With the release of the 2024 Player ’s Handbook forDungeons and Dragons , change to long - remain firm 5th Edition rules have altered how the game is played . However , D&Dhas always worked substantially when your table follows which predominate everyone prefers . Even with the good adjustment to pre - existing 5e rule , there are still plenty of obscure mechanisms that are better to ignore to reduce the game ’s tedious constituent .

Ultimately , the ruling you follow and ignore are whole up to a quislingism between instrumentalist and the Dungeon Master . Alwaysmake sure to have a seance 0 before a campaign to discuss which rules are presentin your game to avoid confusion . For object lesson , if everyone still likes agood rule from base 5e , you could agree to keep it over whatever it was changed into for the 2024 rules .

10Encumbrance Remains Tedious And Un-Fun

Players Don’t Need To Worry About The Weight Of Items

According to the 2024 ruleset , every token in the game has a set weight value , with character only be able to bear a sure amount of objective at a time . Normally , characters are suppose to have a bear Capacitythat limits the number of point they can have . This Carrying Capacity is influence by a character ’s Strength stat multiplied by pound square up by their size .

Dungeons & Dragons will discharge a new System Reference Document on April 22 , providing guideline for making compatible material for the secret plan .

This convention has always been contentious , as it prevent thespian from carry every snatch of loot they come across from different battle . This arrangement is windy to trackand punishes your fibre at times , give you 5 ft less of movement while you are"encumbered"above your Carrying Capacity . Through this pattern , player and decimeter are discourage from interacting with items , making them less fun to collect , sell , or foray at all .

A Copper Dragon flying close to a ship

9New Spell Action Limitations Don’t Have To Exist

Mages Need Restrictions, But Maybe Not So Many

One of the newest rules to derive out of the2024 Player ’s Handbook forD&Dis thatspellcasting fibre can only cast one leveled spell each act . This means that anyone with entree to spell slots may only expend one spell slot per turn , disregarding of activity saving . No longer can part cast a magic spell that takes an Action and another spell using a Bonus Action on the same round .

The spell action rule changes in 2024 also include spells that activate on Reactions , such as Shield or Counterspell . For example , if you drop a leveled magical spell on your spell and it gets Counterspelled , you ca n’t practice your Reaction to cast Counterspell in response , as you already cast a spell that used up a spell slot .

This get it voiceless for mages to see their full potential at time , as you’re able to only cast a leveled patch and a cantrip at good on your go . This could mean a Bonus Action tour that take on up a slot in addition to an natural process cantrip , but these limits to creativity might alienate some players . This convention could work well to enforce restrictions on powerful spellcasters , but it could also easily be push aside by those who prefer stronger wizardly users .

D&D Armorer Artificer holding up a blue vial.

8Cover Rules Still Depend On How Your Game Structures Encounters

Not Every Game Has Detailed Environments

conflict map are at the core of combat inD&Dfor some campaign , but not all of them . When you have a detailed surround for your party to fight in , they mayuse compensate to gather bonus to their AC and Dexterity lay aside throwsbased on the 2024 regulation . These have been distinctly delineate in the new Player ’s Handbook , as react to being somewhat shadowy in previous iterations .

However , even with cover rule being complicate , your game may not use map with intricate contingent that let in cover . You also might desire toignore using players and enemies as cover or obstacle , as this give fight almost too chaotic . Having to vex about enemy and instrumentalist character positions using each other for small bonuses could easily overwhelm any DM trying to keep other part of scrap together .

7New Hiding Rules Don’t Need to Eliminate Stealth

Adding Extra Steps To Stealth Can Be Tiresome

Stealth is a huge part of gameplay for some characters , especially scallywag or anyone with high enough sleight . With the superfluity of fresh and dangerousmonsters in the 2024 Monster Manual , hiding is more of a viable alternative than ever when your political party gets into a fleck . However , the2024 rule have some perplexing mechanics involving Stealth , with some systems carrying over from the 2014 Player ’s Handbook .

Rogue characters profit the most from fewer stealth rule , as less restrictions around concealing give up them to actuate Sneak Attack and other useful power more often .

enshroud during combat can give player a crucial vantage on attacks against creatures who ’ve lost their character . Normally , foeman have to roll Perception against a Stealth check , but this can be tricky when spells , attacks , and drift are also demand . One of the right way toignore the unnecessary complexness of stealth rulesis to cohere to that single check rather than worrying about all the other factors for hiding with their own elaborated dominion sets .

A skeleton in full armor is slumped against a wall with fungus and plant life growing from the corpse.

6Waiting To Attune To Magic Items Can Be Overlooked

Let Players Start Using Artifacts Right Away

One commonD&Drule that returns in the 2024 rulebook is howplayers can only be attune to three magic items summate . This is a helpful way of making sure histrion characters do n’t become demigods through charming items alone , so it is a dainty rule that continue to be effective . What has transfer in 2024 , though , is how your character actually attunes to sorcerous items they occur across .

These ten magic items have returned in the 2024 DMG , with important change that will involve how they are used .

character can now attune to sorcerous particular during a unretentive rest instead of a long rest , seduce it somewhat easy to start using artifacts they find . However , this is still a rule that may be easier to discount , as the eagerness to apply a magic point can quickly be deflated by the fourth dimension control it takes to pair with it first . Some DMs may just have their players attune to amagic item inD&Dthe second they pick it up , specially if its blaspheme .

Characters from Dnd

Custom image by Katarina Cimbaljevic

5Exhaustion Doesn’t Always Have To Be A Consequence Of Traveling

Players May Want To Explore Freely

Travel has optional rules inD&D5th version that come back in 2024 , offering restrictions on extensive geographic expedition for sure run . Some rules advocate give players levels of Exhaustion for move too long without rest , have adventures naturalistic minute of strain . That being said , Exhaustion as a whole has been largely move out from other features in the game , calling into question how utile of a auto-mechanic it unfeignedly is .

Not all campaigns might be suit for foresightful journey , so itwouldn’t make sense to punish players with Exhaustion for basic exploration . merely giving players more chances to brusk or Long Rest may take away tensity , but it could be good than punishing the desire to pursue plot of land level . If your party desires to go through multiple encounter without resting , their resource will already be low enough without adding more rule to slow them down .

4Components Are Optional Tools For Spellcasters

Let An Arcane Focus Do Most Of The Work

2024 ’s new normal to spellcastingand deception has not change the three factors that makes great works of arcana office . When you calculate at a enchantment in the 2024 linguistic rule , it still includes three major constituent , including :

Technically , spells require Verbal , Somatic , and Material componentsmost of the time , with some notable exceptions . While not every spell requires each type of component , the details some spells do have qualify their use in the same mode concentration or length would . Verbal and Somatic ingredient are easy enough for characters to implement into their spellcasting , but Material components is where the rules get tricky .

If you want to use Component rules to restrict spellcasters in yourD&Dgame , have enemy bed about how components exercise . This will allow them to tie down the hands or address the mouth of your company ’s spellcasters , preventing them from using making with Verbal or Somatic component and encouraging some originative workplace around .

Dungeons and Dragons party of characters gathering around for a feast

The principal rules around component spellcasting is howsome spells have very strange Material components that are hard for players to come acrossduring a campaign . Although some Material component restrictions are ripe , such as want diamond to cast Revivify , the extra steps to throw off magic can finger cumbersome . The easiest way to cut this regulation come from a spellcaster ’s arcane focusing , which dispatch the pauperism for most Material component part .

3Rules Surrounding Light Sometimes Reduce Creativity

Yes, We Know Your Character Has Darkvision

wickedness is something that can create an atmospherein anyD&Dcampaign , but many fiber have ways around it . Even in the 2024 rules , there are plenty of backgrounds and class feature that give case Darkvision , allowing them to see through whatever darkness is present . This feature is so common that it almost make dark expanse otiose depending on the mise en scene .

Although this does n’t use as much to sorcerous darkness from spell or traps , you ’ll hardly give care about tracking luminance . Even other clean system , such as Sunlight Sensitivity on unlike character metal money , are more of an afterthought at fourth dimension . Thedisadvantages from Darkness can be useful if your DM builds an encounter around it , but for the most part , enough reference bypass those rulesto make them redundant .

2Fall Damage Doesn’t Have To Be Capped

Let Enemies And Players Meet Their Doom From A Cliff’s Edge

Rules for fall damage have leave players ways of damaging enemies and DMs the means to penalize player for taking risky leaps of faith during different scenario . Normally , the rule for 2024 state thatfall damage is 1d6 bludgeoning damage for every 10 ft , with a cap of 20d6 . This roof is to forestall ogre in the biz from being one - guesswork when players simply advertise them off a ledge .

Thenew 2024 Monster Manualgives creatures far more ability , including flight of stairs or magic used to prevent them from dying immediately due to lessen harm .

take in a harm jacket crown for fall wrong almost seems to defeat the purpose of a great fall in any circumstance , peculiarly when Barbarians can but rage through most of the bludgeoning equipment casualty . agitate a villain off a cliff or let a player ’s larger-than-life fall for a dramatic end may experience considerably more rewarding . neglect this rule could lead to more cinematic present moment of victory or despair , similar to how some fight can end inBaldur ’s Gate 3 .

A spell casting Cleric in Dungeons and Dragons

1Player Death Rules Can Be Obscure And Punishing

Give Characters More Chances To Keep Their Stories Alive

Player quality death has strict principle that have n’t changed much in the 2024 Player ’s Handbook . Similar to 2014 , when your fiber live on down , you have to make Death Saving throw to recoup , with three failures leading to immediate last . In addition , there are many additional rule that apply to a downed character , let in :

The first two Death rules are fairly straightforward , with the 2d creating dozens of tension if a DM settle to have goliath go after downed players . The third and quaternary rules are far more obscure , almost creating too much stress for players to conceive . Having to give a tick to revive a downed ally could be frustrative , as thespian have to trust on prospect when devoting their Action during fighting to help oneself someone else .

dying saves in D&D leave histrion sitting on the sidelines while the fate of their lineament is left to chance ; fortunately , there are some other alternative .

A rogue soulknife and a rogue phantom are seen side by side from Dungeons and Dragons

The Max Damage instant death rule and the Medicine baulk rule can easily be dismiss to let your players have more fortune to live . While this does shrink the overall tensity , it does not take away the horrific situation that the player may be in already . While many rule in the 2024 ruleset inDungeons and Dragonsare useful changes to outdated mechanism , some like these Death system may be good when left alone during your biz .

A standard caster elf in Dungeons and dragons

Scions of Elemental Evil premade characters Diana Eric and Presto based on Dungeons and Dragons Cartoon

Drow race from dungeons & dragons

Dungeons and Dragons Ancient Green Dragon from D&D Monster Manual 2025

Dungeons and Dragons Game Poster

Gaming

Dungeons and Dragons