Greetings, 3WD-verse! DM Chris here. Over the past several months, the folks over at WOTC have been releasing some of the changes being made to our beloved D&D 5th edition, culminating in the release of the 2024 Core Rulebooks. And as one would expect there have been a bunch of reviews published about the updates, both good and bad. People are resistant to change, and anytime you’re going to alter something that has evolved and grown into such a wide-ranging community, you’re going to ruffle some feathers. But for those of us who have seen years and fads pass by, change can be what you make it.
There are plenty of changes being made in One D&D. Some really good (Bardic Inspiration as a Reaction), and some bad enough to make you question whether they’re trying to diss your favorite class (looking at you, Paladin nerf). Life is change, so there’s no need to get bent out of shape about it…Well, maybe get a little bent, to show that you really care. Then get back to gaming.
When D&D moved from 4th edition to 5th, it was to simplify and streamline what had become an unwieldy system. They wanted to reach a larger audience and they had to make it more accessible to new players. After 10 glorious years, why do we need all the pomp and circumstance of a new edition? Because the phenomenon they created in 5e quickly outgrew their confines, spawning a multitude of other games, adventures, podcasts, etc. that ran with it and offered fresh and new takes on the system.
So One D&D, in many ways, is both a streamlining to reach a larger audience and their attempt to put the genie back in the bottle. For WOTC, they get a revenue bump from people purchasing their 2nd Player’s Handbook in the last ten years. For a lot of new players, this will be the rule set that becomes their beloved edition of the game, and to their credit, WOTC has focused on some nifty example-based teaching to help new DMs and players learn the basics. And finally, for current players, some will embrace the changes and some will do like we’ve always done. Keep what we like, tweak what needs it, and throw away the rest. We’ve all been changing 5e since the day it was born.
And therein lies the simple truth, you don’t need to change or use what you don’t want. Funny story, we rarely track Encumbrance during our sessions. It ends up being a bit of a gentlemen’s agreement about how much your fantasy character can carry versus accounting. I’m sure there are rules at your table that you leave out and others that you tweak to suit your playstyle.
Same with modifications like homebrewed mechanics. DM Dave created a WWE-style wrestling mechanic for DM Tony’s classic barbarian Hawk Morgan during our Curse of Strahd campaign. And it was AWESOME. Won’t find it in the rulebook, though. But that should only matter to you if you want it to matter to you. My game is not your game, nor is it their game. That’s the beauty of what 5e started.
One of the biggest changes that One D&D brings is the emphasis on technology. You can bring your library of sourcebooks and adventures with you on your phone. Having the Player’s Handbook on my phone has been a source of joy for me during long, boring meetings at work. A plethora of virtual table-tops to connect and play with friends from all over the world have sprung up during the past few years, especially post-COVID. One D&D even has its own VTT now. There are more ways to play, and more ways to pay, than ever before.
But, what do you do when the lights go out or the internet is down? Don’t worry. I’ll tell you. We’ll go grab our 5th edition Player’s Handbook off the shelf (or 4th, 3.5, etc., the idea is the same) and keep on playing. ‘Cause paper is king, baby!. Hell, if there is an apocalypse and we somehow survive, those One D&D folks better hope that they have had enough foresight to order the hard copy. It’s a long, cold nuclear winter. And plus, once you’ve got the book, then those are your rules, and no article on the internet need tell you any different.
Maybe all of this change is making you think about trying something new? Another good option. There are a ton of TTRPG systems out there – we’ve played a bunch ourselves. The Last Airbender game was a refreshing take, same with Call of Chtulu and Marvel Super Heroes (FASERIP.) The publishing of the SRD under a Creative Commons license has ensured that 5e and D&D, in some form or another, will be there for you when it’s time for the world’s greatest roleplaying game again.
I don’t know if the changes in One D&D and the 2024 Core Rulebooks will make our beautiful game better or worse, but I know that things must eventually change. Ten years in our accelerated information age is a lifetime, and the string of 5e sourcebooks released since the 2014 Player’s Handbook have already been introducing updates to 5e regularly, like the Artificer class and a host of new subclass options.
For me, changing a game system, or our personal set of game rules, should involve the fundamental question – why are we changing it? Change for change’s sake serves no one. Have we learned something or discovered a hole that we haven’t filled already? The folks at WOTC felt they did. That and the money thing, too. They’re a business, just like the one you’re employed with that pays you money that you spend on your TTRPG hobbies. Doesn’t mean I have to like or use every change. Gamers are notoriously opinionated about their hobby. It’s a badge of honor we all wear. Let’s just be open enough to not dismiss them all out of hand.
Final Thoughts
Think of all we’ve done with 5e over the last decade. Its biggest asset has always been its adaptability. But now there is an updated rule set. Will it have the magic of 5e? I can’t say until we’ve had a chance to take these changes to the table and see what sticks. Imagine what it’ll look like in another ten years. Then you can laugh at all the One D&D folks who get bent over the next edition. ‘Cause there will be another. Despite the overtly-corporate name (One D&D?), this is far from the end. Life, and gaming, is change. But through the magic of our 5e sourcebooks, we can always return to that familiar friend whenever we need to feel the special magic of 5th edition.
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