D&D (2024) What does Backward compatibility mean to you?

[FitzTheRuke]

Fire sale effect.

It happens whether we're blowing the old stuff out or not. (In fact, it's generally a mistake to blow the old stuff out, barring superfluous splat-books).

 

[GMforPowergamers]

They can just turn off the Feat variant from the 2014 book while allowing the core options. Feats are not a standard part of the rules.

no, you can't turn off feats, 2024 appears not to be optional.

if a new player buys the 2014 phb from a garage sale or used book store and comes to the table, no one is going to say "That's okay play that character" they are going to say "That's out of date, here is the updated one"

 

[Parmandur]

It happens whether we're blowing the old stuff out or not. (In fact, it's generally a mistake to blow the old stuff out, barring superfluous splat-books).

Right, bit a lot of people realize that it is the last time they can ever buy it new. FOMO.

 

[Parmandur]

no, you can't turn off feats, 2024 appears not to be optional.

if a new player buys the 2014 phb from a garage sale or used book store and comes to the table, no one is going to say "That's okay play that character" they are going to say "That's out of date, here is the updated one"

In 201r, the Feat rules are options. So they can ignore that section entirely.

We always mixed 3.0 and 3.5 books without the world exploding, and I'm sure more people did.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

It's interesting that for some people, the entirety of the Adventure can be perfectly playable under the "new" rules, but if a race, subclass, background, or monster in the short chapter in the back of the book does not line-up, then that book is NOT COMPATIBLE and is essentially garbage now!

this appears to be a strawman (I hope one made in good faith) nobody is saying that the book is not compatible but some level of the rules are not.

so far it appears no background will be
no race will be

 

[FitzTheRuke]

Right, bit a lot of people realize that it is the last time they can ever buy it new. FOMO.

Yes. That has got to be the reason. It also explains why my brain doesn't get it - when everyone wants to go one way, I automatically have the urge to go the other way. I have to be coaxed into it. Makes me resistant to FOMO.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

In 201r, the Feat rules are options. So they can ignore that section entirely.

if you are ignoreing sections you are not backwards compatible
(and as of right now it's race, background, and feats... and we know they are considering spells, classes and status effects)

 

[Parmandur]

this appears to be a strawman (I hope one made in good faith) nobody is saying that the book is not compatible but some level of the rules are not.

so far it appears no background will be
no race will be

Literally every Race is compatible in the playtest as is, with the wave of a simple sidebar. Old Backgrounds can be fixed by allowing the choice of a Feat. It's really not hard.

 

[Parmandur]

if you are ignoreing sections you are not backwards compatible
(and as of right now it's race, background, and feats... and we know they are considering spells, classes and status effects)

It's not really a section of the rules. I've never seen them used in actual play.

 

[Maxperson]

I think that's a bit of a stretch. The delta of capability between a party having 5 PCs compared to 4 is a lot greater than any of the proposed changes so far, and I don't think anyone is advocating that you have to redo the entire adventure depending on if that 5th person shows up.

You do have to modify the encounters, though, if a 5th PC shows up. If you don't, the adventure will be too easy.