D&D (2024) How D&D Beyond Will Handle Access To 2014 Rules

D&D Beyond has announced how the transition to the new 2024 edition will work on the platform, and how legacy access to the 2014 version of D&D will be implemented.

• You will still be able to access the 2014 Basic Rules and core rulebooks.
• You will still be able to make characters using the 2014 Player's Handbook.
• Existing home-brew content will not be impacted.
• These 2014 rules will be accessible and will be marked with a 'legacy' badge: classes, subclasses, species, backgrounds, feats, monsters.
• Tooltips will reflect the 2024 rules.
• Monster stat blocks will be updated to 2024.
• There will be terminology changes (Heroic Inspiration, Species, etc.)

D&D (2024) - Wizards of the Coast Backtracks on D&D Beyond and 2014 Content

Wizards of the Coast posted an overnight update stating that they are not going forward with previously released plans to require those wishing to use some 2014 content on D&D Beyond to use the Homebrew function to manually enter it. Instead, all the content including spells and magic items will...

www.enworld.org

 

[mamba]

Wizards just posted an update: https://www.dndbeyond.com/posts/1806-2024-d-d-beyond-ruleset-changelog-update

oh, so they could do this all along, no technical limitations of DDB that poor old WotC struggled mightily to overcome and just couldn’t… well, there goes that defense…

Seems we have to replace one form of incompetence for another… at least this time they had their answer faster than during the OGL. Would be even better if it didn’t need a ‘revolt’ first for WotC to make the right decision

 

[Belen]

So they changed their mind. Will people stop freaking out now?

Did they?

The update does not mention tooltips etc.

 

[mamba]

No it's a win for some customers.

I don't think some of the 2024 rules will be free on DNDB PC builder now.

So there would not be Basic 2024 rules then? what do you base that belief on?

 

[mamba]

It didn't mention them being free still either.

I do not see not mentioning something as an indication that their position on it changed… there will be an SRD, there will be Basic Rules, they will continue to add new supplements, none of this was mentioned and all of this will simply not change

 

[Nikosandros]

I think that this article confirms that there won't be free access to the 2024 spells and items any more. Personally, I'm fine with that. I don't consider it unfair.

 

[Minigiant]

I do not see not mentioning something as an indication that their position on it changed… there will be an SRD, there will be Basic Rules, they will continue to add new supplements, none of this was mentioned and all of this will simply not change

I'll believe it when I see it.

I'm heading to my Manhattan corporate job right now.

I suspect that the free updated options were given because people already had them and they were updating those.

Now that they can still offer the 2014 options, they don't need to give you the 2024 ones for free anymore.

That's what my boss might do. And his boss and everyone above him would definitely do.

If we keep the updated stuff for free, AWESOME. But I am prepared for the grim news and no boycott will convince them to hand out free stuff.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

So there would not be Basic 2024 rules then? what do you base that belief on?

I think we'll see Basic 2024 eventually, but what we now right now is that there is no Basic 2024 that's been announced or even really hinted at by WotC. Beyond, which is often WotC's mouthpiece in this was clear that the Basic 2014 would still be a thing for the near future at least.

I wouldn't expect a Basic 2024 before the 2024 SRD personally.

I think that this article confirms that there won't be free access to the 2024 spells and items any more. Personally, I'm fine with that. I don't consider it unfair.

It's the opposite of unfair - it's just.

This is how it always should have worked, I guess they got enough push-back and cancelled subs that they decided to the frankly simple manual labour - literally just data-entry - required to make these available dependent on whether you owned the 2014 books or not, rather than deleting them and replacing them with the 2024 versions, was justifiable.

So I'm very pleased to see this update.

Now maybe they can go back and make the Gifts from Theros and Ravenloft available as Feats, just include some copy & pasted caveat text on them.

 

[Minigiant]

It's the opposite of unfair - it's just.

This is how it always should have worked, I guess they got enough push-back and cancelled subs that they decided to the frankly simple manual labour - literally just data-entry - required to make these available dependent on whether you owned the 2014 books or not, rather than deleting them and replacing them with the 2024 versions.

So I'm very pleased to see this update

I don't think the data entry is simple.

I believe there is a big coding hiccup somewhere.

No way was WOTC going to give everyone free updates and lock out the 2014 version when they could rewrite the new versions and force everyone to buy whole PHB again to get all the new stuff they promoted if it was easy.

 

[Ondath]

I think we'll see Basic 2024 eventually, but what we now right now is that there is no Basic 2024 that's been announced or even really hinted at by WotC. Beyond, which is often WotC's mouthpiece in this was clear that the Basic 2014 would still be a thing for the near future at least.

I wouldn't expect a Basic 2024 before the 2024 SRD personally.

I vaguely remember WotC mentioning a Free Rules 2024 (which was to replace Basic Rules 2024) in one of the explainers they published during this weeklong mess, but I can't find it upon checking. Maybe @Minigiant is right and there will be no Basic Rules 2024 immediately, but even then I agree that they will basically have to put the equivalent of Basic Rules 2024 when the 2024 SRD gets released. And honestly I don't think this isn't MEGA LOSS for free 2024 adopters.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

I don't think the data entry is simple.

I believe there is a big coding hiccup somewhere.

No way was WOTC going to give everyone free updates and lock out the 2014 version when they could rewrite the new versions and force everyone to buy whole PHB again to get all the new stuff they promoted if it was easy.

You can think what you like, but it is that simple, and if you've created content in Beyond, you know it is.

As an internal user, all they have to do to separate out the 2014 items and spells is:

A) Go through them and add (Legacy) to the end of the name.

That's it. There are no other steps. Access to those spells/items is ALREADY tied to ownership of the 2014 PHB/DMG. No change needs to be made there. Maybe they've added some tech to add a "Legacy" badge to spells/items beyond that, but it'll just be a checkbox if so, and I honestly doubt it.

With the 2024 spells/items, they just need to ensure access to them is tied to ownership of the 2024 PHB/DMG, not the 2014 versions therefore, and that's probably already the case.

There was no hiccup, but I can tell you exactly why they were going to do this - a longstanding policy of what might unkindly called laziness, and what at best might be called "perfectionist miserliness". To be specific, Beyond (not WotC), have, for literally 4-5 years, had a policy where if they could do something internally, but it would require a bunch of data-entry and it wouldn't be "perfect", they just wouldn't do it, even though it was part of a paid product and would save players huge time/effort. They used the excuse that, in future, they could do it perfect and would then. They have used this excuse for years and the ability to do it perfectly has never emerged.

Clearly they took their usual attitude, and that persisted until some higher-up saw the push-back, got the rest of them in a room, and said "How much effort would this actually be?!" and was told "Oh about X hours", at which the higher-up probably Picard face-palmed and told them to just do it.