D&D 5.5E Debuts at Gen Con – If You’re Willing to Wait
Looking for reasons to go to Gen Con this year? Wizards of the Coast has 3,000 reasons for you – if you’re lucky.
Wizards of the Coast is back at Gen Con this year, and this time, they’re not just teasing the new “rules evolution” of D&D; they’ve got the book itself. The vaunted “2024 Player’s Handbook,” which updates the rules of the game and overhauls everything from your favorite class to your favorite spells, will be at Gen Con 2024. And 3,000 lucky attendees will get the opportunity to buy one there.
The rest of us poor souls who can’t or won’t attend will have to be content with pre-ordering or waiting until September 17th. But here’s what we know so far, courtesy of Wizards of the Coast.
WotC brings D&D 5.5E to Gen Con with 2024 Player’s Handbook
From WotC’s announcement:
Dungeons & Dragons today announced that the first 3,000 copies of the 2024 Player’s Handbook – fresh off the printer – will be on sale at Gen Con 2024 (August 1-4), ahead of the official release on September 17th.
Each copy will feature the 50th anniversary logo in gold foil, along with a commemorative “Gen Con 2024” bookplate – a feature only included in the copies availale at the convention.
If you’ve ever been to Gen Con, you know that more than 3,000 people go there, so much so that many more well-stocked things have sold out with less demand. If you’re thinking, “Well, how is this not just going to be an absolute cluster?” You’re not alone. And while WotC has provided some details, I’m not sure that it’s going to help.
Because you have to reserve a ticket to have “an opportunity to purchase,” which means not only queuing in line to get the actual book but dealing with Gen Con’s ticketing system as well. That’s two different systems you’ll have to interact with to get your book. And online ticketing systems are absolutely infamous for how “well” they “work.” Also worth noting, the very careful wording in the release, it’s not “reserve a ticket to get a book” it’s “reserve a ticket to reserve an opportunity to purchase”.
At 7:00 AM EDT on each sales day, tickets to reserve an opportunity to purchase will be released in the Gen Con event ticketing system as an event. The event will be listed as a free ticket and will bbe titled “D&D 2024 Player’s Handbook Early Release Sale.” A Gen Con attendee may claim one digital ticket for that day, subject to availability. The digital ticket serves as your access to purchase for that day only.
Once you have your golden ticket, you then have to wait in line and get in during the sales hours. Which are also limited:
- August 1: 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM EDT
- August 2/3/4: 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM EDT
That’s three hours per con day. But hey, maybe the line will go quickly. Maybe everything will run smoothly. So, if you’re looking to grab a ticket and a book, best of luck.
Happy Gen Con to those of you braving Indiana this year!
