While its release date is still fairly far away,One D&D, the latest set of rule changes forDungeons & Dragons, is looking to dramatically shake up the way the iconic tabletop RPG is played, possibly including homebrew elements. While not technically anew edition ofDungeons & Dragons,One D&Dhas certainly already made it clear that it is going to be making some big changes. From the looks of these adjustments so far, it seems thatOne D&Dwishes to streamline its gameplay and systems to make them even more welcoming to new players than the fifth edition of the game.
Alongside these changes coming to the classes ofOne D&D, there has been a controversial rumor floating around the internet about the upcoming game. Specifically, following a video made byDungeons & DragonsYouTuber Indestructoboy, some fans believe thatOne D&Dwon’t allow for homebrew contentin the same way that fifth edition did. This means that third-party creators won’t be able to publish homebrew content for the game legally, even if they distribute it for free. While this is a big change fromDungeons & Dragons 5E, and a largely controversial one, there are some positives that could come out of this decision, should the rumors prove true.
RELATED:Dungeons and Dragons to Change Dragonlance Mage Lore
The Potential Pros of One D&D Removing Homebrew
One D&Dpotentially removing third-party homebrew publications immediately seems like it will be a bad move, especially when considering all the source books and adventures creators have made forDungeons& Dragons 5E, but there are some positives that could come from this decision. The first way that players could benefit from this is through Wizards of the Coast putting in extra effort into its own extra supplements forOne D&D. Previously, players had an alternative to theadventures thatDungeons & Dragons 5Ecould put out, but without that inOne D&D, it would put the pressure on Wizards of the Coast to produce consistent books for the game in greater quantity to preserve player interest.
In the past, some adventures forDungeons & Dragons 5Ehaven’t quite hit the mark, but this could change in the future. Even if homebrew may not be compatible withOne D&D,though, this doesn’t mean players can’t still manufacture their own content.Dungeons & Dragonshas tons of homebrew content for players to dig through, especially for5E, which has proven to be the game’s most popular edition so far. Considering thatOne D&Dis compatible with the game’s fifth edition as well, this means that all the published content so far forDungeons & Dragons 5Edoesn’t necessarily go to waste, and people can even make more homebrew for the new game so long as it is based on the old system.
Apart from the rumored end of third-party homebrew publications inOne D&D, this doesn’t mean an end for player-created content at all. Wizards of the Coast cannot monitor everyDungeonsand Dragonsgame that takes place, and in private players can come up with whatever homebrew they want. Whether it’s making a new class, race, orspell forDungeons & Dragons, players have been coming up with their own ways to personalize the game for decades, and this isn’t likely to change even if published works do disappear.
RELATED:Dungeons and Dragons Homebrew Lets Players Play as Kool-Aid Man
The Cons of Removing Homebrew from One D&D
The idea ofOne D&Dnot allowing for third-party homebrew comes from the rumor that the upcoming game will not utilize an Open Game License, essentially preventing publishers from having free access to its systems. While this makes some sense from a business point of view, as it will mean players are only able to purchase additional content forOne D&Dthrough officially released adventure and source books fromWizards of the Coast, there are plenty of downsides to this as well.
Firstly, this decision is going to be a big hit to companies and creators that currently make money from producinghomebrew works forDungeons & Dragons 5E. There are hundreds of PDFs, books, and other pieces of content online that are developed to enhance the experience ofD&D, and while these will remain online so long as they use the5Esystem, withOne D&Dbeing the fresh, new version of the game, a lot of creators will miss out on the hype associated with the upcoming system because they cannot publish anything that uses it. This could lead to a decline of interest and sales for these creators, no matter the quality of their work.
Moreover, while the removal of homebrew fromOne D&Dmay at first appear to make sense from a business standpoint, it hasn’t worked for Wizards of the Coast in the past.Dungeons and Dragons 5Ewas the introductory point for a lot of modernD&Dplayers, and so it may seem a novel thing for the Open Game License to not be used this time around. However,Dungeons & Dragons'4Ealso restricted homebrew content, briefly abandoning the OGL in favor of a more limiting Game System License. WhileDungeons & Dragons 4Ewas a flopfor a number of reasons, many fans pointed to the handling of homebrew content as a reason for it becoming stale over time.
Therefore, rather than Wizards of the Coast planning for the future with itsOne D&Dhomebrew changes, it may be repeating a mistake of the past. Still, until it has been confirmed whether the release will make use of an Open Game License or not, fans will have to wait and see for more details. As stated, the game isn’t expected to be ready until some time in 2024, so there’sstill a lot to learn aboutOne D&Dyet.
