Review of the Dungeons & Dragons Player's Handbook 2024

It has been 50 years since the first edition of Dungeons & Dragons saw the light of day. Fortunately, the game didn't fade into obscurity; thanks to new editions, it enjoys ever-increasing popularity. In my opinion, this is well-deserved, as DnD 5th Edition is one of the top products in DnD history and sparked a new wave of interest in RPGs in general.

Now, 10 years later, the new Beyond 2024 version is here, and I must say it far exceeds all my expectations. But let's take it step by step and look at what the first Beyond 2024 manual – the Player's Handbook – brings to the table, and whether the Wizards delivered on their promises.

What to expect from the new Player's Handbook?

At its core, it is still the same game as DnD 5e. Same game mechanics, same Classes, same magic system, etc. If you play 5E and buy this new manual, you can continue playing without worrying about major changes or explaining new rules.

Likewise, you can keep using all the old 5E manuals you already own. With the new rules, you can play through all older adventures and settings or use Subclasses that were released in, for example, Tasha's Cauldron of Everything or other 5E expansion books. They truly kept their promise of full backward compatibility with what you already have at home.

Player's Handbook 2014 vs. 2024 – what's the difference?

Paradoxically, the differences are only in the details, yet they have a huge positive impact on the entire game. The fifth edition was released in 2014, and over those 10 years, millions of players around the world have played it, inevitably discovering many shortcomings and things that felt clunky.

Spells that no one uses, Abilities that are rarely useful, missing specific rules for Tools, etc. It is precisely in these areas that you can see the DnD authors listen to their players, that they are players and fans of the game themselves, and that they want it to be the best it can be. They clearly identified these flaws and fixed them with minor tweaks – the result is amazing.

What changes and improvements do I mean?

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Want more details? Want to flip through the book with Gergon? Check out the video breakdown of the manual.

How does the Player's Handbook 2024 look visually?

Fantastic! The graphic design of the manual is absolutely phenomenal. The organization of individual chapters is much more logical – it starts with the game rules, then character creation by Class, and only later moves on to Species (the new name for Races) and other things. The overall layout of the graphics is also much better and clearer.

Where there used to be long blocks of text, there are now clear tables – for example, in the list of Actions you can take. All game terms are summarized in the final Rules Glossary, and many places in the manual link to it, so you don't have to search for rules laboriously. Spell lists are no longer hidden in the back but are located directly with your Class, etc.

Does the manual have any flaws?

Yes, nothing is perfect, and despite my enthusiasm, I won't pretend that some things didn't miss the mark or weren't polished to perfection. For example, because of the Rules Glossary system at the end of the manual, where all game terms are listed alphabetically, you won't find all Conditions neatly grouped together on a single page.

The sample texts about how a conversation between a Dungeon Master and a player goes feel completely unnecessary nowadays. If anyone is interested in how the game is played, there are hundreds of sources on the internet where you can watch live play.

However, these are just minor blemishes that don't ruin the manual, and certainly not the game.

What is the overall impression?

Definitely positive! Every Class in the new version has 4 Subclasses. Spell descriptions that used to cause frequent questions are now rephrased to be perfectly clear. In short, it is evident that maximum care was put into the new manual, and I believe that anyone who loves Dungeons and Dragons and other similar role-playing games based on this system will be just as excited about the new manual as I am.

author Gergon