Dungeons & Dragons: One D&D - What We Know So Far
"Dungeons & Dragons," or "D&D," is a tabletop role-playing game that has exploded in popularity, with over 50 million individuals reporting that they have interacted with the game at some point (per New York Times). This unsurprisingly has earned "D&D" a comfortable spot in pop culture, even spawning a movie by the same name starring Chris Pine.
Although "D&D" allows players to create unique characters and stories, it still has an official "Player Handbook," "Dungeon Master's Guide," and "Monster Manual" that players can adhere to. Wizards of the Coast has been in charge of publishing these books since 1997, and it periodically updates them from time to time, bundled as editions (via litRPGreads). The most recent bundle was the 5th Edition, released in 2014. And eight years later, players still haven't heard anything about a 6th Edition.
However, during the Wizards Presents 2022, the development team finally announced the 6th Edition of "D&D," but to the surprise of many, it's going by the name "One D&D." And this new edition will also bring new ways to play and launch the series in a new direction. Here's everything we know about "One D&D" so far.
When is D&D One releasing?
According to the most recent livestream by Wizards of the Coast, "One D&D" is pushing for a 2024 release. Although that may seem a long way off, players won't have to simply sit and wait to get ahold of this next iteration of "D&D."
Starting this month, players can sign up for "One D&D" Playtests on the "D&D" Beyond website. Currently, the team is giving users a chance to playtest the in-development "One D&D" Rules. In addition, Wizards of the Coast also noted that a steady release of Playtest packages is planned. Players can download the "One D&D" rulebook to start playtesting by implementing the rules in their own games. Then players can submit their feedback via surveys to help shape the future of "D&D." Of course, everything in the in-development rulebook is subject to change, so it may not look the same when the final release rolls around over a year from now.
What's new with D&D One?
During the announcement livestream, the team behind "D&D" showcased a bit about how the game is changing with "One D&D." "One D&D" is slated to be a combination of "D&D Rules," "D&D Beyond," and "Digital D&D." The team explained that because they are very happy with the 5th Edition, they aren't in a hurry to flip the game on its head and that they are "no longer in the position where we think of D&D as 'an edition' – it's just D&D." Thus, instead of pumping out a new edition that removed things, they are instead building upon the 5th Edition by giving players more options, choices, character types, and spells — among other things.
These changes will come via revisions to the three major core rule books: "The Monster Manual," "The Dungeon Master's Guide," and "The Player's Handbook." Although little has been shared about what these revisions will be, the team did make it clear that this new edition would be backwards compatible, meaning "all the adventures and supplements that have been released in the past 10 years will still be playable with the new evolution of D&D."
What is D&D One gameplay like?
Playing "D&D" will feel much different in the future, according to the Wizards 2022 livestream, especially after the acquisition of "D&D Beyond." "D&D" will continue to focus on digital/physical bundles and specifically focus on making "D&D Beyond" the standard of digital play. So instead of juggling multiple programs and websites, players can use "D&D Beyond" as their all-in-one hub for these digital tools.
Additionally, the team unveiled "D&D Digital." "D&D Digital" is a complete playspace powered by the Unreal Engine currently in pre-alpha. From the footage shown, players can move miniatures around, access tools to help DMs, play through premade campaigns, and of course, roll some dice. Additionally, all the maps provided in the program can be toyed with by the DM to create a setting unique to them. DMs can create complete campaigns in "D&D Digital" and have players play through them in the same program. And the team also noted that there was much more to come.