WotC just announced that the updated D&D 2024-2025 rules will be released into Creative Commons shortly after the Monster Manual comes out.
It’s a sort of reverse-OGL saga today folks, as WotC announces that the updated rules in D&D 2024 (and also 2025) will be released into Creative Commons shortly after the new Monster Manual comes out in 2025. While we’ll obviously have to wait and see what the actual document looks like, this is tentatively incredible news for 3rd party creators, and D&D in general.
Per their announcement, the new ruleset will be collated into the SRD 5.2. Which seems to cement D&D 2024/One D&D as more of a D&D 5.5E than 6th Edition entirely. And that feels about right as far as the rules changes we’ve seen so far go. It’s not a complete departure from the system, but it is a pretty thorough overhaul, enough so that it warrants its own new version of the SRD.
WotC themselves even say that it’s not the SRD 6.0 or whatever because they still encompass the 5E Rules and the Backward Compatibility of the new ruleset.
Whatever the case, this is a massive win for 3rd party creators and the community at large.
WotC Announces D&D 2024 Creative Commons Release
The team has been hard at work on the 2024 revised and expanded core rulebooks: the updated Player’s Handbook (Sept 2024), Dungeon Master’s Guide (Nov 2024), and Monster Manual (Feb 2025). Today, we’re thrilled to announce the expansion of the fifth edition Systems Reference Document (SRD 5.2), which will include updated content from the 2024 core rulebooks and be made available under Creative Commons License.
And it will be out “within weeks” of the 2025 Monster Manual. That’s a fast turnaround. Especially considering that the SRD 5.1 wasn’t released until 2016, two full years after the initial release of 5th Edition.
It will be the same CC-BY-4.0 license the current SRD is under. And you can still feel the sting of the OGL Saga in WotC’s announcement (emphasis mine):
These licenses are standardized, widely accepted, and trusted around the world. The CC-BY-4.0 license we chose to use is also irrevocable and Wizards can’t modify it.
The announcement also highlights the degree to which the rules will be changing. Under the FAQ for “why after the Monster Manual” WotC explains:
If you wanted to create a subclass, for example, balancing it would require you to understand not only how classes have changed in the 2024 Player’s Handbook but how monsters may have changed in the 2025 Monster Manual. And if you wanted to create a campaign setting, having information from all three core rulebooks would be important.
But, despite these changes, WotC reassures everyone “SRD 5.2 will remain compatible with existing products.” And it’ll be localized as well, following the localization of the new core rulebooks.
Look for the SRD 5.2 in 2025!
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