Using the D&D Beyond digital toolset is going to get worse before it gets better

When Hasbro purchased the D&D Beyond toolset in April 2022, it set off a series of events that effectively turned that platform and its forums into the front page of 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons on the internet. As the pandemic dragged on, new users were funneled into this platform, to the point where for many active groups it remains the primary point of contact with the iconic game’s ruleset. This is clearly by design, as more and more momentum has been given to sales of the game rules digitally, but it’s also really handy to have a fully-functional character — dice-rolling and all — on your phone.

Unfortunately, interacting with this toolset is about to get much more challenging.

In a lengthy, 2,411-word update on the D&D Beyond forums, the developers have detailed for the first time exactly what the transition from the 2014 version of the Player’s Handbook to the 2024 version will look and feel like. What it presents is a borderline Byzantine set of steps required to keep characters based on the 10-year-old version of the game rules running perfectly inside the modern, web-based app. They include good guidance on a lot of edge cases, but there will likely be workarounds required for every group of players in the short term.

The most egregious, in my opinion, is the fact that you’ll need to re-build some 2014-era spells and magic items so that they’ll work alongside 2024-era digital character sheets. No, I’m not making this up. Here’s the relevant section, in full:

If you wish to use the old version of a magic item or spell that has been replaced by its 2024 counterpart, you will need to create a homebrew copy of it and enable homebrew content on your character sheet.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.

This is not the only inconvenience on the horizon for D&D Beyond users, and a thorough reading of this changelog is highly recommended. The biggest problem that I can foresee, however, is that there will suddenly be the assumption that players who cut their teeth on the 2014 rules will need to understand the 2024 rules revision in order to get the most use out of the D&D Beyond platform at the table. The outcome will likely mean more heavy-lifting for already overworked Dungeon Masters.

Personally, the plan for my Aasimar sorcerer (former cold-water fisherman Sigismund “Sig” Haansuhn) is to find the new 5th edition character sheets once they become available as a free download. Then I’m going to rebuild my character by hand, and house-rule the rest on the fly until it all makes sense for my group. 

Expect more info on how these changes to D&D Beyond will be rolled out following the maintenance period scheduled for Aug. 27, which will bring down the toolset for an entire morning — from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. Pacific. The Player’s Handbook (2024) will be released digitally for early access beginning Sept. 3, and at local game stores in a collectible special edition book. Wide release comes later, on Sept. 17, both online and at big box retailers. An update to the freely available System Reference Document (the subject of the OGL fiasco from last year) is also in the works, that will provide a subset of these rules changes completely free of charge.