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

 

[Minigiant]

Kinda.

Pathfinder 1.0 survived the end of D&D 3E.

The various alt-5E games might find a big enough audience to survive the eventual end of D&D 5E. They might not.

That's only because the 3e audience split heavily between PF1 and 4e.

If 6e doesn't cause as bad a split, new 6e-lites will happen in a few years.

better organization, clearer language, some cleanup, new art? I am just as likely to spend money on that as the 2024 book, maybe even moreso, I do not really like the 2024 direction all that much…

That's not what I said.

I said the 2014 book with new art and a few tweaked spells.

WOTC isn't going to make a huge marketing push for something with nothing new.

A refresh is a reprint of an old book with new art and cover.
Reprints of a still printed product sell as much the old.

Probably. I keep multiple copies of the book in case anyone needs a copy.

Are you buying 1000 copies?

WOTC isn't going to print a refresh unless they expect thousands of extra sales.

 

[Imaro]

The book is 10 years old so yes it needs a bit of a jumpstart. The good news, for me at least, is that I have 10 years worth of material to pull from that hasn't been invalidated... a literal smorgasborg that wouldn't exist if WotC had decided to radically change 5e.

I don't understand the sentiment of wanting WotC to create a totally new and incompatible game because you've grown tired of the current iteration of D&D... there are thousands (probably tens of thousands) of not-D&D 5e-rpg's... pick one.

 

[Minigiant]

I don't understand the sentiment of wanting WotC to create a totally new and incompatible game because you've grown tired of the current iteration of D&D... there are thousands (probably tens of thousands) of not-D&D 5e-rpg's... pick one.

I think there is a split between

1) The people who want the 2014 rules just with a few things cleaned up.

2) The people who want a true 5.5e with true rule changes to fix the troublesome aspects old rules as well as introductions of new RPG element that have have been found beneficial in the last 20 years.

3) The people who want a completely new 6E which ditches the most complained about aspects of 5e by redoing some of the bones while keeping most of the original skeleton.

Like I said none of these ideas are big money makers yet. That's why the closest you've ever seen to it at the moment is number two which is things like Level Up 5e.


Of course none of these will be compatible with each other and that's kind of why you don't see them all existing as major product yet.

 

[Imaro]

I think there is a split between

1) The people who want the 2014 rules just with a few things cleaned up.

2) The people who want a true 5.5e with true rule changes to fix the troublesome aspects old rules as well as introductions of new RPG element that have have been found beneficial in the last 20 years.

3) The people who want a completely new 6E which ditches the most complained about aspects of 5e by redoing some of the bones while keeping most of the original skeleton.

Like I said none of these ideas are big money makers yet. That's why the closest you've ever seen to it at the moment is number two which is things like Level Up 5e.


Of course none of these will be compatible with each other and that's kind of why you don't see them all existing as major product yet.

My take, and it's admittedly from only an anecdotal evidence perspective is....

There's a group that's going to buy 2024 core and use what they want from it (whatever they feel is "better") and not use what they feel is worse... in essence it's just another sourcebook for them.

 

[SlyFlourish]

The thing I find amusing though with people who say 5E and D&D are different is that the only reason all these companies are making games using the 5E engine is because they know people actually want to play D&D. And thus they are trying to horn in on the D&D audience by making "D&D but slightly different ".

All of these companies (including everyone who uses the 5.1 SRD) know that their money is made by following the trail that D&D blazes. And if D&D 5E drops off and fails... they are going to be right behind. Because as soon as the huge morass of D&D 5E game players are gone, all the 5E hangers-on are going to no longer be part of the gaming zeitgeist and their games will fall off the cliff as well.

It is a hard thing to swallow, knowing their livelihood is tied to WotC's success... but that's what happens when you tie your game to the D&D wagon. You live and die by how they do.

I am one publisher who isn’t doing that. City of Arches is 5e and compatible D&D 2024, D&D 2014, Level Up A5e (what I’m currently playing it in), and Tales of the Valiant. It’s important to me that it supports any of those systems.

 

[SlyFlourish]

I think there is a split between

1) The people who want the 2014 rules just with a few things cleaned up.

2) The people who want a true 5.5e with true rule changes to fix the troublesome aspects old rules as well as introductions of new RPG element that have have been found beneficial in the last 20 years.

3) The people who want a completely new 6E which ditches the most complained about aspects of 5e by redoing some of the bones while keeping most of the original skeleton.

Like I said none of these ideas are big money makers yet. That's why the closest you've ever seen to it at the moment is number two which is things like Level Up 5e.


Of course none of these will be compatible with each other and that's kind of why you don't see them all existing as major product yet.

It doesn’t matter. Only one of those actually happened. I expect it’ll be at least four years before they’d attempt a 6e. If you want something built in its bones and totally new, may I recommend Shadow of the Weird Wizard, Cypher system, 13th Age, or Pathfinder 2 — all designed by former D&D designers as their own takes on D&D.

 

[SlyFlourish]

The book is 10 years old so yes it needs a bit of a jumpstart. The good news, for me at least, is that I have 10 years worth of material to pull from that hasn't been invalidated... a literal smorgasborg that wouldn't exist if WotC had decided to radically change 5e.

I don't understand the sentiment of wanting WotC to create a totally new and incompatible game because you've grown tired of the current iteration of D&D... there are thousands (probably tens of thousands) of not-D&D 5e-rpg's... pick one.

I agree and many of them are really close to D&D but with their own opinionated design direction. They have fantastic production value, brilliant rules and design, great art. Many of them would sit very comfortably next to any D&D book.

 

[mamba]

That's not what I said.

I said the 2014 book with new art and a few tweaked spells.

yes, but why would I not also get the other stuff they are doing with the new books? Why would they not improve organization etc.

If they try to not sell to people who own the book already, they won't get a lot of buyers that have the old books already... you are basically creating terms that make upgrades unlikely and then ask whether that does the job you wanted it to do (not result in upgrades), instead of creating a scenario WotC might actually have seen as an alternative rather than as a dud

WOTC isn't going to print a refresh unless they expect thousands of extra sales.

they can also do a refresh if they think that increases future sales / prevents a decrease in sales

 

[Chaosmancer]

no, but there also is no Dell standard that HD is compatible with, it works in any computer. It is SATA compatible, not Dell compatible. Same with 5e vs D&D, WotC created a standard that D&D is compatible with as well as A5e or ToV

... No? A5e and ToV were created AFTER DnD 5e, to specifically be compatible with them. WoTC didn't make a game compatible with someone else's product. They made the game, and the 3rd party creators made mods for WotC's game. And then people made games that were "kind of like 5e but not really" when they thought 5e was going to crash and burn.

 

[Minigiant]

It doesn’t matter. Only one of those actually happened. I expect it’ll be at least four years before they’d attempt a 6e. If you want something built in its bones and totally new, may I recommend Shadow of the Weird Wizard, Cypher system, 13th Age, or Pathfinder 2 — all designed by former D&D designers as their own takes on D&D.

I also give it 4-5 more years before 6e starts hitting the official channels

Just saying there isn't a big enough audience for a 2014 PHB or MM with new art. Maybe a 2014 DMG with new art and reorganization since it was not read enough. But without the other 2, that would hold it down.