Transitioning from D&D's 2014 edition to the 2024 ruleset

Our table's a bit of a mess right now.

We're running our first campaign using the 2024 ruleset. And while the 2014 and 2024 D&D editions are, at their foundations, the same, there are a lot of rules changes on top.

Character creations and feats, weapon masteries, and of course, spells.

We've played enough sessions to know a lot of these spells by heart, though it wasn't always this way.

I remember the first time I ever played and cast Fireball and for some reason we were all under the impression it was a spell attack roll.

I rolled a 1. And caused a firey cave in of the ceiling.

I'm not sure how we had the impression it was a spell attack roll, as Fireball is ironically one of the spells that you can't miss with, instead it only grants other characters the chance to dodge it.

Eventually we figured out the rules, and they've since became second nature to us over the years we've been playing. But the 2024 edition arrived, and once again we don't quite know all the rules. Combat is slowing down as we re-adjust, and bickering is jumping up as we surprise our DM with new powers he wasn't quite expecting.

I think that chaos has been a common occurrence for a lot of tables and led to one of the most requested features for 5.5 Spellbook Builder — showing the 2024 and 2014 rules.

For every spell that has 2014 and 2024's data, there will be tabs that you can quickly flip between to see the descriptions and contrast the differences.

I've also included summaries for each spell, highlighting the differences. These have been generated with AI, so sometimes they're insightful, othertimes they're overly verbose. I'll be working to improve these over time.

Finally, if your table is still using the 2014 ruleset, you can set this as your default in the settings. Your Spellbook will show the ruleset you have chosen.

I hope you enjoy and that it helps you cast your Fireballs with confidence.