Should you switch your 5e campaign to the 2024 rules?

Switch your campaign to the 2024 rules at a natural break, if your group wants what those rules add. The break can be the end of an adventure, the end of an arc or the next level up. The 2024 rules give martial classes weapon mastery, give every character a feat at level 1 and set every subclass at level 3. If your players are mid-arc with finished builds they enjoy, stay on 2014 until that break, because a switch means rebuilding characters. The core 2024 rules are free in the System Reference Document 5.2.1 (SRD), so reading them first costs only time.

What your group gains from the 2024 rules

Martial characters gain a new set of options. In the SRD 5.2.1, the Barbarian, Fighter, Paladin, Ranger and Rogue all get Weapon Mastery at level 1. That feature unlocks a weapon’s mastery property. Topple can knock a target Prone, and Vex gives you Advantage on your next attack against a creature you hit and damage.

Every character starts with more. Each 2024 background gives an Origin feat, two skills, a tool and the character’s ability score increases. In 2014, feats were an optional rule, and a character only got one by giving up an Ability Score Improvement.

The rules are easier to look up. The SRD 5.2.1 has a Rules Glossary with an entry for each action, condition and common term. Several rules also got simpler to run. Surprise now gives Disadvantage on Initiative, so every creature still acts in the first round. Exhaustion is a flat penalty of 2 per level on D20 Tests, the 2024 name for ability checks, attack rolls and saving throws.

Game Masters get updated monsters too. Each 2024 stat block lists the monster’s Initiative, and the SRD 5.2.1 adds monsters such as the Goblin Boss, Goblin Minion and Tough Boss.

What a switch costs

Every character needs a rebuild. In 2014, ability score increases come from race. In 2024, they come from the background, and species give traits only. A straight swap can leave a character with the wrong scores, so each player should rebuild from step one.

Subclass timing moves. A 2014 Cleric, Sorcerer or Warlock picks a subclass at level 1, and a 2014 Druid or Wizard picks at level 2. Under the 2024 rules, every class picks at level 3. A level 1 or 2 character in one of those classes loses their subclass features until level 3.

Spells changed under the same names. Cure Wounds heals 1d8 plus your modifier in 2014 and 2d8 plus your modifier in 2024. Each caster has to read the 2024 text of every spell they use.

Your players also relearn a handful of rules. Grappling now uses a saving throw, and Hide uses a DC 15 Stealth check. Heroic Inspiration is a reroll, and you can expend only one spell slot per turn.

Which players feel the change most

Players of the Barbarian, Fighter, Paladin, Ranger and Rogue gain the most at once, because Weapon Mastery arrives at level 1. A Fighter starts with the mastery properties of three kinds of weapons and reaches six by level 16. The other four classes start with two.

Players of low-level casters feel the subclass shift. A level 1 Cleric, Sorcerer or Warlock, or a level 2 Druid or Wizard, waits until level 3 for a subclass under the 2024 rules. Every caster also has a spell list to re-read.

Every player gets a new origin. They choose a 2024 background for their ability score increases and Origin feat, then a species for size, Speed and traits. A player who picked a 2014 race for its ability bonus may want a different species once those bonuses move to the background.

The strongest reason to stay on 2014

The best argument for staying is simple: the campaign works, and the players like their characters. That is a good reason to wait. Characters built under the 2014 rules run cleanly under the 2014 rules. The SRD 5.1 stays available under an irrevocable Creative Commons licence, so the 2014 rules will still be there when you finish the campaign.

Waiting also gives you time to read the new rules before you commit. When the arc ends, you can decide with the SRD 5.2.1 in hand.

Three ways to make the switch

The first way is a full switch at a break. You finish an arc, everyone rebuilds with 2024 rules, and the next session starts clean. This is the simplest option to run, because the whole table uses one rule set.

The second way is rules first, characters later. You adopt the 2024 combat rules now and rebuild characters at their next level up. This mixes two versions for a while, so pick one version of each shared rule, such as grappling, and write the choices down.

The third way is to finish the current campaign under 2014 and start the next one under 2024. Nobody rebuilds a character mid-story, and the new campaign starts with 2024 characters from level 1.

Content outside the SRD

This post covers the rules in the free SRDs only. If your campaign uses 2014 subclasses, feats or spells from books beyond the SRD, check those books for 2024 versions before you switch.

How to switch at a break

1. Finish the current adventure or arc.
2. Download the SRD 5.2.1 and share it with the group.
3. Rebuild each character with a 2024 background and species.
4. Set subclass choices at level 3.
5. Add Weapon Mastery choices for the classes that have it.
6. Ask each caster to read the 2024 text of every spell they use.
7. Run one short fight to practise grappling, hiding and surprise.

The SRD 5.2.1 is free to download at https://www.dndbeyond.com/srd.

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This work includes material from the System Reference Document 5.2.1 (“SRD 5.2.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available at https://www.dndbeyond.com/srd. The SRD 5.2.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.

This work includes material taken from the System Reference Document 5.1 (“SRD 5.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC and available at https://dnd.wizards.com/resources/systems-reference-document. The SRD 5.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.