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

 

[Blue]

I posted an image upthread where they said 2014 characters would be updated to 2024 spells, and if you wanted the old spell, you would have to homebrew it back onto your sheet.

Sorry, you're caught in the crossfire. The poster I was responding to had put up this whole mocking thing that no one could have seen this coming and implying that this has been known for months. I was calling that out - we didn't know that existing characters on DnDBeyond would be forced into a hybrid long ago, so I asked him for links.

This doesn't have to do with things we know recently, it's calling them out that we've know this for a long time.

 

[Nikosandros]

They're attempting to clarify the changes.

https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/d-d-beyond-general/news-announcements/204068-news-clarifications-on-the-2024-d-d-beyond

Personally, the clarification doesn't add new info for me, but it is true that I had some info from a moderator on DDB. So, I guess it's good that they're clarifying officially. But the issue still stands. Compendium access is what I use the least on DDB. My main usage is accessing rules elements specifically and on the character sheet.

 

[Nikosandros]

"...All 2014 versions of Spells will still be accessible in the D&D Beyond Compendium and available for players to access..."

"...The 2014 versions of these items will still be accessible in the D&D Beyond Compendium..."

I am not impacted, ancestry I am a pen and paper kind of person, but it seems the main impact is that they are providing people who bought the 2014 versions free stuff and the option to use ir or not...?

Or is the issue about the Cpmpendium?

Yes, for me - and many others - the issue is that we'll retain only compendium access. For example, on the sheets, a lot of the spells will be "wrong". This kills a lot of the utility of using the tool.

 

[John Lloyd1]

Has anyone figured out if the 2014 spells will appear in the spell listings? We know Compendium - yes, Tool tips - no, but what about the spell listings?

 

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

Has anyone figured out if the 2014 spells will appear in the spell listings? We know Compendium - yes, Tool tips - no, but what about the spell listings?

I'm pretty sure that if the 2014 spells were going to appear in the spell listings, they would have said so in the "clarification" that was just posted.

 

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

Yes, for me - and many others - the issue is that we'll retain only compendium access. For example, on the sheets, a lot of the spells will be "wrong". This kills a lot of the utility of using the tool.

Essentially, with the compendium the only way to access our 2014 content, what we're left with on D&D Beyond is pdfs that we bought at hardcover prices.

I doubt I'll ever spend another dime on D&D Beyond, even if we switch to the 2024 rules.

 

[Burnside]

Please. WotC hasn't claimed it's too difficult technically, that's us speculating from the sidelines.

I’m not saying WotC claimed that. People in this thread have claimed that, as a defense of WotC.

 

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

If it's not a technical limitation, then the only explanation is that D&D Beyond is deliberately taking away customer's purchased content purely out of greed. It's either scummy or scummier.

 

[Burnside]

Roll20's new character sheet launches Sep 17; 2014 rules fully supported. Open Beta is here if you want to play around with it: https://app.roll20.net/characters/create/dnd2024byroll20

 

[Burnside]

The outrage about how WotC/DNDBeyond is handling this is picking up steam. So much so that I wonder if they may reverse course, but from a technical standpoint I'm not sure there's time to do it before the 2024 PHB launches.

They really do have an amazing capacity to shoot themselves in the foot roughly every six months.