D&D 5E D&D Beyond Will Delist Two Books On May 17th

D&D Beyond will be permanently removing Volo’s Guide to Monsters and Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes on May 17th in favor of the upcoming Monsters of the Multiverse book, which largely compiles and updates that material.

As per the D&D Beyond FAQ for Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse:

Can I still buy Volo’s Guide to Monsters or Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes on D&D Beyond?
Starting on May 16, you can acquire the streamlined and up-to-date creatures and character race options, as well as a plethora of exciting new content, by purchasing Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse. On May 17, Volo's Guide to Monsters and Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes will be discontinued from our digital marketplace.

If you already own these two books you will still have access to your purchases and any characters or encounters you built with them. They won’t be removed from your purchased sourcebooks. Therefore, if you want the "fluff" and tables in those two tomes in D&D Beyond, you need to purchase them soon.

This is the first time books have been wholesale delisted from the D&D Beyond Platform rather than updated (much like physical book reprints are with errata and changes).

There’s no word from WotC on whether physical books will be discontinued and be allowed to sell out.

 

[Charlaquin]

Why the “for now”? There has never ever been a precedent nor a legal standing for anyone to take your books away. I hope you’re being tongue in cheek.

The physical books? No, no one’s going to take those away. The digital content you purchase the ability to view? Theoretically they could stop giving that to you. They probably won’t while the rules in them are still supported, but again. I prefer to actually own things.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Elaborate. I am pretty sure despite that there will be a new version of the Monk in the new book, it would not break the game or contradict any rules for me to use a elf monk from the old one in a game.

I think I have said this before... back when I started playing 2e I was told stories of people playing 1e and it didn't sound too diffrent, but 1e had classes that did not exist in 2e (assassin and barbarian and monk) but no one in the area (even those that played 1e) wanted to let someone play those. I found people who had house rules for there own classes based on those but no one would let me grab a 1e book and play.

When I bought 3e I liked it (at first) but when 3e updated to 3.5 several books reprinted prestige classes with minor differences. at first there were some that would let you use 3e stuff... but over a year I found less and less until no one around her let it in.

in those years even at cons nobody wanted to let anyone run a 3e haste... that was labled 'broken'

now in 5e (a few years maybe 5ish ago) I ran a game were I had 'the survivor' and I ran a 9d4+x hp wizard that preped spells and had stone skin that negated attacks, and had fireball that filled it's area... it didn't take long to realize this was a 2e wizard (since 4 out of 5 players played with me in 2e) it didn't take too much work to make it go.

I don't expect that anyone is going to let me PC a 2e wizard. The same way I stopped expecting the 3.5 DMs to let 3e spells and prestige classes in.

Now I will admit 4e was different, the essentials saw play with the PHB1. but nothing so far has shown me this is essentials... but more 3e/3.5 tbh I WISH it was more 3.5 to 4, but I doubt it,

 

[MonsterEnvy]

The physical books? No, no one’s going to take those away. The digital content you purchase the ability to view? Theoretically they could stop giving that to you. They probably won’t while the rules in them are still supported, but again. I prefer to actually own things.

They just said the books are not going to go away. They will likely only go away when D&D Beyond shuts down at an inevitable but no doubt far off future date.

 

[Parmandur]

Now I will admit 4e was different, the essentials saw play with the PHB1. but nothing so far has shown me this is essentials... but more 3e/3.5 tbh I WISH it was more 3.5 to 4, but I doubt it,

Why? We already have significant pieces of the changes in active use since 2020.

 

[Charlaquin]

They just said the books are not going to go away. They will likely only go away when D&D Beyond shuts down at an inevitable but no doubt far off future date.

Right. Hence the “for now.”

 

[Micah Sweet]

So you’re against a revision?

Yeah, pretty much. I don't care for the revisions they're planning (especially for spellcasting monsters, and the lore) and I really dislike WotC's focus on making the game as simple as possible for new players. Quite frankly, it does nothing for me.

A while back, WotC proclaimed that canon now consisted of just the 5e core books. I wasn't happy about that, but I got much less happy when I realized they were just going to change the core books so they could have their cake and eat it too.

They made a good game, one that I can easily modify to suit my needs. Their recent choices have for the most not been worth it to me.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Why? We already have significant pieces of the changes in active use since 2020.

becuse I already see DMs saying they wont use tasha'a and others saying they will or wont use the new monster stats (and worries about how that interacts with counterspell... and we already have minor edition wars starting as boarder skirmishes

edit: there are people in other threads that got bad word censored when talking about tashas aim action... if that alone just Aim is enough to start this what does that mean when the PHB has it built into the rogue?

 

[Parmandur]

becuse I already see DMs saying they wont use tasha'a and others saying they will or wont use the new monster stats (and worries about how that interacts with counterspell... and we already have minor edition wars starting as boarder skirmishes

edit: there are people in other threads that got bad word censored when talking about tashas aim action... if that alone just Aim is enough to start this what does that mean when the PHB has it built into the rogue?

So what, that was already the case with other supplements. Someone always going to be tripping. Doesn't mean that Tasha's isn't fully compatible just because some DM doesn't cotton to some option or other.

 

[Micah Sweet]

We already know that’s not going to be the case. They are not going to shorten the book. Humanoids will be said to be any alignment, unless they are in a certain role or group then it will say Typically in front. Some creatures that used to be humanoids will be changed to different types like Gnolls which are monstrosities now.

So why did they remove the orc starblocks that used to be in Volo's? What did they replace them with?

For that matter, when did they outline their plan for the 2024 MM?

 

[GMforPowergamers]

So what, that was already the case with other supplements. Someone always going to be tripping. Doesn't mean that Tasha's isn't fully compatible just because some DM doesn't cotton to some option or other.

it means they are not useable at the same tables... we can see it in small bit already I bet you anything it will not get better over teh next 2 years