D&D 5E (2024) D&D 2024 Is Now OFFICIALLY Called "5.5e"

Settling a debate that has lasted for over two years, the current edition of Dungeons & Dragons, which has been known by various names up until now, has finally received an official designation: D&D 5.5e.

Previously, the current ruleset was referred to as 'One D&D', before becoming 'D&D 2024'. Other variations exist, but the most common version used by fans was D&D 5.5.

The 5.5 terminology echoes the edition names used in the early 2000s for D&D 3E and D&D 3.5.

D&D Beyond has an FAQ related to the name change. In it, they say that "Earlier on, [the 2024 rules] were referred to differently. As D&D Beyond evolved and more players used both versions side by side, it became clear that “5.5e” matched how the community already talks about the game and made things easier to understand."

The terminology will be used going forward on D&D Beyond, although unlike the 3E/3.5 hardcovers, the physical book titles will not include any edition designations.

The 2014 edition of D&D is to continue to be called "5e", with the 2024 version being "5.5e". WotC says that "5.5e refers to content that uses the 2024 updated core rules, which are fully compatible with Fifth Edition."

Despite including the "e" (for "edition") WotC continues to maintain that 5.5e is not a new edition, and merely a 'rules update', or 'version'. Whether 'edition' and 'version' are synonyms or not we'll leave people to debate.

The logo at the top of the page is our own mockup to represent the news, and is not an offical rebranding.

 

[Charlaquin]

"One D&D" might have stuck around, but at least at the time it was just what they called the playtest. Like how the 2014 rules were playtested as "D&D Next."

Oh, I know. It’s just an alternative to 5.5e that would have been better than “the 5th edition 2024 rules revisions.”

I know the OGL incident coincided, but that was just happenstance.

Well, they definitely stopped calling the playtest “One D&D” because the community soured on it, and the OGL incident definitely contributed to the community souring on it. It was happenstance that the OGL changes leaked so early on in the UA playtesting process, but it definitely had an effect on the playtests, including resulting in them dropping that name from the playtests.

 

[Twiggly the Gnome]

Coming in 2034 - D&D 33⅓.

 

[SlyFlourish]

Does “fully” mean “100%”? Because that’s what they say in this very FAQ.

“On D&D Beyond, 5.5e refers to content that uses the 2024 updated core rules, which are fully compatible with Fifth Edition.”

What about Tales of the Valiant?

When one wants to write a product compatible with Level Up Advanced 5e along with the others, what should they call it?

 

[...m...]

Agreed. I was a big proponent of 5.24 because the .5 language reinforces a hard break between 5e and the new books. But the loudest group won.

...the main reason i liked 5.14 and 5.24 is because the updated SRDs are versions 5.1 and 5.2, respectively: also it shuts up "it's all 5e!" pedants when you need to distinguish between editions...

...that said, 5.5 is more consistent with historical nomenclature for prior editions, both formal and informal...

 

[SlyFlourish]

I don't care. I'm still calling it D&D 2024. That seems so much more clear to me.

 

[Jeremy E Grenemyer]

I kinda liked "D&D2024."

I wonder if the labels for new content will change on the DMs Guild website?

 

[...m...]

What about Tales of the Valiant?

When one wants to write a product compatible with Level Up Advanced 5e along with the others, what should they call it?

...that's a good point: 5e refers to the whole ecosystem including variants like fateforge, A5e, ToV, or OG5e, whereas 5.14 and 5.24 unambiguously refer to specific versions of D+D...

 

[Scott Christian]

So, the name change really doesn't mean a whole lot. What would mean more is if they actually said the rules and power structure aren't exactly compatible with 2014s. That would actually mean something.

 

[Scribe]

So, the name change really doesn't mean a whole lot. What would mean more is if they actually said the rules and power structure aren't exactly compatible with 2014s. That would actually mean something.

We can already see it's not the same.

 

[Scott Christian]

We can already see it's not the same.

Oh, good grief. C'mon. You were around when they kept saying how it was the same game. It was sooo retro compatible. How, there wasn't really a power difference between new characters and old characters, so you could just mix them all together. And you could use the old MM and the CRs, because, you know, they are just as strong as the new monsters.

So my comment was for them to say, "Yeah, it's not as retro compatible as what we thought, and you might have a really hard time mixing the two." Of course I am being a bit snarky. That's why I said, it would actually matter if they admitted that, because they fought so hard, and insisted so much, that the two were the same.