Dungeons & Dragons: Everything You Need to Know About 2024 Core Rulebooks Changes

Dungeons & Dragons is making a ton of changes to its 5th Edition ruleset, and we’ve created this handy guide to help players keep track of the biggest updates. Starting in September, Wizards of the Coast will release new versions of the Dungeons & Dragons Core Rulebooks, each of which contain extensive revisions to D&D’s many rules and subsystems. The D&D design team stresses that they aren’t changing editions with the new books and that many aspects of the game will remain the same. However, all 12 Player’s Handbook classes are receiving major updates, as are many spells, magic items, conditions, and even basic rules. 

The new rulebooks are being released to help celebrate Dungeons & Dragons’ 50th anniversary, with the new Player’s Handbook coming out on September 17th, the new Dungeon Master’s Guide coming out in November and the new Monster Manual coming out in February 2025. All three books feature improvements to the game, based on a decade of feedback and data about Dungeons & Dragons’ 5th Edition.

To help players and fans keep track of all the changes, we’ve created a hub that details everything you need to know about the 2024 Core Rulebook changes and handy links to ComicBook’s extensive coverage. This hub will be updated regularly as we learn more about the new games. 

New Book Covers

• Player Handbook Cover
• Player’s Handbook Alternate Art Cover
• Dungeon Master’s Guide Cover
• Dungeon Master’s Guide Alternate Art Cover
• Monster Manual Cover
• Monster Manual Alternate Art Cover

New Class Rules

• All 48 Subclasses in Player’s Handbook
• All Classes get Subclasses at 3rd Level
• All Spellcasters Use Prepared Spells
• The Fighter Class
• The Paladin Class
• The Barbarian Class
  
• The Rogue Class
• The Warlock Class
• The Druid Class
• The Wizard Class
• The Ranger Class
• The Monk Class
• The Sorcerer Class
• The Cleric Class

Rules Updates

• Heroic Inspiration
• Epic Boons
• Divine Smite
• Surprised Condition
• Drinking Potions
• Wild Shape
• New Crafting System

Monster Updates

• New Tiamat Design
• New Gold Dragon Design
• New Venger Design
• New Green and Brass Dragon
• New Black Dragon

Backwards Compatibility

• How Backwards Compatibility Works With 2014 Rules
• Using Old Subclasses With 2024 Rules

Other Changes

• New Character Sheets
• Greyhawk Appears in 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide
• Veteran Players Should Start Campaigns at 3rd Level
  
• Hydro74 No Longer Doing Alternate Art Covers