D&D Direct 2024 honored the first fifty years of Dungeons & Dragons with a look into the future of the game. We went behind the scenes for the 2024 Core Rulebooks, announced an upcoming pair of Forgotten Realms books, as well as a dragon anthology book, showcased Project Sigil, and more.

Get all the scoop in this recap of D&D Direct 2024!

• Behind the Scenes of the 2024 Player’s Handbook
• 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide and 2024 Monster Manual
• An Anthology of Dragon Adventures
• A New Starter Set for the Revised Rules
• Launch of the Secret Lair x Dungeons & Dragons Superdrop
• 12 LEGO Collectible Minifigures Coming September 1
• New and Returning Third-Party Contributors
• Two Full-Sized Forgotten Realms Sourcebooks with Player Options and More
• Project Sigil Takes Your Games into a 3D Sandbox

Behind the Scenes of the 2024 Player’s Handbook

The 2024 Player’s Handbook will soon hit store shelves and be accessible on D&D Beyond, and we’re excited to share what’s in store for your gaming table!

For the new core rulebook, we revisited and revamped the 2014 Player’s Handbook from top to bottom to pack in more player options, make quality-of-life improvements, and make fifth edition D&D more accessible than ever before.

We offer a breakdown of the core rulebook in our What’s New in the 2024 Player’s Handbook? article, but here are a few highlights:

• The book has been rewritten from start to end, and it includes tons of all-new artwork.
• Early chapters make the game more accessible with extensive information on what D&D is and how gameplay works.
• New subclasses, spells, feats, and other character options allow you to customize your character in more ways than in the 2014 Player’s Handbook.
• Weapon Mastery allows characters who prefer to wield weapons to unlock new tactical options in combat.
• The Rules Glossary collects all the game’s crunchier rules in one place. Not sure about the new rules for Exhaustion? Flip to the glossary, and you’ll find your answer straight away!

We’re also hard at work on translating the 2024 Core Rulebooks into French, Italian, German, and Spanish.

Early Access for D&D Beyond Subscribers

D&D Beyond subscribers who preorder a digital copy of the 2024 Player’s Handbook or the Digital & Physical Core Rulebook Bundle in the D&D Beyond marketplace will get early access to their books.

• Master Tier Subscribers: September 3
• Hero Tier Subscribers: September 10

Local Game Store Early Access

The 2024 Player's Handbook gets its wide release on September 17, but local game stores in the U.S. and Canada can begin selling their copies two weeks early, on September 3, as part of our Local Game Store Early Access Program.

2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide and 2024 Monster Manual

The 2024 Player’s Handbook kicks off the rules revisions for the most popular edition of D&D. The release of the 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide and 2024 Monster Manual will follow in the coming months, bringing tons of new gaming material for your table.

The 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide is a top-to-bottom rewrite of the original, chockful of advice for returning and aspiring DMs. With nearly all the artwork being brand new, this core rulebook will also be filled with inspiration for your home games. Players will also enjoy the 100 or so pages of magic items, many of which are new.

The 2024 Monster Manual is the most monster-packed Monster Manual in D&D history. It will serve as a tome of inspiration to challenge, frighten, and delight your tables.

An Anthology of Dragon Adventures

We heard you like Dungeons & Dragons, so we’re dropping an adventure anthology jam-packed with dragons in dungeons next summer! Delve into the new dragon designs and set off on adventures that showcase each of the metallic and chromatic dragons.

The Dragon Anthology (working title) book contains ten short adventures that span every tier of play and is packed with dragon lore, making it a perfect way to experience the revised D&D dragons.

A New Starter Set for the Revised Rules

Whether you’re new to the game or bringing friends into the fold, the Fall 2025 starter set is a beginner-friendly introduction to D&D. Based on the past ten years of play, we’ve revamped the new player experience to kick off your adventures with ease regardless of your experience level.

Heroes of the Borderlands (working title) makes it easy to start playing D&D in minutes with a quick-start guide; intuitive, component-centric character creation; and a modular, introductory adventure. It reimagines B2: The Keep on the Borderlands—a classic introductory D&D adventure—for use with this boxed set by splitting the adventure into three self-contained booklets: the Caves of Chaos, the Keep on the Borderlands, and the Wilderness. Each booklet includes a short tutorial to help new and returning players learn as they go. A how-to-play video will also accompany the release.

Launch of the Secret Lair x Dungeons & Dragons Superdrop

D&D and Magic: The Gathering come together to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the tabletop roleplaying game! Available now in limited quantities are five Secret Lair drops that celebrate the game’s storied history.

The Secret Lair x Dungeons & Dragons 50th Anniversary Superdrop features new and classic artwork of iconic characters and more, with one drop showcasing our favorite Tiefling Barbarian, Karlach, and another spotlighting the anything-but-demure vampire Astarion.

12 LEGO Collectible Minifigures Coming September 1

On September 1, you’ll get the chance to pick up LEGO Minifigures Dungeons & Dragons mystery boxes. There’s 12 collectible LEGO minifigures that depict iconic characters and classes from D&D. You can learn more here: The LEGO Group Announces Dungeons & Dragons Minifigures Collection.

New and Returning Third-Party Contributors

We’re proud to showcase the works of just some of the immensely talented creators in the D&D space. Expect to see more third-party releases brought into the D&D Beyond toolset and marketplace, with works from new and returning creators, such as:

• Dungeon Dudes
• Free League Publishing
• Ghostfire Gaming
• Hit Point Press
• Kobold Press
• Loot Tavern
• MCDM
• The Griffon’s Saddlebag

Two Full-Sized Forgotten Realms Sourcebooks with Player Options and More

When we revisited the core rules for fifth edition D&D, we were spurred to also revisit the game’s most popular setting: the Forgotten Realms. The setting will be featured in two full-sized sourcebooks—The Forgotten Realms Player Guide (working title) and The Forgotten Realms Adventure Guide (working title).

The Forgotten Realms Player Guide contains everything players and Dungeon Masters need to play in this beloved D&D setting. It contains a setting overview for new and returning players, as well as the following player options:

• Subclasses
• Feats
• Backgrounds
• Spells and a new type of spell
• Key information on factions such as the Harpers and Zhentarim and how to join them

The Forgotten Realms Adventure Guide will be a trove of information and resources for Dungeon Masters to create their own epic fantasy adventures. It will also contain five in-depth setting guides for iconic locations in the Forgotten Realms that support a variety of adventure genres:

• Baldur’s Gate
• Calimshan
• The Dalelands
• Moonshae Isles
• Icewind Dale

Project Sigil Takes Your Games into a 3D Sandbox

Project Sigil is all about letting your imagination run wild as you and your friends enjoy D&D or your other favorite franchises. Both Dungeon Masters and players can use the 3D sandbox to bring their characters and adventures to life. Customize and manipulate high-quality miniatures to immerse yourself in your characters and use the level builder to create your next favorite dungeon, tavern, or other setting! Then, share your trap-filled designs with others.

Want to jump straight into adventure? Project Sigil will offer modules, which are short adventures that come with premade settings and characters. The first of these will be Danger in Dunbarrow. All you’ll need to do before rolling dice is have your players join your game with their D&D Beyond characters! The 3D sandbox will be available on PC to start; we hope to later expand to mobile and console.

The closed beta for Project Sigil kicks off this Fall, but you can sign up today using your D&D Beyond account. And if you preorder the 2024 Core Rulebook Bundle on the D&D Beyond marketplace, you’ll unlock a gold dragon miniature in Project Sigil, in addition to other preorder perks.

Michael Galvis (@michaelgalvis) is a tabletop content producer for D&D Beyond. He is a longtime Dungeon Master who enjoys horror films and all things fantasy and sci-fi. When he isn’t in the DM’s seat or rolling dice as his anxious halfling sorcerer, he’s playing Helldivers 2 and Magic: The Gathering with his partners. They live together in Los Angeles with their adorable dogs, Quentin and Eliot.