Wizards of the Coast has stated that the upcoming revised rules for Dungeons & Dragons will not replace the 5th edition, but will be compatible with it, calling the revised core rulebook the “2024” edition. For those experienced in the edition wars, this would seem more like the “Essentials” line of 4th editions, rather than a complete replacement of the 3rd edition by 3.5.

The latest update to D&D Beyond covers the 10 races that players will be able to choose from in the 2024 Player's Handbook. Most are familiar, but there are a few choices that were not in the 2014 rulebook: the Aasimar and Goliaths are both core choices, and the half-orcs have been replaced by just orcs.

Aasimar are celestial blooded humans, and while they are not as popular as their counterparts, the Tieflings (demon blooded humans), it makes sense to have both in the same book. And the upgrade from half-orc to orc is consistent with the removal of half-elves as a mechanically distinct option. During the playtest, players who wanted to play mixed-blood characters were advised to “decide which of the race options would provide their game traits: size, speed, or special traits. The visual characteristics of the two options (color, ear shape, etc.) could then be mixed and matched. Of course, this may change in the final version.

Goliaths who are related to the giants can choose their ancestry. For example, “A descendant of a fire giant may add d10 fire damage to attack rolls. A Goliath with a stone giant ancestor can use Reaction to deal d12 when taking damage and add his Constitution modifier to reduce the damage by that amount. Each of these traits can be used an equal number of times as your proficiency bonus.”

The more familiar options have also been adjusted to focus on removing weaknesses. It is always odd to have restrictions that are prominent for one race and not for another, perhaps a holdover from editions with different design philosophies. Dark elves' sunlight sensitivity, which was certainly troublesome when I played, is simply gone, as was the case with the drow player character in Baldur's Gate 3. Gone, too, is the slowdown in gnome and halfling speed.

There is also a shift toward usefulness, with seldom-used options being replaced by options that are more likely to be used. Dwarven stonecunning, which only appeared when making History checks “related to the origin of stonework,” now gives dwarves the ability to use their tremor sense when standing on a stone surface. Dragonborn breath weapons are not dangerously indiscriminate cones and can change shape. Wood elves gain druidcraft cantrips instead of becoming a little better at hiding. Etc.

“In working on revisions to each race for the 2024 Player's Handbook, it was decided to focus on what each race's fantasy is,” the blog states. Dwarves were given enhanced stonecunning and dark visions to emphasize their legacy of labor in the mountain mines and kingdoms. Goliaths were given more weight to specific bloodlines to reflect their descent from giants as understood in D&D. Dragonborn are given the ability to utilize wings.

Don't worry, wings are not permanent. Dragonborn can only fly with their wings for 10 minutes, and you can get them at level 5. In other words, they won't break your game. At least, it won't break your game just because you have a wizard in your party.

As already announced, the 2024 rules do not tie ability scores to races. Instead, they will be modified based on the background chosen. This makes backgrounds more important in character creation as the part of a character's history where skills and abilities are honed. “The way the 2024 background ability score adjustment works is that each background has three ability scores tied to it. You can choose to be +2 in one of them, +1 in the other, or +1 in all three. For example, in the farmer's background, you can choose from Strength, Constitution, and Wisdom. In the Wayfarer's background, you gain Dexterity, Wisdom, and Charisma.”

Finally, the good old human works more like the more general “variant human” rule, gaining complimentary specialties and skill proficiency. the core rule for 2024 is that the human is like those in stories like “The Lord of the Rings” or “The Witcher” or in science fiction stories like “Star Trek” depict them.

The 2024 Player's Handbook will be released on September 17, the 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide on November 12, and the 2024 Monster Manual on February 18. Yes, it is actually the year 2025.