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.

 

[Parmandur]

It has modular aspects in the DMs toolbox section of the DMG, but it's not really modular in the way that they described it to us.

Anything outside of the actual core rules proper is a Module of rules exceptions. Hence why MotM can wholesale replace a boatload of Monsters with new abilities and rationales without rendering them incompstible: they are Modules. Just like Eaces, Classes, Feats, Backgrounds, etc.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

So if I bring my Xanathar's guide with the original healing spirit spell from 2019 and the DM advises me that the spell is limited to 1+spellcasting mod per the update printed in 2020, my copy of Xanathar is not compatible and thus a separate edition?

I don't know why people keep latching onto single changes... is it a new edition, no it isn't. Is the Xanathar's book no longer in use (at least partially).

if every race gets changed and nothing else, weather they call it 5.5 or 6e or anniversary edition, it doesn't matter it invalidates every race in the 2014 book and needs to be updated to the 2024 book

If they change some classes (I wont even say all).
Lets say they ONLY make the tasha changes and nothing else.
that ALSO invalidates the 2014 classes.

the basic character gen is pick stats, choose race, choose class choose background. if race and class are already changing you can not use the 2014phb with the 2024 game (unless you take the extra steps of update your 2014 book to the 2024 one...if you do so by buying the new one or printing out changes or handwritting the changes into the margins... it is still the 2024 book with extra steps)

 

[GMforPowergamers]

It has modular aspects in the DMs toolbox section of the DMG, but it's not really modular in the way that they described it to us.

yup I played around with some of them...I like some and dislike some... one day I want to try the sanity score that is one of the only ones I have not tried. but like you said it isn't what tehy said it would be

 

[DataDwarf]

Every table I play with will allow it, so it's compatible.

I consider you to be very lucky, as this is not my experience.

In the tables I play at, the allowed content is specifically dictated by the DMs. If they do not own the book (WoTC or 3rd Party) it is not allowed. The reasoning (right or wrong) behind this is that if they don't have the book, they cant look up the rules to be able to make a call.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I mean there are only 2 options... support the old or support the new, and they have to bet on what keeps them in business.

I didn't say it doesn't make financial sense, I said it was annoying. I really hope Level Up doesn't follow suit. I love that game!

 

[Micah Sweet]

So, don't buy them or use them.

Preferences are fair, but just like a DM deciding they don't like Gnomes or SCAG, it isn't compatibility.

Did I not say that? I'm agreeing with you.

 

[Parmandur]

Did I not say that? I'm agreeing with you.

Sure?

 

[Saracenus]

Having played pretty much all editions of this game I can say from experience that in 1e which ever group I played with had different variations on play whether it was ignoring established rules (weapon speeds anyone), something from a 3rd party source (The Arduin Grimoire, White Dwarf Magazine, Countless Zines, etc.), and/or house rules. That was the beauty and the curse of that edition.

Fun fact: My first exposure to D&D was a game in the summer of '79 at a science summer camp that was a hybrid game of 1e PHB, 1e MM, The Arduin Grimoire, and Chivalry & Sorcery. I was hooked and when I was back in Middle School my chess club became the D&D club and I became a player and DM of the game myself.

The idea that there was a homogenous set of D&D rules was an alien concept in both design and practice unless you were playing in some form of organized play where the rules need to be the same across the board or the initial design phases of 2e and 3e. The constant need for product for the former led to layers upon layers of supplements, alternate rule books, etc. While the latter had an official 3rd party conduit of alternate material in the form of the OGL/D20 license and eventually WotC's own variants.

In 5e there is a solid core mathematically to the game but you could always tinker (Do you allow feats at your table? Does flanking give you advantage?) and depending on which way you spun a dial or flipped a switch at your table your game would play a bit different from mine. Look at how Critical Role handles resurrection magic or if you are using Level Up from EN World like my friend Anna.

How will I know if the anniversary isn't truly compatible with my current material? Well, for me if they remove or change the Advantage/Disadvantage mechanic (one of the most truly innovative ideas in 5e), did away with bonus actions like Mike Merles talked about in one of his design blogs, and/or changed the range of the bounded accuracy. If they change the rules on that fundamental level, then we are in the territory of a new game and compatibility goes out the window.

My expectation is that anniversary edition of the game in 2024 will be playable backwards if you want to but the new books are going reflect and distill the "open beta" on the rules they have been doing in the past few years so you don't have to own anything beyond the core three books to play in the "current" state of the game, where as now, you have the core three and a series of sourcebooks (primarily Tasha's and on May 17 Monster's of the Multiverse) to play the updated rules.

Essentially I believe they are moving towards that more modular system they were aiming at the with the 5e playtest but never quite archived. Campaign sourcebooks the publish will merely be dials and switches thrown to give you a flavor or feeling different from another and allow those of us who tinker make D&D the engine for our ideas. That should either inspire you, terrify you, or both.

 

[Parmandur]

My expectation is that anniversary edition of the game in 2024 will be playable backwards if you want to but the new books are going reflect and distill the "open beta" on the rules they have been doing in the past few years so you don't have to own anything beyond the core three books to play in the "current" state of the game, where as now, you have the core three and a series of sourcebooks (primarily Tasha's and on May 17 Monster's of the Multiverse) to play the updated rules.

Yeah, this is about the long and the short of it. The core rules aren't under any sort of discussion from the D&D Studio. I think a maximal change is possible (revamps of the Classes), but that won't break compatibility of the game as long as the core rules remain the same.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Having played pretty much all editions of this game I can say from experience that in 1e which ever group I played with had different variations on play whether it was ignoring established rules (weapon speeds anyone), something from a 3rd party source (The Arduin Grimoire, White Dwarf Magazine, Countless Zines, etc.), and/or house rules. That was the beauty and the curse of that edition.

I started in 2e with just TSR but soon in I met people useing Mayfair games add ons. Not long after that I found people who had print outs from an old AOL style website... so I agree editions often have house rules

(I even knew a guy that as of about 11 years ago was still playing '3e' that was 2e with add ons and he had 2 binders full of house rules (including some from 3rd parties and some he and friends made)