While one would think this would be a given I would rather have word on it please given the way Jeremy Crawford worded things in the video about activating the 2024 PHB.

While this may well be mostly focused on player handbook character creation, if we buy the 2024 books will there be a toggle that allows us to choose which set of books to build from or will 2014 be retired and replaced by 2024?

While I will be buying the books and will likely want to use them on here; there are characters which I have here that I have no desire to be auto-adjusted to the 2024 rules. If there is not going to be a choice, it would be good to know so I can make copies of those characters before this happens.

Thank you for any clarification on this.

Curious how this will be handled as well.

-Will ‘14 content still be accessible for things like character creation and encounter building? 

-Will DDB have the tools for applying backwards compatibility?  ‘14 subclass on a ‘24 class?  ‘24 feats on ‘14 characters? Etc.

-Will ‘14 stuff still be purchasable?  I remember when MPMotM came out VTOF was no longer purchasable (not sure if that was ever remedied either as I already had VTOF).

I know the focus is on the release right now but knowing what features DDB will help include and support is a pretty big deal as well for anyone wanting to continue using the service.  I know my continued subscription is personally tied to answers to these questions and I’m sure there are more I’m not thinking of.

Also hoping for a clear answer on this, as I'm holding off on pre-ordering the new books until I know for certain I can still properly use all of my old content. As someone who owns the legendary bundle and almost every book officially released so far-- That is a LOT of content to be uncertain about whether I'd be still able to use it or not once I purchase these new books.

Quote from Ginnomme >>

Also hoping for a clear answer on this, as I'm holding off on pre-ordering the new books until I know for certain I can still properly use all of my old content. As someone who owns the legendary bundle and almost every book officially released so far-- That is a LOT of content to be uncertain about whether I'd be still able to use it or not once I purchase these new books.

 If you're asking if the content will be compatible, yes, all books released prior to the 2024 core rulebooks will be compatible with the new rulebooks.

Does that mean we can still play the old classes / sublcasses along with the new ones once they're released ? Like make a character with a 2014 wizard but give them feats, backgrounds, spells, items and so on from 2024 ? Or the other way around ? Make a 2024 wizards with all the old spells / feats / backgrounds / items and so on ?

And will new / old subclasses be able to be pulled over to either version ?

I love having more options and being able to mix and match. I suppose I was just worried that committing to the new rulebooks would lock me out of my older beloved character options and content.

Quote from Ginnomme >>

Does that mean we can still play the old classes / sublcasses along with the new ones once they're released ? Like make a character with a 2014 wizard but give them feats, backgrounds, spells, items and so on from 2024 ? Or the other way around ? Make a 2024 wizards with all the old spells / feats / backgrounds / items and so on ?

And will new / old subclasses be able to be pulled over to either version ?

I love having more options and being able to mix and match. I suppose I was just worried that committing to the new rulebooks would lock me out of my older beloved character options and content.

 Those are not D&D Beyond feedback questions. That'd be something for the Unearthed Arcana subforum

Quote from Davyd >>

Quote from Ginnomme >>

Does that mean we can still play the old classes / sublcasses along with the new ones once they're released ? Like make a character with a 2014 wizard but give them feats, backgrounds, spells, items and so on from 2024 ? Or the other way around ? Make a 2024 wizards with all the old spells / feats / backgrounds / items and so on ?

And will new / old subclasses be able to be pulled over to either version ?

I love having more options and being able to mix and match. I suppose I was just worried that committing to the new rulebooks would lock me out of my older beloved character options and content.

 Those are not D&D Beyond feedback questions. That'd be something for the Unearthed Arcana subforum

 Thanks for the input, Davyd.  I think we were hoping for some more clarity, because I'm still somewhat confused.

First off, I'm not clear how this is related to Unearthed Arcana?  The question is regarding concerns about the functionality of official, published content, not options related to unofficial Unearthed Arcana modules.  Are you saying that the Unearthed Arcana forum is the place to ask questions about technical compatibility issues/concerns?  That wasn;t my understanding of what the forum was for, so just trying to clarify; maybe I've been looking at it wrong this whole time.  Are the mods in the UA forum just more tied into the nuts and bolts of how the site works?

Would it also be possible to give more specifics about what is meant by "compatible"?  It's kind of a vague term.  Is it possible to address some specifics?

*Once the 2024 PHB rolls out, will I be able to create a new Wizard using the 2024 base class, but select the 2014 Necromancer subclass (or any subclass not included in the 2024 book)?  

*Once the 2024 PHB rolls out, will I be able to create a new Wizard using the 2024 base class, but select the 2014 Evoker subclass, instead of the 2024 version of the Subclass?

*If I have a character already created with race/class/subclass options from older books (say, a Harengon Tempest Cleric), will I still be able to open that character sheet?  Add him to a new campaign?  Will I be able to level up that character, following the 2014 level progression for that class/subclass combo?

*When building an encounter post-2024 MM roll-out, will I be able to add one of the Dinosaurs from Tomb of Annihilation as a creature, if I had already purchased that book?  What about using the 2014 version of a Gold Dragon instead of the updated 2024 version?

*If I wanted to use one of the Dinosaurs from Tomb of Annihilation in an encounter, but had not yet purchased that book, would I still be able to do so?

Understood if it's too soon to answer because the coding is not finished yet, but that's the kind of detailed information we're looking for.  Hopefully, more specific scenarios to respond to will be helpful.    And if these questions really are more suited for the UA forum, even though they're not UA, I'm happy to re-post it there.

Quote from Sillvva >>

 

We don't actually know how it will work on the platform side. And it's unlikely we will have a definitive answer soon. I recommend taking further rules questions to the Unearthed Arcana forum, at least until the book releases and is in players' hands.

Here's the timestamp where JC talks about it:

https://youtu.be/WPBnLlqV0Z0?si=NIrY6DwrDcWx7Kgy&t=1977

 Thanks, Sillvva.

I think this ultimately answered the question.  It's fundamentally a chicken-and-egg scenario.  I think it IS a platform related question, because we want to understand how the platform will implement the new rules, but we can't comment on how the platform will implement the new rules until the new rules are in place for the platform to be designed around.

I think JC's intent from a rules perspective is pretty clear; 2024 rules supersede 2014 rules, but you can run a 2014 character through an adventure designed with the 2024 rules, or a 2024 character in an adventure designed with the 2014 ruleset without breaking anything.  Which is easy to say when you're talking about pencil-and-paper, text-on-a-page and rolling plastic dice; if my legacy subclass gets an ability at lvl 6 instead of lvl 8, all I have to do is write it in on a different line. How to actually implement that intent in a digital platform (the platform element of this question) is a lot harder, and it's too soon to say if DDB will accomplish this through a toggle system, or by overwriting/disabling obsolete content, or some combination of the two, or something else entirely. 

This two-rulesets, backwards compatibility has got to be a nightmare to implement; I hope they are giving you the support you need.

Quote from Sillvva >>

The original question was whether or not there will be a toggle. My guess is that will be the case or it will be something similar to that. As Jeremy Crawford stated in one of the latest videos, the intention is that if you use the new PHB to create a character, it entirely replaces the old PHB.

We don't actually know how it will work on the platform side. And it's unlikely we will have a definitive answer soon. I recommend taking further rules questions to the Unearthed Arcana forum, at least until the book releases and is in players' hands.

Here's the timestamp where JC talks about it:

https://youtu.be/WPBnLlqV0Z0?si=NIrY6DwrDcWx7Kgy&t=1977

 
Thank you Sillvva.

Activate was an odd choice of wording for me which is why I came here to ask the question. It appears to be a wait and see situation. I will go ahead and make copies of all my characters that I do not want to be at risk if it is a replacement rather than a toggle. I would hope that would be laid out as a consequence if activating the new books and this would be the case so that no one gets surprised and loses a beloved build.

Hi there; I'd just like to jump in on this because the question hasn't been answered to my satisfaction:

Will there be mechanisms in D&D Beyond, for those using it to run a campaign using the 2014 edition of the rules, to continue their campaign upon those rules? Will we be still able to refer to 2014 rules in a meaningful way on the site, and will we be able to level up characters as per the 2014 editions of the rules?

I don't think a considerate or sympathetic reading of the questions being asked here warrant deflections to Unearthed Arcana.  Whether it's in DDB's capacity to address in feedback or not, I think it's pretty clear there are questions as to how will DDB operate, interface with its users, as the new core books go online.  One can understand the concern given the community has been through a marketplace redesign which arguably left a lot of users feeling flatfooted.  I think, if it's known, clarifying whether there will be some toggle or other partition between say building character or encounters using 2014 or 2024 core sources is a reasonable ask.  If the official answer is "wait and see," I can understand that, though I think such a response serves to increase apprehension rather than enthusiasm over the new core books coming on line here.  

And as a bonus action, some feedback on the persistent deflection "this is for specific DDB feedback not D&D rules feedback..." the persistent confusion is understandable since, 1. it was clear we weren't talking about game mechanics but product functionality, 2. at the onset of One D&D the D&D community was told that D&D Beyond would become a central hub for all things D&D.  Maybe D&D Community management doesn't know how they want to do this yet, but that pause only furthers the confusion.  

I'd figure at minimum, D&D Beyond would be able to give a hint as to what D&D Beyond might look like and how the 2014 and 2024 core will work on D&D Beyond.  If YouTubers have been orchestrated to discuss sneak peaks of the game, the back end work ought to be going on now with similar insight.

I'd like to agree with everything MidnightPlat said, and furthermore note that this confusion surely can't be good for the book's prospects. I know I'm holding off on preordering because I'm worried that doing so will lock me into the new rules entirely, and that it might be prudent not to buy it. The deflections only increase the concern that yes, buying it will lock us out of the old content.

Adding my comment to boost the signal on this.

I would like to know:

- If my existing campaigns using 2014 rules will be forced into the 2024 rules if I purchase them.

- Will the 2014 rules be considered “Legacy” content to become (essentially) unavailable in DDB because the 2024 rules have superseded them.

- Will there be a toggle, or some other configuration item, in the app to allow campaigns and characters to use either the 2014 or 2024 rules?

These are important questions that I, and others, need to have addressed definitively before we make any purchases of 2024 content.

I also purchased the Legendary Bundle. I am hesitant to pre-order the 2024 books until an official statement of how my soon-to-be legacy content will still be accessible, useable, and implemented with the character builder options after the release of the new books. The simplest option, as others have addressed, seems to be a toggle between the old and new rules.