The new 2024 core rulebooks for One DnD are finally set to be released in September. Besides excitement, with its launch comes the question of will the content you purchased for DnD 5e work in the new edition. For example, will DnD 5e subclasses be compatible with DnD One?
Will DnD 5e Subclasses Work With DnD One?
The short answer is that DnD 5e subclasses will be somewhat compatible with DnD One, but the long answer is that it will require some tweaking. The DnD 5e classes and subclasses from the 2014 Player’s Handbook and all the additional ones from the many sourcebooks like Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything are written in a similar rules language as those in DnD One. If you’ve read or participated in the playtests for the 2024 Player’s Handbook, you’ll notice these similarities.
That said, DnD One brings heavy adjustments both in terms of balance and new mechanics. Some subclasses that have been confirmed in DnD One, like the Eldritch Knight or the Arcane Trickster, might be drastically superior in all aspects to the 2014 versions. Furthermore, if we take a newer class like the Psi Warrior Fighter, which is also confirmed to be in the DnD One 2024 Player’s Handbook, that class, too, will receive tweaks.
Essentially, playing classes from books like the 2014 PHB, TCE, or Xanathar’s Guide to Everything will be possible because the rules language for both systems is compatible. However, you might find that the new versions of older classes or completely new subclasses are perhaps superior in some aspects to earlier ones.
You’ll have to do some tweaking based on the new DnD One system to adjust the TCE and XGE subclasses to suit the balance or structure of the 2024 ones. For example, the Fighter’s Level 7 subclass feature might be moved to Level 6 in the 2024 books, etc.
Other than that, the rules-language will mostly be the same, and the subclass features of 5e subclasses will still suit the level progression of the 2024 classes. Think of DnD One as 5.5e.
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