Both the Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide for D&D 5th edition's 2024 update are now available, and backwards-compatible with the rules published all the way back in 2014. (Back when the world was young and I was first running Lost Mine of Phandelver.) To help players make the change, Wizards of the Coast has published a guide to updating your campaign to the new rules.
Some previous rules changes have been accompanied by multiverse-shaking adventures to explain things like magic working in a totally differently way, like the Die Vecna Die! module that accompanied the shift from AD&D 2nd edition to D&D 3.0. This is a much less seismic shift. Instead, we get some common sense advice on making changes piecemeal rather than all at once, and a set of bullet points on rule changes of note.
A couple of those address whole new systems for crafting and weapon mastery, but others provide an invaluable list of things you might not even have noticed were different. For instance: the stunned condition no longer drops your speed to zero, presumably to differentiate it from the extremely similar paralyzed condition. Being stunned still breaks concentration, takes away your action, gives attacks against you advantage, and makes you auto-fail Strength and Dexterity saves, but you can still take your normal move. Now it's more like when you get hit in the head so hard your world is rocked and you stumble around in a daze, which is a useful distinction, and since you lose your action it's not like you can dash away.
- Now D&D's 2024 rules revamp is almost finished, I've been visited by the ghosts of TTRPG past, present, and future to help me predict the next 5-10 years
- D&D's revised Monster Manual is tackling one of the game's biggest hangups—and adding a new menu of BBEGs: 'We wanted the Tarrasque to have some fighting buddies'
Grappling and shoving are now initiated with an unarmed strike, where before they required an Athletics check. By my reading that's a notable change because it means you can trigger them on an attack of opportunity, where before that was impossible by rules-as-written. Someone tries to run away from you, now you've got a chance to grab 'em not stab 'em.
Healing magic is more potent, with spells that give you back hit points now doubling the number of dice rolled. Cure wounds is now 2d8 per level, and spells like Aura of Vitality and Prayer of Healing have been boosted as well. Everyone thank your cleric.
Heroic Inspiration can be used to reroll any die. Back when it was just called Inspiration, this mechanic gave advantage on an attack roll, saving throw, or ability check, but now you can use it on anything—including a damage die—after the fact. Though it's not mentioned in the guide, another difference with Heroic Inspiration is that if you earn it while you've already got it, instead of it going to waste you can now pass it on to another player. Which is nice.
And finally, drinking a potion costs a bonus action. Previously it took a whole dang action, which was so prohibitive it was house-ruled away by me and most of the other DMs I know (including Larian), so it's cool to have that made official.
Obviously the rulebook police aren't going to show up at your door if you don't update to the latest rules, but it's handy to have some official guidance on the changes if you want to keep up. Common sense should always be the final judge in your home game, especially when it comes to changes that affect a player's build. As WotC says: "It's perfectly fine for a player to wait until the current campaign wraps up or their character's story comes to a natural conclusion before switching to a character built with the 2024 rules, so long as that's alright with the group."
