D&D (2024) The impending mess that will be backwards compatibility

[Micah Sweet]

The devil is always in the details, and definitions matter.

Your "significantly changed" might be another person's "minor alterations." What level of change do you consider "significant?"

What they've discussed and shown in the playtests so far counts as "significantly changed" to me. Worth a label at least.

 

[JohnSnow]

What they've discussed and shown in the playtests so far counts as "significantly changed" to me. Worth a label at least.

I am sure it will be labeled/notated as "5th-Edition Revised" or some such. I just doubt they'll put a software-esque version number on it, something I'm pretty sure they have forever regretted doing with 3.5.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Personally, I suspect the 2024 books will be labeled:
Dungeons & Dragons: Fiftieth Anniversary Edition (Fifth-Edition Revised)

Yeah I bet anything that atleast the first run is called the Anniversary Edition

 

[Cadence]

I'm saying that nowhere does it explicitly self-identify itself as the "fifth edition Player's Handbook," just that this particular printing of the Player's Handbook is usable with "the fifth edition of..." the other books. It's a semantic distinction, and a slightly weird one to get hung up on. I'd definitely consider it "fifth edition," in as much as that label has any empirical meaning.

That is odd The MM says it's useable with the 5th edition Player's Handbook and Dungeon Masters Guide. I asume the DMG does the same about the PHB and MM?

 

[Emberashh]

"I let my player use 2014 races but 2024 background with the Tashas feats and subclasses and he keeps one shotting the BBEGs! Unbalanced game!"

Well thats a disingenous comment if I ever saw one.

Lets take a hypothetical.

Lets say the Druid as we got it in the UA was the final, OneDND version of the Druid.

Now we fast forward, and Jimmy is saddling up with his spiffy 2024 Druid, but then Tommy comes in with the 2014 Druid.

Tommy does everything Jimmy does but better, earlier, and with more flavor.

Jimmy then comes to the forums and joins the constant influx of people who will be pointing out how the 2014 classes completely screw with the game and cause massive disparities.

if you think you can hold most players indefinitely you are mistaken too though

Very obviously not what I suggested or even implied.

 

[JohnSnow]

That is odd The MM says it's useable with the 5th edition Player's Handbook and Dungeon Masters Guide. I asume the DMG does the same about the PHB and MM?

It does!

And yeah, it’s definitely an odd choice.

 

[mamba]

Same edition, same name. Different book. Seems needlessly confusing to me.

Pretty sure no one will actually be confused by this when buying or using the book. I have no idea why you find it confusing. Molehills and mountains, something something

 

[mamba]

This is exactly what I mean by needlessly confusing. At the very least they should tell Amazon what to call it.

If they haven’t done so by the time you can find this on Amazon, then I’d be surprised.

 

[Minigiant]

Well thats a disingenous comment if I ever saw one.

Lets take a hypothetical.

Lets say the Druid as we got it in the UA was the final, OneDND version of the Druid.

Now we fast forward, and Jimmy is saddling up with his spiffy 2024 Druid, but then Tommy comes in with the 2014 Druid.

Tommy does everything Jimmy does but better, earlier, and with more flavor.

Jimmy then comes to the forums and joins the constant influx of people who will be pointing out how the 2014 classes completely screw with the game and cause massive disparities.

I could see that. It will happen.

My point is I expect the same thing what happened in 3.0e and 3.5e. But worse because 5e and 5.5e will have even more divergent balance parameters. So their will be DMs who allow 2014 and 2024 mixing with the same PC and the PC will get massive increases or decrease of power.

As of right not, the 2024 stuff is looking more powerful horizontally but less powerfully vertically than 2014 stuff. More well rounded and have more options but the options are overall weaker. So I can see a DM allowing a 2024 cleric to use a domain form TCOE because Twilight and Peace were not reprinted deeply regretting their decision.

 

[MerricB]

Firstly, our group has determined to start playing with One D&D rules as they are released. So I have a OD&D rogue/bard multiclass character in Scarlet Citadel next to a 5e wizard. There have been zero problems… I don’t even think it’s noticeable… even I forgot until I saw this thread, that’s how little of a problem it is. If that isn’t backwards compatible, I don’t know what is! I love that, evolution not revolution.

You could do that with AD&D 1E and AD&D 2E as well, IMO.

But if you try to use a bard subclass from Xanathar's with the playtest bard rules, you'll find the subclass abilities are at different levels.

Cheers!