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.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

That depends entirely on what is meant by "Full" and "Compatible."

here///
I mean most games will tell you what book to use basic 5e from now, or 5e from now + tasha and other mods, or (and this will be the most common) the 5.5/6/anniversary edition book. there will be lip service paid to useing all of them but you will not find games useing all of them often.

First print versions of PHB spells that have received errata are still fully compatible with 5E. The Tasha's Race changes are fully compatible with the 2014 PHB rules.

and you right now find people that say they allow 1 or both... come 2024 there will be WAY less both... it will be 1 or other.

if by "compatible" we mean they can play side by side without the math breaking, and "fully" meaning the math won't break at all or even break a sweat. That's literally all that matters.

no what matters is finding a game you want to play. I (so far) like the new direction and can almost guarantee I will not have an issue... but people who want to play the 2014 version are going to have to do more work to find games

Someone can be playing a PHB Dragonborn at the same table as a Dragonborn from Fizban's, and an Encounter can use Monsters from Volo's and Monsters fo the Multiverse, right now. Those options are all fully compatible, at least in terms of what WotC cares about and is aiming for.

and again... that is now, and when they are out of print you will be out of luck

 

[bedir than]

I've cracked and preordered the multiverse book from my FLGS, both to support the store and to support WotC working on the problematic parts of their lore, and the

Same, and I'll be getting it on Beyond because I build a lot of characters there

 

[HammerMan]

So how long before the line about backward comparability falls away?

 

[eyeheartawk]

I don't buy the reasoning that the removal is because of problematic orc stuff.

I mean, Wizards will gladly sell you the entirety of their back catalog on DM's Guild for forever with way worse stuff in it with just a disclaimer on the page.

 

[Parmandur]

here///
I mean most games will tell you what book to use basic 5e from now, or 5e from now + tasha and other mods, or (and this will be the most common) the 5.5/6/anniversary edition book. there will be lip service paid to useing all of them but you will not find games useing all of them often.
and you right now find people that say they allow 1 or both... come 2024 there will be WAY less both... it will be 1 or other.

I couldn't say one way or the other what anyone is actually doing, i suspect there is a lot more loosey goosey mixing than people here would expect. The point is, it is all fully compatible, as in can be used at the same table at the same time without causing a breakdown of the rules.

no what matters is finding a game you want to play. I (so far) like the new direction and can almost guarantee I will not have an issue... but people who want to play the 2014 version are going to have to do more work to find games

I doubt it will be much ofa problem, really.

and again... that is now, and when they are out of print you will be out of luck

Not really, it's all on my bookshelf.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I

WoTC: I have no idea what you are talking about. Orcs are a multi-cultural group and heritage of beings who have nowhere been nor ever a savage race of morally and questionable wording and description. Therefore, the so called "all of those orcs" don't have to worry about being brought over because Orcs have already been brought over and present in Monsters of the Multiverse. Which our wonderful customer base can look forward to purchasing on May 17th. No changes whatsoever were made to the Orcs. Nor have any changes been made been considered. EVERYTHING IS FINE!!!!

I really wish this was just funny and not funny-sad.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

I couldn't say one way or the other what anyone is actually doing, i suspect there is a lot more loosey goosey mixing than people here would expect. The point is, it is all fully compatible, as in can be used at the same table at the same time without causing a breakdown of the rules.

the same could be said about 3.5 and 3o... but over a 6 month period people found it hard to play 3.0... I was on the WotC boards and I was at gencon the year it came out and the year after... I can tell you no matter what they said it wasn't used

I doubt it will be much ofa problem, really.

as long as you either don't mind the new rules, or have a group that will stay with the old ones... it wont if your group moves on you will have a hard time.

Not really, it's all on my bookshelf.

your book shelf can't DM for you

 

[Jer]

the same could be said about 3.5 and 3o... but over a 6 month period people found it hard to play 3.0... I was on the WotC boards and I was at gencon the year it came out and the year after... I can tell you no matter what they said it wasn't used

3.5 and 3.0 were different games. They made major rules changes to the core rules between those editions that made them functionally incompatible.

If they do that for the anniversary edition they're shooting themselves in the foot because they don't need to and it will kill the momentum the game has. If they do more of a 4e -> Essentials transition then they'll be much better off. And as a 4e player/DM those books were all fully compatible with what had come before except for the corrected monster math (and is what I'm expecting to see, honestly, because they don't need to change the core rules or anything fundamental about the character classes the way they felt like they did with the 3.0->3.5 transition).

 

[GMforPowergamers]

3.5 and 3.0 were different games. They made major rules changes to the core rules between those editions that made them functionally incompatible.

and this is why I keep saying the same is coming in 2024... 5.5/6/anniversary edition is coming what ever they call it. it will almost for sure (although I hope not) be JUST enough like the 2014 that they can claim back compatibility (like they did with 3.5) but it will be a new game (like 3.5)

If they do that for the anniversary edition they're shooting themselves in the foot

I agree but for the reverse reason... they need a whole new 6e that is NOT back compatible.

honestly, because they don't need to change the core rules or anything fundamental about the character classes the way they felt like they did with the 3.0->3.5 transition).

it depends they didn't change the core from 2000 vr 3.0 through now... its a d20 system roll 1d20 add stat mod plus some kind of level mod the higher you get the better... you roll hp every level and you have a set amount of abilities from your class... but if I sat down with a 4e fighter at your 5e game odds are you wouldn't let me run it.

They already changed monsters and PC races. They have surveys (2 years out) on class features and are already pulling fluff. unless they change what they are doing as of right now it does NOT look like it will really be compatible at all

 

[pukunui]

I don't buy the reasoning that the removal is because of problematic orc stuff.

I mean, Wizards will gladly sell you the entirety of their back catalog on DM's Guild for forever with way worse stuff in it with just a disclaimer on the page.

My guess would be that the stuff with disclaimers on the DMs Guild can be handwaved away as being “products of their time” whereas Volo’s and Mordy’s are more embarrassing because they’re more current / still part of the current edition that they’d like to sweep under the rug.

Come 6e or 7e, you may find Volo’s and Mordy’s available online with the same disclaimer as the even older edition stuff.