The team has been hard at work on the 2024 revised and expanded core rulebooks: the updated Player’s Handbook (Sept 2024), Dungeon Master’s Guide (Nov 2024), and Monster Manual (Feb 2025). Today, we’re thrilled to announce the expansion of the fifth edition Systems Reference Document (SRD 5.2), which will include updated content from the 2024 core rulebooks and be made available under Creative Commons License.
In 2016, two years after the debut of Dungeons & Dragons fifth edition, we released the accompanying SRD 5.1, allowing our amazing community of creators to publish content compatible with the game. We’re proud to report that SRD 5.2 will be released within weeks of the release of the 2025 Monster Manual!
What is the SRD?
The Systems Reference Document is a guide containing the core rules of D&D, including classes and monsters. It is intended to serve as the foundation for your fifth edition D&D-compatible creations.
What’s going to be in SRD 5.2?
SRD 5.2 is an update to SRD 5.1, modernizing that content for the 2024 rules revision. It’s a massive update!
SRD 5.2 will provide revised rules at the same scope as 5.1. Creators will have the tools they need to create content using the revised and expanded ruleset. It will not, however, include lore references. If you want to create content within the settings of Dungeons & Dragons, DMsGuild is the place for you!
What is Creative Commons?
Creative Commons is a nonprofit that writes open-source licenses. These licenses are standardized, widely accepted, and trusted around the world. The CC-BY-4.0 license we chose to use is also irrevocable and Wizards can’t modify it. You can read more on the Creative Commons website.
When SRD 5.2 releases, will I still have access to the original SRD 5.1?
Yes, SRD 5.2 will be a separate document from 5.1. You can continue to create content, as you wish, using SRD 5.1.
Why wait to release SRD 5.2 until after the 2024 core rulebooks have been released?
SRD 5.2 will contain information from all three revised core rulebooks, as they each work with one another. We don’t want to release an incomplete document to creators.
If you wanted to create a subclass, for example, balancing it would require you to understand not only how classes have changed in the 2024 Player’s Handbook but how monsters may have changed in the 2025 Monster Manual. And if you wanted to create a campaign setting, having information from all three core rulebooks would be important.
All that said, it’s important that we wait until all the books have made it into our players’ hands to release the SRD into Creative Commons.
Why is it called SRD 5.2 (and not 5.1.x or 6.0)?
This new SRD still encompasses the fifth edition ruleset, just with key updates from the 2024 core rulebooks. SRD 5.2 will remain compatible with existing products.
Will SRD 5.2 be localized like 5.1 was?
Yes! We intend to localize SRD 5.2, and it will be released in each language we support following the release of all three core rulebooks in those languages. Keep an eye out for future news on this effort!
What about the SRDs for previous editions?
Because we still need to complete reviews on those materials before they’re released into Creative Commons, we made the decision to wait until after the 2024 rules revisions were released to begin reviews of those documents.
