D&D’s New Player’s Handbook Hits September 2024 – Full Release Schedule
The release dates have been released—D&D 2024 is actually going to have to be called ‘D&D 2024-2025. Here’s what we know!
WotC released their full lineup for the coming year (and February 2025), not showing off anything new, per se, but giving a specific timeline for the release of the new editions of the Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide, and Monster Manual, along with release dates for the other books on the slate for this year.
September will be the hotly anticipated month, with the new Player’s Handbook hitting September 17th, followed two months later by the new Dungeon Master’s Guide and then three months later with the Monster Manual. So you’ll have to wait for the complete new edition rulebooks, but before then, two big adventures await. Let’s take a look.
D&D’s 2024 – 2025 Release Schedule
The 50th Anniversary release spectacular starts off with Vecna: Eve of Ruin, which is a coward’s way of titling what has become a D&D tradition; Vecna, the archlich himself, cooks up some scheme to “remake reality” aka change the rules, and it’s up to the players to stop it. Previously, we have Vecna Lives! and Vecna Must Die! but Vecna: Eve of Ruin?
I mean, come on. You can’t even put an exclamation point on that. If the book turns out to be a disaster, it is one hundred percent on this title. And, also the fact that someone, somewhere in WotC doesn’t seem to be able to unleash their designers enough to write challenging high-level content. Because you’d think they’d know—and they likely do.
At any rate, Vecna: Boring Title is out May 21st, and features every non-MTG campaign setting that WotC has published for 5E, plus Greyhawk.
Then in June, something for D&D history nerds and the folks who were around at the beginning: The Making of Original Dungeons & Dragons: 1970-1977. And even that clunky title is better than Vecna: Eve of Ruin. This book is a deep dive into the history of the game, with D&D historian Jon Peterson of Playing at the World and many other places. Of particular interest? A “never-before-seen first draft of D&D” from 1973.
In July, WotC has another adventure anthology that updates classic adventures of D&D past to 5th Editions rules. Presumably it’ll be more 5.5E than 5E, since the new Player’s Handbook drops two months later.
On September 17th, we get to find out just how much of a new edition the “living edition” of D&D is. While it is a new book that overhauls and changes the core rules of the game in meaningful ways, they’re not giving this new edition a number, just like how they went back to Mortal Kombat (no number) a while back.
In November, the Dungeon Master’s Guide for the not-new edition drops, followed in February 2025 by the new Monster Manual.
And all of this is just a part of the ongoing celebration at D&D throughout the year. At some point there will be D&D Pop-Tarts, Converse shoes, and of course, a LEGO set. None of these is a joke.
All this coming later this year!
