Is the New Edition-ish of D&D Any Good?

A Black Friday special review of One D&D

Note: This is my first paid post. For Black Friday (which I’m extending through Monday since I’m only posting this Saturday), subscriptions are 20% off. So please do consider a paid subscription! It will contribute to world peace (or at least my peace).

2024 has brought a new sort-of-edition to D&D. Wizards of the Coast reported record-breaking sales for the new (henceforth 5.75) Player’s Handbook. Others have been more skeptical…Wizards’ overall revenue is down for D&D…which is a bit hard to square with the positive reporting. Are the initial 5.75 books selling as well as previous editions? Well…nobody knows as Wizards’ don’t release hard sales data, but the folks at Dungeon Crafter do what I think is a pretty good breakdown, the gist of which is that 5.75 D&D is probably selling fine.

5.75 D&D stirred up plenty of controversy due to what I’d say is pretty legitimately bad artwork, as well as a more general sense that it caters to “wokeness.” But I’m not here to talk about that aspect of things today. I’ve finally had a chance to play a game of 5.75 D&D in a one-shot so today I want to talk about some of the technical aspects of 5.75 D&D. Or put simply…is it fun to play?

Now I’ll say upfront, although I’ve given the 5.75 Player’s Handbook a pretty decent once-over and have gotten familiar with a few classes (I played a cleric for the one-shot), obviously I’ve still got a lot to experience. Inevitably, there’ll be some stuff I’ll miss, but I think I’ve got a good gist of what’s in there.

I’m a big 5e fan, but I do think 5e has some major limitations, including how it jumbled ASI and feats, and how it made life hard for casters at higher levels. Did 5.75 D&D fix these issues? And is it fun to play? Let’s have a look with my list of pros and cons below!