Hello Adventurers!
It’s an exciting time to be involved in Adventurers League, with the 2024 Core Rulebooks releasing over the next few months. Today, we’re going to talk about how those books work within the existing Adventurers League system.
This article will be updated prior to the release of each core rulebook.
General Rules Guidance
It has always been the Adventurers League’s policy to use the most recent version of the rules when they have been updated. This applies to the 2024 rules revision in the following ways:
- When a new core rulebook is released worldwide, Adventurers League games will use the updated 2024 rules found in it.
- Until a 2024 core rulebook is released, continue to use the rules from its 2014 counterpart.
- If a rules option appears in a previously published sourcebook such as Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything or Xanathar’s Guide to Everything and was updated in the 2024 rules, use the updated rules.
- If a rules option appears in a previously published sourcebook and has not been updated in the 2024 rules, continue to use the most recently published version of that option.
Grace Period Before Rules Implementation
Players will have a grace period of 60 days from the worldwide release date (see below) of each core rulebook to update their characters to the 2024 rules. After that time, all characters must be updated to the 2024 rules where applicable.
Dungeon Masters should begin using the new rules once a book is available. Dungeon Masters without access to the 2024 Core Rulebooks can use the Rules Glossary in the D&D Free Rules (2024). As the 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide and 2024 Monster Manual release, the D&D Free Rules (2024) will be expanded with content from those books for your use.
2024 Player’s Handbook
This book is available for use in Adventurers League games starting on September 17. You can review our Updates to the Player’s Handbook article to get a complete picture of what rules have been updated.
On or after the release of the 2024 Player’s Handbook, you are welcome to rebuild your existing characters, swapping out any player options you’d like to use with the new rules. Just keep the grace period above in mind. If any player options have not been updated in the 2024 Player’s Handbook (i.e., subclasses, species, etc.), you should continue using the most recently published version of that option.
Exception: Treasure obtained from play cannot be "rebuilt," but if you selected a magic item at level 5, you may change your selection to another item as referenced in the D&D Adventurers League Player’s Guide.
If you choose to use a background or species from an older book, please reference the sidebar "Backgrounds and Species from Older Books" in chapter 2 of the 2024 Player’s Handbook for information on updating these rules.
2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide
This book is available for use in Adventurers League games starting on November 12. Notably for players, magic items will be updated in this release. Other specifics on its use in Adventurers League will be communicated closer to the book’s release date.
2024 Monster Manual
This book is available for use in Adventurers League games starting on February 18. It will include updates to all creatures from the 2014 version of the book. Other specifics on its use in Adventurers League will be communicated closer to the book’s release date.
Previously Published Adventures
All Adventurers League adventures and compatible products continue to remain as published, except for using updated rules as present in the 2024 Core Rulebooks upon each release. Adventures typically do not include the creature statistics from the Monster Manual, since it is a required core reference. Many creature statistics will be updated in the 2024 Monster Manual; until such time, continue to use the 2014 Monster Manual version of those statistics.
Exception: There are some creature statistics that are present in the 2024 Player’s Handbook; Dungeon Masters do not have to use the updated versions of those creature statistics in adventures until the 2024 Monster Manual releases, but they may choose to do so if they wish.
Updating Existing Adventurers League Adventures
The Dungeoncraft program allows for community-created Adventurers League adventures. If you have published an adventure under this program, those adventures should not be updated until after the release of the updated fifth edition Systems Reference Document (SRD 5.2).
SRD 5.2 will release after the 2024 Monster Manual in 2025.
Designing New Adventurers League Adventures with the 2024 Rules
Adventure designers publishing content through the Dungeoncraft program from now until before the release of the 2024 Monster Manual should reference the 2014 rules where applicable. Updates to the Dungeoncraft program will be made available after the release of SRD 5.2.
Updates to Adventurers League Documents
The D&D Adventurers League Resources & Links thread will be updated with references to the 2024 rules as applicable. Those updates to the documents should go live over the next few weeks to months. Keep up with the latest here on D&D Beyond or visit our official D&D Discord and check out the Adventurers League channel.
Onboarding to New Rules at the Table
After the grace period is over, if a player unintentionally comes to the table with an outdated character, don't interrupt the adventure to have them update their character. Inform them of the updated character options and ask them to rebuild before the next session.
During this time, many players and Dungeon Masters may still be learning the new rules or not be as aware of updates as others. Please remember to be mindful of each person’s experience and support others. Make sure that sessions keep moving, and don’t worry about adapting to a new rule in the moment if it creates tension or disrupts enjoyment. Keep Adventurers League sessions welcoming and fun above all else!
