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7 Reasons to Use the 2024 Rules for Your Next D&D Campaign

The 2024 D&D 5e update isn’t for every party, but here’s a few reasons you might want to switch.

DnD Spellcaster

For many Dungeons & Dragons fans, the 5th edition ruleset is a familiar mainstay. After all, it’s been the primary ruleset for the TTRPG since 2014, giving players and their DMs a decade to learn the ins, outs, and nuances. With the release of the 2024 updated 5e rules, D&D groups have a decision to make for their next campaign. Should they invest in a shiny new set of books when the 2024 Monster Manual comes out, completing the set of core books for the 2024 Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition revision?

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For those still on the fence, here are a few reasons you might want to make the switch:

Updated Class & Subclass Options

Circle of the Sea Druid DnD 2024
The new Circle of the Sea druid subclass

As someone who loves to play a druid whenever I can, I was excited to see that my beloved class gets a few new subclass options in the revised 5th edition ruleset. Every class gets a rework in the 2024 Player’s Handbook to some extent and the druid update includes new options like the Circle of the Sea, which gives players another way to play.

Many classes get similar expansions to the ways players can customize them in the revised 5th edition rules, including new subclasses for the Bard and Barbarian. So, if your group has a few favored classes but is looking for new ways to play them without a ton of homebrew, the new Player’s Handbook might come in handy.

Backgrounds Become More Integral

DnD Backgrounds Artwork
The D&D Beyond Artwork showcasing backgrounds

Sticking with character creation, another key change from the 2014 to 2024 rules is how backgrounds work. In the previous 5th edition rules, backgrounds largely added flavor to how you roleplay, but didn’t necessarily have major mechanical impacts on the character. There are also new backgrounds to go along with the increased impact of this choice, which again encourages mixing it up when you create your next D&D character.

In the 2024 Player’s Handbook, backgrounds become a more central aspect of character creation. Background choice now adds an Origin Feat to your character, giving them different abilities based on the selected background. They can also now grant bonuses to ability scores, showing how your character’s former life impacts what they can do as an adventurer.

New Species Options for Character Creation

2024 DnD Species Artwork
Some of the new species in the 2024 D&D Rules

One final vote for character creation being more robust with revised 5th edition rules. The 2024 Player’s Handbook adds new species, which is the new word for “races”. While this is exciting for the player who loves experimenting with different character types, there is one major loss here: half-elves and similar hybrid species have been removed.

Though I’ll be busy mourning how much harder it’ll be to play another half-elf druid in my next campaign, there are some exciting species that now appear in the core rules. These include the Aasimar, Goliath, and Orc, which were previously not part of the core set of options in the 2014 Player’s Handbook.

More Spells, with Better Balance

Elf spellcaster dnd
Some spells are more epic, while others get a balance check

Similar to rebalancing classes with new options, spells get a rework in the revised 5th edition texts. This includes the addition of 12 entirely new spells, which can help make gameplay feel fresh as casters learn new options. Also, the spell lists for each class now appear right in the class section, rather than being a separate list at the back of the book. This is a huge help to reduce the time spent flipping pages.

For better or for worse, a few classic spells have also been rebalanced. This may well go more in the DM’s favor, as certain key spells have become less overpowered with the revised rules, including Counterspell.

New, More Challenging Boss Monsters

Dungeons and Dragons Owlbear
The Owlbear in Dungeons & Dragons

With the release of the 2024 Monster Manual, DMs will have access to an expanded array of challenging enemies for parties to take on. The addition of new Legendary Monsters and improved stat blocks to help ensure every threat is as challenging as intended could be a combat game-changer.

For the party hoping to make high-level play more interesting or the DM seeking to surprise players with new foes, the 2024 ruleset could come in handy.

A DM Guide with Greater Homebrew Potential

Create your own D&D adventures more easily

For Dungeon Masters, the 2024 rules feel a bit less “on the rails” than the 2014 ruleset. The revised DM guide and upcoming books for 2025 are all geared toward helping DMs string together adventures and encounters of their own making.

While this won’t be ideal for the DM who prefers to run a straightforward campaign based on an existing book, many DMs like to add homebrew flavor. The organization of information in the 2024 ruleset and upcoming additions will make this easier than it has been in the past.

Updates to Crafting Mechanics

Artificers have always been crafty in d&D

Speaking of more flexibility, the 2024 Dungeons & Dragons rules have updated how crafting works as well. While not every party uses crafting, it can be a fun mechanic wherein players can design their own unique items. It has historically been pretty tricky to figure out, left mostly up to DM discretion.

However, the 2024 rules expand on how crafting works, with every tool in the game having an explanation in the form of a “Utilize Action.” This expands the information on what each tool can and cannot do, making it easier for parties to get creative with crafting without making their own rules. Much of this new info is available in the 2024 Player’s Handbook, with magic item supplements in the 2024 DM Guide.