Yes, you still can - by homebrewing a copy of it once, as they stated in that very article.
If you feel strongly that going that route invalidates your $8, I would contact Customer Service. But now that you mention it, I'm willing to bet this complaint is one of the reasons they deactivated a la carte purchases in the first place - so that people wouldn't spend $2 on a spell, have the original version altered in a design update of some kind, and head to the forums in a fury.
If we're doing all the work of creating the content again for site functionality... Then I think the whole point of the site is kind of moot. The only reason at all to buy things here is the integration with that functionality, if I want the actual wording or ruling on spells its much simpler to google than navigate through the individual chapters of the books here.
Like I'm sure technically we only really purchased the books, but they were marketed entirely on the basis on being easily integrated into this websites toolset. It's certainly the only reason I purchased them here, had I known I was only purchasing the ebooks and the integration was just a curtesy I would never have spent any money here honestly.
True, but the point missed is many wouldn't have spent a bent copper on this site if the content bought didn't work in the character builder! If purchased content can be removed from that tool why pay for anything on this site?
It does work in the character builder! The spells have the same damn name! And if it's the old-ass text you care about, most browsers let you do this thing where you can have more than one page open at the same time.
To throw this line of argument back at you, why shouldn't they just leave the spells as they are and if you buy the 5.5 PHB you can just look up the text in the book? Because the spells already work on the character sheet.
I assume you see the flaw in the argument now, no?
The draw is ease of use. Having eqrroneous spells in the character sheet is not ease of use.
True, but the point missed is many wouldn't have spent a bent copper on this site if the content bought didn't work in the character builder! If purchased content can be removed from that tool why pay for anything on this site?
It does work in the character builder! The spells have the same damn name! And if it's the old-ass text you care about, most browsers let you do this thing where you can have more than one page open at the same time.
To throw this line of argument back at you, why shouldn't they just leave the spells as they are and if you buy the 5.5 PHB you can just look up the text in the book? Because the spells already work on the character sheet.
I assume you see the flaw in the argument now, no?
The draw is ease of use. Having eqrroneous spells in the character sheet is not ease of use.
Knowing my players, having the spell list not be cluttered is way better than not having the old version of spells. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Having to deal with the rare case of using an old spell isnt a big deal.
True, but the point missed is many wouldn't have spent a bent copper on this site if the content bought didn't work in the character builder! If purchased content can be removed from that tool why pay for anything on this site?
It does work in the character builder! The spells have the same damn name! And if it's the old-ass text you care about, most browsers let you do this thing where you can have more than one page open at the same time.
To throw this line of argument back at you, why shouldn't they just leave the spells as they are and if you buy the 5.5 PHB you can just look up the text in the book? Because the spells already work on the character sheet.
I assume you see the flaw in the argument now, no?
The draw is ease of use. Having eqrroneous spells in the character sheet is not ease of use.
Knowing my players, having the spell list not be cluttered is way better than not having the old version of spells. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Having to deal with the rare case of using an old spell isnt a big deal.
i paid for 2014 stuff i want my 2014 stuff but instead im having what they want forced on me its just WOTC not knowing anything about running a website a togglable option so players arent scammed out of the stuff they paid for.
The person pretending players can't handle a toggle and there's no way to filter spell lists is wild. I hope the megacorp are paying you for this tireless advocacy, because otherwise this is sad.
To throw this line of argument back at you, why shouldn't they just leave the spells as they are and if you buy the 5.5 PHB you can just look up the text in the book? Because the spells already work on the character sheet.
I assume you see the flaw in the argument now, no?
No, because the assumption is that the new version that they spent time and money redesigning is the one they want most people using. Therefore that is the one the tools enable. They are under no obligation to facilitate your desire to cling desperately to cobwebs.
If we're doing all the work of creating the content again for site functionality... Then I think the whole point of the site is kind of moot. The only reason at all to buy things here is the integration with that functionality, if I want the actual wording or ruling on spells its much simpler to google than navigate through the individual chapters of the books here.
Like I'm sure technically we only really purchased the books, but they were marketed entirely on the basis on being easily integrated into this websites toolset. It's certainly the only reason I purchased them here, had I known I was only purchasing the ebooks and the integration was just a curtesy I would never have spent any money here honestly.
I can't tell you what is worth your money, only you can decide that. But if 10 year old spell tooltips are really the deal breaker for you, all I can do is express my condolences and recommend you go down the path of seeking a refund.
To throw this line of argument back at you, why shouldn't they just leave the spells as they are and if you buy the 5.5 PHB you can just look up the text in the book? Because the spells already work on the character sheet.
I assume you see the flaw in the argument now, no?
No, because the assumption is that the new version that they spent time and money redesigning is the one they want most people using. Therefore that is the one the tools enable. They are under no obligation to facilitate your desire to cling desperately to cobwebs.
Again, 100% of users are currently using 5.0 rules and I'd be surprised if even 25% are planning to use 5.5 rules when they drop. And of those using 5.5 rules doubtless a good chunk them will be hybrid with also wanting to use 5.0 rules too.
To throw this line of argument back at you, why shouldn't they just leave the spells as they are and if you buy the 5.5 PHB you can just look up the text in the book? Because the spells already work on the character sheet.
I assume you see the flaw in the argument now, no?
No, because the assumption is that the new version that they spent time and money redesigning is the one they want most people using. Therefore that is the one the tools enable. They are under no obligation to facilitate your desire to cling desperately to cobwebs.
you know what they say about assuming right? im glad you dont care about your money and let WOTC do whatever they want with you but others care about what we bought and want to keep what we paid for. if someone takes what you paid for thats called theft or false advertisement
To throw this line of argument back at you, why shouldn't they just leave the spells as they are and if you buy the 5.5 PHB you can just look up the text in the book? Because the spells already work on the character sheet.
I assume you see the flaw in the argument now, no?
No, because the assumption is that the new version that they spent time and money redesigning is the one they want most people using. Therefore that is the one the tools enable. They are under no obligation to facilitate your desire to cling desperately to cobwebs.
you know what they say about assuming right? im glad you dont care about your money and let WOTC do whatever they want with you but others care about what we bought and want to keep what we paid for. if someone takes what you paid for thats called theft or false advertisement
At no point has D&D Beyond ever advertised the character builder content as not receiving updates when the rules receive updates. That is, in fact, the very reason most people purchase content on D&D Beyond. People who want to preserve content that later becomes outdated for archival purposes purchase physical books. If you didn't understand what it was you were paying for, then I'm sorry, but nothing has been stolen and the advertising hasn't been unclear.
To throw this line of argument back at you, why shouldn't they just leave the spells as they are and if you buy the 5.5 PHB you can just look up the text in the book? Because the spells already work on the character sheet.
I assume you see the flaw in the argument now, no?
No, because the assumption is that the new version that they spent time and money redesigning is the one they want most people using. Therefore that is the one the tools enable. They are under no obligation to facilitate your desire to cling desperately to cobwebs.
you know what they say about assuming right? im glad you dont care about your money and let WOTC do whatever they want with you but others care about what we bought and want to keep what we paid for. if someone takes what you paid for thats called theft or false advertisement
At no point has D&D Beyond ever advertised the character builder content as not receiving updates when the rules receive updates. That is, in fact, the very reason most people purchase content on D&D Beyond. People who want to preserve content that later becomes outdated for archival purposes purchase physical books. If you didn't understand what it was you were paying for, then I'm sorry, but nothing has been stolen and the advertising hasn't been unclear.
its crazy how many people are just fine with having their money taken away from them and support it.
To throw this line of argument back at you, why shouldn't they just leave the spells as they are and if you buy the 5.5 PHB you can just look up the text in the book? Because the spells already work on the character sheet.
I assume you see the flaw in the argument now, no?
No, because the assumption is that the new version that they spent time and money redesigning is the one they want most people using. Therefore that is the one the tools enable. They are under no obligation to facilitate your desire to cling desperately to cobwebs.
you know what they say about assuming right? im glad you dont care about your money and let WOTC do whatever they want with you but others care about what we bought and want to keep what we paid for. if someone takes what you paid for thats called theft or false advertisement
Except, again, despite your own assumptions, nothing you actually paid for is no longer being maintained. When you purchase the books that is exactly what you get- the contents of the books. Character sheet integration was not a part of that purchase, it was a freebie aspect of the site, given that Basic Rules were already integrated for up to six sheets at no charge. The 2014 PHB and related spell entries are still being maintained and remain accessible on the site. All that is changing is which spells are automatically linked to the sheets, and the vast majority of those are unlikely to be changed. Of the ones that are, most are text heavy effects rather than roll for damage so it will literally take maybe a minute for you to look up the 2014 version and bookmark it for future use. Several others are strict improvements so it’s going to be a rare case where people will actually want the 2014 version. And, as has been pointed out, I can’t recall seeing people cite any examples of what essential spells they are going to lose ready access to.
TLDR: The actual fallacious assumptions at play here are the ones people keep making about what their transactions actually covered. The entries themselves aren’t going anywhere, ergo nothing that was actually purchased is lost.
To throw this line of argument back at you, why shouldn't they just leave the spells as they are and if you buy the 5.5 PHB you can just look up the text in the book? Because the spells already work on the character sheet.
I assume you see the flaw in the argument now, no?
No, because the assumption is that the new version that they spent time and money redesigning is the one they want most people using. Therefore that is the one the tools enable. They are under no obligation to facilitate your desire to cling desperately to cobwebs.
you know what they say about assuming right? im glad you dont care about your money and let WOTC do whatever they want with you but others care about what we bought and want to keep what we paid for. if someone takes what you paid for thats called theft or false advertisement
Except, again, despite your own assumptions, nothing you actually paid for is no longer being maintained. When you purchase the books that is exactly what you get- the contents of the books. Character sheet integration was not a part of that purchase, it was a freebie aspect of the site, given that Basic Rules were already integrated for up to six sheets at no charge. The 2014 PHB and related spell entries are still being maintained and remain accessible on the site. All that is changing is which spells are automatically linked to the sheets, and the vast majority of those are unlikely to be changed. Of the ones that are, most are text heavy effects rather than roll for damage so it will literally take maybe a minute for you to look up the 2014 version and bookmark it for future use. Several others are strict improvements so it’s going to be a rare case where people will actually want the 2014 version. And, as has been pointed out, I can’t recall seeing people cite any examples of what essential spells they are going to lose ready access to.
TLDR: The actual fallacious assumptions at play here are the ones people keep making about what their transactions actually covered. The entries themselves aren’t going anywhere, ergo nothing that was actually purchased is lost.
this reminds me of a saying iv heard before "if buying isnt owning then ____ __ ______" i cant remember the rest tho
To throw this line of argument back at you, why shouldn't they just leave the spells as they are and if you buy the 5.5 PHB you can just look up the text in the book? Because the spells already work on the character sheet.
I assume you see the flaw in the argument now, no?
No, because the assumption is that the new version that they spent time and money redesigning is the one they want most people using. Therefore that is the one the tools enable. They are under no obligation to facilitate your desire to cling desperately to cobwebs.
you know what they say about assuming right? im glad you dont care about your money and let WOTC do whatever they want with you but others care about what we bought and want to keep what we paid for. if someone takes what you paid for thats called theft or false advertisement
At no point has D&D Beyond ever advertised the character builder content as not receiving updates when the rules receive updates. That is, in fact, the very reason most people purchase content on D&D Beyond. People who want to preserve content that later becomes outdated for archival purposes purchase physical books. If you didn't understand what it was you were paying for, then I'm sorry, but nothing has been stolen and the advertising hasn't been unclear.
its crazy how many people are just fine with having their money taken away from them and support it.
It’s even more crazy how many people simply assume that the way they want a transaction to have worked was the way it actually worked and ignore all evidence to the contrary.
Except, again, despite your own assumptions, nothing you actually paid for is no longer being maintained. When you purchase the books that is exactly what you get- the contents of the books. Character sheet integration was not a part of that purchase, it was a freebie aspect of the site, given that Basic Rules were already integrated for up to six sheets at no charge.
That's not actually true. Prior to the recent change to book purchases, if you wanted just the books, then that was usually about ten dollars less. What most people paid for was the contents of the books and, separately from that, the character builder content. That's what the character sheet uses. It's 100% true that content people have paid for is being changed (nothing is being removed; that's a lie, obviously). It's just that some people, for one reason or another, didn't realize that "content being kept up to date" was part of the service they were paying for. Or they're ideologically motivated to lie about it all. Either/or.
well if you WOTC supporters really feel that way then id say go change minds in the news and announcement form bc theres soooooo many wrong people there hating on poor weak little WOTC.
It's just that some people, for one reason or another, didn't realize that "content being kept up to date" was part of the service they were paying for. Or they're ideologically motivated to lie about it all. Either/or.
The issue here is that people do not see this as an update. People were fine with erratas because they actually are genuine updates.
In this instance WotC are launching a new product. The branding is 5.5 but that's only for the purpose of piggy backing the old editions financial success, it's an update in name only. So when people are told "We're helpfully updating you" they hear "We're swapping you to the new product and removing the old functionality in order to make you swap."
It's like if a cafe helpfully "updated" you and your friends blueberry muffins you were all in the middle of eating to a chocolate ones. There's nothing wrong with a chocolate muffin but its not what I bought and I was literally in the middle of eating that?
It's just that some people, for one reason or another, didn't realize that "content being kept up to date" was part of the service they were paying for. Or they're ideologically motivated to lie about it all. Either/or.
The issue here is that people do not see this as an update. People were fine with erratas because they actually are genuine updates.
In this instance WotC are launching a new product. The branding is 5.5 but that's only for the purpose of piggy backing the old editions financial success, it's an update in name only. So when people are told "We're helpfully updating you" they hear "We're swapping you to the new product and removing the old functionality in order to make you swap."
It's like if a cafe helpfully "updated" you and your friends blueberry muffins you were all in the middle of eating to a chocolate ones. There's nothing wrong with a chocolate muffin but its not what I bought and I was literally in the middle of eating that?
Oh, for sure, there are several people here who do not see this as an update, but they're wrong. The core rules are the same; and the bulk of the content that's changing is remaining for selection in the character builder for those who purchased the original PHB. People are acting like this is a wide-reaching issue, but it isn't. We're talking about maybe four healing spells and a cantrip or two that have changed in a way that actually affects the character sheet integration, and in those cases, it's still a chocolate muffin. It just has a slightly different number of chocolate chips in it. There are a few spells that are changing more dramatically, namely the conjure spells, but the full original text remains in the compendium for everyone who owns those spells. They never had any character sheet behavior that's suddenly being changed.
If you don't want an extra die on your cure wounds, then yeah, it's a bit inconvenient to have to spend twenty seconds making a homebrew copy. And if the response were "hey, it kinda sucks that we have to do this," then this thread would be a lot shorter than it is, because that's a reasonable response. But acting like WotC is murdering your dog when what they're doing is changing a die in like five spells makes folks look absolutely unhinged to anyone who hasn't been suckered into thinking the problem is any more than that. The degree to which the outrage in this situation hinges on, at best, dramatic misunderstanding of what's going on and, at worst, outright intentional lies, is ridiculous.
Oh, for sure, there are several people here who do not see this as an update, but they're wrong. The core rules are the same; and the bulk of the content that's changing is remaining for selection in the character builder for those who purchased the original PHB. People are acting like this is a wide-reaching issue, but it isn't. We're talking about maybe four healing spells and a cantrip or two that have changed in a way that actually affects the character sheet integration, and in those cases, it's still a chocolate muffin. It just has a slightly different number of chocolate chips in it. There are a few spells that are changing more dramatically, namely the conjure spells, but the full original text remains in the compendium for everyone who owns those spells. They never had any character sheet behavior that's suddenly being changed.
If you don't want an extra die on your cure wounds, then yeah, it's a bit inconvenient to have to spend twenty seconds making a homebrew copy. And if the response were "hey, it kinda sucks that we have to do this," then this thread would be a lot shorter than it is, because that's a reasonable response. But acting like WotC is murdering your dog when what they're doing is changing a die in like five spells makes folks look absolutely unhinged to anyone who hasn't been suckered into thinking the problem is any more than that. The degree to which the outrage in this situation hinges on, at best, dramatic misunderstanding of what's going on and, at worst, outright intentional lies, is ridiculous.
There are plenty of core rules which are changing; the main ones that come to mind are the Hide action or the Shove and Grapple actions.
The main issue that I have with this breakdown is that I don't know where this "chocolate chips and blueberries" analogy starts or ends; there are a lot of spells that are changing along axes different to this. My players use DnD Beyond at the table as a reference, and I'm going to need to be pretty explicit with them about not using DnD Beyond after this date as the spells are no longer accurate.
A few examples of changes that are going to cause actual issues at the table:
"I cast Armor of Agathys and then attack."
"I cast Bless, and next turn I'll cast Divine Favor and attack."
Player rolls the healing dice according to what DnD Beyond says. Technically cheating - but the player likely doesn't even realize it.
My time and my players' time is precious and these are the kinds of things that are going to cause delays at the table.
Oh, for sure, there are several people here who do not see this as an update, but they're wrong. The core rules are the same; and the bulk of the content that's changing is remaining for selection in the character builder for those who purchased the original PHB. People are acting like this is a wide-reaching issue, but it isn't. We're talking about maybe four healing spells and a cantrip or two that have changed in a way that actually affects the character sheet integration, and in those cases, it's still a chocolate muffin. It just has a slightly different number of chocolate chips in it. There are a few spells that are changing more dramatically, namely the conjure spells, but the full original text remains in the compendium for everyone who owns those spells. They never had any character sheet behavior that's suddenly being changed.
If you don't want an extra die on your cure wounds, then yeah, it's a bit inconvenient to have to spend twenty seconds making a homebrew copy. And if the response were "hey, it kinda sucks that we have to do this," then this thread would be a lot shorter than it is, because that's a reasonable response. But acting like WotC is murdering your dog when what they're doing is changing a die in like five spells makes folks look absolutely unhinged to anyone who hasn't been suckered into thinking the problem is any more than that. The degree to which the outrage in this situation hinges on, at best, dramatic misunderstanding of what's going on and, at worst, outright intentional lies, is ridiculous.
There are plenty of core rules which are changing; the main ones that come to mind are the Hide action or the Shove and Grapple actions.
The main issue that I have with this breakdown is that I don't know where this "chocolate chips and blueberries" analogy starts or ends; there are a lot of spells that are changing along axes different to this. My players use DnD Beyond at the table as a reference, and I'm going to need to be pretty explicit with them about not using DnD Beyond after this date as the spells are no longer accurate.
A few examples of changes that are going to cause actual issues at the table:
"I cast Armor of Agathys and then attack."
"I cast Bless, and next turn I'll cast Divine Favor and attack."
Player rolls the healing dice according to what DnD Beyond says. Technically cheating - but the player likely doesn't even realize it.
My time and my players' time is precious and these are the kinds of things that are going to cause delays at the table.
Hiding, shoving, and grappling are not handled by the character sheet, so that's not relevant to the discussion. You still have whichever PHB you want to use, and the text there has the rules for those mechanics. And I already commented on the spells. It's only a handful of spells, but yeah, it sucks that you have to take a few minutes to copy them over as homebrew. It's a minor inconvenience, but it's an inconvenience. It's not "theft."
... "content being kept up to date" was part of the service they were paying for.
I'm having trouble finding this, actually. I loaded Tasha's and the 2014 PHB into my cart and searched all around the descriptions, but can't find this anywhere where it talks of using the features in the character builder. Now, there is the standard digital "we reserve the right to change anything and everything about the service, blah blah blah" in the terms and conditions, which I think we can all agree gives them the right to do it, but doesn't talk about keeping things up to date nor does it make changing things without a good reason any less sh*tty.
On the other hand, I'm finding very little in the way of language about the character builder integration details at all. Literally all I can find is something that seems to be unrelated to the (digital) book you're purchasing and this: "Purchasing a digital copy of this book unlocks it for use in the D&D BEYOND compendium and toolset. D&D BEYOND is the official digital toolset for DUNGEONS & DRAGONS. Create characters in minutes, play directly on your character sheets with digital dice..."
The compendium access has never been in danger. Indeed, it's what everyone is talking about when they say you still have access to the spells. And the "...unlocks it for use in the D&D BEYOND... toolset..." is vague enough to provide the wiggle room DNDB seems to be using for updating the spells (what, exactly, does "unlocks for use" mean? All features? Some? There are certainly aspects of the book that are not integrated into the toolset, but what IS integrated is not spelled out).
Like I said in the other thread, I have sympathy for the people who are upset, even if I, myself, consider these changes more errata than a version update, and especially if this quoted text doesn't actually exist. If it does, and I'm just not seeing it, then they certainly have less of a leg to stand on, but even still... unless there's a compelling technical reason not to just flag the spells as 2014 before creating the 2024 entries, I think they are unnecessarily pissing people off. And if there IS a technical reason, it would at least serve as a little bit of damage control to actually say that.
For anyone reading from that other thread, this is where my "entitlement" comment stems from.
If we're doing all the work of creating the content again for site functionality... Then I think the whole point of the site is kind of moot. The only reason at all to buy things here is the integration with that functionality, if I want the actual wording or ruling on spells its much simpler to google than navigate through the individual chapters of the books here.
Like I'm sure technically we only really purchased the books, but they were marketed entirely on the basis on being easily integrated into this websites toolset. It's certainly the only reason I purchased them here, had I known I was only purchasing the ebooks and the integration was just a curtesy I would never have spent any money here honestly.
To throw this line of argument back at you, why shouldn't they just leave the spells as they are and if you buy the 5.5 PHB you can just look up the text in the book? Because the spells already work on the character sheet.
I assume you see the flaw in the argument now, no?
The draw is ease of use. Having eqrroneous spells in the character sheet is not ease of use.
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Knowing my players, having the spell list not be cluttered is way better than not having the old version of spells. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Having to deal with the rare case of using an old spell isnt a big deal.
i paid for 2014 stuff i want my 2014 stuff but instead im having what they want forced on me its just WOTC not knowing anything about running a website a togglable option so players arent scammed out of the stuff they paid for.
The person pretending players can't handle a toggle and there's no way to filter spell lists is wild. I hope the megacorp are paying you for this tireless advocacy, because otherwise this is sad.
No, because the assumption is that the new version that they spent time and money redesigning is the one they want most people using. Therefore that is the one the tools enable. They are under no obligation to facilitate your desire to cling desperately to cobwebs.
I can't tell you what is worth your money, only you can decide that. But if 10 year old spell tooltips are really the deal breaker for you, all I can do is express my condolences and recommend you go down the path of seeking a refund.
Again, 100% of users are currently using 5.0 rules and I'd be surprised if even 25% are planning to use 5.5 rules when they drop. And of those using 5.5 rules doubtless a good chunk them will be hybrid with also wanting to use 5.0 rules too.
Let's not pretend 5.0 is "cobwebs" by any means.
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you know what they say about assuming right? im glad you dont care about your money and let WOTC do whatever they want with you but others care about what we bought and want to keep what we paid for. if someone takes what you paid for thats called theft or false advertisement
At no point has D&D Beyond ever advertised the character builder content as not receiving updates when the rules receive updates. That is, in fact, the very reason most people purchase content on D&D Beyond. People who want to preserve content that later becomes outdated for archival purposes purchase physical books. If you didn't understand what it was you were paying for, then I'm sorry, but nothing has been stolen and the advertising hasn't been unclear.
its crazy how many people are just fine with having their money taken away from them and support it.
Except, again, despite your own assumptions, nothing you actually paid for is no longer being maintained. When you purchase the books that is exactly what you get- the contents of the books. Character sheet integration was not a part of that purchase, it was a freebie aspect of the site, given that Basic Rules were already integrated for up to six sheets at no charge. The 2014 PHB and related spell entries are still being maintained and remain accessible on the site. All that is changing is which spells are automatically linked to the sheets, and the vast majority of those are unlikely to be changed. Of the ones that are, most are text heavy effects rather than roll for damage so it will literally take maybe a minute for you to look up the 2014 version and bookmark it for future use. Several others are strict improvements so it’s going to be a rare case where people will actually want the 2014 version. And, as has been pointed out, I can’t recall seeing people cite any examples of what essential spells they are going to lose ready access to.
TLDR: The actual fallacious assumptions at play here are the ones people keep making about what their transactions actually covered. The entries themselves aren’t going anywhere, ergo nothing that was actually purchased is lost.
this reminds me of a saying iv heard before "if buying isnt owning then ____ __ ______" i cant remember the rest tho
It’s even more crazy how many people simply assume that the way they want a transaction to have worked was the way it actually worked and ignore all evidence to the contrary.
That's not actually true. Prior to the recent change to book purchases, if you wanted just the books, then that was usually about ten dollars less. What most people paid for was the contents of the books and, separately from that, the character builder content. That's what the character sheet uses. It's 100% true that content people have paid for is being changed (nothing is being removed; that's a lie, obviously). It's just that some people, for one reason or another, didn't realize that "content being kept up to date" was part of the service they were paying for. Or they're ideologically motivated to lie about it all. Either/or.
well if you WOTC supporters really feel that way then id say go change minds in the news and announcement form bc theres soooooo many wrong people there hating on poor weak little WOTC.
The issue here is that people do not see this as an update. People were fine with erratas because they actually are genuine updates.
In this instance WotC are launching a new product. The branding is 5.5 but that's only for the purpose of piggy backing the old editions financial success, it's an update in name only. So when people are told "We're helpfully updating you" they hear "We're swapping you to the new product and removing the old functionality in order to make you swap."
It's like if a cafe helpfully "updated" you and your friends blueberry muffins you were all in the middle of eating to a chocolate ones. There's nothing wrong with a chocolate muffin but its not what I bought and I was literally in the middle of eating that?
Oh, for sure, there are several people here who do not see this as an update, but they're wrong. The core rules are the same; and the bulk of the content that's changing is remaining for selection in the character builder for those who purchased the original PHB. People are acting like this is a wide-reaching issue, but it isn't. We're talking about maybe four healing spells and a cantrip or two that have changed in a way that actually affects the character sheet integration, and in those cases, it's still a chocolate muffin. It just has a slightly different number of chocolate chips in it. There are a few spells that are changing more dramatically, namely the conjure spells, but the full original text remains in the compendium for everyone who owns those spells. They never had any character sheet behavior that's suddenly being changed.
If you don't want an extra die on your cure wounds, then yeah, it's a bit inconvenient to have to spend twenty seconds making a homebrew copy. And if the response were "hey, it kinda sucks that we have to do this," then this thread would be a lot shorter than it is, because that's a reasonable response. But acting like WotC is murdering your dog when what they're doing is changing a die in like five spells makes folks look absolutely unhinged to anyone who hasn't been suckered into thinking the problem is any more than that. The degree to which the outrage in this situation hinges on, at best, dramatic misunderstanding of what's going on and, at worst, outright intentional lies, is ridiculous.
There are plenty of core rules which are changing; the main ones that come to mind are the Hide action or the Shove and Grapple actions.
The main issue that I have with this breakdown is that I don't know where this "chocolate chips and blueberries" analogy starts or ends; there are a lot of spells that are changing along axes different to this. My players use DnD Beyond at the table as a reference, and I'm going to need to be pretty explicit with them about not using DnD Beyond after this date as the spells are no longer accurate.
A few examples of changes that are going to cause actual issues at the table:
My time and my players' time is precious and these are the kinds of things that are going to cause delays at the table.
Hiding, shoving, and grappling are not handled by the character sheet, so that's not relevant to the discussion. You still have whichever PHB you want to use, and the text there has the rules for those mechanics. And I already commented on the spells. It's only a handful of spells, but yeah, it sucks that you have to take a few minutes to copy them over as homebrew. It's a minor inconvenience, but it's an inconvenience. It's not "theft."
I'm having trouble finding this, actually. I loaded Tasha's and the 2014 PHB into my cart and searched all around the descriptions, but can't find this anywhere where it talks of using the features in the character builder. Now, there is the standard digital "we reserve the right to change anything and everything about the service, blah blah blah" in the terms and conditions, which I think we can all agree gives them the right to do it, but doesn't talk about keeping things up to date nor does it make changing things without a good reason any less sh*tty.
On the other hand, I'm finding very little in the way of language about the character builder integration details at all. Literally all I can find is something that seems to be unrelated to the (digital) book you're purchasing and this: "Purchasing a digital copy of this book unlocks it for use in the D&D BEYOND compendium and toolset. D&D BEYOND is the official digital toolset for DUNGEONS & DRAGONS. Create characters in minutes, play directly on your character sheets with digital dice..."
The compendium access has never been in danger. Indeed, it's what everyone is talking about when they say you still have access to the spells. And the "...unlocks it for use in the D&D BEYOND... toolset..." is vague enough to provide the wiggle room DNDB seems to be using for updating the spells (what, exactly, does "unlocks for use" mean? All features? Some? There are certainly aspects of the book that are not integrated into the toolset, but what IS integrated is not spelled out).
Like I said in the other thread, I have sympathy for the people who are upset, even if I, myself, consider these changes more errata than a version update, and especially if this quoted text doesn't actually exist. If it does, and I'm just not seeing it, then they certainly have less of a leg to stand on, but even still... unless there's a compelling technical reason not to just flag the spells as 2014 before creating the 2024 entries, I think they are unnecessarily pissing people off. And if there IS a technical reason, it would at least serve as a little bit of damage control to actually say that.
For anyone reading from that other thread, this is where my "entitlement" comment stems from.