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.

 

[michaeljpastor]

Many DM Guild creators claimed that the DM's Guild offered better visibility than other platforms but there was never a way to actually prove this because you can't publish the same product on multiple platforms. In the early days of the DM's Guild, WOTC claimed that it was their way to identify potential freelance writers or even, potentially, new staff members. I can count on one-hand the number of people this actually served (maybe two?). And there were many other freelancers and staff members who got brought into WOTC outside of the DM's Guild. I always thought that wasn't a particularly noble carrot to wave in front of people given the vast number of creators who didn't get picked. There's a huge survivorship bias when it comes to DM Guild creators "making it" (however you define it).

Maybe there's a slight chance writing for the DM's Guild propels you to something greater but it's absolutely sure that you lose the ability to publish work you published on the DM's Guild anywhere else – whether that be a Patreon product, croudfunding, print-on-demand at other printers, or even offering it for free as a promotion. WOTC makes roughly 20% on every product sold on the DM's Guild but offers no guarantee that your product will make back its cost – much less anything else.

The DM's Guild is a fantastic way to write using WOTC's IP if you have to make a product that uses their IP. That is it's one true benefit. Everything else is a big maybe.

I argue it's much better to focus on your own IP and give yourself the freedom to publish your product anywhere, in any format, for any purpose, for the rest of your product's life.

You might like to watch Reading D&D Aloud this week, where Mike Mearls and Kelsey Dionne talk about the DMsGuild and the OGL and how it was seen and used. It's just a great conversation either way. (is there a way to suppress embeds? that thumbnail is obnoxiously huge)

s