Abbreviations: In the following I am referring to Dungeons and Dragons as D&D, the Players Handbook as the PHB, the 2014 version as 5E and to the 2024 version as 5.5.

The D&D 5.5 PHB: Review of “Chapter 1, Playing the Game” and of “Appendix C, Rules Glossary”

I finally got my copy of the new Players Handbook. I thought I would share my thoughts as I read through it and point out the differences in the 5.5 version and the 5E version. I am assuming that the reader is familiar with the 5E PHB, so I am only commenting on things that are new or different from the 5E version. I won’t be commenting on entries that were just re-worded for clarification (there are a lot of those).

I will make a post after I finish reviewing this book with any House Rules I will be using with this 5.5 version of the PHB.

Note: On page 11, it clarifies that “The rules provide DCs for certain checks, but the DM ultimately sets them.” You will need to keep that in mind where, in other places in the book, it gives a specific DC for a task, such as hide or pick a lock, for example.

Chapter 1, Playing the Game

EXAMPLES: This chapter contains several examples of game play. These are an excellent way to introduce new players to the game.

Here are the things that are new or have changed.

SAVING THROWS: It spells out that you can choose to fail a saving throw if you choose to. I have always played it this way but I am glad to see it codified in the rule book.

HEROIC INSPIRATION (formerly just called Inspiration): Renaming it is a good move. That differentiates it clearly from Bardic Inspiration. The only change I see is that it no longer says that you can give it to another player unless you receive it when you already have it and the other player doesn’t.

I fond 3 places where in the 5.5 rules where PCs can get Heroic Inspiration other than when the DM gives it to them.

• Fighter, Champion, HEROIC WARRIOR: “During combat, you can give yourself Heroic Inspiration whenever you start your turn without it.”
• Human trait, RESOURCEFUL: “You gain Heroic Inspiration whenever you finish a Long Rest.”
• Origin Feat, MUSICIAN: After each Short or Long Rest, you can give Heroic Inspiration to all your allies. It doesn’t make it clear, but I would assume this would also include yourself.

ACTIONS: One change that I noticed is that these actions are not called “combat actions” like they were in the 5E PHB. It leaves me with the feeling that if it’s not on this list you can’t do it, if you are in combat or not. It does call the table a list of the “game’s main actions” and that “you can improvise other actions” but doesn’t make it clear that your character can do, or attempt to do, anything he chooses to do. The actions from 5.5 are not changed.

• INFLUENCE: (This is a new action.) You decide what you want to convince a monster to do. If the monster is neither willing nor unwilling but is hesitant, you make a CHA check (either Deception, Intimidation, Performance, or Animal Handling). The DC = the higher of 15 or the monsters INT score. “On a successful check, the monster does as urged”.
• MAGIC: This was the “Cast a Spell” action in 5E. It now also includes “use a magic item, or use a magical feature”.
• STUDY: (This is a new action.) You make an INT check to recall an important bit of information. What I like best here is the PC can use this to “remember” something about the monster they are facing. The skill they use depends on the monster type; Arcana (Aberrations, Constructs, Elementals, Fey, and Monstrosities), History (Giants and Humanoids), Nature (Beasts, Dragons, Oozes, and Plants), Religion (Celestials, Fiends, and Undead).
• UTILIZE: This is a renaming of the old “Use an Object” action.

CARRYING OBJECTS: It says “You can usually carry your gear and treasure without worrying about the weight of those objects.” and that the DM may require you to abide by the carrying capacity rules if you try to carry something especially large or heavy. Although this is covered in the 5E PHB by saying the calculated weight “is high enough that most characters don’t usually have to worry about it,” the new PHB makes it very clear.

ENCUMBRANCE: (variant rule) has been removed from the rules. I very seldom used this anyway.

HAZARDS: This is a new category of environmental dangers. They are all defined in the rules glossary. They are:

• Burning: How much fire damage you take each turn and how to put out the fire.
• Dehydration: How much water you need each day, based on your size. You gain 1 level of exhaustion each day without it. Can’t be removed until you drink full amount for one day.
• Falling: Same a falling damage in 5E. Adds STR (Athletics) check to reduce damage by half if falling into water.
• Malnutrition: Same as Dehydration, but pounds of food required each day, except you get a CON save each of the first 4 days day to avoid getting an Exhaustion level.
• Suffocation: How long you can hold your breath hasn’t changed. But, at the end of that time instead of dropping to 0 HP you gain 1 Exhaustion level each turn. You recover from all Exhaustion gained that way once you can breathe again.

TRAVEL PACE: Basically the same but presented in a clearer, easier to understand way, and it omits Forced March [which is OK with me.]

COMBAT:

Here are the things that are new or have changed.

SURPRISE: If you are surprised, you roll for initiative with Disadvantage. This is so much simpler and easier to understand than the old rules. It is a little less “realistic” but the old way sometimes gave the monsters two rounds of combat before a PC could act which always felt like a major penalty.
MOVING AROUND OTHER CREATURES: Moving through the space of an ally is no longer Difficult Terrain.
COVER: No change, but it includes a table that makes finding the information you are looking for much easier to find.
OPPORTUNITY ATTACKS: Added “Bonus Action” to the list of actions you can use to move that do not provoke an opportunity attack. [This is a minor change. I always allowed this anyway, but it’s good that it is now in the official rules.]

It now says “… when a creature that you can see leaves your reach.” In 5E it said “…  when a hostile creature that you can see moves out of your reach.” By leaving out the word “hostile” you can now make an opportunity attack against an ally. [I may be adding a new house rule that says that you cannot make an opportunity attack against an ally.]

UNDERWATER COMBAT:  This has been greatly simplified. If you don’t have a swim speed you have disadvantage on melee attacks with weapons that don’t do piercing damage. [In the 5E PHB it had to be a shortsword, spear, or trident.] And, all range weapon attacks miss at long range and have disadvantage at normal range. [The 5E PHB excluded ranged piercing weapons from disadvantage.]
KNOCKING OUT A CREATURE: In addition to the creature falling unconscious, the new PHB adds “It then starts a Short Rest, at the end of which that condition ends on it. The condition ends early if the creature regains any Hit Points or if someone takes an action to administer first aid to it, making a successful DC 10 Wisdom (Medicine) check.”
CONDITIONS: Because it added “can’t speak” to the Incapacitated condition, it removed “can’t speak” from the descriptions of the conditions that include having the Incapacitated condition. Any condition that had “can’t move”, was changed to “Your Speed is 0 and can’t increase.” Other than those 2 changes, these conditions are unchanged; Blinded, Charmed, Deafened, Frightened, Grappled, Paralyzed, Poisoned, Restrained, Stunned, and Unconscious.

These conditions have changed;

• Exhaustion: (This wasn’t a condition in 5E.) For each level of exhaustion you receive an additional -2 on ability checks, attack rolls, and saving throws (now called D20 Tests), and your speed is reduced by an additional 5 ft. You die when your Exhaustion level is 6. Each long rest removes 1 level of exhaustion.
• Incapacitated: You still can’t take any action, Bonus Action, or Reaction and it adds that your Concentration is broken, you can’t speak, and you have Disadvantage on initiative.
• Invisible: It adds; you have advantage on initiative, and are not affected by any effect that requires you to be seen, “unless the effect’s creator can see you”. [This means when the creator has something like the See Invisibility]
• Petrified: Same as before but it removed “is unaware of its surroundings.” and “a poison or disease already in its system is suspended, not neutralized.”
• Prone: The only change is “A prone creature’s only movement option is to crawl, unless it stands up and thereby ends the condition.” is changed to “Your only movement options are to crawl or to spend an amount of movement equal to half your Speed (round down) to right yourself and thereby end the condition. If your Speed is 0, you can’t right yourself.”

Appendix C, Rules Glossary

Here are the things that are new or have changed.

ATTACK [Action], Equipping and Unequipping Weapons: “You can either equip or unequip one weapon when you make an attack as part of this action. You do so either before or after the attack.”  I have seen several people on YouYube saying that this new rule allows unlimited swapping between different weapons. It does not. You can either equip or unequip a weapon as part of the attack. Therefore, with any one hand, you can only switch between 2 different weapons regardless of how many attacks you are allowed to make with the attack action. Also, in the new rules, dropping a weapon counts as unequipping.
Bloodied: “A creature is Bloodied while it has half its Hit Points or fewer remaining.”
Burning [Hazard]: Rules for how much damage you take if you are on fire and how you can put out the fire. (Hazard is a new category.)
CARRYING CAPACITY: There is a nice table showing how the amount you can carry depends on your size and your strength. In the 5E PHB that fact is easily overlooked and not very clear. 
D20 TEST: This is a simple new definition that they have added. It refers to ability checks, attack rolls, and saving throws.
HELP [Action]: Clarifies that you must have proficiency in the help skill or tool you are helping with.
HEROIC INSPIRATION: This was just called inspiration in 5E. Also, it changes it to a re-roll of ANY DIE.
HIDE [Action]: Requires a Dexterity (Stealth) check to hide. [Refer to the “How to Hide” section below.]
ILLUSIONS: I like it that it spells out that illusions cast shadows and reflections.
JUMPS: Distance calculations are simplified, making them are easier to remember.
LONG REST: It now requires 16 hours between each 8 hour long rest.

How to Open a Lock (or Disarm a Trap)

Here is my interpretation of how a PC can pick a lock in D&D 5.5.

You can’t pick a lock unless you have thieves tools, although you are not required to have proficiency with them.

• If you have thieves’ tools, to pick the lock you must succeed in a (DC 15) Dexterity check. [The DC can be changed by the DM.]
• If you have proficiency with thieves’ tools you can add your Proficiency Bonus (PB) to the check.

The book says “If you have proficiency in a skill that’s used with that check, you have Advantage on the check too.” But, none of the tool descriptions list any skills that are used with that check. So, because using thieves’ tools doesn’t use any skills (such as Sleight of Hand), and you can’t have proficiency in an ability (such as Dexterity), you can’t get Advantage on the check.

How to Hide

Here is my interpretation of how a PC can hide in D&D 5.5.

• The Dungeon Master decides if the circumstances are appropriate for hiding.
• You must be Heavily Obscured or behind Three-Quarters Cover or Total Cover, and out of the line of sight of all enemies.
• You make a Hide check. This is a DC 15 Dexterity (Stealth) check. [The DM may assign a different DC.]
• If you succeed you now have the invisible condition.
• A creature you are hiding from can find you on a Wisdom (Perception) check. The DC is the same as what you rolled on your Hide check.
• You give away your location (no longer have the hidden condition) when you make a sound louder than a whisper, an enemy finds you, you make an attack roll, or you cast a spell with a verbal component.
• As written, the rules could be interpreted to imply that even though you have the invisible condition you are not, in fact, invisible. You are only hidden. Your invisible condition only applies to your enemies, your allies may be able to see you. I would have liked to have seen this clarified a bit more. For one thing, it now implies that a See Invisibility spell would allow you to see any creature that was successfully hiding from you. I strongly feel that they should have added a Hidden condition, that you get when you are hiding, that would be similar to the Invisible condition.

The current rules for invisibility and hiding in D&D 5.5 can lead to some counterintuitive situations. Let’s consider this scenario:

• You’re hiding behind a barrel in an Old West-style street confrontation.
• You step out from behind a barrel you are hiding behind and fire at an opponent across the street. Do you still have advantage from being hidden?
• What if you walk across the street and attack an enemy up close? Are you still considered hidden?

The rules don’t explicitly address these situations, which can lead to confusion. While common sense suggests you’d lose your hidden status when moving in plain sight, there’s no clear rule stating this.
How would you handle this as a DM? Would you implement a house rule? If so, what would it be? Share your thoughts in the comments below.