For those who don’t know me, I’m Dan Ayoub. I’m no stranger to D&D, both professionally and personally. I previously worked with Wizards of the Coast on their digital products, and I’ve recently become the Head of the Dungeons & Dragons franchise.
I’ve also been playing D&D since I was twelve years old, when the Basic Set got me hooked. I know firsthand the power D&D has to ignite your imagination and foster friendships—I’ve been playing with the same group as when I started all those years ago.
I’m lucky enough that the game I love has shaped not only my friendships but my entire career. Every morning, I still have to pinch myself because I get to help guide the future of the game I’ve loved since the first roll.
I’m here to open a dialogue with you—the players, Dungeon Masters, live stream watchers, and storytellers. You’ve filled taverns with laughter, launched spells across the multiverse, and rolled death saving throws with anxious hearts.
Dungeons & Dragons belongs to you, and we’re putting it back where it belongs: at your table.
- A System That Belongs to You
- A Stronger SRD, Step by Step
- Run Your D&D Beyond Content on Maps—No Subscription Required
- From the Community, For the Community
A System That Belongs to You
The new Core Rulebooks were shaped by ten years of community play, feedback, and love for fifth edition.
This upgrade doesn’t replace the previous rules; it enhances them. It makes this beloved system more player-friendly, better to create content for, and evolve rather than replace the fifth edition books you already own.
A Stronger SRD, Step by Step
Alongside the content provided in the new Core Rulebooks, we’re updating the System Reference Document (SRD) on a rolling basis.
We’re committing to long-term access and support of this resource through the errata process. This ensures the SRD will remain up to date with the latest standards and mechanics for creators to use in their works.
Run Your D&D Beyond Content on Maps—No Subscription Required
Starting September 16, in time with the release of Heroes of the Borderlands, all D&D Beyond registered users can run games on the Maps virtual tabletop (VTT) —no subscription required.
The core experience will be made available to everyone: If you own a map, module, or adventure on D&D Beyond, you can use it on Maps and invite your friends to play. Period.
Our Master Tier subscription will unlock more customizability for DMs who need it. You’ll be able to upload homebrew maps, custom tokens, and access exciting tools built just for you.
From the Community, For the Community
We’re laying the groundwork for a new initiative that will bring community voices directly into the room. Our goal is to create a rotating advisory group made up of creators, publishers, educators, and fans who can help us shape future tools, policies, and content in a real, ongoing way.
We’re still finalizing the structure and process, but our intention is clear: this isn’t a one-time survey or a PR move. It’s about building lasting collaboration with the people who make D&D what it is.
More details to come, but we are also developing a creator spotlighting program that will highlight third-party creations across our official channels. If you’re making something incredible, the world should see it.
At D&D, we understand that the community is the beating heart of the game we all love, and we want it to thrive so more people can experience adventures with their friends and family.
We’ve stumbled before. We’ve learned from it. And now, we’re committed to clearer communication, more transparency, and consistent support—for players, creators, and publishers.
This Is Just the Beginning
This new direction for Dungeons & Dragons is already underway. We’re here to earn your trust, not ask for it.
We're building a game that honors the past, listens in the present, and opens new doors for the future. Together.
We’re investing long-term in this game, this community, and the stories we collectively tell. That means better digital tools, more open development, and more content built alongside players.
We’ll see you at the table.
—Dan Ayoub, Head of the Dungeons & Dragons Franchise
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Posted Jul 31, 2025This.
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Posted Jul 31, 2025The fan feedback offer is intriguing, but I'm skeptical. Most places that do this stuff say they'll listen to the fans, and then don't. Only time will tell.
From the land of D&D Beyond updates that are long overdue:
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Posted Jul 31, 2025What I've noticed over the past few years from Wizards is the push to make playing D&D more online than around a table, as if 'old school' is something to be ashamed of. The failed Sigil is testament to that and the lack of development on the character sheet pdf export is another. DDB, since Wizards bought it, has had very little development which is criminal, especially for those of us who pay subscriptions. The encounter builder has been in beta for years!!
Dan, what you wrote all sounds good but please listen to the community who have for years badgered Wizards to develop DDB to its full capacity!
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Posted Jul 31, 2025So your preference is that they take ZERO input from the community and just do whatever they want? I hard disagree.
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Posted Jul 31, 2025Good luck. Let's look at Artificer for SRD/CC because that will really spool up innovation for that underrepresented class.
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Posted Jul 31, 2025It's not a matter of being "ashamed" of playing at a physical table. It's a matter of acknowledging that online play is now a huge component of the overall D&D community as well as the primary use case for DDB. In-person players are notorious for being fiercely loyal to physical pen-and-paper character sheets, while us folks who play online in groups scattered about the planet get no such luxury.
The integration between physical table and digital tools could absolutely be better. But there's also a fairly deep-set prejudice against online play that causes strife, as evinced by this post. Many in-person players seem to forget that being able to do so is a luxury, not a universal constant for the game, and are overtly hostile to attempts to improve online play. It's seen as coming at the expense of the in-person experience, when it should be seen as opening the doors to a far larger audience of players than in-person physical only materials could ever reach.
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Posted Jul 31, 2025It's a good sign at least that they realize something needs changing. Hoping for the best.
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Posted Jul 31, 2025I've been looking for somebody to say this. I'm so confused why people can't just mix and match to their personal choice or just make the odd tweek. It's silly simple to do.
I find a lot of the people responding here think they have to play the newest thing constantly.
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Posted Jul 31, 2025I had this opinion originally too. but technically speaking, every old subclass is compatible with the new classes and viceversa. if you still wanna be bear totem 3 you can (its just not supported on dndbeyond) thats how thats suppose to work. and nothing is keeping you from using the legacy version of items and spells. I have characters that have the new jump spell and i have characters that use the old jump spell (old jump spell is cracked on harengon).
there is nothing excplicitly stopping you from making an elemental evil Aarakocra Dhampire Lineage 2024 barbarian with the 2014 totem warrior using the Fisherman Background from Saltmarsh and adding on an origin feat like tough (my DM let me homebrew that scion of the outerplanes as an origin feat as it lines up with the dragonlance background feats)
if your dm chooses not to allow legacy content thats on the DM. but you can mix and match everything (dnd beyond just needs to support this better)
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Posted Jul 31, 2025All of your ideas sound a bit nebulous, but overall promising. (Great concepts, not a lot of detail yet). As someone who stepped away from D&D after playing for almost 40 years, I am at least intrigued. I played my first D&D game in a demo game run by Dave Arneson at Equicon '74. I was hooked, bought the little brown box of books and taught everyone I could recruit in the dorms at my college how to play and almost flunked my jr. year of college. Had fun though. Played constantly ever since, though did find a work/gaming balance that functioned as time went on. Played Living City, then Living Greyhawk, and played one demo game of 4e. I walked away and said 'NO'... my friends all agreed and we played 3.5 til we discovered 3.75 (Pathfinder 1e) and PFS. Played that until the bloat got unbearable, and now play PF2e and PFS2e, though a few of my friends are still resistant to PF2. A couple of times, friends asked me to try D&D5e, but I was hesitant because of the 4e experience. Then there was the OGL debacle and I swore 'never again'. Your ideas at least have me intrigued again. I am at least interested to find out where this goes. I wish you the best of luck and success in your endeavors... and will be watching (and listening to friends who still play 5e - mostly due to personal loyalties to Dave & Gary (in memoriam), Luke, Peter Adkinson and others). Who knows, maybe I will find my way back and split my time between the two systems. May you find joy AND success in your endeavors!
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Posted Jul 31, 2025Thank you for the update. However you need to consider that Maps is a poor and overbaked feature for people that play in-person and have real maps, terrain, and miniatures. I'm sure it's a great VTT! But the decision to fully support it OVER Encounter Builder is really frustrating. Encounter Builder does what most people that play in person actually need.
Please either update Maps to support SIMPLE Encounter Building and Initiative tracking or update Encounter Builder to support 2024 rules. Some type of statement of support for Encounter Builder would be nice.
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Posted Jul 31, 2025Feedback: make the BOOKS searchable!! It's a HUGE pain both online and in the app to do a search for an item/place/etc.. and end up having results from EVERY sourcebook/adventure/etc. ever written.
The app absolutely needs attention.. it's almost unusable.
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Posted Jul 31, 2025Ditto!
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Posted Jul 31, 2025Under the description of the Forgotten Realms: Adventures in Faerûn we have this mention:
**To use content from this product in the Maps VTT, a Master Tier subscription is required.
So.. do we need a subscription or not...
Link here to the bundle: https://marketplace.dndbeyond.com/category/CB47P6E01?icid_medium=organic&icid_source=editorial&icid_campaign=2025faerun&icid_content=article_2026
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Posted Jul 31, 2025I hope this eventually includes new classes or those already considered by players to be part of the core game, like Artificer, being added to the SRD eventually but I don't mind as long as it is updated with time for creators to use.
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Posted Jul 31, 2025I was skeptical at first and will probably remain so, but I'm very excited by how clear the wording is here.
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Posted Jul 31, 2025I too have been playing since I was 10 years old. And that was 43 years ago. Like every edition, there is good and bad. If only the scaling was better in regards with how powerful characters get as they advance in levels, specific skill selections, and so on. I could make a huge list of what I would do. And I can. Yes. I have that much skill and experience, just not the time. However, the new upgraded 5e version is still good. I wish I can help advise on what can be improved. Good luck in the future.
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Posted Jul 31, 2025From the post:
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Posted Jul 31, 2025You really tried to use the official organized play of WotC to look for an example where your 2014 PC would not be acceptable? As the official organized play of the company, of course they will be using their most up to date rule set. I mean, really. If you are trying to play in the official organized play, you have already accepted to play under its specific restrictions, just like you would at any table ever. How would you prefer an intentionally rigid game play organization, which is specifically the appeal to players, accommodate your needs here?
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Posted Jul 31, 2025Personally I have DM'd several campaigns and onshots already mixing and matching between 2014 and 2024, and I love it. They were DESIGNED with this in mind, why shouldn't we do it more? I don't see why so many people are complaining like you are forced to play with them exclusively
And what you don't like, just homebrew it a little. If its in the name of fun, why not just have a lot of options to choose from? As a player, I really like having the option to choose between 2014 and 2024 rules. As a DM, I love it more that my players get to create the characters they want to create with as much freedom as possible, using the two versions. I always homebrew what I don't enjoy or think I'm lacking, so the 2024 rules in general have been, for me, very positive additions to D&D.
Of course they have big problems, such as loosing half-orcs and half-elves, species and other things that can be easily fixed. But in general, I feel like the new rules have been a net positive to the community.