Summary
Dungeons & DragonsBeyond,Wizards of the Coast’s official digital companion to the tabletop game, now allows for backwards compatibility between content in the 2014 and 2024 editions of the Player’s Handbook and other core rulebooks.
In a previouschangelog, D&D Beyond had stated that players who wanted to use content from the 2014 handbook would have to rely on ‘homebrew’, i.e. a separate system within the app for player-created content.
The Old and the New
In anupdated statement, D&D Beyond walked back these changes: “Our excitement around the 2024 Core Rulebooks led us to view these planned updates as welcome improvements and free upgrades to existing content,” the statement begins. “We misjudged the impact of this change, and we agree that you should be free to choose your own way to play. Taking your feedback to heart, here’s what we’re going to do…”
The statement then says that players who only have access to the 2014 Player’s Handbook will maintain everything in their digital character sheets. Players can access both the new and old editions and can choose from either when making a new character, with D&D Beyond allowing for various backward compatibility scenarios.
For example, a player can create a Cleric using the 2024 Player’s Handbook. However, when they reach level 3 they might want to choose the knowledge domain subclass from the 2014 Player’s Handbook. They will be free to do so, and their Cleric will continue to level up using 2024 rules.
A major complaint from the community before these changes is that they don’t want to be forced to move to Dungeons & Dragons 5.5e, especially if they’re mid-campaign. This is especially egregious because rulebooks on D&D Beyond cost money, and making older content obsolete essentially makes that purchase obsolete, harming the consumer.
Thankfully, enough outrage was generated by the community to prompt a swift response from D&D Beyond and Wizards of the Coast.
Dungeons and Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game that first took the world by storm in the 1970s, and continues to enchant millions of players today. With a seemingly endless number of campaigns for you to play, and spin-off media from video games to blockbuster movies, you’ll never get bored of D&D.
