Dungeons & Dragons SRD 5.2 Is Officially Live

The new System Reference Document (SRD) for Dungeons & Dragons' revised 5th Edition is officially live. The new SRD was officially released and is available for download on D&D Beyond. A FAQ detailing changes from the previous SRD was also released.

The SRD provides a version of D&D's rules that can be used and referenced in third-party material and form a framework for publishing material compatible for D&D's latest edition. The newest version of the SRD contains a mix of species, backgrounds, subclasses, and feats from the 2024 Player's Handbook, along with statblocks from the 2025 Monster Manual.

One other interesting note is that the new SRD purges references to creatures and characters classified as D&D IP. The previous SRD released under a Creative Commons license contained reference to Strahd and Orcus, both of which were removed in the new SRD. Additionally, the SRD renames the Deck of Many Things as "Mysterious Deck" and the Orb of Dragonkind as "Dragon Orb" to allow for both to be used in third-party material while not infringing upon D&D IP.

 

[SkidAce]

It was Dancey's idea

Exactly, and he created it to ensure we would never lose access.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Creative Commons is not the "make it WotC's property" license. Never fear! Your content is safe.

As long as it's not posted on D&D Beyond. Anything you post there becomes Wizard's IP.

 

[Morrus]

As long as it's not posted on D&D Beyond. Anything you post there becomes Wizard's IP.

I figure you mean DM's Guild. You can't post products on D&D Beyond. And you don't put things on DMsG using the Creative Commons license--DMsG has its own licensing terms.

WotC does not own content put on DMsG. But it does get a perpetual license to use it, as do other DMsG creators. In effect it's a little mini 'open license' system in an enclosed marketplace.

I guess it effectively becomes Wizards' IP because they can use it how they like, while you cannot publish it outside DMsG--so WotC actually has more freedom to use the content you put there than you do.

 

[Voadam]

Last entry at the bottom of the download page

Then is there any benefit to publish my content under OGL 1.0a v Creative Commons?​

We expect most creators will start using Creative Commons due to its benefits. Still, OGL 1.0a has been the means by which creators have published their D&D compatible works since 2000. We want you to have the choice on which license to use.

Cool, choice!

Oh wait, up near the top there is a footnote:

*SRD 5.1 was originally published under both OGL 1.0a and Creative Commons. Going forward, all new SRD versions will be released exclusively under Creative Commons (CC-BY-4.0) for consistency and broader compatibility.

Ignore that bit at the bottom.

Not having 5.2 under the OGL makes it harder to use OGC stuff like the aasimar from the WotC 3.5 SRD or Orcus as the fat goat headed demon lord of the Undead wielding an artifact wand from Tome of Horrors. You can still do it no problems if stuff is under the OGL 5.1 SRD, it is just trickier if you are using the 5.2 CC srd and if they keep with that no OGL plan for the future.

 

[Sacrosanct]

I figure you mean DM's Guild. You can't post products on D&D Beyond. And you don't put things on DMsG using the Creative Commons license--DMsG has its own licensing terms.

WotC does not own content put on DMsG. But it does get a perpetual license to use it, as do other DMsG creators. In effect it's a little mini 'open license' system in an enclosed marketplace.

I guess it effectively becomes Wizards' IP because they can use it how they like, while you cannot publish it outside DMsG--so WotC actually has more freedom to use the content you put there than you do.

I meant D&D Beyond. While a bit tongue in cheek (WoTC doesn't literally take over your IP), it's pretty close to that for intents and purposes:

"5.2. License to Wizards. By posting or submitting any User Content to or through the Websites, Games, or Services, you hereby irrevocably grant to Wizards a worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, non-exclusive, and fully sublicensable license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, perform and display such User Content (in whole or in part) in any media and to incorporate the User Content into other works in any format or medium now known or later developed. The foregoing grants shall include the right to: (i) exploit any proprietary rights in such User Content, including but not limited to, rights under copyright, trademark or patent laws under any relevant jurisdiction; (ii) your name, likeness, and any other information included in your User Content, without any obligation to you. You waive any and all claims that any use by us or our licensees of your User Content violates any of your rights, including moral rights, privacy rights, rights to publicity, proprietary, attribution, or other rights, and rights to any material or ideas contained in your User Content."

 

[Voadam]

One huge improvement is that when I copy and paste from the 5.2 SRD it gives me whole lines of text.

Ghost
Ghost
Medium Undead, Neutral
AC 11 Initiative +1 (11)
HP 45 (10d8)
Speed 5 ft., Fly 40 ft. (hover)
MOD SAVE MOD SAVE MOD SAVE
Str 7 −2 −2 Dex 13 +1 +1 Con 10 +0 +0
Int 10 +0 +0 Wis 12 +1 +1 Cha 17 +3 +3
Resistances Acid, Bludgeoning, Cold, Fire, Lightning,
Piercing, Slashing, Thunder
Immunities Necrotic, Poison; Charmed, Exhaustion,
Frightened, Grappled, Paralyzed, Petrified, Poisoned,
Prone, Restrained
Senses Darkvision 60 ft.; Passive Perception 11
Languages Common plus one other language
CR 4 (XP 1,100; PB +2)
Traits
Ethereal Sight. The ghost can see 60 feet into the Ethereal
Plane when it is on the Material Plane.
Incorporeal Movement. The ghost can move through
other creatures and objects as if they were Difficult
Terrain. It takes 5 (1d10) Force damage if it ends its turn
inside an object.

The old 5.1 SRD when copied made every word its own paragraph break which was pretty useless for copying and pasting:

Berserker
Medium
humanoid
(any
race),
any
chaotic
alignment
Armor
Class
13
(hide
armor)
Hit
Points
67
(9d8
+
27)
Speed
30
ft.
STR
DEX
CON
INT
WIS
CHA
16
(+3)
12
(+1)
17
(+3)
9
(−1)
11
(+0)
9
(−1)
Senses
passive
Perception
10
Languages
any
one
language
(usually
Common)
Challenge
2
(450
XP)
Reckless.
At
the
start
of
its
turn,
the
berserker
can
gain
advantage
on
all
melee
weapon
attack
rolls
during
that
turn,
but
attack
rolls
against
it
have
advantage
until
the
start
of
its
next
turn.
Actions
Greataxe.
Melee
Weapon
Attack:
+5
to
hit,
reach
5
ft.,
one
target.
Hit:
9
(1d12
+
3)
slashing
damage.
Hailing
from
uncivilized
lands,
unpredictable
berserkers
come
together
in
war
parties
and
seek
conflict
wherever
they
can
find
it.

 

[mamba]

I think Ryan Dancy may disagree.

I doubt it, didn’t he say as much?

EDIT: he did

“Here's the logic in a nutshell. We've got a theory that says that D&D is the most popular role playing game because it is the game more people know how to play than any other game. (For those of you interested researching the theory, this concept is called "The Theory of Network Externalities").

Note: This is a very painful concept for a lot of people to embrace, including a lot of our own staff, and including myself for many years. The idea that D&D is somehow "better" than the competition is a powerful and entrenched concept. The idea that D&D can be "beaten" by a game that is "better" than D&D is at the heart of every business plan from every company that goes into marketplace battle with the D&D game. If you accept the Theory of Network Externalities, you have to admit that the battle is lost before it begins, because the value doesn't reside in the game itself, but in the network of people who know how to play it.

If you accept (as I have finally come to do) that the theory is valid, then the logical conclusion is that the larger the number of people who play D&D, the harder it is for competitive games to succeed, and the longer people will stay active gamers, and the more value the network of D&D players will have to Wizards of the Coast.”

Dungeons and Dragons 3rd Edition News

 

[Reynard]

I think Ryan Dancy may disagree.

He wouldn't. That was his entire purpose. Let's not canonized the guy as some sort of RPG philanthropist.

 

[Reynard]

One huge improvement is that when I copy and paste from the 5.2 SRD it gives me whole lines of text.

Ghost
Ghost
Medium Undead, Neutral
AC 11 Initiative +1 (11)
HP 45 (10d8)
Speed 5 ft., Fly 40 ft. (hover)
MOD SAVE MOD SAVE MOD SAVE
Str 7 −2 −2 Dex 13 +1 +1 Con 10 +0 +0
Int 10 +0 +0 Wis 12 +1 +1 Cha 17 +3 +3
Resistances Acid, Bludgeoning, Cold, Fire, Lightning,
Piercing, Slashing, Thunder
Immunities Necrotic, Poison; Charmed, Exhaustion,
Frightened, Grappled, Paralyzed, Petrified, Poisoned,
Prone, Restrained
Senses Darkvision 60 ft.; Passive Perception 11
Languages Common plus one other language
CR 4 (XP 1,100; PB +2)
Traits
Ethereal Sight. The ghost can see 60 feet into the Ethereal
Plane when it is on the Material Plane.
Incorporeal Movement. The ghost can move through
other creatures and objects as if they were Difficult
Terrain. It takes 5 (1d10) Force damage if it ends its turn
inside an object.

The old 5.1 SRD when copied made every word its own paragraph break which was pretty useless for copying and pasting:

Berserker
Medium
humanoid
(any
race),
any
chaotic
alignment
Armor
Class
13
(hide
armor)
Hit
Points
67
(9d8
+
27)
Speed
30
ft.
STR
DEX
CON
INT
WIS
CHA
16
(+3)
12
(+1)
17
(+3)
9
(−1)
11
(+0)
9
(−1)
Senses
passive
Perception
10
Languages
any
one
language
(usually
Common)
Challenge
2
(450
XP)
Reckless.
At
the
start
of
its
turn,
the
berserker
can
gain
advantage
on
all
melee
weapon
attack
rolls
during
that
turn,
but
attack
rolls
against
it
have
advantage
until
the
start
of
its
next
turn.
Actions
Greataxe.
Melee
Weapon
Attack:
+5
to
hit,
reach
5
ft.,
one
target.
Hit:
9
(1d12
+
3)
slashing
damage.
Hailing
from
uncivilized
lands,
unpredictable
berserkers
come
together
in
war
parties
and
seek
conflict
wherever
they
can
find
it.

That IS a huge improvement.

 

[Morrus]

I meant D&D Beyond. While a bit tongue in cheek (WoTC doesn't literally take over your IP), it's pretty close to that for intents and purposes:

"5.2. License to Wizards. By posting or submitting any User Content to or through the Websites, Games, or Services, you hereby irrevocably grant to Wizards a worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, non-exclusive, and fully sublicensable license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, perform and display such User Content (in whole or in part) in any media and to incorporate the User Content into other works in any format or medium now known or later developed. The foregoing grants shall include the right to: (i) exploit any proprietary rights in such User Content, including but not limited to, rights under copyright, trademark or patent laws under any relevant jurisdiction; (ii) your name, likeness, and any other information included in your User Content, without any obligation to you. You waive any and all claims that any use by us or our licensees of your User Content violates any of your rights, including moral rights, privacy rights, rights to publicity, proprietary, attribution, or other rights, and rights to any material or ideas contained in your User Content."

You mean the forums?