A new Player’s Handbook is coming to D&D, with a fresh line-up of subclasses for you to choose from for your next adventurer.
In D&D 5E, the subclass system lets you refine your character’s powers, separating them from every other knight and sellsword in the world. A few classes got shafted, as the 2014 Player’s Handbook only had two subclasses each for the Bard, Druid, and Sorcerer, giving them way fewer options.
The 2024 D&D Player’s Handbook will feature 48 subclasses, with each class receiving four. This means that some classes got brand new options, while others had some taken away, at least until they appear in a future book.
These are every subclass confirmed to appear in the 2024 Player’s Handbook:
Barbarian
The rage-fuelled nature warrior chooses their subclass at level 3. These subclasses are known as “Path of the…” and they grant the Barbarian a range of new combat abilities or spell-like powers.
The Barbarian subclasses in the 2024 Player’s Handbook are:
- Path of the Berserker: Warriors specializing in using their rage to its fullest power.
- Path of the Wild Heart: Nature worshipers who manifest the power of mystical animal spirits.
- Path of the World Tree: Yggdrasil’s cosmic magic empowers these warriors, giving mastery over movement.
- Path of the Zealot: Users of divine magic, where war gods empower their blows with righteous fury.
Bard
D&D’s magical music makers only received two subclasses in the 2014 Player’s Handbook. This time around, Bard players will have two more options for the silliest and accidentally strongest class in the game.
The Bard subclasses in the 2024 Player’s Handbook are:
- College of Dance: Bards who use movement and magic to encircle their foes in battle.
- College of Glamour: Specialists in Enchantment spells, using the power of the Feywild to ensnare the minds of enemies.
- College of Lore: Masters of magic, who can steal spells from other class lists and add them to their own.
- College of Valour: Warrior poets who fight on the front lines and embolden their allies with rallying cries.
Cleric
The most powerful healing class has lost a few Domains in the latest Player’s Handbook, as the Cleric’s Knowledge, Nature, and Tempest subclasses didn’t make the cut. Instead, they have revamped versions of existing Domains.
The Cleric subclasses in the 2024 Player’s Handbook are:
- Life Domain: Unparalleled masters of healing and resurrection magic.
- Light Domain: Wielders of holy flame and destroyers of the undead.
- Trickery Domain: Masters of deception and skilled at misdirection.
- War Domain: Frontline healers who don’t mind getting their hands bloody.
Druid
The 2014 Player’s Handbook only included two subclasses for the binders of primal energy. This number has doubled in the new book, with one Druid subclass that has never been printed anywhere before!
The Druid subclasses in the 2024 Player’s Handbook are:
- Circle of the Land: Those who draw their spells from the environment they’re most connected to.
- Circle of the Moon: Shapeshifters with the power to transform into mighty animals.
- Circle of the Sea: Controllers of the storm and the best ally to have on aquatic adventures.
- Circle of the Stars: Cosmic watchers with the ability to summon the power of the stars into their body and unleash it onto the world.
Fighter
The D&D Fighter is receiving a ton of new options in the 2014 Player’s Handbook, thanks to the new Weapon Mastery system, which means their regular attacks can do a lot more. They’re also getting a psionic subclass in the new Player’s Handbook.
The Fighter subclasses in the 2024 Player’s Handbook are:
- Battle Master: Skilled fighters who utilize advanced tricks and strategies to overcome foes.
- Champion: The best beginner class in the game, with static options that make you stronger without a lot of planning on the part of the player.
- Eldritch Knight: Soldiers who add arcane knowledge to their skillset, so they can enchant their gear and throw spells in combat.
- Psi Warrior: Natural telepaths with the ability to augment their offense and defense with telekinetic fury.
Monk
The Monk might be one of the most fearsome classes in Baldur’s Gate 3, but it’s always had a polarizing response in D&D 5E. To this end, the Monk has received some major buffs in the new Player’s Handbook, along with a new subclass.
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The Monk subclasses in the 2024 Player’s Handbook are:
- Warrior of Mercy: Masters of their life force, with the power to heal or harm with a touch.
- Warrior of Shadow: Ninjas in all but name, who use shadow magic to evade their foes.
- Warrior of The Elements: Mystic warriors who can use their Ki to cast spells.
- Warrior of The Open Hand: Unparalleled masters of unarmed combat, who pummel their foes into submission with countless blows.
Paladin
Paladins are the knights whose loyalty to a cause is so strong that it actually gives them divine powers. Just don’t expect to see any Oathbreaker Paladins in the 2024 Player’s Handbook, as that’s currently a Baldur’s Gate 3 exclusive thing.
The Paladin subclasses in the 2024 Player’s Handbook are:
- Oath of Devotion: The most Lawful Good character of them all, wielding the might of the heavens to annihilate any fiends who dare approach them.
- Oath of Glory: Like the warriors of Greek mythology, these Paladins are peerless athletes and lovers of personal combat.
- Oath of The Ancients: Protectors of nature and forgotten ruins, with Primal and Divine magic aiding their blade.
- Oath of Vengeance: Paladins who eschew protecting love and choose to destroy evil. Luckily, they have the divine blessing and power to support their mandate.
Ranger
Easily the worst class in the 2014 Player’s Handbook, the Ranger has been reworked in the new rulebook, receiving an incredibly positive response from players during the Unearthed Arcana playtest phase. These nature warriors will finally live up to Drizzt Do’Urden’s overpowered example.
The Ranger subclasses in the 2024 Player’s Handbook are:
- Beast Master: Once they form a bond with a primal spirit, these Rangers can unleash its fury in battle.
- Fey Wanderer: A connection with the Feywild gives these Rangers the ability to addle the minds of their foes and summon powerful fairies to their side.
- Gloom Stalker: The wilderness is at its most dangerous in the dark, but for these Rangers, this is when they’re at their best, using the gloom to their advantage.
- Hunter: Masters of two weapons and a bow. This is the peak performance for a Ranger ever since the old days.
Rogue
The sneakiest class in the game and one of the deadliest allies to have in a fight, the Rogue is back in business. Like the Fighter, they have a psionic subclass joining their options in the new Player’s Handbook.
The Rogue subclasses in the 2024 Player’s Handbook are:
- Arcane Trickster: Masters of the Mage Hand Cantrip, who utilize spells to improve their sneaking prowess.
- Assassin: If they get the drop on the enemy with their poisoned weapons, the battle is as good as won.
- Soulknife: Basically Psylocke from the X-Men, using psionic daggers to strike the minds of their opponents.
- Thief: The best scouts and treasure hunters in the game, with a knack for avoiding deadly traps.
Sorcerer
Each Sorcerer in D&D has a natural affinity for magic, more so than any other class. The 2014 Player’s Handbook only had two subclass options for the Sorcerer, meaning that lots of Wild Magic Surges have happened over the years, but they receive more in the new book.
The Sorcerer subclasses in the 2024 Player’s Handbook are:
- Aberrant Sorcery: Their connection to Lovecraftian horrors not only grants psionic powers, but a few spells from the Warlock list.
- Clockwork Sorcery: The law is a magical force utilized by these Sorcerers, who gain Cleric spells and the ability to tilt the odds in their favor.
- Draconic Sorcery: Their ancestor is a dragon, which means they gain elemental resilience and gradually unlock the powers of a wyrm.
- Wild Magic: Chaos flows through their veins, allowing them to screw with probability. Unfortunately, this means their own spells can be unpredictable.
Warlock
Instead of going to magic school, the D&D Warlocks signed on the dotted line and made a deal with a higher power for arcane might. One of these days, their new boss is going to start calling in favors, but until then, the Warlocks are free to use their gifted power as they see fit.
The Warlock subclasses in the 2024 Player’s Handbook are:
- Archfey Patron: If you make a deal with a ruler of the Feywild, you get teleportation and fey spells.
- Celestial Patron: If you make a deal with an angel, you receive healing and buffing spells.
- Fiend Patron: If you make a deal with a demon or a devil, you can wield the power of the hells to deceive and destroy enemies.
- Great Old One Patron: If you make a deal with an unknowable being from the Far Realms, you can use forbidden knowledge to overwhelm your foes with inexplicable magic.
Wizard
Those who learn arcane spells and become specialists in one of the eight magical schools. Like the Cleric, the D&D Wizard lost four subclasses in the 2024 Player’s Handbook, as Conjuration, Enchantment, Necromancy, and Transmutation are gone. They’ll likely return in a future book, considering how long they’ve been part of the game.
The Wizard subclasses in the 2024 Player’s Handbook are:
- Abjurer: Those with spells that create barriers and can dispel outsiders back to their home plane.
- Diviner: Those who use magic to see things that are far away and gain glimpses of the future.
- Evoker: Those who command the elements and use them to destroy monsters.
- Illusionist: Those who create realistic fabrications that can fool the senses of others.
To learn more about the new edition of D&D, check out our guide to every new book coming in 2024, our exclusive look at the new Monster Manual’s alternate artwork, and the changes to D&D Beyond ahead of the new books.
