The biggest Dungeons & Dragons announcement made during the Wizards Presents showcase was for One D&D, a new digital platform that will act as the lead-in to the upcoming D&D 5e revised rules in 2024. One D&D represents the culmination of years of feedback given to Wizards of the Coast by the fans, as well as the full implementation of the recently acquired D&D Beyond platform into the game. There's a lot going on with One D&D, but it essentially boils down to three pillars of content that will shape the future of the game.
The three core D&D 5e rulebooks are being updated as part of the upcoming 50th anniversary celebrations for D&D in 2024. This means that there will be new versions of the Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide, and Monster Manual for sale. Wizards of the Coast has stressed that these books will be updated versions of the existing rulesets, which means they'll be fully backward compatible with all the existing D&D 5e books. Fans have been informally referring to this update as the D&D 5.5e rules update, as a reference to the D&D 3.5 mid-cycle update that happened during the 3e era.
Wizards of the Coast has kept quiet regarding the changes that will be made in the D&D 5.5 update, especially as it was announced in 2021 and there were still years worth of existing books to sell. The gradual changes in the rules in later D&D books and Unearthed Arcana articles have offered hints at the changes that are on the way. One D&D will give fans their best look at the plans for the D&D 5.5 update so far, but there is a lot more to the service than just a peek at the next Player's Handbook.
One D&D Is Paving The Way For The Revised Version Of D&D 5e In 2024
One D&D will feature playtesting material for the new concepts that will appear in D&D 5.5 rules in the future. Wizards of the Coast has stressed once more that these rules are fully backward compatible with the existing D&D 5e rules. Fans got their first glimpse at the new rules in One D&D on August 18, as a new Unearthed Arcana article called "Character Origins" was released, showing a lot of the new material that revolves around character creation. Wizards of the Coast has revealed that new Unearthed Arcana articles will be released monthly, giving players their chance to have their say about the future of D&D.
The content in the new Unearthed Arcana will be discussed in more detail in future articles, but some of the biggest changes involve new versions of the tiefling and humans, the inclusion of the orc in the future Player's Handbook, the new ardling race of celestial animal people, an overhauled background system that intergrates the Tasha's Cauldron of Everything stat bonus rules. Additionally, the changes mean that all characters will receive a feat at level one, and some feats can now only be taken at certain levels. Inspiration is now a core part of the rules, integrating the homebrew 1 = failure/20 = success rule and making it official. The update also breaks magic down into three official categories: Arcane, Divine, and Primal. There are some huge changes to the rules, but all of them seem positive, with backgrounds now being far more important than they were in the Player's Handbook.
D&D Beyond Is Going To Become A Bigger Part Of The Game
In 2022, Hasbro purchased D&D Beyond and made it part of D&D in a more official way. Wizards of the Coast has already announced one of the ways this will change the game, as there will be digital and physical bundle releases in the future. This means players will be able to receive the physical book and a digital copy on D&D Beyond, which they can call up anytime on their computer or smart device. The first book that will have this type of bundle is the upcoming Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen, with players able to receive the digital version of the book two weeks early by purchasing the bundle.
D&D Beyond is also going to become the main way to play D&D online, by integrating as many user-friendly options for playing with friends on the Internet. The aim is to give the D&D groups that play online all the tools they need for play in a single place. The exact nature of all of these tools will be revealed at a future date.
D&D Is Creating A Digital Toolset For Games Using The Unity Engine
The third and maybe most interesting pillar of One D&D is its implementation of a fully 3D playable space. This D&D digital space will feature 3D models that act as the minis and maps in the game, with both players and DMs able to use them to recreate epic battles. One D&D will use the Unreal Engine for this implementation of the digital D&D space. This element of One D&D will have a number of tools that will make running D&D easier for the DM, including a tilt-shift camera, and DMs will be able to use the tools provided to make their own dungeons.
One D&D is a huge digital initiative for the game, and it's exciting to think of all the possibilities that such a service can provide for groups around the world. The D&D digital and physical bundles are long overdue, while turning D&D Beyond into the go-to website for playing D&D online is going to make things a lot easier for people who are unable to find a local group. The changes to the D&D 5e rules are still a work in progress, and it's difficult to say much about them while the Unearthed Arcana playtesting articles are still being released, but it looks like players will have even more character customization options than ever before. The future is looking bright for Dungeons & Dragons and One D&D could represent the next iteration of the game, culminating in the launch of the 5.5e books in an era where groups have tons of amazing digital options to use for their campaigns.