D&D Adventurers League

2024 or 2014 Rules?

Adventurers League now uses the 2024 rules. But that does not mean that some 2014 options are gone.

Start With the 2024 Players Handbook

Classes

The 2024 Players Handbook contains rules for almost all D&D classes, such as Fighter, Rogue, and Wizard. The Artificer is missing from the 2024 Players Handbook, but we’ll get to the Artificer later.

With the exception of Artificer, all characters should be using the rules for classes from the 2024 Players Handbook. Artificers should use the rules from Eberron: Forge of the Artificer.

For example, if you want to play as a Wizard, you must use the 2024 Wizard rules.

Subclasses

The 2024 Players Handbook contains rules for four subclasses from each of the classes. If you want to play as any of those subclasses, you must use the version in the 2024 Players Handbook.

The Wizard schools have been renamed. For example, “School of Evocation” has been renamed to “Evoker”. So, if you want to play as an Evocation Wizard, you must use the Evoker subclass from the 2024 Players Handbook.

The “Path of the Totem Warrior” Barbarian subclass has been renamed to “Path of the Wild Heart”. Using the Path of the Totem Warrior rules is not permitted anymore. You must use the Path of the Wild Heart rules now.

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Some subclasses were reprinted in Forgotten Realms: Heroes of Faerun. Those newer versions must be used instead of the versions in the 2014 rulebooks.

Species

“Race” has been renamed to “Species” in the new 2024 rules.

The 2024 Players Handbook contains rules for many of the common species. If you want to play as any of those species, you must use the version of the 2024 Players Handbook.

For example, if you want to play as a Human, you must play as a 2024 Human. You cannot use the 2014 Human anymore. This also means Variant Human is unavailable.

Backgrounds

The 2024 Players Handbook contains rules for many backgrounds. Backgrounds now include an Origin Feat.

If you want to use the Sage background, you must use the version contained in the 2024 Players Handbook.

You can create a custom background using the rules in the 2024 Dungeon Masters Guide.

Always Use the Latest Printing of Any Rule

Adventurers League has an overall rule whereby you always use the latest printing of any rule.

For example, Goliath was printed in all of the following books:

Adventurers League requires you to the latest printing, so the version in the 2024 Players Handbook is used.

Older Source Books Can Still Be Used

All is not lost, however, for some of our other favourite options. You can still use options from older books, such as Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse, Tasha’s Cauldon of Everything, and even the 2014 Players Handbook. The AL Players Guide outlines the list of allowed source books.

Classes

All classes have now been reprinted as 2024 rules. Older rulebooks (2014 PHB or Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything) should not be used anymore for class rules.

Subclasses

Not all subclasses from the 2014 Players Handbook were reprinted in the 2024 Players Handbook. Three Cleric domains and four Wizard schools were not reprinted. Those options are still available.

For example, you can still play as a Tempest Cleric. You would use the 2024 rules for Cleric, but the 2014 rules for the Tempest Domain.

Subclasses from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything are also still available. So Barbarian can still use Path of the Beast, for example.

If you’re using a class that chose its subclass at levels 1 or 2, that gets delayed until level 3, when all subclass abilities from levels 1, 2, and 3 get enabled.

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Some subclasses were reprinted in Forgotten Realms: Heroes of Faerun. Those newer versions must be used instead of the versions in the 2014 rulebooks.

Species

Species from the 2014 Players Handbook are no longer available. Half-elf and Half-orc from this book are not available.

Species from Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse are still playable, as long as they have not been included in the 2024 Players Handbook.

Tasha’s Custom Lineage is still an option too. When using Custom Lineage, you must choose an Origin Feat, or a non-reprinted older feat.

When using an old species, you ignore any ability score increases. Those always come from the background now.

Backgrounds

Background options from the 2014 Players Handbook can still be used, again, as long as they have not been reprinted.

When using an older background, you get a simple +2/+1 or +1/+1/+1 added to ability scores. You also get a choice of Origin Feat.

Using custom versions of older backgrounds is not allowed in AL games.

More Information

There articles list the AL-legal species and subclasses for each AL campaign.