Wizards of the Coast has said that its upcoming Dungeons & Dragons rules revisions will be in line with 5th Edition, not a replacement for it, and is calling the revised core rulebooks the “2024” editions. If you’re a veteran of the edition wars, they seem more like the 4th Edition “Essentials” line than a complete replacement of 3rd Edition by 3.5.
Latest update on D&D Beyond includes 10 species that players will be able to choose from in the 2024 Player’s Handbook. While most are familiar, there are a few options that weren’t in the 2014 rulebook. Aasimar and goliaths are now core choices, and half-orcs have been replaced by regular orcs.
Aasimar are celestial mortals, and while they’ve never been as popular as their tiefling counterparts—mortals of fiendish descent—it makes sense to have both in the same book. And the upgrade from half-orc to orc fits in with the removal of half-elves as a mechanically distinct choice. During playtesting, players who wanted to play mixed-race characters were advised to “determine which of these Race options provides the traits of your game: Size, Speed, and special traits. Then you can mix and match the visual traits—color, ear shape, and so on—of both options.” Of course, this may change in the final release.
Goliaths, who are related to giants, can choose their ancestors. “For example,” the blog says, “a descendant of Fire Giants can add an extra d10 Fire damage to their attack roll. A goliath with Stone Giant ancestry can use Reaction when taking damage to roll a d12, add their Constitution modifier, and reduce the damage by that amount. Each of these features can be used a number of times equal to your Proficiency Bonus.”
The more familiar options have also been tweaked, with a focus on removing weaknesses. It’s always been a bit odd, and likely a holdover from edits with different design philosophies, that some species have glaring limitations while others don’t. The obscure elves’ sunlight sensitivity, which was certainly a pain when I played one, has simply disappeared, as it did for drow player characters in Baldur’s Gate 3. The reduced speeds of gnomes and halflings have also disappeared—both now have a speed of 30 feet per round, like most species.
There’s also been a shift towards utility, with rarely used options being replaced by more commonly used ones. Dwarf Stone Cunning, which only appeared when doing a history check “related to the origins of stonework”, now gives dwarves the ability to operate Sense Tremor while standing on stone surfaces, meaning they can detect hidden creatures and don’t have to worry about being blinded. Dragonborn’s breath weapon can be shaped instead of being a dangerously messy cone, and it doesn’t operate up your entire action if you have multiple attacks. Instead of being slightly better at stealth, Wood Elves now get the Druidcraft cantrip. And so on.
“When working on the fixes for each species in the 2024 Player’s Handbook,” the blog reads, “the decision was made to focus on what each species is like in terms of fantasy. Dwarves have been given improved Stonecunning and Darkvision to emphasize their legacy of hard work in the mines and mining kingdoms. Goliaths lean much more into their specific lineages to reflect being descendants of giants as we understand them in D&D. Dragonborn have been given the ability to access wings, because flight is absolutely one of the coolest things about dragons.”
Don’t worry, the wings aren’t constant. Dragonborn can only operate them to fly for 10 minutes, and they’re gained at level 5, when wizards gain access to the Fly spell. So it won’t break your game—or at least won’t break it any more than having a wizard in your party would.
As previously announced, the 2024 rules will not tie skill scores to species. Instead, they will be modified based on your chosen origin—a function of nurture, not nature. “This makes origin more important to character creation as part of your character’s story in which they hone their skills and abilities. The way the skill score adjustments work for 2024 origins is that each origin has three skill scores associated with it. You can choose to add +2 to one of those skill scores and +1 to another, or add +1 to all three. For example, the Farmer origin gives you your choice of Strength, Constitution, and Wisdom. The Wayfarer origin gives you Dexterity, Wisdom, and Charisma.”
Finally, good ancient humans function more like the more popular “human variant” rule, gaining a free skill and proficiency. “With an emphasis on human resourcefulness and versatility in their traits,” the blog explains, “the 2024 core rules represent humans as we see them in stories like The Lord of the Rings or The Witcher, and even science fiction tales like Star Trek, never content to stay in one place, always eager to learn, grow, and explore.”
The 2024 Player’s Handbook is scheduled for release on September 17, the 2024 Game Master’s Guide will release on November 12, and the 2024 Monster Manual will release on February 18. Yes, that’s actually happening in 2025.
