The new D&D Player's Handbook is a treasure, and we may never see one like it again.

The journey to create the 2024 version of Dungeons & Dragons Player's Manual It’s been a long and almost comically bumpy process. Where to start? Should we begin with the OGL debacle, an attempt to oust the franchise’s top outside creators that would have damaged them beyond repair? Should we focus on the devastating layoffs that occurred a year later, just before Christmas, which torpedoed morale and reduced staffing during the final push toward publication? Or should we focus on the ill-conceived attempt to rename Fifth Edition “One D&D,” a gaffe that still hangs in the air like a troll’s fart?

However, despite everything, the Player's Manual (2024), which is now available in major retailers, is an exceptional document, dense and rich with precisely the kind of materials the community has been clamoring for. The team at Wizards of the Coast deserves praise for creating something so extraordinary under such immense and absurd pressure. This new 384-page tome is a treasure, and like a cunning rogue, fans should quickly grab it and run.

Let's start with the key points: Within the PhD (2024) will find 10 species, 12 classes and 48 subclasses. Compared to the PhD (2014), with nine species and far fewer subclasses, is a massive improvement. Every character option feels more capable, more distinct than its predecessor. And in some cases, like the previously mid-level Druid and Ranger, they’ve been radically reinvented. These and other fundamental changes came after lead designer Jeremy Crawford and the team at Wizards sought out direct interaction with their massive community, using data collected from hundreds of thousands of anecdotal bits of playtest feedback they’ve eagerly mined from the earth for the better part of a decade. Now, that trove of valuable data is out in the open—and it’s players who will finally reap the rewards.

But it's the overall look and feel of the… PhD that has received the most attention. Lead graphic designer Matt Cole and art director Emi Tanji should be given medals, because the very shape of the brand suddenly feels bright, modern and new.

From the structure and layout of the page itself, to the new design of the monster stat blocks, to the way the character art shows heroes seeming to leap out of their frames and practically fall into the reader's lap, the whole package is more lively and engaging than ever. It's also packed with more in-jokes and visual Easter eggs than any other Wizards product in recent memory, save perhaps Magic: The GatheringThe novelty of United Nations-sets. Whether you're a fan of the Saturday morning cartoons of the 1980s or you first discovered the seminal TTRPG through excellent anthologies like Travels through the Radiant Citadelor you came back to the franchise for the books set in the retro style like Van Richten's Guide to RavenloftThere is something that should delight everyone inside. It is really the first version of the PhD where everyone is invited to participate, even those who enjoy elegant tacos accompanied by rustic turkey legs.

This openness extends to the PhDThe most important feature of 's, which is the smooth incorporation of new players.

In it PhD (2014), new players were greeted by a section of the book called “Building Bruenor,” where they first learned how to create a character. While that section was fairly comprehensive, it was by no means designed for first-time players. In fact, it actually preceded the part of the book that taught you how to play the game.

He PhD (2024), on the other hand, is much more user-friendly. For one, it comes after a lengthy discussion of how the game is played. It also expands the character creation section from just five pages to eight, with detailed explanations throughout the entire book. The game’s unique vocabulary, with important concepts like ability scores, ability score modifiers, saving throws, and passive perception, is clearly mentioned and carefully cross-referenced by an actual rules glossary at the back of the book. Finally, here is a document, solid and readable at the same time, that you can confidently hand over to a new player to find their own way.

However, even when the physical embodiment of the Player's Manual has been refined to the extreme, Wizards of the Coast's digital implementation lags far behind. PhD (2024) is colorful, thoughtful, and clean, the comparable experience in the D&D Beyond digital toolset feels a lot like it did just a few years ago. For new players coming to D&D for the first time, D&D Beyond is such a messy, complex experience, so full of obstacles and interruptions, that I think it’s best to skip it entirely, at least at first. Unless you know exactly what you’re doing, I wouldn’t touch it with a 10-foot pole.

This very late digital update is particularly baffling, especially since the red flags clearly indicate that Hasbro management sees opportunity in D&D’s digital future. Ever since Hasbro acquired D&D Beyond in 2022, the toy and games giant has been funneling new and old players into that digital storefront in droves, making it the de facto landing page for the entire franchise. They’ve done the hard work of forcing everyone to log in there, then started handing out the add-ons and freebies over months and years. They’ve also implemented a byzantine digital-first release schedule, complete with all the early access windows and digital goodies that video game fans have come to fear over the past two decades.

This is the part you need to run away from.

I feel old and tired trying to explain this, but by purchasing the $29.99 digital version Player's Manual (2024) means buying a license to use that material online. Nothing about that transaction means that Hasbro, or its Wizards of the Coast imprint, owes you anything in perpetuity. Twenty years from now, I'm not sure if this license will have any real value. Just as they tried with the OGL, they could take it away from you tomorrow, or simply stop working on it, allowing D&D Beyond to fall apart.

Buy this book instead. Hold it in your hands. Leave it open to your favorite page for a day, a week, a month, or a year. Drop it on the floor. Douse it with soda, wine, or blood. Write in the margins and make it your own, because there is not a single treasure trove of information in a digital world that you can hope to own forever. But books… books will never be taken from us. Once they are in the world, all we have to do is hold on to them. So take advantage of this. Player's Manual (2024) as their own, a gift from the dozens of souls from the Pacific Northwest and around the world who helped bring it to life over the past 10, 20, 50 years and more.

Hide it underground if you have to, because we may never see anything like it again.

Dungeons & Dragons Player's Handbook (2024) It is available at local and online game stores.. The book was reviewed using retail products provided by Wizards of the Coast. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions on products purchased through affiliate links. Additional information about Polygon's ethics policy can be found here.