D&D (2024) Jeremy Crawford: “We are releasing new editions of the books”

[Marandahir]

The great thing about D&D is that it's YOUR game and you can customise the rules to fit YOUR table.

It's not a rigid set of video game code that tells you no-bad-wrong-fun.

If you prefer 2014's version, stick with it! If you want the revision, switch to it! You can mix and match, but can also treat it like a completely new thing. D&D is flexible enough to be compatible with both those who see it as an entirely separate edition and those who want it to be iterative.

WotC will sell you the new version, and that's what will plug into their virtual table and digital dice that they want to sell you on with microtransactions and whatnot, but I'm willing to bet there will be more than one book that comes out in 2024 or beyond that will catch the eye of someone completely rejecting the 2024 revision to the books. And that book will STILL enhance their game.

 

[mamba]

You know, I understand that that is an option. But I don't think the designers actually expect that to happen.

When they are saying the new books are compatible, they are talking about Xanathars, Volos, Tashas, Fizbans, ect. No one I think actually expects the 2014 PHB to be used alongside the 2024 PHB. You CAN if you really want to, but that's just like you CAN use the SCAG Bladesinger beside the Tasha's Bladesinger. It is allowed, but no one actually expects you to do it.

No one but you cares whether you do. The option exists, and WotC ensures that it does.

 

[Marandahir]

And for what it's worth, balance is always something the DM has to tinker with on the fly. The game is NEVER going to be perfectly balanced. Even 4e tried that and people criticised it of being uninspired and video-gamey for doing so. 5e is a lot more loosey-goosey with the rules, and has a lot more room for the DM to readjust as needed when it's clear that one player's powerset is far apart (both above or below) the rest of the party.

 

[OldSchoolGamerGirl]

It’s just a larger version of the Tasha’s fixes. They’re optional fixes.

the funny part is I am 100% team "Tasha's works great" and was looking forward to it, it was one of the few 5e books I preordered.

 

[Chaosmancer]

But the point is that while they don't expect you to, they are maintaining it as an option. It increases the net of their sales demographics rather than alienating everyone who decided it wasn't time to buy new core rule books. If you're new to the game, you'll likely pick up the 2024 books. But if you're happy with your 2014 books, the rest of the new material will still be compatible.

Yeah, they are maintaining the option.... because if they didn't people would assume ALL 5th edition books were off the table. If they said "this is 6e" then the vast majority of people would chuck their 5e supplements and adventures in the trash. And if you wanted to buy the books they are releasing in 2027, well you wouldn't, because those are for "the new books" and you are using the old books.

But this isn't going to cause the issue people keep pounding on of "how can you fix the Druid if you still allow the 2014 Druid to be played" because... if you want to use the fixed version... there it is. WoTC is acknowleding you can use the 2014 ruleset, because that means you can obviously use the supplements you bought for that rule set. You can use the 3pp stuff you purchased. And you don't need to stop yourself from buying later material, just because it came out after 2024.

 

[mamba]

4e sold SO many books. We're STILL not to the number of 4e books with first party 5e books, in well more than 2x the amount of time

are you confusing copies sold with number of different books published?

 

[Umbran]

If you've been viciously attacked, please report people who are viciously attacking you. If there is nothing to report, you are not a victim who is being viciously attacked. You are just feeling defensive of your position and keep iterating the same argument because you think you're not getting your point across.

Mod Note:
While recommending that people report issues is fine, telling them what they are feeling if they don't is very far from fine. Please don't do that. Thank you.

 

[Marandahir]

are you confusing copies sold with number of different books published?

Sorry, that was worded poorly. I intended to suggest that 4e produced so many different titles within its lifespan, but to middling and rapidly dropping off sales numbers.

My 4e library is still quite a bit bigger than my 5e library - when ONLY considering the 1st party books and modules. When you add in my print-on-demand DM's Guild books, the 5e library has grown bigger.

The big difference is that when WotC chucked out the OGL for the GSL, they had to bring the lower-quality splat in-house (or at least contract it out to writers for the digital magazines). With the return of the SRD and OGL, and the rise of the DM's Guild, 5e has allowed them to offsource all that tie-in splat content to the creator community and not have to take the risk on those books themselves. So they can focus just on the premiere seasonal adventures, campaign settings, and rare major expansions to the game's options.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Anecdotally, my gaming groups back in the day mixed 1e and 2e stuff all the time.

Yeah I’ve never seen a group that has played an older edition not use stuff from multiple editions.

Hell, most groups I know mix in PBTA, FiTD, Fate, AGE, Numenara, The One Ring, or stuff I’ve no experience with, into their D&D games.
I played with a group that ran skills like pbta moves, used journey rules and Opening Volley from TOR, and used Numenara style traits to flesh out social and exploration challenges more.

Another group I know but didn’t get to play with brought in a bunch of OSR and 13th Age stuff.

Note that I referred to OD&D/Basic/A1e/A2e as a ship of theseus separate from 3e/Pathfinder 1e separate from 4e separate from 5e separate from Pathfinder 2e.

Advanced 1e and Advanced 2e WERE functionally the same system, but a refinement thereof, in the same way that B/X was a refinement of Basic, and Basic and Advance 1e were refinements of Original D&D. That's how the game functioned until a complete rules overhaul for 3e. And then every new Edition of the game MEANT incompatibility, not revision of the rules as extant and republished in a way that doesn't require twice as much errata as original pages.

Yeah I think this is more like the TSR editions (revisions if a game, not new games) than like any wotc edition.

No one but you cares whether you do. The option exists, and WotC ensures that it does.

While I agree that wotc doesn’t really expect many folks to use both PHBs, I agree with you here.

But I do think it’s a key point that the revision would be backward compatible even if it had a rule that no character could use stuff from both PHBs, because that wouldn’t impact the use of Bladesinger with the Wizard (2024) or the Gloomstalker with the Ranger (2024), or using the Elf (2024) with an Elf Race feat from Xanathar’s. Or using the Deep Gnome (MoTM) with a PHB (2024) background and the Deep Gnome Magic feat.

Or even, for whatever reason, the Rogue (2014) with a subclass that comes out in 2026 in an “of everything” book.

Or playing a Shifter Artificer with a 2024 background and feats.

But you will be able to use a 2024 class with a 2014 phb subclass, in all likelihood, because the compatibility work will have already been done for the phb (2024) and the older supplements.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

the funny part is I am 100% team "Tasha's works great" and was looking forward to it, it was one of the few 5e books I preordered.

Me too, it’s one of my favorite 5e books.

Now, personal preference, I would say that only crosstrading subclass to class, and maybe adventuring equipment and any feats or spells that don’t get updated, if any exist, is allowed between PHBs, or even simply that you can only mix PHB (2024) stuff with things that haven’t been updated, but that isn’t how they’re doing stuff in 5e. Motm doesn’t replace anything technically, for the same reason. It just labels older versions as Legacy Content, and moves on.