Dungeons & Dragons Explains New Crafting System

Dungeons & Dragons provided new details about a new crafting system coming to the game.

Dungeons & Dragons has a brand new crafting system meant to provide rules for players who want to actually utilize the tools they're given at the start of the game. Today, Wizards of the Coast released a preview of a new crafting system that will appear in the new Dungeons & Dragons Player's Handbook due out for release in September. The rules are part of a wider redesign of equipment rules that explains mechanically what each piece of adventuring equipment does to eliminate vagaries and impromptu DM decisions. 

In the video, D&D lead rules designer Jeremy Crawford explained that the crafting system works with the various kinds of tools that players either obtain as starting equipment or purchase from shops. Each set of tools has its own rules that can be activated with the Utilize action, in addition to the ability to craft specific kinds of adventuring gear. Players can use specific tools to craft specific items, including Potions of Healing. The 2024 Player's Handbook also explains how to craft spell scrolls, something that previously appeared in Xanathar's Guide to Everything. 

The new Player's Handbook will also contain several new pieces of gear, including a Map that provides actual mechanical benefits when used. No further details were provided, but assumably a player with a Map of an area will receive some kind of bonus when making a check during Exploration. 

From the sounds of the video, it appears that the new Dungeons & Dragons Player's Handbook is looking to provide players with actual items to spend their gold and also beef up their downtime and exploration rulesets. While Xanathar's Guide to Everything increased downtime options, it appears the new rulebook will incorporate those rules and make them a core part of the game. 

The 2024 Player's Handbook will be released on September 17th. You can check out all the changes coming to Dungeons & Dragons here.