I am considering buying the 2024 rulebook to review the changes and decide which ones I will use in my own game, however, I am debating if I also buy the digital version at the same time.
My question is, with the entire ruleset going into creative commons, is there anything extra I gain from paying for the digital rules or is it all available/will be available for free on DnD beyond?
The only stuff that'll be free on D&D Beyond is the things contained in the Free Rules 2024. That'll be every class but only one subclass each and (assuming it's anything like the 2014 free rules) a seklection of magic items and monsters but those won't be added until the DMG and Monster Manual drop. You can use the homebrew tools to add anything that isn't free but that involves time and effort so the question becomes whether you value convenience more than you do $30
If you plan to use the Character Builder, look up rules on the site, and such, then there's a potential value there.
However,
The entire rule set is not going into creative commons, for one. There will be free rules, and there will be a lot of them that are in the free rules, but it will not be the entire game. You can totally play it, with just the free rules, but it won't have every single option and it won't let all the spells or all the monsters or all the other stuff work in the character builder and other tools.
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Only a DM since 1980 (3000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA / Mixed, Bi, Trans, Woman / No longer welcome in the US, apparently
Wyrlde: Adventures in the Seven Cities .-=] Lore Book | Patreon | Wyrlde YT [=-. An original Setting for 5e, a whole solar system of adventure. Ongoing updates, exclusies, more. Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
no the entire ruleset is going into creative commons, Wizards stated that it would all be released as such once the 3. ore books had all been released (so after the monster manual)
the release notes
"More than a year since Dungeons & Dragons’ publisher relinquished its publicly maligned fight to change the popular tabletop RPG’s Open Gaming License, Wizards of the Coast has announced that its upcoming rulebooks will release their material under a Creative Commons licence.
A new System Reference Document, called SRD 5.2 by Wizards, will collect all of the new and updated core material printed in the 2024 editions of the Players’ Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide and Monster Manual. This includes all class features, monsters, rules expressions and anything that isn’t trademarked as intellectual property. Essentially, you get mechanics for cover but not Beholders, martial archetypes but not the city and denizens of Baldur’s Gate.
Releasing this material under a CC-BY-4.0 Creative Commons licence makes good on a promise Wizards made back in 2023, when players and critics protested the company’s attempt to lock down the OGL. Ostensibly done to protect Wizards’ IP and strengthen access for third-party creators, many feared the result would be a walled garden where Wizards - and thus Hasbro - controlled anything created under D&D’s legal banner."
now I don't know if this means that DnD beyond will have these rules available for free, digitising them is very different to making them available for anyone to download and view, but all the rules will be freely available to anyone
absolutely most of them, but not all of them. Even the current SRD for 2014 doesn’t have everything.
This is something you can check for yourself — compare the 2014 SRD to the books. Or to the Free Rules.
however, it does have all the basic stuff you need. You can totally use it.
The SRD is not part of DDB, though, and is a different thing than the Free Rules (which will also be updated). They have very much similar info, but in neither case do they have the whole game.
The Free Rules are not going to be Creative Commons. At least, not to my knowledge.
The Free Rules are linked to DDB. But we don’t know what will or will not be included in them at this time in their final form. The expectation is much like the 2014 version, where the basic options are available, and it will have much of the DMG as well.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Only a DM since 1980 (3000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA / Mixed, Bi, Trans, Woman / No longer welcome in the US, apparently
Wyrlde: Adventures in the Seven Cities .-=] Lore Book | Patreon | Wyrlde YT [=-. An original Setting for 5e, a whole solar system of adventure. Ongoing updates, exclusies, more. Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
anyway decided to pay and buy the ruleset, I think I will be sticking with 5th edition and then shifting to Dagger heart or Matt Colvilles RGP in 2026, but it means I have the basic rules here and worst case can stick a "rules" character in friends campaigns so they can access the full 2024 basic rules without having to pay for it themselves as well.
Only a DM since 1980 (3000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA / Mixed, Bi, Trans, Woman / No longer welcome in the US, apparently
Wyrlde: Adventures in the Seven Cities .-=] Lore Book | Patreon | Wyrlde YT [=-. An original Setting for 5e, a whole solar system of adventure. Ongoing updates, exclusies, more. Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
If you're just looking to check out the basic rules, the free version available on DnD Beyond should be enough. However, if you plan on using these rules regularly in your game and appreciate the extra features, purchasing the paid digital version may be worth the investment. It really depends on your personal preferences and how you plan to use the rules.
I am considering buying the 2024 rulebook to review the changes and decide which ones I will use in my own game, however, I am debating if I also buy the digital version at the same time.
My question is, with the entire ruleset going into creative commons, is there anything extra I gain from paying for the digital rules or is it all available/will be available for free on DnD beyond?
The only stuff that'll be free on D&D Beyond is the things contained in the Free Rules 2024. That'll be every class but only one subclass each and (assuming it's anything like the 2014 free rules) a seklection of magic items and monsters but those won't be added until the DMG and Monster Manual drop. You can use the homebrew tools to add anything that isn't free but that involves time and effort so the question becomes whether you value convenience more than you do $30
If you plan to use the Character Builder, look up rules on the site, and such, then there's a potential value there.
However,
The entire rule set is not going into creative commons, for one. There will be free rules, and there will be a lot of them that are in the free rules, but it will not be the entire game. You can totally play it, with just the free rules, but it won't have every single option and it won't let all the spells or all the monsters or all the other stuff work in the character builder and other tools.
Only a DM since 1980 (3000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA / Mixed, Bi, Trans, Woman / No longer welcome in the US, apparently
Wyrlde: Adventures in the Seven Cities
.-=] Lore Book | Patreon | Wyrlde YT [=-.
An original Setting for 5e, a whole solar system of adventure. Ongoing updates, exclusies, more.
Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
no the entire ruleset is going into creative commons, Wizards stated that it would all be released as such once the 3. ore books had all been released (so after the monster manual)
the release notes
"More than a year since Dungeons & Dragons’ publisher relinquished its publicly maligned fight to change the popular tabletop RPG’s Open Gaming License, Wizards of the Coast has announced that its upcoming rulebooks will release their material under a Creative Commons licence.
A new System Reference Document, called SRD 5.2 by Wizards, will collect all of the new and updated core material printed in the 2024 editions of the Players’ Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide and Monster Manual. This includes all class features, monsters, rules expressions and anything that isn’t trademarked as intellectual property. Essentially, you get mechanics for cover but not Beholders, martial archetypes but not the city and denizens of Baldur’s Gate.
Releasing this material under a CC-BY-4.0 Creative Commons licence makes good on a promise Wizards made back in 2023, when players and critics protested the company’s attempt to lock down the OGL. Ostensibly done to protect Wizards’ IP and strengthen access for third-party creators, many feared the result would be a walled garden where Wizards - and thus Hasbro - controlled anything created under D&D’s legal banner."
now I don't know if this means that DnD beyond will have these rules available for free, digitising them is very different to making them available for anyone to download and view, but all the rules will be freely available to anyone
So, the SRD is not actually all the rules.
absolutely most of them, but not all of them. Even the current SRD for 2014 doesn’t have everything.
This is something you can check for yourself — compare the 2014 SRD to the books. Or to the Free Rules.
however, it does have all the basic stuff you need. You can totally use it.
The SRD is not part of DDB, though, and is a different thing than the Free Rules (which will also be updated). They have very much similar info, but in neither case do they have the whole game.
The Free Rules are not going to be Creative Commons. At least, not to my knowledge.
The Free Rules are linked to DDB. But we don’t know what will or will not be included in them at this time in their final form. The expectation is much like the 2014 version, where the basic options are available, and it will have much of the DMG as well.
Only a DM since 1980 (3000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA / Mixed, Bi, Trans, Woman / No longer welcome in the US, apparently
Wyrlde: Adventures in the Seven Cities
.-=] Lore Book | Patreon | Wyrlde YT [=-.
An original Setting for 5e, a whole solar system of adventure. Ongoing updates, exclusies, more.
Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
anyway decided to pay and buy the ruleset, I think I will be sticking with 5th edition and then shifting to Dagger heart or Matt Colvilles RGP in 2026, but it means I have the basic rules here and worst case can stick a "rules" character in friends campaigns so they can access the full 2024 basic rules without having to pay for it themselves as well.
That’s cool.
but they will already have access to the free basic rules. Everybody does. Don’t even need to pay for the site.
they were just updated with the stuff from the new DMG, too.
https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/dnd/free-rules
Only a DM since 1980 (3000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA / Mixed, Bi, Trans, Woman / No longer welcome in the US, apparently
Wyrlde: Adventures in the Seven Cities
.-=] Lore Book | Patreon | Wyrlde YT [=-.
An original Setting for 5e, a whole solar system of adventure. Ongoing updates, exclusies, more.
Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
If you're just looking to check out the basic rules, the free version available on DnD Beyond should be enough. However, if you plan on using these rules regularly in your game and appreciate the extra features, purchasing the paid digital version may be worth the investment. It really depends on your personal preferences and how you plan to use the rules.
192.168.100.1 192.168.1.1