D&D (2024) What is "compatible"?

[Kobold Avenger]

Right now the only official hard copy publication on the Orc as a playable race says they have a -2 intelligence and while the people on this board visit sage advice and listen to podcasts the vast majority of players don't. The desire to clean that up and move on to more acceptable portrayals of race and stereotypes is going to be a big driver in what they print and will probably constitute the majority of changes from this version to the next.

Eberron Rising From the Last War removed the -2 Int from the Orc PC writeup. It's a campaign specific book, but so is Volo's Guide to some degree.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

I think it is compatible if you can convert existing subclasses easily for the revised phb.
1/short rest -> prof bonus per long rest. Maybe at level 6 -> at level 7.

 

[Krachek]

If you are talking about the 2024 announcement the wording wasn't "compatible", it was "fully compatible".

I read that to mean that you can 100% create any existing character. No grandfathered characters will need a single change. So changes like recalibrating the encounters-per-day, as much as I would dreadfully love such a thing, can not be on the table.

I think we'll get exactly what they have shown us with Tasha's. Races with ability scores assignable, and possibly changing the name from "race".

Classes with purely optional (so not required on existing characters) new features, like existing sorcerer subclasses getting free spells. Classes with more choices for features, allowing you to replace problematic ones as well as just give new options. Both of these were in Tasha's as well.

In other words, I read "fully compatible" as "you can create the exact same character as before and run it with other characters with no more problem then right now (which might be a level of problem), but there will be new options that might make you want to create it a different way".

I read the « fully compatible » as you can bring an old PC at a table that use the new ones.
or use old monster, or old part of an adventure, for a party mix with old and new PCs.
off course that can lead to some problems, if they rewrite a feat or spell can we choose which version to use? that will lead to funny situation.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

Old character fitting into the new rules I can understand.
But the old monster, I mean why would it not. It might not be very effective, but a lot of the current monsters are pretty ineffective also.

As for feats and spell, run with the latest update, even on old characters.

 

[TerraDave]

I think it is compatible if you can convert existing subclasses easily for the revised phb.
1/shorr rest -> prof bonus per long rest. Maybe at level 6 -> at level 7.

And they have made this change, at least for non core races. And at most tables the pb per day version will be better than the SR version. Are they still compatible?

 

[beancounter]

Of course, we can continue playing 5E as it is now, and ignore any future changes.

There are people who still play 1E and 3.5E today, after all.

 

[Lyxen]

And they have made this change, at least for non core races. And at most tables the pb per day version will be better than the SR version. Are they still compatible?

On an changes, they have gone back and forth after testing things on UA, so we will see. But once more, I don't think that WotC is ready to slay the golden goose and kill an edition that is so profitable by doing something with real incompatibility.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

And they have made this change, at least for non core races. And at most tables the pb per day version will be better than the SR version. Are they still compatible?

But probably closer to the intended power level than the original version.

 

[Jacob Lewis]

From the perspective of the fan and consumer, there is one important question regarding compatibility: how is this going to affect the value of what I use and own now?

In other words, will I still be able to use my current books if I switch to the new stuff? How much extra work will I be needed to make the previous material usable? Or do I need to make a decision about whether to move forward or stay back?

Understand that there are also degrees of compatibility. Just because it isn't 100% backwards doesn't mean it's not-compatible.