Gab Hernandez 
Wizards of the Coast has rolled back a controversial update that prevented players from using old items and spells in 2024 DnD following relentless fan pressure.
Dungeons and Dragons has faced several controversies in the past year. The introduction of DnD 2024 began with the rollout of OneDnD, an updated ruleset that overhauled Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition. This also coincided with the introduction of a new Open Games License.
The OGL changes meant third-party content was severely restricted and heavily monetized, much to the disdain of fans. Eventually, Wizards of the Coast rolled back those changes, and things were silent for a while. But the tabletop RPG company received criticism once more after removing certain 2014 spells and magic items on the DnDBeyond platform.
Once again, fan outcry forced Wizards of the Coast to reverse the decision in this 2024 DnD update.
Players who purchased 2014 Digital Player’s Handbooks retain access to spells and items
Thenew rollback means players won’t have to homebrew 2014 spells and magic items to reuse them on the DnDBeyond platform, as they will retain their previous access. Given the thin ice that Wizards of the Coast is on with regards to Dungeons and Dragons, it’s easy to understand the quick rollback. After all, the backlash from the OGL changes in late 2023 saw many fans promising to boycott the upcoming DnD 2024 Player’s Handbook.
The proposed changes to DnDBeyond would have contradicted the developers’ promises of easy backward compatibility. As people learned more about the rule changes for 2024, it became increasingly clear that the transition wouldn’t be easy.
Even so, fans didn’t expect Wizards of the Coast to make it even more difficult by making 2014 rules harder to access, if not outright removed. When it happened, disgruntled fans took to social media and criticized Wizards of the Coast for forcing the new edition onto players.
Now, DnDBeyond has rolled back all the changes in this latest 2024 DnD update. The only changes that remained for the character sheet were terms like “races to species” or “cast spell to magic.” Fans appreciated the rollback but didn’t praise Wizards directly as the company had already pulled a similar stunt with the OGL changes in the past.
If Dungeons and Dragons wants to thrive in the modern era, listening to the fans is a must.
