It’s Coming: One D&D To Rule Them All

As a huge fan of Dungeons and Dragons, I have been blown away by the first announcement in September 2021 of an upcoming new edition for the world’s biggest tabletop roleplaying game. I know I was not the only one and I know that we have all been eagerly looking for more information on the new edition. Just a couple of weeks ago, Wizards of the Coast have provided more details about the new edition of the games and so far it looks like it will be an amazing product.

First important aspect, Wizards Of The Coast has been constantly using the words “New Evolution” and “New Version” but they strongly emphasized that the new core books would be backwards compatible with all material released for the 5^th  Edition. This seems very close to what the publisher did when we moved from 3^rd  Edition to 3.5 Edition and it will be a great way to continually develop and improve all the good aspects of the current edition without losing all the material that players love.

The other important aspect to flag is the timing. Wizards of the Coast is in fact planning to release the new versions of the core D&D Rulebooks in 2024: just in time for the game’s 50th Anniversary. It may not then surprise that this new version has been named for now “One” D&D. The name may change later but so far the designation looks quite evocative.

What we would expect from the new One D&D? Based on where the game has been heading, we should expect for sure new, re-balanced versions of all core classes and races. From the details WotC has released, it seems that the new rules will push character creation to be even more impacting when playing the actual game. Backgrounds, for example, will keep the same strong emphasis they had in 5^th edition with abilities, skill and tool proficiencies more tied to character's backgrounds instead of their race. Inspiration, critical hits and feats will also change in the same direction, making long-term character development planning even more important than it was in the 5^th edition.

The expectations for One Dungeons & Dragons are obviously very high but from what we have seen so far it seems players will not be disappointed. We will still need to wait a couple of years to get our hands on the new core rules but the wait will be filled with play-testing, preview and discussion that will keep all of us very busy.

In the meantime, whether you are already a player or just interested to get into D&D, I  would consider getting some of the available material from the 5^th edition. Not only you will get a lot of hours of fun out of it but it would make also a great investment, considering current prices and their compatibility with the new edition.