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.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Shocked! ...Shocked I say!




Never.

The 50th 5eAE is Not. A. New. Edition.

Therefore anything that they do is inherently compatible with what came before because, it is just a evolved not-edition of the same game.

Get it?

2nd ed was a new edition, even though it used largely the same rules as before. 3.5 was a new edition, even though it used largely the same rules as before.

This is going to be at least as big a change as 3.5, at least as far as the public is concerned.

 

[Parmandur]

again... when a rogue has Aim, and another rogue doesn't have AIm...

look we already have issues on this board of people not knowing... sooner or later we will have short hand for new book or old book and it wont be just on enworld... and we will run games at cons and use short hand. 5.5 6e anniversary edition and we will have edition breaks if you like it or not.

Not really a problem, as they have different character sheets.

Never been in a con game, don't plan to change that anytime soon. Breaks are not always that cut and dry in practice.

 

[Parmandur]

Here's another way of looking at it. 5e has seen the largest growth of any edition of the game. For many of those players, the books, characters, and campaigns they've got already will be fine - and they won't have a reason to go get the newest edition of the game. For many of them, 5e is the only edition of the game they've ever played. Most of the people who will care are fans (like us) who debate this stuff and who spend hours trying to glean what words might be refracted in a gem on a teaser Tweet to get an insight into a forthcoming book.
I don't think the new crowd of 5e players are "like us." I'm not trying to gate-keep or anything. I'm just saying that based on the ones I've met, played with, and run games for, they could care less if it's 5e, 5.12e, 5.2795e, etc.
They probably won't even notice anything has changed.

yup, particularly if they don't put "Sixth Edition" in big letters all over the cover. It will be 'new art, reconsolidated rules, don't worry about it."

 

[Parmandur]

2nd ed was a new edition, even though it used largely the same rules as before. 3.5 was a new edition, even though it used largely the same rules as before.

This is going to be at least as big a change as 3.5, at least as far as the public is concerned.

Yup, though probably not as mathematically drastic as 3.5 to base rules. Somewhere between the B/X to BECMI edition change and 3.5 I suppose. Most people won't even notice a difference.

 

[Jaeger]

Please look up the definition of FULL compatibility. I have no arguement to make, it has already been made and is correct.

Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! We can't have people looking up the definitions of things. This is crazy talk!

Just be glad you didn't go completely off the rails and cite the dictionary definition of "Full" and "Compatible". Or heaven forbid; both.

"Dan" might have written a blog post about: "What Does ‘Fully Compatible’ Mean in RPGs?"

Then you'd really be screwed...

...
In the first video where they announced the 50th Anniversity Edition, they claimed it would be fully compatible. That has a meaning in the English language. I'm pointing out that it does not look like it will be fully compatible because even the things coming out now are invalidating some earlier material.

I brought up conflating the meaning of "compatible" and "fully compatible" and he acts as if they are identical.

This feels like "when all else fails, win on word games". ...

... But to give you the benefit of the doubt:

Oof! Unforced error bro. I recognize this because I've made the very same mistake myself.

Here's the hot tip: You will never get him to publicly backtrack on this.

Especially when you are right.

FWIW - Free advice: Post a short, one sentence, pithy retort with a dash of wit, and slow walk away from this.

Otherwise, be prepared to walk through fire. Not recommended.

 

[MostlyHarmless42]

Let this be a reminder to everyone you aren't actually owning anything with D&D beyond, but merely paying to access it. They can keep their expensive rental system thank you. I'll stick with physical books (piracy reference removed) thank you.

Mod Note:

Advocacy of piracy- even obliquely- is not permitted here.

 

[JEB]

They probably won't even notice anything has changed.

yup, particularly if they don't put "Sixth Edition" in big letters all over the cover. It will be 'new art, reconsolidated rules, don't worry about it."

As long as it's purely additive. If any options are absent from 2024 edition (half-orcs, for example), that might be more noticeable to fans who've been playing since the 2014 rules. Doesn't mean it'll be a deal-breaker, of course - it may even be a positive to some - but such would be noticed.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Yup, though probably not as mathematically drastic as 3.5 to base rules. Somewhere between the B/X to BECMI edition change and 3.5 I suppose. Most people won't even notice a difference.

Maybe so, but most people pointedly does NOT include pretty much anyone on this or similar forums. Or a lot of their players, I suspect.

 

[Micah Sweet]

As long as it's purely additive. If any options are absent from 2024 edition (half-orcs, for example), that might be more noticeable to fans who've been playing since the 2014 rules. Doesn't mean it'll be a deal-breaker, of course - it may even be a positive to some - but such would be noticed.

I don't think it will be additive at all. They're changing a bunch of stuff, maybe not the core rules but certainly a great deal of the stuff that actually makes the game what it is (races, classes, spells, monsters, etc). I don't see anything that would actually be added.

They're also likely to change the formatting and art. The books will look very different. You don't think people will notice that?

 

[JEB]

I don't think it will be additive at all. They're changing a bunch of stuff, maybe not the core rules but certainly a great deal of the stuff that actually makes the game what it is (races, classes, spells, monsters, etc). I don't see anything that would actually be added.

I wouldn't be surprised to see a few race and class options from later 5E books integrated into the 2024 rules - proper orcs as a core race being the most likely. But mostly just changes, yes. And maybe some quiet deletions.

They're also likely to change the formatting and art. The books will look very different. You don't think people will notice that?

Notice, certainly. But again, it might not be a deal-breaker, maybe even a selling point, unless they greatly misjudge what their (intended) audience wants to see.