Dungeons & Dragons: How Character Creation Has Changed in 2024 Player’s Handbook

Dungeons & Dragons: How Character Creation Has Changed in 2024 Player's Handbook

As a seasoned gamer with decades of tabletop role-playing under my belt, I must say that the upcoming changes to Dungeons & Dragons’ Player’s Handbook have piqued my interest like never before. The shift towards emphasizing backgrounds alongside classes and species is a breath of fresh air, offering a more nuanced approach to character creation.


In the upcoming changes for Dungeons & Dragons’ ruleset, equal importance will be given to characters’ backgrounds alongside their classes and species. This year, Wizards of the Coast plans to release a revised edition of the Player’s Handbook for D&D’s 5th Edition, featuring significant updates to the game’s mechanics. When using the 2024 Player’s Handbook, players will still select a class, species, and background for their characters; however, the characteristics related to backgrounds and species have been modified to offer greater freedom when designing your character’s origin story.

In the 2014 version of the Player’s Handbook and other initial rulebooks for the 5th edition, each race (later rebranded as species in the 2024 Player’s Handbook) came with two Ability Score Increases that boosted specific abilities. Consequently, fine-tuning a particular class build often involved selecting a particular race. Furthermore, many races were linked to distinct cultural landmarks; for instance, every dwarf was adept in the use of warhammers and axes, while all orcs possessed a “primal instinct” that granted them additional skill proficiencies.

In the 2024 Player’s Handbook update, Ability Score Increases will be linked to Character Backgrounds. Each Background offers a selection of three Ability Scores that can potentially receive an increase, allowing players to boost one eligible score by 2 and another by 1. Furthermore, species-related abilities that previously granted proficiencies with specific skills or gear have been replaced, as these benefits are now tied to Character Backgrounds instead.

In the 2024 version of the Player’s Handbook, each Background comes with a matching “Origin” skill that characters can claim for free when they choose their background. These Origin skills were originally featured in the 2014 Player’s Handbook, but some have been revised to incorporate recent rule adjustments found throughout the new book, such as the updated Alert skill.

As an avid game enthusiast, I’m thrilled to share that the 2024 Player’s Handbook offers flexibility for those who want to explore beyond the provided species and backgrounds. If you fancy delving into older species, feel free to bypass the ability score increases specified in their rules. For a fresh twist on backgrounds, just tweak two abilities by 2 points each, one by 1 point, and take an Origin feat of your preference if the background doesn’t have one attached already. Enjoy customizing your gaming experience!

On September 17th, the “Player’s Handbook” is set for release. For a closer look at updates to the Dungeons & Dragons rules, you might want to take a peek over here.

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2024-08-02 16:10