Dungeons & Dragons Explains Exactly What One D&D Is, Defines Backwards Compatibility

The D&D Design Team has provided a little more clarity on what exactly One D&D is supposed to be. Last year, Wizards of the Coast launched One D&D, a new playtest for a revised edition of Dungeons & Dragons set to come out in 2014. These rules were supposed to be “backwards compatible” with the current Fifth Edition of Dungeons & Dragons but often came with major proposed changes to existing rules. While Wizards was clear that One D&D wasn’t going to be a new edition, there were still some major questions about One D&D and how it would relate to the existing ruleset. 

This week, Wizards held a Creator Summit with various D&D influencers and content creators and provided a bit more clarity about One D&D. According to various sources who attended the event (including EnWorld), D&D lead rules designer took some time to clarify what One D&D was and wasn’t. Most importantly, One D&D is not supposed to be a new edition or a new “half edition” similar to the game’s “3.5 edition”. Instead, One D&D are revisions to the existing 5th Edition rules while keeping the bulks of those rules intact. 

As such, the upcoming new versions of the Player’s Handbook, Monster Manual, and Dungeon Master’s Guide will include guidance on how rules from previous books line up with the new rules. Additionally, the adventures made for 5th Edition are still “compatible” with the new rules, so characters made using the One D&D character creation rules can still be used in those adventures. Additionally, a party of characters can be made up of characters created under the 5th Edition ruleset or the new character creation rules – older subclasses not featured in the new Player’s Handbook will not be made obsolete. 

Also, subclasses and other rules from Xanathar’s Guide to Everything and Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything will eventually be compiled in a new book, similar to how the 2021 release Monsters of the Multiverse revised statblocks and compiled information from several older rulebooks.

The D&D Design Team also revealed new information about the Monster Manual, stating that it would include a new calculation for determining monster Challenge Ratings and would feature more high CR monsters (including oozes, elementals, and fey creatures), and the Dungeon Master’s Guide, stating that it would include a glossary for lore and more tools for helping Dungeon Masters start their new game. 

The next One D&D playtest will include the remaining six character classes along with new weapon rules designed to make martial combat more engaging. No timeline was given for that playtest, but it was previously described as being a bit larger than previous One D&D playtests.

The new versions of the Player’s Handbook and other core rulebooks will be released in 2024.