D&D (2024) How D&D Beyond Will Handle Access To 2014 Rules

D&D Beyond has announced how the transition to the new 2024 edition will work on the platform, and how legacy access to the 2014 version of D&D will be implemented.

• You will still be able to access the 2014 Basic Rules and core rulebooks.
• You will still be able to make characters using the 2014 Player's Handbook.
• Existing home-brew content will not be impacted.
• These 2014 rules will be accessible and will be marked with a 'legacy' badge: classes, subclasses, species, backgrounds, feats, monsters.
• Tooltips will reflect the 2024 rules.
• Monster stat blocks will be updated to 2024.
• There will be terminology changes (Heroic Inspiration, Species, etc.)

D&D (2024) - Wizards of the Coast Backtracks on D&D Beyond and 2014 Content

Wizards of the Coast posted an overnight update stating that they are not going forward with previously released plans to require those wishing to use some 2014 content on D&D Beyond to use the Homebrew function to manually enter it. Instead, all the content including spells and magic items will...

www.enworld.org

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

the number of people that come to this site to complain about things they don't use is amazing to me, like, how is that fun?

2000- Imagine how awesome it will be when the internet is everywhere, and we can all come together in peace and harmony!

2024- Outrage is the engine of the internet.

 

[Burnside]

2000- Imagine how awesome it will be when the internet is everywhere, and we can all come together in peace and harmony!

2024- Outrage is the engine of the internet.

We were already pretty salty by 2000 tbh.

 

[mamba]

I am a bit surprised by that they are giving away the updated spells and magic items for free, I wonder if that was just going to be too complex to program.

they give them away in the SRD anyway, so withholding them for a few months until that is available is just more work with no benefit

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

We were already pretty salty by 2000 tbh.

Hey now! Not everyone was involved in the Great Meow Wars on usenet!

 

[Jefe Bergenstein]

Ah, apparently you can create a homebrew magic item called Scroll of Whatever and give it the ability to cast the spell.

Not really. You can put a charge of the spell in there, but it doesn't properly hyperlink. It's a lot of effort that amounts to renaming a piece of equipement "Scroll of Acid Arrow"

Compared to Foundry, which is simply dragging a spell from the compendium to your inventory and the scroll is created with spell hyperlink, DC's, etc.

 

[Clint_L]

Revising my earlier comments: I am personally finding it frustrating that these changes, which seem like exactly what was expected, are being treated by some folks, many of whom have often stated that they do not even use DDB or play 5e, as if they represent some sort of betrayal by WotC.

Of course DDB will reflect the current rules for the game. As it ever has. And the original version of content that has been updated will be kept and marked as legacy content, so that you can continue to use it on your own. As it ever has. This may create a minor inconvenience for those who want to continue to use the online character sheets but not any new rules, though this is not a new issue. Again, the character sheet has always reflected the most recent rules.

 

[Blue]

Quick questions about existing characters once the new books are out.

1. If I don't do anything, will existing characters stay with the 2014 legacy options, or automatically updated?

2. It seems there aren't legacy versions of spells or magic items. If my existing character has ones that aren't reprinted in the 2024 core books, say a spell or item from Tasha's, what happens to them? Do they disappear from my character sheet?

 

[Burnside]

Quick questions about existing characters once the new books are out.

1. If I don't do anything, will existing characters stay with the 2014 legacy options, or automatically updated?

2. It seems there aren't legacy versions of spells or magic items. If my existing character has ones that aren't reprinted in the 2024 core books, say a spell or item from Tasha's, what happens to them? Do they disappear from my character sheet?

1. Your spells and weapons will automatically update. The following will also automatically update, but tbd how your character sheet will be affected:

• Armor Class
• Saving Throws
• Skills and Abilities
• Alignment
• Senses (Blindsight, Darkvision, Tremorsense, Truesight)
• Area of effect definitions

2. Your spells will automatically become 2024 versions of themselves. Magic items will likely stay as-is until the 2025 DMG comes out, whereupon they will also automatically morph into the new versions. That second part is an assumption on my part though; we only know spells will automatically change.

 

[SpellObjectEnthusiast]

1. If I don't do anything, will existing characters stay with the 2014 legacy options, or automatically updated?

Automatically updated with the specific exceptions of: class, subclass, race, background, feat. Most notably all spells and equipment will be updated, but this will also affect anything which hyperlinks to any rules elements updated in the 2024 rules (ex: grappling)

2. It seems there aren't legacy versions of spells or magic items. If my existing character has ones that aren't reprinted in the 2024 core books, say a spell or item from Tasha's, what happens to them? Do they disappear from my character sheet?

Anything from a book that is not reprinted in the new PHB will remain as-is, for now.

 

[Nikosandros]

Quick questions about existing characters once the new books are out.

From my understanding:

1. If I don't do anything, will existing characters stay with the 2014 legacy options, or automatically updated?

Spells and magic items will be updated, the rest will remain as it is.

2. It seems there aren't legacy versions of spells or magic items. If my existing character has ones that aren't reprinted in the 2024 core books, say a spell or item from Tasha's, what happens to them? Do they disappear from my character sheet?

If there isn't an updated version, you'll just keep the old one.