YES! The 2024 PHB is Backwards Compatible!

Can you use your old 2014 subclasses and books with the new 2024 PHB! Yes! We clear up the confusion surrounding this important topic.

Wizards of the Coast provided us with an advanced copy of the 2024 PHB for our review purposes. This video was NOT sponsored, endorsed, or approved by Wizards of the Coast, and we received no financial compensation from Wizards for making this video.

TIME STAMPS

00:00 - Intro
01:21 - Adventure & Setting Sourcebooks
02:07 - Monsters
03:05 - Spells
04:03 - Feats
06:04 - Classes
08:27 - Subclasses
09:50 - Backgrounds
12:23 - Example Background Compatibility

____________________________
Purchase our adventures and player options for D&D 5e here:

Join our Patreon community:

Get our custom t-shirts:

[alexlegit]

JC confirmed non-categorized feats (i.e., feats from older books) default to General Feats category

[kairos]

I've been consistently confused as to why this keeps being needed to explained lol, but glad you guys made a clear explanation.

[davetoms]

_"Ah, beans"_ is one of my favourite exclamations and it was awesome hearing it here :)

[winterslastrose]

Primary source of D&D news on point as always. So much content on this right now however I always find their explanations to be very thorough. Not even 5 mins in and tips I haven't heard before!

[TheMightyHalfnote]

It's nice getting my main question answered early in the video. Our 2nd campaign is coming up and I wanted to play divine soul sorcerer with the updated 2024 sorcerer class. Thank you Dungeon Dudes

[M_M_ODonnell]

I've been adapting settings and adventures to other settings now and then for years...and it's not that hard if you're adapting to a rules-lighter system, but if 5.5e is sticking close enough to be able to just tweak (or not!) stat blocks and make DM-style story-based rulings on things like feats (like assigning one of the new categories to setting-based or third-party feats), that should make things quite easy.

[arc]

I definitely want to know what non updated 2014 subclasses are negatively affected by the 2024 base class updates. Whether they're now absurdly broken or far worse off than they were. Our group has no issue homebrewing tweaks in the meantime.

[KingRhogin]

Thank you guys for being a source of positivity with the D&D news, lots of misinformation and confusion and negativity out there on the web.

[codydwyerify]

The one thing about backwards compatibility that isn't clear is how does this work for Invocations. If I'm using the new warlock, invocations are a feature of the class and they've reprinted the warlock, so I should use the new version of the feature... Is the list of invocations the thing being replaced, so I couldn't use Invocations that didn't get reprinted, or can I use improved pact weapon, cloak of flies, etc.? And with something like improved pact weapon, it specifies the Pact of the Blade feature, which doesn't exist, unless you count having the invocation as having the feature?

[RMSBones]

Best part of 5.5 is that its backwards compatible! I love that my players can still play with 5e feats, subclasses, spells that haven't been addressed in the 2024 rules.

[dHitDice]

I am glad about the feats granting a +1. I’ve had that houserule since the 2014 rules released

[dbrandow]

The old adventures will be compatible, but the encounter balances will have been thrown off because player abilities have been buffed and the monster stat blocks remain as-is. Its possible that in several months when the new Monster Manual comes out the monster stat blocks in that book will be buffed, but the stat blocks unique to the adventures themselves still won't be. So these adventures will require even more work from DMs, which seems to be a theme from the designers, they seem to be entirely comfortable making life worse for DMs.

[Khealos]

The fact I lost count of how many times you said "Why would you want to" tells me I think I will really like the 2024 PHB. Looking forward to getting more information from y'all as we get closer to the release.
Cheers.

[Aurick]

I feel that if it’s backwards compatible, then it’s also forwards compatible. If you can’t see yourself spending money on a new set of books at this time, you can just do all the steps just in reverse for any new product you buy. If you were having fun with the old version, there’s no need to buy updated rules and try to relearn the same game

[TeslaandDragons]

Monty's comment about the fighter reminds of a recent conversation with one of my players who is playing a fighter. He commented that wasn't sure he would like the 2024 player. My response was, I am guessing you will, it is just better.

[kirbyrawstorne]

This was the first time I've dipped into a D&D video in a long time, and it's good to hear WotC have done a reasonable job of making things backwards compatible. I won't be playing the new edition as I'm still done with WotC over the whole thing they did, but glad that they're still able to release new stuff for people new to the TTRPG scene. Great video as always - nice and clear, even to a new edition noob

[ilcian]

So when is your "2014 compatability" tier ranking video series coming out?

[mr_lister_]

I think the best way to couch this point is a difference in language, its not so much backwards compatibility, but forwards compatibility in my mind. Anything in previous source books that doesnt have an equivalent of the same name in the new one can be adapted forward without much trouble. Its that simple, and many subclasses in particular just get better with how much the base classes have improved. I cant wait to run a Divine Soul Sorcerer on the new 2024 base, a little boost to spells prepared helps the pain of that choice between two lists, and so many Cleric save or suck/half spells are going to constantly appreciate a +1 DC in a class feature. And new spells!

I think a ton of new spells and reimagined spells can open up ideas for older caster subclasses, but... just don't think your Shepard Druid is going to work without a DM who is enthusiastic about experimentation on the fly, and pretty experienced themselves.

[Sordorack]

From what I gathered I guess a good rule of thumb is that "More general concepts are backwards compatible with specialized concepts, but not the other way around"
Like, you *could* (if the GM allowed it) play a 2014 Character in a 2024 rules campaign
or you could play a 2014 subclass in a 2024 character, but not a 2024 subclass in a 2014 class.
Does this make sense?

[grr-OUCH]

I have seen a lot of whining, but overall, from what I a have seen, I am looking forward to the revisions.