Wizards now has the Basic rules available for the Dungeon Master's Guide including some monsters for y'all.

Top 5 reasons to try Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition

Dungeons and Dragons.  I've played it since it came in a red box.  My brothers and I poured 10,000 hours into the hobby making me a bona fide master.  Every incarnation was better than the previous.  When AD&D became bloated with too many new power-creeping classes, 2nd edition wiped them away. When magic items became dangerously unbalanced and unhinged, 3rd edition codified them into a unified theory of magic.  And as certain spells, like haste, fly, and ability buffs, were obviously every spellcaster's favorite, 3.5th edition attenuated them.

Fourth edition sorta went off the deep end.  But now we have 5th ed.  Or simply, Dungeons ampersand Dragons!  Like myriad grognars before me, I met the new books with skepticism, sniffing them like a cave troll might sniff a washing machine.  I have some first impressions based solely on the Introductory Set, the Player's Handbook, and the Hoard of the Dragon Queen.

Here are my top 5 reasons you should try the new Dungeons & Dragons.

5. It's free to play

You can get all the rules you need online.  Wizards is making the basics available on this page.  The free version lacks the artwork, has a much shorter spell list, and does not fully explain all of the options available in the player's handbook.  The PHB doesn't hit stores until the 19th, so until then this is the best you're going to get as a player.

What about monsters?  Well, you can either buy the starter set  which contains a pretty good sized adventure and two dozen monsters, or you can just wing it.  The PHB mentions that monster stats will be available on dungeonsanddragons.com, but I can't find it.  Maybe it won't be up till August 19th.  

4. Artwork

As we've come to expect the artwork is inspiring.  I like Clint Cearley and Tyler Jacobson but it's all really good.  They've come up with a style that feels a little more like traditional fantasy.

3. Level Attack Bonus

Now a 20th level fighter doesn't get +20 to hit, he gets +6.  This is called your "proficiency bonus" and covers every skill and weapon you're proficient with.  The power progression is slower in the "to-hit" department which means you'll have to use your special skills, feats, and maneuvers to make things die.

2. Sub-genera

In addition to your race there are sub-races to choose from, and in addition to classes there are sub-class specializations.  Domain powers, monk traditions, fighter martial archetypes.  I like having these not only to tweak the power of your character, but to add some roleplaying to the selection of your abilities.

1. Common Ancestry

The new D&D is not a direct descendant of 4th edition.  Both 5th ed and 4th ed share a common ancestor: 3.5.  The lineage of D&D 5th also shows vigorous interbreeding with Pathfinder and contains much of its DNA.

While 4th edition was an adventurous experiment with many fans, it departed from the feel of the original in ways that are hard to fully understand.  The use of powers streamlined the game and simplified it.  This sounds good, but perhaps a simpler game wasn't what people were looking for. D&D Next certainly went back to its roots yet seems to have made a slightly better game than 3rd edition.

We'll have to play it a while to know