RPG Book Club #1

For many, Dungeons & Dragons, is synonymous with tabletop roleplaying games. Since we kicked-off this series of events to encourage players to read the rulebooks and sourcebooks of various TRPGs, we had to start with the obvious one.

The meeting commenced at 20:15, with a round of introductions where each participant mentioned their names, their sidegigs, and context for attending the book club.

Of the eight (8) attendees, a quick show of hands revealed that 5 of them were Dungeon Masters, and 3 of those had read (or glanced through) the D&DDungeons & Dragons PHBPlayer’s HandBook 2024.

Unlike typical book clubs, and because TRPG books are a lengthy/laborious affair, we didn’t expect anyone to have literally read every word in the book. The discussions that proceeded the initial impressions, were about the sections of the book, and (because this wasn’t the first edition of a particular TRPG system) comparisons to previous editions of the games’ books.

We started with a short discussion about the name of this edition. Some had started calling it 2024-edition, 5.5e, etc. However, because the publishers say it is part of their One D&D initiative, we could call it D&D 5.1e or “Five Point One Dee and Dee.”

Initial impressions were very good. Particular emphasis was placed on three aspects of the book:

1. The first two chapters of the PHB, “Playing the Game,” and “Creating Your Character”
2. The artwork in the book;
3. The change from the game’s traditional terminology.

The First Two Chapters

Compared to the decade-older edition, the first part of the PHB introduced a lot more of D&D’s actual play and gaming culture.

With the inclusion of sample dialogue, pop-out explanations of each phrase, etc. it was a fantastic explainer on how a session of the game actually proceeds. This is particularly useful for people who have been curious about the game, but do not live near any number of existing D&D groups. The slow spread of the game in Malaysia can be attributed to the difficulty of meeting groups of players, and having access to a variety of DMsDungeon Masters (outside of the Klang Valley, most towns have a single DM, or none at all. The one DM’s eccentricities will be taken as the norm, and those living in far-flung towns who may take it upon themselves to become the first DM in their community, will take an over-the-top performance-based inspiration from online streams and shows.)

Reading the book’s examples, we also noticed a lot of the game’s culture, which wasn’t mentioned in previous editions of D&D’s books, as they were unspoken etiquette transmitted through a genealogy of DMs picking it up from their previous DMs. An incredibly exciting development for the game, signalling the publisher’s willingness to foster a cultural-community instead of printing instruction manuals and lore-bibles.

The Artwork

Many have remarked on how much thicker the new PHB is, and a many pages (or significant parts of) have been dedicated towards big, beautiful artwork.

Comparing equivalent artwork for each class, background, etc. was inspiring: it shows the game’s expansion and inclusion of wider pop-culture, and a more varied choice of depictions. Some illustrations, like those used alongside the character Backgrounds, were inspired: instead of showing how a character looks like if they were of a particular background, they decided to show their lair, abode, or workplace. This game a better impression of what the background was all about.

There were some choice illustrations depicting scenes from other planes, beyond the Forgotten RealmsAbeir-Toril (the previous edition was criticized in forgetting that D&D was also played in other settings and Planes.)

Artwork for a number of spells also depicted named, in-universe Legendary characters, using their signature spells! Twas a fascinating insight, allowing us to put a face to the namesake.

• Bigby’s Hand
• Drawmij’s Instant Summons
• Evard’s Black Tentacles
• Jallarzi’s Storm of Radiance
  (a new addition in the 2024 PHB)
• Leomund’s Secret Chest
• Leomund’s Tiny Hut
• Melf’s Acid Arrow
• Mordenkainen’s Faithful Hound
• Mordenkainen’s Magnificent Mansion
• Mordenkainen’s Private Sanctum
• Mordenkainen’s Sword
• Nystul’s Magic Aura
• Otiluke’s Freezing Sphere
• Otiluke’s Resilient Sphere
• Otto’s Irresistible Dance
• Rary’s Telepathic Bond
• Tasha’s Bubbling Cauldron
  (a new addition in the 2024 PHB)
• Tasha’s Hideous Laughter
• Tenser’s Floating Disk
• Yolande’s Regal Presence
  (a new addition in the 2024 PHB)

Moving On From Race in the 2024 Core Rulebooks

In our own 5e character creation guide, we recommend thinking about a character’s birth & circumstances (choosing an ancestry or Species,) growing up and having a civilian occupation (choosing a Background,) before answering the call to heroism (choosing a Class.)

While many of our Dungeon Masters still reflexively say Race, when referring to a character’s ancestry, the publisher’s decision to move away from the terminology was a welcome change.

Speaking from a Malaysian perspective, any mention of the term Race will inevitably invoke political discussions and revert the player back from their escapism and immersion into the game: through the lens of Malaysia’s ethnic complexities in the present day, the explicit categorization of races in the PHB felt eeriely similar to our everyday reality, where everyone’s ethnic background becomes a checklist of qualities we must adhere to. Hence, the switch to a scientific view of the world, in a decidedly fantastical game, was a welcome one. Words make a difference.

One attendee noted that the inclusion of half-elf in older editions of D&D, drew inspiration from European folklore’s depiction of beings who straddle the mortal and fey worlds. They are often seen as intermediaries between human and elven societies, possessing a mix of their parents’ characteristics and facing unique challenges in both worlds. (Not what modern audiences thought; old folklore works off vibes, instead of literal/genetic ancestry.)

Choosing to use the word Species, also plays into a common trope among modern D&D players: the presence of Half-Elf and Half-Orc in the old editions, implies that Humans are the common demoninator (albeit vanilla) among the ancestries of D&D. Because modern audiences like mixing ancestries (e.g. half-elf-half-tiefling) it now falls upon the discretion of the Dungeon Master, and the very core of TRPG, homebrew rules to determine the traits of the particular character’s ancestral traits!

CHILDREN OF DIFFERENT HUMANOID KINDS

Thanks to the magical workings of the multiverse, Humanoids of different kinds sometimes have children together. For example, folk who have a human parent and an orc or an elf parent are particularly common. Many other combinations are possible. If you’d like to play the child of such a wondrous pairing, choose two Race options that are Humanoid to represent your parents. Then determine which of those Race options provides your game traits: Size, Speed, and special traits. You can then mix and match visual characteristics—color, ear shape, and the like—of the two options. For example, if your character has a halfling and a gnome parent, you might choose Halfling for your game traits and then decide that your character has the pointed ears that are characteristic of a gnome. Finally, determine the average of the two options’ Life Span traits to figure out how long your character might live. For example, a child of a halfling and a gnome has an average life span of 288 years.

Jeremy C., Christopher P., Ray W. (Augist 18, 2022) UNEARTHED ARCANA 2022 CHARACTER ORIGINS. [Available as .PDF]