Will the dndbeyond character creation interface change to reflect the new 2024 rules?
We don't know, and I mean that in the biggest interpretation of that.
No information has been released on how the character creator will work once the early access period of the 2024 PHB launches, let alone in general. We have no idea on segmentation, etc.
I believe they said there will be an option. My assumption will be "Player's Handbook (Legacy)" like we have now. They did state something about once you switch your campaign to 2024 mode there may not be any going back.
It would be nice to have an option to toggle off content based on 2014 and 2024 rule sets. I don't want it be forced into offering 2024 content.
So don't buy any 2024 content. Until the SRD comes out in mid Feb, the only way anyone logically sees 2024 content being offered is if you actually buy it. Many people thinking their stuff will just get auto converted and it's silly because that'd be them giving it for free.
It would be nice to have an option to toggle off content based on 2014 and 2024 rule sets. I don't want it be forced into offering 2024 content.
So don't buy any 2024 content. Until the SRD comes out in mid Feb, the only way anyone logically sees 2024 content being offered is if you actually buy it. Many people thinking their stuff will just get auto converted and it's silly because that'd be them giving it for free.
If someone you content share with buys it then you will have access without wanting or purchasing it.
"Oh no, I'm getting free content. I guess I better talk to that person about their purchases! *raises angry fist*"
Alternatively, stop sharing content with that person if you really feel that strongly.
While nothing has been officially announced, as others have said, there almost certainly will be some kind of legacy toggle. What shape that takes, we do not quite know yet.
One thing that is worth mentioning but was not before - a few month ago, Wizards posted job advertisements seeking temporary tech workers to perform both user-facing work (such as design and interfaces) as well as back-end coding. Combined with there being a few rounds of scheduled downtime and the timing of all this, it does appear there will be some changes to the site to accommodate the new system. What form those changes take - or how they implement the base rules - we do not know. It could be something as simple as "we just needed to make sure our old content worked with the new" or it could be something as complex as a new toggle option that works differently than the present "Legacy" tags they presently use.
I think it also is all but certain your legacy content will still be accessible - they have been adding legacy tags to older content specifically to prepare for this transition. Based upon what we have seen historically and what we are seeing in terms of Wizards preparing for the transition, it likely will still be relatively easy to access and use the legacy content--and fairly easy to ignore the new content, even if folks shared it with you.
As it works now if you have content sharing with one or more people you have everything they have in the character creator weather you want it or not or if no one else in a particular campaign does.
The DM of a shared campaign can disallow specific sources from it if they choose. If you feel that strongly and don't want to leave the campaign entirely, ask them to allow 2014 sources only.
There’s pretty much nothing on the character sheet side that comes to mind with the update that is anything other than an alternative set of features, so there’s no reason any existing content should break. The formulae for attack rolls, skill checks, save DC, saving throws, HP, AC, and ability scores are all the same. How spell slots are used remains the same as well. In short, nothing about rolls or feature tracking is changing in a way that should break 2014 content once the 2024 content comes online.
As it works now if you have content sharing with one or more people you have everything they have in the character creator weather you want it or not or if no one else in a particular campaign does.
The DM of a shared campaign can disallow specific sources from it if they choose. If you feel that strongly and don't want to leave the campaign entirely, ask them to allow 2014 sources only.
This is misinformation, the DM can only disable compendium content sharing not character creation content, this is well documented, but there are clearly people that do not know how it works.
As for my feelings, I don't have any on this or is this about me, I am just providing information on how things work now. I do not understand the "just leave" stance, nor do I see how that is a better solution than explaining how it works. If people know how things work they can make an informed decision, just telling them to quit and go elsewhere is unhelpful to an extreme.
1) I never told anyone to quit or leave anything; if you want to talk about being unhelpful, putting words into people's mouths certainly qualifies.
2) I don't see how if you both don't buy a book yourself and said book isn't shared in the campaign either, it's supposed to show up in your character creator for free. I'm going to need screenshots of that to understand what you're talking about.
There’s pretty much nothing on the character sheet side that comes to mind with the update that is anything other than an alternative set of features, so there’s no reason any existing content should break.
Unfortunately from the changelog it will. Most notably:
WHAT IF I WANT TO USE THE 2014 VERSION OF A SPELL OR MAGIC ITEM?
If you wish to use the old version of a magic item or spell that has been replaced by its 2024 counterpart, you will need to create a homebrew copy of it and enable homebrew content on your character sheet. Then, you can add it to your character sheet.
Other things like races/classes look like they'll remain usable. But there are things that are going to break if DDB doesn't change course.
Is that using a version period, or mixing and matching between editions?
It's in a section about backwards compatability. The immediately preceding has things like "What if I want to play a 2014 warlock?" And mentions a 2014 fiendlock could only choose the 2014 version of The Fiend. It also has this section,
Your character has Healing Word prepared and you want to cast the spell. When you click on the spell on your character sheet, you will see the new version of Healing Word. However, you can still find the old version of Healing Word in your copy of the Basic Rules and the 2014 Player’s Handbook in the compendium.
So given that they had cases of "What if I'm playing 2014 and want to use 2014" that were specified I would assume, barring official clarification, it's meant to be a blanket statement on how spells will work rather than answering the question of "What if my 2024 cleric wants to use 2014 healing word?"
That’s honestly weird, considering the PHB has spells not included in public domain content like the Basic Rules and if they’re retaining the 2014 entries it doesn’t seem difficult to demarcate between the two the same way Legacy is already applied. Guess we’ll have to wait and see how it plays out.
There’s pretty much nothing on the character sheet side that comes to mind with the update that is anything other than an alternative set of features, so there’s no reason any existing content should break.
Given what we know about the difficulty of adding new classes (as in, they don't allow it, apparently because it's difficult to implement), and the fact that new species and backgrounds work a lot differently from old races and backgrounds (which isn't really an area that saw much customization before), they almost certainly would need some sort of toggle to indicate ruleset in use. However, given just how much of the site would break (for example, all old characters) I would expect them to do that.
That’s honestly weird, considering the PHB has spells not included in public domain content like the Basic Rules and if they’re retaining the 2014 entries it doesn’t seem difficult to demarcate between the two the same way Legacy is already applied. Guess we’ll have to wait and see how it plays out.
That’s honestly weird, considering the PHB has spells not included in public domain content like the Basic Rules and if they’re retaining the 2014 entries it doesn’t seem difficult to demarcate between the two the same way Legacy is already applied. Guess we’ll have to wait and see how it plays out.
It says "tech limitation" to me.
They already have a tags system for spells and items. It would take all of 5 minutes to bulk add a 2014 tag to each spell/item in their database, and like a day or two of work for any decent developer to add a toggle/search option in the character sheet.
This is 100% a decision from execs looking after the bottom line
That’s honestly weird, considering the PHB has spells not included in public domain content like the Basic Rules and if they’re retaining the 2014 entries it doesn’t seem difficult to demarcate between the two the same way Legacy is already applied. Guess we’ll have to wait and see how it plays out.
It says "tech limitation" to me.
They already have a tags system for spells and items. It would take all of 5 minutes to bulk add a 2014 tag to each spell/item in their database, and like a day or two of work for any decent developer to add a toggle/search option in the character sheet.
This is 100% a decision from execs looking after the bottom line
How does giving people without the new books access to the revised spells and items make them more money?
If it's so easy to do, there's got to be a reason why they didn't. Most likely, either they can't, or they think it has bad effects on people's games to be potentially using two different sets of spells and items. Could there be some other reason? It's possible, but the site's backend seems to be brittle and limited enough that I think tech is the way to bet.
That’s honestly weird, considering the PHB has spells not included in public domain content like the Basic Rules and if they’re retaining the 2014 entries it doesn’t seem difficult to demarcate between the two the same way Legacy is already applied. Guess we’ll have to wait and see how it plays out.
It says "tech limitation" to me.
They already have a tags system for spells and items. It would take all of 5 minutes to bulk add a 2014 tag to each spell/item in their database, and like a day or two of work for any decent developer to add a toggle/search option in the character sheet.
This is 100% a decision from execs looking after the bottom line
How does giving people without the new books access to the revised spells and items make them more money?
If it's so easy to do, there's got to be a reason why they didn't. Most likely, either they can't, or they think it has bad effects on people's games to be potentially using two different sets of spells and items. Could there be some other reason? It's possible, but the site's backend seems to be brittle and limited enough that I think tech is the way to bet.
Because it forces everyone using dndbeyond to use 2024 rules, spells and items, which means dndbeyond can no longer be used if you still want the full 2014 experience. And therefore it eventually pushes anyone who wants to use dndbeyond (because it is genuinely a very good tool) to only play 2024 and therefore buy the new books. Essentially it rules out dndbeyond as a tool for full 2014 play without a lot of effort put in
Will the dndbeyond character creation interface change to reflect the new 2024 rules?
We don't know, and I mean that in the biggest interpretation of that.
No information has been released on how the character creator will work once the early access period of the 2024 PHB launches, let alone in general. We have no idea on segmentation, etc.
It would be nice to have an option to toggle off content based on 2014 and 2024 rule sets. I don't want it be forced into offering 2024 content.
I believe they said there will be an option. My assumption will be "Player's Handbook (Legacy)" like we have now. They did state something about once you switch your campaign to 2024 mode there may not be any going back.
So don't buy any 2024 content. Until the SRD comes out in mid Feb, the only way anyone logically sees 2024 content being offered is if you actually buy it. Many people thinking their stuff will just get auto converted and it's silly because that'd be them giving it for free.
"Oh no, I'm getting free content. I guess I better talk to that person about their purchases! *raises angry fist*"
Alternatively, stop sharing content with that person if you really feel that strongly.
While nothing has been officially announced, as others have said, there almost certainly will be some kind of legacy toggle. What shape that takes, we do not quite know yet.
One thing that is worth mentioning but was not before - a few month ago, Wizards posted job advertisements seeking temporary tech workers to perform both user-facing work (such as design and interfaces) as well as back-end coding. Combined with there being a few rounds of scheduled downtime and the timing of all this, it does appear there will be some changes to the site to accommodate the new system. What form those changes take - or how they implement the base rules - we do not know. It could be something as simple as "we just needed to make sure our old content worked with the new" or it could be something as complex as a new toggle option that works differently than the present "Legacy" tags they presently use.
I think it also is all but certain your legacy content will still be accessible - they have been adding legacy tags to older content specifically to prepare for this transition. Based upon what we have seen historically and what we are seeing in terms of Wizards preparing for the transition, it likely will still be relatively easy to access and use the legacy content--and fairly easy to ignore the new content, even if folks shared it with you.
The DM of a shared campaign can disallow specific sources from it if they choose. If you feel that strongly and don't want to leave the campaign entirely, ask them to allow 2014 sources only.
There’s pretty much nothing on the character sheet side that comes to mind with the update that is anything other than an alternative set of features, so there’s no reason any existing content should break. The formulae for attack rolls, skill checks, save DC, saving throws, HP, AC, and ability scores are all the same. How spell slots are used remains the same as well. In short, nothing about rolls or feature tracking is changing in a way that should break 2014 content once the 2024 content comes online.
1) I never told anyone to quit or leave anything; if you want to talk about being unhelpful, putting words into people's mouths certainly qualifies.
2) I don't see how if you both don't buy a book yourself and said book isn't shared in the campaign either, it's supposed to show up in your character creator for free. I'm going to need screenshots of that to understand what you're talking about.
Unfortunately from the changelog it will. Most notably:
Other things like races/classes look like they'll remain usable. But there are things that are going to break if DDB doesn't change course.
This is a signature. It was a simple signature. But it has been upgraded.
Belolonandalogalo, Sunny
Eggo Lass, Bone and Oblivion | Tendilius Mondhaven Paxaramus, Drakkenheim
Karl Erikson, No Guts No Glory | Chipper, Curse of Strahd
Silverwood Group 1 | Silverwood Group 2
Get rickrolled here. Awesome music here. Track 52, 12/23/25, O Holy Night
Is that using a version period, or mixing and matching between editions?
It's in a section about backwards compatability. The immediately preceding has things like "What if I want to play a 2014 warlock?" And mentions a 2014 fiendlock could only choose the 2014 version of The Fiend. It also has this section,
So given that they had cases of "What if I'm playing 2014 and want to use 2014" that were specified I would assume, barring official clarification, it's meant to be a blanket statement on how spells will work rather than answering the question of "What if my 2024 cleric wants to use 2014 healing word?"
This is a signature. It was a simple signature. But it has been upgraded.
Belolonandalogalo, Sunny
Eggo Lass, Bone and Oblivion | Tendilius Mondhaven Paxaramus, Drakkenheim
Karl Erikson, No Guts No Glory | Chipper, Curse of Strahd
Silverwood Group 1 | Silverwood Group 2
Get rickrolled here. Awesome music here. Track 52, 12/23/25, O Holy Night
That’s honestly weird, considering the PHB has spells not included in public domain content like the Basic Rules and if they’re retaining the 2014 entries it doesn’t seem difficult to demarcate between the two the same way Legacy is already applied. Guess we’ll have to wait and see how it plays out.
Given what we know about the difficulty of adding new classes (as in, they don't allow it, apparently because it's difficult to implement), and the fact that new species and backgrounds work a lot differently from old races and backgrounds (which isn't really an area that saw much customization before), they almost certainly would need some sort of toggle to indicate ruleset in use. However, given just how much of the site would break (for example, all old characters) I would expect them to do that.
It says "tech limitation" to me.
They already have a tags system for spells and items. It would take all of 5 minutes to bulk add a 2014 tag to each spell/item in their database, and like a day or two of work for any decent developer to add a toggle/search option in the character sheet.
This is 100% a decision from execs looking after the bottom line
How does giving people without the new books access to the revised spells and items make them more money?
If it's so easy to do, there's got to be a reason why they didn't. Most likely, either they can't, or they think it has bad effects on people's games to be potentially using two different sets of spells and items. Could there be some other reason? It's possible, but the site's backend seems to be brittle and limited enough that I think tech is the way to bet.
Because it forces everyone using dndbeyond to use 2024 rules, spells and items, which means dndbeyond can no longer be used if you still want the full 2014 experience. And therefore it eventually pushes anyone who wants to use dndbeyond (because it is genuinely a very good tool) to only play 2024 and therefore buy the new books. Essentially it rules out dndbeyond as a tool for full 2014 play without a lot of effort put in
We can be sure it will change to accommodate the 2024 rules and mechanics only.