The New 2024 Player’s Handbook: What to Expect
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We dig into Wizards of the Coast’s plans for the new Dungeons & Dragons PHB launching in 2024.
First released back in 2014, the fifth edition of the Dungeons & Dragons Player’s Handbook (often referred to simply as the PHB) has remained virtually untouched since it was first published. The book itself, however, continues to be an essential part of D&D, offering up the basic rules which govern character creation, combat, exploration and other key elements of gameplay.
Now a brand new revised version of the Player’s Handbook will be coming out on September 17th, 2024, and the potential impact on D&D is huge. So just what can we expect to find in this new and improved PHB? Read on to find out.
Table of Contents
- What is the New Player’s Handbook?
- Is the New Player’s Handbook Fifth Edition?
- How is the new PHB different from the old one?
- When will the new PHB be released?
- How much is the new Player’s Handbook?
What is the New Player’s Handbook?
The new PHB is being released as part of the larger One D&D update, the code name for Wizards of the Coast’s ongoing playtest and retooling of the D&D fifth edition rules set. In this sense, the new 2024 Player’s Handbook will contain some major adjustments, but at its core will still retain the majority of existing D&D 5e rules.
In fact, Wizards of the Coast has indicated that the primary purpose for the new PHB is really to tweak a number of rules in order to make the game easier to learn, faster to play and generally more fun overall. The team has also said that much of the new content has been shaped by player feedback, particularly surveys which have been provided as part of the ongoing Unearthed Arcana playtest.
Notably, the new PHB will also be released as part of the Dungeons & Dragons 50th anniversary celebration, which will be occurring in 2024. During that time a new Dungeons Masters Guide and new Monster Manual will also be released, with the three books collectively referred to as the new “2024 Core Rules” by Wizards of the Coast.
Is the new Player’s Handbook still 5th edition?
Yes. The new 2024 Player’s Handbook will still use the D&D 5e core rule set. According to Wizards of the Coast, the new PHB will remain compatible with all previously published 5e materials. It will also not be a “5.5” edition (something which happened with the 3rd edition of D&D, which released a “3.5” version). That being said, there will be some changes to the 5e rules, including updates to classes, races, spells and combat, all of which are being developed under the current One D&D playtest.
Notably, players and Wizards of the Coast seem to be divided on what to call this new revised version. Wizards of the Coast is referring to it simply as “Dungeons & Dragons 2024,” (preferring to drop any mention of edition entirely, along with the term “One D&D”), while players online have considered various terms, including “D&D 5.1”, “D&D 5.24” (to indicate the year) or simply continuing to refer to it solely as “D&D 5th edition.”
How is the 2024 Player’s Handbook different from the previous 5e version?
While the final rules for the new 5e PHB are still officially in development (with the book currently in the final proofing and review stages), Wizards of the Coast lead D&D designers Jeremy Crawford and Chris Perkins have given some information on what we can expect to see in the updated book. They’ve also indicated that anything removed from the 2014 PHB will still be officially playable in the new version.
At the 50 Years of D&D Adventures panel at PAX Unplugged in December 2023, Crawford note that “this Player’s Handbook will be the biggest Players Handbook that D&D has ever had. Not only is it the biggest in number of pages, it will have more subclasses than Players Handbooks have ever had, it has new spell, new feats new weapon rules.”
Crawford also noted that the book will be completely compatible with all existing DnD 5e materials and that the team is “carefully designing the material in this Players Handbook so that you can build a character with it and play through your copy of Curse of Strahd, play through your copy of The Shattered Obelisk, or any other adventure product you have for 5th edition. We’re also making it so that the character built with the revised [2024] Player’s Handbook can coexist at the table with the character built with the 2014 Player’s Handbook.”
In a more recent video shared on the official Dungeons & Dragons YouTube channel on April 25th, 2024, Crawford also noted that “There’s a lot of UX improvements that have been baked into these books. There’s been some reorganization of the book so things just aren’t in the same places that the used to be.”
Changes to Classes
The new PHB will include all 13 DnD 5e classes: Artificer, Barbarian, Bard, Cleric, Cruid, Fighter, Monk, Paladin, ranger, Rogue, Sorcerer, Warlock and Wizard. However, all of the classes will see marked changes in the way they function. Some of these changes will be dramatic, such as the new level progression and abilities featured in the Warlock class. Similarly, the Druid’s Wildshape ability will be receiving a dramatic overhaul. The new PHB will also include 144 origin options which provide additional abilities, feats and details to flesh out a character.
In a recent April 2024 interview, DnD designer Chris Crawford also said that the revised 2024 PHB will address a number of potential multiclass options, noting that: “We’ve also been identifying more unexpected multiclass combinations and making changes to prevent the undesirable combinations, but also protecting the combinations that are tons of fun.”
New Subclasses
According to Crawford and Perkins, the new PHB will feature 48 subclasses. Each main class will have access to four subclasses, with the exception of the Wizard and Cleric. Level progression and access to abilities within these new and existing subclasses will also be changed significantly.
At PAX Unplugged, D&D Game Architect Jeremy Crawford noted that “every class gets 4 subclasses in the revised Player’s Handbook.” In a more recent April 2024 discussion presented in a video on the official Dungeons & Dragons YouTube channel, Crawford also confirmed that changes to the existing core subclasses in the revised 2024 PHB.
In particular the Brawler Fighter subclass that was previously playtested in 2023 would not appear in the final book. Instead, it would be replaced by the Psi Warrior subclass. Crawford also confirmed that the book would include the Rogue Soulknife subclass (which originally appeared in the Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything sourcebook).
Weapons & Combat
The new PHB will also be making a fairly significant update to combat (which many fans have noted can often drag). One of the biggest changes is the introduction of a new Weapon Mastery feature while allows players to perform extra damage and additional feats such as Cleave (players can hit an additional foe within five feet) and Graze (players still deal some damage despite missing an attack). The idea is to speed things up and provide a more cinematic feel to combat.
Magic & Spell Progression
The new 2024 Player’s Handbook will also be approaching magic in a slightly different way. In particular, all spells (including cantrips) will now be broken down into three categories: Arcane, Divine and Primal. Arcane spells will be used by bards, sorcerers, warlocks, and wizards. Divine spells will be used by clerics and paladins. And finally, Primal spells are used by druids and rangers. The book will also be retooling spell progression for a number of classes. For example, Warlocks will now gain more spell slots as they progress than in the current version.
Changes to Races
One culturally significant change in the new PHB is how the rules approach the concept of race. First, the book will now refer to “races” as “species.” The book will also be doing away with “half” races (notably the half-orc and the half-elf). Racial modifiers will also become less important. Instead, players will choose a background which determines ability score bonuses and a first level feat. In this sense, the character’s stats will be influenced by their biological, cultural and socioeconomic roots, rather than simply race and class.
Incorporates other books
While the core rules of DnD 5e have remained intact since the 2014 PHB was published, there were a number of optional rules that have since been embraced by a large potion of the TTRPG community. These optional rules, which are found primarily in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything and Xanathar’s Guide to Everything, will be folded into the new Player’s Handbook. For example, the Artificer which was introduced as a optional class, will likely be included in the updated PHB.
New Art
According to the Wizards of the Coast design team, art will also play a major role in the new 2024 PHB. In addition to new covers, the book will include a range of high-quality artwork from a variety of artists.
During the PAX Unplugged “50 Years of D&D Adventures” panel in December 2023, Game Architect Chris Perkins noted that “what we’re doing in the [2024] Player’s Handbook is giving each Class a gorgeous full page illustration to kick off its section of the book, and in addition to that, each class will also for the first time for the Player’s Handbook feature art for every single subclass in the book.”
In a more recent YouTube video interview, Lead Designer Jeremy Crawford also noted that there “you’re going to see more equipment art than 2014 PH, more spell art all over. Everywhere you look in this book you’re going to see beautiful new art.”
In an April 2024 interview, Crawford also discussed how the art would be more closely related to the content noting “The species art being a great example where all of the illustrations of the species options available to players characters are done as these scenes involving multiple members in situations that you would probably find them in very commonly.”
Restructured
The current 2014 PHB clocks in at around 320 pages. It’s currently unknown, however, just how many pages the 2024 PHB will be, but Wizards of the Coast has hinted that it may be larger. They’ve also indicated that the layout of the book will be much different. In particular, character creation is being moved from the front of the book to the back of the book. Instead, the new PHB will start out with the game’s rules. The design team has indicated that this is to help new players learn the basics of the game first before rolling up their characters and fleshing out their DnD character sheets.
When will the new Player’s Handbook be released?
The new 2024 Player’s Handbook is slated for a release on September 17th, 2024. This is much later than some had anticipated, as an official social media post from Wizards of the Coast had been published in November 2023 that indicated that the book would be released in May 2024. That post was quickly taken down and the now official release date was released a few months later.
As with other current D&D 5e books, you will be able to pre-order it on D&D Beyond, which will allow you to receive a digital copy in advance on September 3rd, 2024. Wizards of the Coast has also noted that users who have purchased digital versions of the existing PHB on D&D Beyond will not automatically receive an updated version of the new book. Instead they will be required to purchase the new 2024 version separately.
How much in the new Player’s Handbook going for?
Wizards of the Coast also hasn’t released an official MSRP for the new PHB, but it will likely retail in the $40-50 price range (although notably, D&D books have recently increased in price). As with other DnD 5e books, there also will be both digital and print versions, all of which may vary in price (typically, Wizards of the Coast releases a discounted physical/digital bundle for pre-order on D&D Beyond, which will likely also be the case here).
It’s also likely that special editions will be released with variant covers, which are more expensive than their standard counterparts.
Final Thoughts
When Wizards of the Coast first announced plans to retool the D&D fifth edition core rules, fans were worried about the impact on the game and that an entire decades worth of materials would suddenly become unsupported. Fortunately, those fears seem to be unfounded.
The new PHB will not be the start of a D&D 6e, but rather a way to address some of the minor issues found in the current fifth edition rules set. It also appears that Wizards of the Coast is legitimately interested in addressing fan feedback and creating an enhanced version that genuinely improves the quality of the game. It remains to be seen, however, if the final product lives up to the promise.
We’ll be keeping a close eye on the updated PHB in the weeks ahead. Below is also a video from April 25th, 2024 which features a “Fireside Chat” with designers Jeremy Crawford and Chris Perkins discussing the 2024 revised Player’s Handbook.
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Ollie Delano is a Staff Writer who lives in Chicago, Illinois where he majored in Journalism at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. He’s been playing Dungeons & Dragons for over 10 years and currently plays in a weekly game group where he rolls way too many natural 1s and chugs way too much Mountain Dew. His favorite D&D campaign setting is Eberron and his favorite character to play was a Tiefling rogue named Draxiss who enjoys both literal and figurative backstabbing.
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