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Introduction to DnD 5.24
It’s been a good ten years since the last major edition of Wizards of the Coast’s Dungeons and Dragons tabletop games. The most recent major edition, 5th Edition (5e), was wildly successful and popular among players, even if some argued that it was not as satisfying or fun as 3.5. In 2024, Wizards released the first new Player’s Handbook (PHB), which details all the new details regarding the most recent version of the 5e ruleset. Theses rules aren’t a distinctly new ruleset like the difference between 3.5 and 4th Edition or 4th Edition and 5e. Instead, it makes more sense for players to think of this new edition of the PHB as an update of the original 5e while still aiming to retain the core elements of the original 5e ruleset. Let’s examine the differences between the core 5e PHB and the updated “5.24” ruleset that was released on D&D Beyond and Amazon last year.
The New Character Sheet
One of the first things that 5e diehards will notice when opening up the 2024 PHB is that the book’s format has been edited to be more beginner-friendly. The book offers a more straightforward approach, including advice specifically for new players who might need it. Additionally, the handbook has redesigned the classic character sheet with new labels that make it easier to understand with less knowledge. The new character sheet has each section clearly labelled to provide clear direction for new players who may not know where to organize their character data without a severe mental burden when they’re still learning the game’s rules.
Class Updates
The new PHB includes all 12 5e main classes, making that aspect of the PHB analogous to it’s 5e version. However, there are some notable changes to the main classes to improve the quality of life for players.
- Barbarian: Rage has been updated to make it more flexible to use and easier to recover. It can also be used out of combat for different tasks that could benefit from it.
- Bard: Bardic Inspiration has been updated to make it easier to understand, use, and recover, adding flexibility to its bonuses.
- Cleric: Class features New Divine Order and Channel Divinity have been added to the class in the same vein as its abilities to turn and destroy undead creatures.
- Druid: Wild Shape has received a large overhaul. Spellcasting abilities and other combat features for this class have also been improved.
- Fighter: The new PHB includes the new Weapon Mastery system for the Fighter class as well as altering the Fighting Styles ruleset. Finally, the new PHB adds a number of unique combat features for the class.
- Monk: Ki Points have been renamed to Focus Points. The weapon list for the class has been changed. Stunning Strike is not as powerful in 5.24 as it was in 5e.
- Ranger: Ranger has received major changes including new magic options and a renewed focus on the Hunter’s Mark spell for the class.
- Sorcerer: The new PHB adds an “innate Sorcery” feature. Meta Magic received a significant change to improve quality of life.
- Warlock: Spells are easier to recover to improve the spellcasting flexibility for the class. Eldritch Invocations have been changed.
- Wizard: There have been changes to the way prepared spells work for the class as well as rules for creating, using, and replacing spellbooks.
Changes to the Backgrounds System
Another big change made in the 5.24 ruleset is to the background system, which is used to inform your character’s ability pools. In the previous edition, backgrounds were primarily a tool for accessing feats, skills, and tool proficiency. It also determined what your starting equipment pool. However, in 5.24, the background feature has received some changes to make the system more important to your overall character sheet rather than an afterthought feature for starting gear and tools.
A player’s background choice now determines their ability score modifiers, which was previously handled in the Race system. The new ability score modifier system is also more flexible the previous system, which updated your ability scores with a static value. The new Backgrounds system gives the player three ability points to split as they desire between a pool of stats. For instance, the Sage background allows the player to increase their Constitution, Wisdom, or Intelligence stats by up to three and no more than three points total. The core ruleset allows for a choice from 16 classes, some of which are carried over from the original 5e rulebook, while others are brand new for the 5.24 ruleset.
Subclass Changes
Players will be impressed by the new PHB’s array of subclasses to choose from. The new rulebook includes 48 classes, at least four for each of the main classes. The rules regarding subclasses have been streamlined as well. Players now choose their subclass at level 3. In the previous edition, subclasses could sometimes be chosen at level 1 for certain classes, such as 5e Warlock.
Additionally, three subclasses have been moved from the Unearthed Arcana playtest environment to the core rules: The Druids now have the option to choose Circle of the Sea, Bards can now choose the College of Dance, and Barbarians now have the option of the Path of the World Tree.
New Combat Rules
As mentioned above, one of the major changes to the combat system in Dungeons & Dragons 5.24 is the Weapon Mastery feature, which gives a “Mastery Property” to weapons that give martial classes additional options for using the weapon in combat. There are eight additional mastery properties that can be invoked in combat, and they are as follows:
- Graze: If you miss a hit with your weapon, you can deal damage equal to your ability modifier you used to make the roll (as opposed to full damage).
- Nick: You can make an additional attack if your first attack was with dual-wielded Light weapons.
- Push: You can move a creature you hit (up to Large size only) 10 feet away from you in any direction where there is an open space.
- Slow: When you land a hit that deals damage, you can reduce the target creature’s speed by 10 feet until the start of your next turn.
- Topple: When you land a hit on a creature, you can force it to make a Constitution saving throw to avoid being knocked Prone. The DC for the save is 8 plus the player’s ability modifier for the attack plus the player’s proficiency bonus.
- Vex: When you land a hit and deal damage, you gain Advantage on your next attack roll before the end of your next turn.
Changes to Feats
One change that could be contentious with players is that feats are no longer and optional system to engage with. Players now receive feats from several sources. There are now four types of feats that players will receive at various intervals:
- Origin Feats: These feats are granted through the Background system
- General Feats: These feats can be taken from level 4 up.
- Fighting Style Feats: These feats are specific to martial classes that have a Fighting Style trait
- Epic Boons: These feats are chosen at level 19.
Feats in D&D 2024 now also provide unique powers and an ability score improvement. One change, though, is that once players have chosen their ability score increases from their feat, they are locked into it and cannot change it as they could have in previous editions.
Changes to the Race System
The Dungeons & Dragons new PHB includes several changes to the classical race system that are aimed at improving equity and removing problematic terminology. For starters, the race system is now supplanted by the Species system. The Species system makes a number of changes to the original race system it was based on, including doing away with “half-“ races, namely Half-Orc and Half-Elf. Racial modifiers are no longer a part of the game, supplanted by ability modifiers gained from the Background system. This helps remove the slightly problematic implication that abilities are gained from one’s innate racial features and moves the system to being based on your character’s background information. In other words, instead of being innate features, they are now based on your character’s “training” within their backstory. The book also includes three new base species, Aasimar, Orcs, and Goliaths, which were previously introduced to 5e through the Mordekainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse expansion book. All starting species have been given updates to their features, such as increased Darvision range, to give each species a more unique identity.
Codified Crafting Rules
Tools now have a unique action known as “Utilize Action” which tells players how they can use the tools to craft weapons, items, and other non-combat actions. Tools can be combined with other actions, such as Investigate, to perform specialized actions, such as tracking footprints. Tools are also tied to your ability bonuses, allowing players to use their Proficiency Bonus when using actions. Players will also roll with Advantage if they have proficiency with both the tools and the skill action they’re making.
Magic Progression and Rule Changes
The new data on the game’s magic system and rules is now one of the core rule sections. While it always represented one of the largest sections in the PHB, the new section on magic in the 2024 P HB is over 100 pages long, including descriptions of base game spells and the rules of using them. Many of the spells are one-to-one analogous with their original 2014 versions from 5e. However, there are some changes, such as nerfs to Counterspell to make it less influential.
Some classes, such as Warlock, received changes to their overall progression speed. Warlocks now gain more invocations at lower levels, improving their flexibility and power compared to other spellcasters. There are also 12 new spells in the 2024 PHB.
Minor Rule Changes
There are also a number of small rule changes and modifications that improve the streamlining of the ruleset and ease of understanding. Heroic Inspiration is now an option that makes the Inspiration system more flexible and usable. Additional, Exhaustion and Surprise have been retooled to make them less complicated. Additionally, many popular house rules, such as moving drinking a potion to being a bonus action, have been codified in the official rulebook.