5e or 5.5e? Running the 2024 D&D rules on a VTT
The 2024 Player's Handbook is compatible with the 2014 one, according to the cover. In practice, your online table has to pick, because a character sheet has to know which rules it's calculating with. Here's what changed, what it means for a VTT, and how to handle a group that's split.
What "5.5e" is
It's the community name for the 2024 revision of fifth edition. Wizards calls it "the 2024 rules" or just "D&D". The changes that matter at a sheet level: backgrounds now give your ability score increases and an origin feat, species replaced race with reworked traits, every class got revised, weapons have mastery properties, and a lot of spells changed. The maths engine (proficiency bonus, saves, AC) is the same.
The 2024 SRD (version 5.2, updated to 5.2.1) was released under Creative Commons in 2025. That's the licence VTTs build their free rules packs on, so 2024 support has spread quickly.
Why a VTT has to choose
A character sheet does the maths. If a fighter has the Weapon Mastery feature, the sheet needs to know what "Cleave" does when you click the greataxe. If a background gives +2 Strength, the builder needs to apply it. Those things aren't in the 2014 rules, so a sheet built for 2014 can't do them, and a sheet built for 2024 will apply them when a 2014 player doesn't expect it.
So VTTs ship rules packs. In RollQuest, the GM picks 5e (2014) or 5.5e (2024) when creating the game, and sheets, conditions and combat follow that pack. Other platforms do it as separate systems or as a compendium toggle.
Which VTTs support the 2024 rules
RollQuest: two packs, 5e on the SRD 5.1 and 5.5e on the SRD 5.2.1. Roll20: 2024 content via the marketplace and updated sheets. Foundry: the dnd5e system supports both, with modern and legacy rules settable per world. Owlbear Rodeo: no rules at all, so both and neither.
Handling a mixed group
The honest answer is that a mixed group should agree on one set and convert. The 2024 rules are designed so that a 2014 character can be played mostly as written at a 2024 table, with the GM ruling on the edges. Going the other way (2024 characters in a 2014 game) is harder because the new characters have features the old rules don't cover.
If you're running on a VTT, pick the pack that most of the group is on, and have the outliers rebuild. It takes a few minutes with a guided builder and the alternative is a session of "wait, which version of Grappled is this."
Should a new table start on 5.5e?
Probably. It's the current rules, the SRD is free, and every new book is written for it. The one reason to start on 2014 is that your group already owns and knows those books.
Frequently asked questions
Is 5.5e a real edition?
Officially, no; it's a revision of fifth edition. The name stuck because the changes are big enough to need one.
Are 2014 and 2024 characters compatible?
Roughly. A 2014 character works at a 2024 table with GM rulings. On a VTT, the sheet needs to be built for whichever pack the game uses.
Is the 2024 SRD free to use?
Yes. SRD 5.2.1 is under Creative Commons, which is why VTTs can include it at no cost.