D&D publisher walks back controversial changes to online tools

Wizards of the Coast has walked back some of its planned updates to D&D Beyond. All your current Dungeons & Dragons characters sheets are once again safe with the publisher no longer forcing updates to newer versions of spells, weapons, and magic items.

Last week, as a part of the updates to Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition - collectively known as the 2024 revision - the publisher announced that it would update D&D Beyond, the tabletop RPG's official digital toolkit that players use to reference content and create characters using a host of official and third-party sources. The update would add the new 2024 rulebooks to the toolkit, mark outdated content with a "legacy" badge, and change players' character sheets to reflect all the new rules and features.

That last part is critical to understanding why some D&D players (including my own dungeon master) spent the last 72 hours in a state of panic. Though some of the 2024 revisions are essentially cosmetic in nature - for example, "races" will be updated to "species" - other updates like the ones to weapons, spells, and magic items fundamentally alter the game. Wizards of the Coast would have essentially overwritten every user's character sheet with the new information whether they wanted it or not.

"All entries for mundane and magical items, weapons, armor, and spells will also be updated to their 2024 version," Wizards said in its initial announcement.

The publisher did say that players would have the option to continue to use the 2014 version of spells and magic items. But doing so requires using the game's homebrew rules. which aren't known for being user-friendly.

To put this in perspective, think of it like owning a car. Imagine that after 10 years with one car, learning its ins and outs, the manufacturer decides that when it rolls out the latest model of your car, it's going to magically change your car to the new model, too. Now, though your car is essentially the same, it doesn't work like you're used to. And when you ask the manufacturer if you can go back to your old car, it says you can but that you'll have to manually restore it yourself.

Thankfully, Wizards of the Coast isn't in the car business, and after a weekend of backlash on social media, the company will no longer force the new changes on players.

"We misjudged the impact of this change, and we agree that you should be free to choose your own way to play," Wizard's said in its latest announcement. Current character sheets will only be updated with new terminology while the older versions of spells, magic items, and weapons will be preserved. Also, players who have access to both the 2014 and 2024 digital versions will have the option to use both when creating new characters.

Essentially, Wizards of the Coast is doing what it should have done in the first place: simply adding the new content and giving players the choice to opt in.