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.

 

[Micah Sweet]

D&D is math. The math stays the same, the game stays the same.

If it's all just math, then why are people complaining about it? The math is pretty easy to understand.

 

[Retreater]

What post?

The one I quoted from @Saracenus

 

[Parmandur]

If it's all just math, then why are people complaining about it? The math is pretty easy to understand.

I know, that's what I've been saying.

People will complain about anything.

 

[Maxperson]

I consider you to be very lucky, as this is not my experience.

In the tables I play at, the allowed content is specifically dictated by the DMs. If they do not own the book (WoTC or 3rd Party) it is not allowed. The reasoning (right or wrong) behind this is that if they don't have the book, they cant look up the rules to be able to make a call.

The tables I play with allow it. The reason? They can in fact look up the rules to make a call, since I bring the books with me.

 

[Azzy]

Compatible literally means able to use it with if you can't use it with it isn't compatible... however we have (over the last 22 years) found that sometime WotC say something will be or is compatible to sell it, then once sales are moving on remake class/feat from previous books updating them to the new paradigm because it wasn't really compatible... the canary in the Cole mine will ALWAYS be how the game is played not how it is sold

No, you are torturing the word compatible.

 

[Maxperson]

No, you are torturing the word compatible.

Yeah. I can import all the tables from I.C.E. into 5e and use them, but nobody I know would think that I.C.E. is compatible with 5e.

 

[Azzy]

I mean I know this has been brought up but if you go by what they said 3.5 was full compatibility (even though you needed a book to do it) and nothing changed form 3.5 to 4… are we not supposed to know there is marketing spin?

Well, if there are underlying changes in the anniversary edition on the scale of 3.0 to 3.5, you'll have a point about not being fully compatible. Until then, that's just aimless speculation that such changes will be of that nature. Instead, the changes being implemented within this current edition and what we can reasonably suss out are not as fundamental as 3e to 3.5.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

and nothing changed form 3.5 to 4

The marketing for 4e was literally focused on how different it was mechanically.

 

[Parmandur]

Yeah. I can import all the tables from I.C.E. into 5e and use them, but nobody I know would think that I.C.E. is compatible with 5e.

I mean, yhe core of those tables was to be D&D compatible.

 

[HammerMan]

The marketing for 4e was literally focused on how different it was mechanically.

“The game will remain the same” said in a Pepe lapeu voice