, new whole subclasses, new subsystems, and new general rules guidance.
• People will find guidance on illusion that wasn't there before, and basic things like breaking an object now have clear instructions.
• Improvements have been baked into the books, and some of the favorite subclasses have been improved.
• The S Warrior has been added to the players handbook, giving the psionic sorcerer and the great old one warlock some more psiionic friends.
• During play testing after UA, they identified unexpected multiclass combinations and made changes to prevent undesirable combinations while protecting fun combinations.
• The book has opened the door to many more character concepts, and the new approach to backgrounds, subclasses, feats, and multiclassing allows for more ways to mix and match different character concepts.
• The species art is a great example of highlighting what is interesting about what's going on in that chapter, with scenes involving multiple members in situations that you would probably find them very commonly.
• The team is focused on finishing the book and conferring with each other in person during the printout review.
• It's an opportunity for them to talk through if they really mean it, is this where they want to go next, and if something is delighting people.
• They are working so nonstop that it is difficult to pause, but they find joy in playing DND as a fan and not working on it in their laboratory.
• They play test nothing in their home game, only playing the DND that everyone else is playing.
• Interacting with fans and being a part of the DND legacy is a pleasure, and they carry the weight of being stewards of the brand and the game.
• They will talk in-depth about the players handbook in future videos.

 

[TravDoc42]

Agreed. One thing I would like to see in D&D2024 are Aasimar and Tieflings who are tied to other kinds of Celestials and Fiends.

A couatl aasimar would be very fun to see! I'd love to see that!;

 

[Zaukrie]

Many more feats, better/improved approach to backgrounds and more species = better opportunity to create the PC you want than in any other version of the game. (I'll believe this when I see it)

 

[Stormonu]

• They play test nothing in their home game, only playing the DND that everyone else is playing.

Before anyone misinterpretes this, they're excluding playtesting from their personal games. Playtesting IS being done at other venues, just not their home games.

 

[Parmandur]

Yeah, we’ve known since the video summarizing the Playtest 5 survey feedback that Brawler was out, we just didn’t know until now what would be replacing it.

Some guessedcorrectly, though.

 

[tetrasodium]

Some interesting takeaways I haven't seen noted in the 36 posts currently in the thread while I've been watching the video.

• Rules for things not in the 5e PHB that need someone to chase down threads into the dmg or whatever are now in the PHB. The example given was breaking an object
  • This is a great thing IMO & the example in question was once in the 3.5 PHB with the 3.5 DMG extending it a bit further in ways that the DM could manipulate as appropriate
• Bit fuzzy on some of the wording on this, it ewas in the first 10 min I think & I passed i before I started writing this. The art was umm... decided on(?) while text was still being written to convey things they wanted it to convey rather than filling the art after the text like usual
  • I'm not usually big on art, but the wrong art can really make life difficult for the GM if it misleads the player. This is potentially a good thing & hopefully it means that we see less class photos casting from the ELH & more stuff like the death & dying entry showing the 2e(?) era picture of a party gathered around a fallen party member with a dead dragon strung from a tree instead of a mortar & pestle+some herbs like 5e has. It will really depend on what they are trying to convey & if they aimed right from the getgo.
• Soul knife & psi warrior are in the PHB
• Finding unexpected multiclass combos. changes made to prevent undesirable multiclass combinations & maybe to protect some others
• it ends with "the next time you see us we are going to be talking about the players handbook a whole bunch for hours on end"

 

[overgeeked]

I am not likely to adopt 5.5, but I really like this change. Flipping between and owning multiple player books is an issue with newer casual players in particular.

Don't assume the game will be static going forward. They will make new books with new player options. It's a core of their business model.