2024 Dungeons & Dragons Character Building is So Much Better

Some time ago, I wrote a seven-part series dissecting the Dungeons and Dragons Fifth Edition character sheet, from race and class to skills and saves. I'd long held the idea that this sheet was overly complicated for new players and wanted to make sure that the game could remain as accessible as possible.

In 2024, Wizards of the Coast re-released the core rule books of D&D with an overhaul for not just aesthetics, but mechanics and organization as well. I was excited for this, but still skeptical; would they actually make any useful changes? So, I picked up my copies and flipped directly to the sheet building section.

I was impressed. The 2024 D&D character sheet is so much simpler, cleaner, and easier to put together than the 2014 version and I'm so excited to break down the changes for you so you can start playing right away.

A simpler layout

The new character sheet is only two pages, with a more compact setup than the 2014 version. There are a few big changes that stand out to me:

• The character and player basic information is still at the top of the sheet, but I like that they've highlighted level and XP in their own bubble.
• AC now appears at the top of the sheet, between player info and hit point info.
• The hit point info section has been moved up on the page, to the right of the player info, and has been slightly reorganized to focus on current HP first.
• The skills and abilities sections have been combined, with the skills appearing under the ability score that determines their modifier.
• Initiative, speed, size, and passive perception now make up a cohesive section near the top of the sheet. This makes sense to me as they're stats you need to reference fairly often throughout the game - I like that you don't have to hunt for them anymore, though I do wish this section also included passive insight.
• The "attacks and spellcasting" section has been renamed "weapons and damage cantrips," and has moved up the sheet. I love that it now takes up far more of the page - I've always hated having to cram my information into the tiny middle box.
• "Features and traits" has been broken into three sections - "class features," "species traits," and "feats." I like the specificity and expanded writing space, especially for higher-level characters.
• The section for proficiencies now includes a specific space for armor training, which is super convenient for loot dispersion.
• All of the spellcasting information is now on page two, with a simplified spell list - I assume they want you to keep the PHB handy for referencing what spells do, which is fine - and the modifiers, DC, and attack bonus at the top of the sheet with the spellcasting ability.
• All of the story-based character information (backstory, alignment, flaws/bonds, appearance, and languages) has been moved to page two. I actually really like the fact that all of the individualized boxes across the first two pages of the 2014 edition have been condensed into larger, much more generic sections; I think it leaves a lot more room for customization.
• Equipment is now all in one smaller section. I can see this causing some problems, especially at higher levels when characters are likely to have more full inventories.

Overall, the reorganization of the sheet makes it much easier to find the information you need quickly, especially during combat. According to Wizards, the 2024 edition of the game was revamped with input from dungeon masters across the community. I can completely see that influence here; it really feels like the development team listened to what players actually needed to know and planned accordingly.

Character building in 2024 D&D

To test how the building mechanics have changed in the 2024 edition of the game, my friends and I decided to play a short one-shot game. I ran the game with five players, all of whom used the basic 2024 D&D character rules from the new PHB (in fact, four out of the five built their sheets on DnDBeyond).

One player created a Berserker Barbarian, and was delighted to discover that the Frenzy class feature had been amended to remove the restriction stating that using it caused a level of Exhaustion. This has long been a source of ire in the community; if you can't use a basic class feature without serious consequences every single time it's enacted, why would you bother picking that subclass? They later switched to a different build, meaning we didn't get to explore this any further, but I thought it was an incredibly useful update.

Another player chose a Beast Master Ranger for their character, which is another long-maligned subclass (well, class in general). They were happy to find that Beast Master had been improved, with the new Beast of the Land working wonderfully in their first combat encounter by absolutely obliterating a Twig Blight in one hit. They also discovered that Hunter's Mark changed; Favored Enemy now refreshes on a long rest, giving you casts of Hunter's Mark rather than simply letting you choose a creature type to hunt down. Additionally, Deft Explorer granted them Expertise, which was convenient, and gives two languages, though it no longer has a scaling mechanic. They felt that the changes hampered story versatility while improving mechanical versatility, which was a bit of a trade-off and watered the class down story-wise.

We also had a brand new player at the table for this game, who had never built their own D&D character before. I was able to sit with this player and help them build their own character - a hilarious Rogue with a penchant for breakdancing - in the space of about an hour. They were also able to play with few if any hiccups; they were able to find all of the skills and abilities they needed quickly and easily without hunting around the sheet or the PHB for too long. They were even able to pull off some fun combat without frustration, which can be a major hurdle for new players.

There were a few other minor changes we discovered, such as the renaming of certain Druid abilities (though their function doesn't seem to have changed much), a few new spells (we're particularly fond of Elementalism), and the new origin building mechanics offering players far more customization when it came to languages. Generally, though, the characters were quick and easy to build, and all of the information was easy to find upfront.

Using the new core books as a DM was convenient as well; I had to do much less flitting around and fumbling to find what I needed when it came to monster stat blocks and class features. It was all laid out logically and simple to find through the Table of Contents, which helped the game run smoothly.

Conclusion

While I think I'll be playing in regular old Fifth Edition for some time yet because it's what I'm most familiar with, I'm not at all opposed to using the 2024 rule set. Overall, I think Wizards of the Coast made some solid improvements to the structure of the game, making it more accessible to those trying it for the first time, which is always a step in the right direction in my book. It does feel like the team actually took on the advise and criticisms of long-time players in this redesign; everything feels more focused on the fun of the game, and hits more heavily on the idea that being kind to each other is a core part of making the game work.

I'm glad to see that the 2024 update doesn't feel cheap or like a cash grab, which was a major community worry. To me, this feels like a sincere attempt to improve on D&D without taking anything away from the game that we love. I still have my problems with Wizards of the Coast, but in this, I can give them my praise: I think the 2024 update to the core rules is well worth exploring.