I currently use the Forged Anvil character sheet spreadsheet for building characters. I would love for the D&DBeyond Character builder to be as fully detailed and customizable as the Forged Anvil spreadsheet is. I'm very new to D&D, but absolutely love playing. Being able to print out my character sheet to write notes on during the game session is amazing and it makes keeping multiple characters up to date very easy. After the game session I can go back and update any information for my character that's necessary. Once updated, I just print the newly updated character sheet and enjoy the next game session. One of the best parts of the character sheets is that it has spell references so that I don't have to continually check the phb. This saves a lot of time when it comes to my turn in battle. Another useful feature is the ability to print only the pages I need. When my Paladin wasn't high enough for spells, I didn't have to print the spell page.
D&DBeyond is amazing, but at the end of the day, D&D is still a pencil and paper TableTop game. If it goes fully digital, then it's just another video game. So what I'm saying is, I really want to have the ability to print what I've created in the character builder.
Also, in Adventure League, the character creator could be how DM's can easily verify or validate magic items or various other stats for players when they join the table. I guess that also means there needs to be a DM login or app of some sort?
I agree that if I can't print the character this program is not for me or my group of players. We get together to play D&D with one another not stare at a device all night. Other than the Laptop for Syrinscape, we avoid devices at the table as much as possible.
I agree that if I can't print the character this program is not for me or my group of players. We get together to play D&D with one another not stare at a device all night. Other than the Laptop for Syrinscape, we avoid devices at the table as much as possible.
Has this been hinted as being the case? I've been assuming that it went without saying that you could print the sheets. If not, then that would qualify as bungling the product to the point of it being DOA.
I'd like multiple layout options for printing character sheets. On top of the standard PHB character sheet, maybe support for homebrew sheet layouts. An ink-saving layout is always a good idea. Some pretty color sheets alongside the standard black and white would also be welcome.
I agree that if I can't print the character this program is not for me or my group of players. We get together to play D&D with one another not stare at a device all night. Other than the Laptop for Syrinscape, we avoid devices at the table as much as possible.
Has this been hinted as being the case? I've been assuming that it went without saying that you could print the sheets. If not, then that would qualify as bungling the product to the point of it being DOA.
There will be ways to print a number of things. Not sure how it will work yet, but they are definitely thinking of the crews that like to be more paper than digital as well at the table. ;) I'm sure there will be ways to print campaign management stuff, too.
I also agree that there should be printer friendly options so ink is not destroyed in the process of the game. ;) Need a combo of cool color, but simple as well. I already think there are multiple layers of options going into the char sheet.
We'll have the initial foundation of ideas soon enough. Maybe not as soon as I want it, which is like now, but I'll be patient because everything I've read here and in Dragon Magazine hint at some really cool stuff that should make most of us happy somehow.
Things that can be linked would likely be a better ux. Then they could enable the attachable area pattern in a variety of places. Equipment, available druid forms, fav summoning targets, etc...
I currently use the Forged Anvil character sheet spreadsheet for building characters. I would love for the D&DBeyond Character builder to be as fully detailed and customizable as the Forged Anvil spreadsheet is. I'm very new to D&D, but absolutely love playing. Being able to print out my character sheet to write notes on during the game session is amazing and it makes keeping multiple characters up to date very easy. After the game session I can go back and update any information for my character that's necessary. Once updated, I just print the newly updated character sheet and enjoy the next game session. One of the best parts of the character sheets is that it has spell references so that I don't have to continually check the phb. This saves a lot of time when it comes to my turn in battle. Another useful feature is the ability to print only the pages I need. When my Paladin wasn't high enough for spells, I didn't have to print the spell page.
D&DBeyond is amazing, but at the end of the day, D&D is still a pencil and paper TableTop game. If it goes fully digital, then it's just another video game. So what I'm saying is, I really want to have the ability to print what I've created in the character builder.
Also, in Adventure League, the character creator could be how DM's can easily verify or validate magic items or various other stats for players when they join the table. I guess that also means there needs to be a DM login or app of some sort?
I've used Forged Anvil's before. It's a beast of an excel sheet, although I think its rough to print out.
1) Digital Character Sheet with built in dice roller you can roll from listed weapon or spell that rolls both your to hit, and your damage with all modifiers added in.
2) Spell page that looks like the class it represents i.e. spell book for Wizards, known spells for Sorceror, Cleric, etc. with the ability to click on the spell to get an description.
3) Equipment page that keeps track of ammo, potions, etc while keeping track of magical gear and updating all relevant states of the character sheet.
2) Spell page that looks like the class it represents i.e. spell book for Wizards, known spells for Sorceror, Cleric, etc. with the ability to click on the spell to get an description.
I think the sheets should have butons for short and long rest, kind of a reset button so you don't have to run through the sheet multiple time to make sure you did everything.
Would also like to see the ability to have custom options in it for races and such...at least until the homebrew options come out.
Listened to the podcast on Dragon Talk about DDB and excited for the character sheet tools to come. Phase 1 is already very impressive in its own right.
If it hasn't been said already, I think one thing that DM's really need is a good way to make pre-generated NPC's quickly that don't feel ripped from a character generator, particularly when it comes to spellcasters - the other tools out there just don't do a good job of it and it takes so much prep time. The random / semi-random character generator ideas coming will be a huge benefit, but I think providing full-out builds of some basic archetypes could be a good way to do this. It could even be crowd-sourced into something the player / DM community provides as "build plans" out to 20th level. Then the DM basically just chooses which level he wants, and the tool generates it based on what that archetype's creator has loaded, and then tweak as needed.
You could give DM's (and players) a solid base by picking some common archetypes already in the core rules, like the rogue's "Thief" and "Assassin", and eventually expand into others like "Witch-Hunter," "Swashbuckler," and others that feature multi-classing, feat selections, etc. So for instance, just for argument's sake, I need a 5th level swashbuckler. The generator for this archetype has the parameters for a swashbuckler built out to level 20, but chooses all of the pre-determined attributes that would fall under a 5th level character. Let's say it's a 1st level rogue, 4th level fighter. That gives a base that I can then tweak as needed. If I want a 10th level one, same thing - it just follows a set build plan out to 10th.
I could see this being really useful for spellcasting because you could quickly generate spell choices that actually make sense for that archetype, rather than having a bunch of illusion spells for an evocation wizard.
And it could also help players who want to play a certain type of character (not covered in the core classes) to see a build that lets them do that, without getting into homebrew. Of course it'd leave room for tweaks, but if you're new to the game it gives you an idea of what's important and what things you might want to take so you can come to your DM armed with a better grasp of your vision for your character.
Listened to the podcast on Dragon Talk about DDB and excited for the character sheet tools to come. Phase 1 is already very impressive in its own right.
If it hasn't been said already, I think one thing that DM's really need is a good way to make pre-generated NPC's quickly that don't feel ripped from a character generator, particularly when it comes to spellcasters - the other tools out there just don't do a good job of it and it takes so much prep time. The random / semi-random character generator ideas coming will be a huge benefit, but I think providing full-out builds of some basic archetypes could be a good way to do this. It could even be crowd-sourced into something the player / DM community provides as "build plans" out to 20th level. Then the DM basically just chooses which level he wants, and the tool generates it based on what that archetype's creator has loaded, and then tweak as needed.
You could give DM's (and players) a solid base by picking some common archetypes already in the core rules, like the rogue's "Thief" and "Assassin", and eventually expand into others like "Witch-Hunter," "Swashbuckler," and others that feature multi-classing, feat selections, etc. So for instance, just for argument's sake, I need a 5th level swashbuckler. The generator for this archetype has the parameters for a swashbuckler built out to level 20, but chooses all of the pre-determined attributes that would fall under a 5th level character. Let's say it's a 1st level rogue, 4th level fighter. That gives a base that I can then tweak as needed. If I want a 10th level one, same thing - it just follows a set build plan out to 10th.
I could see this being really useful for spellcasting because you could quickly generate spell choices that actually make sense for that archetype, rather than having a bunch of illusion spells for an evocation wizard.
And it could also help players who want to play a certain type of character (not covered in the core classes) to see a build that lets them do that, without getting into homebrew. Of course it'd leave room for tweaks, but if you're new to the game it gives you an idea of what's important and what things you might want to take so you can come to your DM armed with a better grasp of your vision for your character.
A full-blown monster/ NPC builder - in addition to and incorporated with an encounter builder - is already in the design phase and will be coming as the next major release after launch.
I'm excited to see this come together. One of the challenges that I see is that character sheets mean different things to different people. I can see a few different possibilities…
A straight ahead online form that replicates the existing paper sheet
A reference source that links all abilities to the details in the compendium
A creation tool that automates the math and streamlines choosing skills, abilities, and spells
theory crafting tool for "lonely fun" or character creation "mini-game"
an in-game tool to track HP, inspiration, death saves, spell slots, etc.
an after-game tool to track what happened in the last game session, Adventurer's League log sheets, etc. - Character record keeping
All of those different uses will have their own requirements and priorities, which makes creating a single tool to meet every need difficult. Personally, I would let the virtual table top companies handle in-game play for now and prioritize making it faster and easier to get to a complete (and valid) character sheet.
I also think the social features would be great. It'd be nice to have an online pool of hand-crafted NPCs to pick from, the ability to "favorite" other people's characters, make a copy of a character to tinker with, leave comments on someone's character (but curb spam and abuse).
I'd like to see good handling of different states of a character as well. At different times you might need to consider…
current state in game
playground to tinker with what to do on next level (or all they way up to 20)
theory crafting builds (what if I multi-class at level 10 and dip into thief?)
scratchpad of character ideas
I think this is one area where deft handling of those options would be great. I'd almost like to see something like a Google Docs version tracking feature so I could "bless" one build as the official current state character and then go off on wild tangents of playing with future level choices with that ability to always come back to that canonical version. If I hit a build idea that I like, I'd like to save that as a bookmark to come back to later without overwriting the official state. I could make a duplicate and work on the second copy, but that has its own issues with managing all the versions.
I'd like to see some tools to manage a lot of characters too. Hierarchical folders, tags, etc. so if I create hundreds (or thousands?) of NPCs I can keep track of where they are, which organizations they belong to, etc. with arbitrary tags to quickly find them with search, filter, and sort tools on the entire collection.
Some details on the sheets themselves…
please allow linking to external resources (backstory writeup somewhere online, maps of home town, etc.)
create some convenient way to list conditional bonuses. Like the Ranger archery fighting style. It'd be great to track what the base attack bonus is and also list conditional bonuses when using ranged weapons. There are lots of these conditional bonuses in the game, and there must be a better way of tracking all of them.
Allow for creating a character at a particular level and then using a wizard or assistant to make all the choices required to get to that level.
Listened to the podcast on Dragon Talk about DDB and excited for the character sheet tools to come. Phase 1 is already very impressive in its own right.
If it hasn't been said already, I think one thing that DM's really need is a good way to make pre-generated NPC's quickly that don't feel ripped from a character generator, particularly when it comes to spellcasters - the other tools out there just don't do a good job of it and it takes so much prep time. The random / semi-random character generator ideas coming will be a huge benefit, but I think providing full-out builds of some basic archetypes could be a good way to do this. It could even be crowd-sourced into something the player / DM community provides as "build plans" out to 20th level. Then the DM basically just chooses which level he wants, and the tool generates it based on what that archetype's creator has loaded, and then tweak as needed.
You could give DM's (and players) a solid base by picking some common archetypes already in the core rules, like the rogue's "Thief" and "Assassin", and eventually expand into others like "Witch-Hunter," "Swashbuckler," and others that feature multi-classing, feat selections, etc. So for instance, just for argument's sake, I need a 5th level swashbuckler. The generator for this archetype has the parameters for a swashbuckler built out to level 20, but chooses all of the pre-determined attributes that would fall under a 5th level character. Let's say it's a 1st level rogue, 4th level fighter. That gives a base that I can then tweak as needed. If I want a 10th level one, same thing - it just follows a set build plan out to 10th.
I could see this being really useful for spellcasting because you could quickly generate spell choices that actually make sense for that archetype, rather than having a bunch of illusion spells for an evocation wizard.
And it could also help players who want to play a certain type of character (not covered in the core classes) to see a build that lets them do that, without getting into homebrew. Of course it'd leave room for tweaks, but if you're new to the game it gives you an idea of what's important and what things you might want to take so you can come to your DM armed with a better grasp of your vision for your character.
A full-blown monster/ NPC builder - in addition to and incorporated with an encounter builder - is already in the design phase and will be coming as the next major release after launch.
What is the part you're referring to as "launch?" Is that Phase 3?
A full-blown monster/ NPC builder - in addition to and incorporated with an encounter builder - is already in the design phase and will be coming as the next major release after launch.
That's amazing news, thank you! Will there be a "Wish List" thread stickied at some point for that jsut so people can start throwing their ideas out there?
I think one of the biggest things for me will be for classes like druids or clerics that have access to all their spells but need to prepare them, a slim and clean list that i can flag spells as my prepared spells would be awesome. The list should be small and probably scrollable, with hover feature to get details on the spell, and the list of spells should be restricted to my class and domain.
That would be awesome. I hope to be able to manage spells effectively like this. It would be nice to be able to spend spell slots by clicking on this list too.
I guess you guys have probably thought of this, but when you add something in the "homebrew" section, will it be possible to add modifiers, ability scores and so on to items, so it will automaticly change the scores. E.g. if you add a +1 wis to a pair of "homebrew" boots, will it change the wisdom score automaticly?
And lastly will the same thing be possible for feats and so on, if you choose to use some Unearthed Arcana feats or characters?
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I currently use the Forged Anvil character sheet spreadsheet for building characters. I would love for the D&DBeyond Character builder to be as fully detailed and customizable as the Forged Anvil spreadsheet is. I'm very new to D&D, but absolutely love playing. Being able to print out my character sheet to write notes on during the game session is amazing and it makes keeping multiple characters up to date very easy. After the game session I can go back and update any information for my character that's necessary. Once updated, I just print the newly updated character sheet and enjoy the next game session. One of the best parts of the character sheets is that it has spell references so that I don't have to continually check the phb. This saves a lot of time when it comes to my turn in battle. Another useful feature is the ability to print only the pages I need. When my Paladin wasn't high enough for spells, I didn't have to print the spell page.
D&DBeyond is amazing, but at the end of the day, D&D is still a pencil and paper TableTop game. If it goes fully digital, then it's just another video game. So what I'm saying is, I really want to have the ability to print what I've created in the character builder.
Also, in Adventure League, the character creator could be how DM's can easily verify or validate magic items or various other stats for players when they join the table. I guess that also means there needs to be a DM login or app of some sort?
I agree that if I can't print the character this program is not for me or my group of players. We get together to play D&D with one another not stare at a device all night. Other than the Laptop for Syrinscape, we avoid devices at the table as much as possible.
She/Her College Student Player and Dungeon Master
I'd like multiple layout options for printing character sheets. On top of the standard PHB character sheet, maybe support for homebrew sheet layouts. An ink-saving layout is always a good idea. Some pretty color sheets alongside the standard black and white would also be welcome.
PbP - Beregost Blues - Portia Starflower, Half Elf, Cleric, Life Domain
PbP - Tome of Annhilation - Vistani Mocanu, Human, Bard
My 5e Houserule Considerations. Please comment freely.
Can I try that sheet? Your link is in an unusual Google Sheets format. I don't see a copy or download button.
Thanks.
Things that can be linked would likely be a better ux. Then they could enable the attachable area pattern in a variety of places. Equipment, available druid forms, fav summoning targets, etc...
1) Digital Character Sheet with built in dice roller you can roll from listed weapon or spell that rolls both your to hit, and your damage with all modifiers added in.
2) Spell page that looks like the class it represents i.e. spell book for Wizards, known spells for Sorceror, Cleric, etc. with the ability to click on the spell to get an description.
3) Equipment page that keeps track of ammo, potions, etc while keeping track of magical gear and updating all relevant states of the character sheet.
Yes, please!
I think the sheets should have butons for short and long rest, kind of a reset button so you don't have to run through the sheet multiple time to make sure you did everything.
Would also like to see the ability to have custom options in it for races and such...at least until the homebrew options come out.
Listened to the podcast on Dragon Talk about DDB and excited for the character sheet tools to come. Phase 1 is already very impressive in its own right.
If it hasn't been said already, I think one thing that DM's really need is a good way to make pre-generated NPC's quickly that don't feel ripped from a character generator, particularly when it comes to spellcasters - the other tools out there just don't do a good job of it and it takes so much prep time. The random / semi-random character generator ideas coming will be a huge benefit, but I think providing full-out builds of some basic archetypes could be a good way to do this. It could even be crowd-sourced into something the player / DM community provides as "build plans" out to 20th level. Then the DM basically just chooses which level he wants, and the tool generates it based on what that archetype's creator has loaded, and then tweak as needed.
You could give DM's (and players) a solid base by picking some common archetypes already in the core rules, like the rogue's "Thief" and "Assassin", and eventually expand into others like "Witch-Hunter," "Swashbuckler," and others that feature multi-classing, feat selections, etc. So for instance, just for argument's sake, I need a 5th level swashbuckler. The generator for this archetype has the parameters for a swashbuckler built out to level 20, but chooses all of the pre-determined attributes that would fall under a 5th level character. Let's say it's a 1st level rogue, 4th level fighter. That gives a base that I can then tweak as needed. If I want a 10th level one, same thing - it just follows a set build plan out to 10th.
I could see this being really useful for spellcasting because you could quickly generate spell choices that actually make sense for that archetype, rather than having a bunch of illusion spells for an evocation wizard.
And it could also help players who want to play a certain type of character (not covered in the core classes) to see a build that lets them do that, without getting into homebrew. Of course it'd leave room for tweaks, but if you're new to the game it gives you an idea of what's important and what things you might want to take so you can come to your DM armed with a better grasp of your vision for your character.
Yes, this! ^
Also, something to keep tabs on sorcery points and stuff
I'm excited to see this come together. One of the challenges that I see is that character sheets mean different things to different people. I can see a few different possibilities…
All of those different uses will have their own requirements and priorities, which makes creating a single tool to meet every need difficult. Personally, I would let the virtual table top companies handle in-game play for now and prioritize making it faster and easier to get to a complete (and valid) character sheet.
I also think the social features would be great. It'd be nice to have an online pool of hand-crafted NPCs to pick from, the ability to "favorite" other people's characters, make a copy of a character to tinker with, leave comments on someone's character (but curb spam and abuse).
I'd like to see good handling of different states of a character as well. At different times you might need to consider…
I think this is one area where deft handling of those options would be great. I'd almost like to see something like a Google Docs version tracking feature so I could "bless" one build as the official current state character and then go off on wild tangents of playing with future level choices with that ability to always come back to that canonical version. If I hit a build idea that I like, I'd like to save that as a bookmark to come back to later without overwriting the official state. I could make a duplicate and work on the second copy, but that has its own issues with managing all the versions.
I'd like to see some tools to manage a lot of characters too. Hierarchical folders, tags, etc. so if I create hundreds (or thousands?) of NPCs I can keep track of where they are, which organizations they belong to, etc. with arbitrary tags to quickly find them with search, filter, and sort tools on the entire collection.
Some details on the sheets themselves…
My 5e Houserule Considerations. Please comment freely.
I began to play with druid's now, i'm am totally on favor for that idea