One quick suggestion that just popped into my head. In the player's lists of spells it would be very convenient if you could reveal/hide spells according to whether they require Materials, Vocal, or Somatic. So if your character's hands are restrained, thus making them unable to cast somatic spells, you could go and "Hide All Somatic Spells", effectively eliminating the stall in gameplay caused by the player trying to figure out what spells they can cast. If this is already implemented please let me know, thanks!
Hey Filcat, sorry. I was able to find the class level, and even select my Pact Boon and Eldritch Invocations, but I still don't seem to be able to select the additional 3 cantrips that I should be able to choose. It says I only have 2, when I should have 5.
In addition to this, there seems to be some missing 1st level spells (Hex, Armor of Agathys) and cantrips (Blade Ward) that I can't find on the spell lists. Have these spells simply not been added to the lists yet? (sorry if this is the wrong thread to ask on)
For the invocations, yes I believe that is a bug. It has been reported from others as well.
The spells you mentioned are not in the SRD/Basic Rules. There will be in the PHB release to purchase.
There are 44 pages on this topic. I admit my lazyness to notread them all so i just post this out.
I think I found a bug with Char creation for races with selectable Ability bonus, like Half-Elf and variant Human: you can select the same Ability twice (even Charisma for an half-elf, for a no-regular +4 Cha) but no bonus are shown nor calculated on the Ability roll screen.
I also got an error of some sort when i tried to add 20 bolt of crossbow tothe equipment. I know the item already refers to 20 ammunition but i tried to tested the limit of what i could add with a single push. It just froze the screen on a loading spinner and had to reload the page ; character was correctly saved but no equip added.
First the positive: I really like how notes are added to the context where they're useful, like how modifiers to saving throws (like the Elven advantage vs sleep and charm) are put in the saving throws box and how Ki for monks is added to the "Limited Use" section.
Surveying your available options is challenging though, since class abilities are hidden in the "Features" section under and expando and in the same list with things like "Hit points" and "Proficiencies". It'd be nice to have things that aren't shown elsewhere on the sheet (like Slowfall or Sneak Attack) to be elevated to some other section where they're easy to see.
Finally, the status markers around the HP box are useful, but adding them requires too much clicking and scrolling, and it'd be helpful to be able to see what effect they have reflected on the sheet somewhere. Maybe as a stretch goal, timers for status effects would be nice.
I'd really like to see the ability to plan ahead with level ups. I'd like to be able to look at what my character would be like at any level, not just the level that it's at. This isn't just a fun thing to be able to do, but would also make levelling up in session very slick.
All in all, this is VERY impressive. I'd like to be able to take my current characters and recreate them exactly as they are on paper. I know this is a vague statement, so I'll just say, please build in lots of flexibility and detail (customization) into the various character sheet sections. My hope is that I will no longer have much paper with me at my D & D gaming sessions; just my Macbook with the D & D sites open for character sheet reference and updating and access to equipment and spell data, etc. Also, an open journal software to record the session notes, triumphs and tragedies!
I haven't read all the posts in this thread, so if this has already been suggested or mentioned...apologies.
I haven't checked more than the last couple of pages, but I do have some feedback:
Overall, this is an excellent and easy-to-use tool, I really liked it! It's especially handy to have the tool remember (and spell out) the ability bonuses before actually determining the ability scores.
I only have two suggestions at this time:
The backgrounds section feels as though it's not fully fleshed out. While a free-form text field is good, I would also like the ability to pre-populate it with one of the randomized options, perhaps by clicking it. This would speed up a quick character build. Even if we could click a suggestion button and have a separate window pop up with suggestions, it would keep page scrolling to a minimum and shouldn't be too hard to implement.
The equipment selection process is very clunky. Ideally, especially for starting equipment, it would be very handy to be able to choose the options directly from the "starting equipment" paragraph. That may not be feasible, of course, and I understand....the other option would be to make the equipment list more navigable - perhaps a tree selection? I struggled to find a list of martial weapons to choose for my fighter build, and quickly gave up and resorted to my PHB. Having a way to browse by armor, weapons, items, packs, and, say, quick builds would greatly improve the functionality of the equipment choice.
Even without the above suggestions and leaving some items blank, doing the meat of a quick character build is a real pleasure to do - nice work developers! Thank you!
It would be nice to be able to see abilities gained from character class. Specifically looking at things like Tranquility or Quivering Palm on the Monk. Having the descriptions under the Limited Use section would be very helpful. Beyond that having the ways that Ki could be used in the same section could be handy for controlling your Ki usage as well. The same thing could probably be great for sorc points as well.
Also, mostly for the monk but having unarmed attack be listed in the attack section as well as the Martial arts damage for Monk weapons instead of only under the features description.
I think this should go in here, I'm not sure if it's a bug or not. When searched up, Bag of Tricks links directly to all the creatures it spawns. It would be nice if it worked that way when equipped on a character sheet, if it not linking is not a bug in the first place.
I think I've found a bug with the Warlock's Invocations. When creating at level 5 it has three drop down boxes, 2 that appeared at level 2 and 1 that appeared at level 5, however, the level 2 boxes remained restricted to invocations available at level 2. Because Warlocks can retrain one invocation every time they gain a level in Warlock to "another invocation that you could learn at that level" , at 5th level a Warlock can known 2 invocations with a prerequisite of 5th level. At 6th level all three known invocations can have a prerequisite of 5th level.
The drop-down lists that are available from earlier levels therefore need to expand to include new options as you gain Warlock levels to reflect the allowed retraining while still displaying your originally selected option.
One quick suggestion that just popped into my head. In the player's lists of spells it would be very convenient if you could reveal/hide spells according to whether they require Materials, Vocal, or Somatic. So if your character's hands are restrained, thus making them unable to cast somatic spells, you could go and "Hide All Somatic Spells", effectively eliminating the stall in gameplay caused by the player trying to figure out what spells they can cast. If this is already implemented please let me know, thanks!
Just a few suggestions, Basic equipment is difficult to find, so stuff like a base, non-magical leather armor does not show up by searching "Light Armor" only the enchanted/magical versions appear. Basic armor should show up when you search for a specific armor type.
it'd be nice if the character options from volo's like the bugbear and goblin were added.
And, finally, I'm unsure if this is by design or not, but i can't share my character sheet with friends. I pass them the Link to the final sheet but they cannot see them, instead getting a 404 error. It'd be cool if you could show others your character's sheet even if just a "read more" only version of it
Just a few suggestions, Basic equipment is difficult to find, so stuff like a base, non-magical leather armor does not show up by searching "Light Armor" only the enchanted/magical versions appear. Basic armor should show up when you search for a specific armor type.
it'd be nice if the character options from volo's like the bugbear and goblin were added.
And, finally, I'm unsure if this is by design or not, but i can't share my character sheet with friends. I pass them the Link to the final sheet but they cannot see them, instead getting a 404 error. It'd be cool if you could show others your character's sheet even if just a "read more" only version of it
Thanks!
For the beta, only the rules and options provided in the D&D 5th edition SRD, D&D 5th edition Basic Rules, Elemental Evil Companion are available in Beyond. Once the full platform launches later this summer, the core rule books and others will be available for purchase, and the content within will be available for those that purchase, or have access through a DM's subscription.
Digging the character builder so far, but I have enabled Homebrew content and still can't change my Paladin Oath (I use Oath of the Crown from the Sword Coast Legends book, so I'm sure it won't matter once all content is available). Yet it has made me feel like players should have some more control over things in character building (we very often wright our own feats at our table).
DM's needs to be able to have full Admin privileges on their campaign pages. We should be able access our players' character sheets while they are in the process of character creation so we can help with the process, making corrections and helping where needed. Right now I won't be able to see my players' characters until they have completed their character creation which isn't going to work out since I hold onto everyone's character sheets between games. My plan was to have my players start the process of inputting their characters' basic information and then I would finish it up. The way it is now that won't be possible and I'm not really sure how we can make the current model work at all.
On the screen it looks good, and the interface generally works well. A couple of features I wouldn't mind seeing:
1) an option to autoroll Hit Dice when you check them off, with an on/off switch for groups that prefer to roll at the table. (You could combine with with autorolling level-up HP for tables that use it.)
2) A more involved options tree for spending sorcery/ki/whatever points--pick the feature you're using (and at which cost, if there's a question), and the interface automatically deducts the points from your pool and adjusts the rest of your CS accordingly.
Are we going to see any of the export options go live during the beta?
3) A randomizer option that actually has some dials and parameters would be nice too, though I wouldn't prioritize it.
4) And a way to turn off/on the helper text in the middle of the generation process, in case you forget. Never mind; found it.
I'm really excited that the character builder is finally here. For the most part, I think it's been implemented very well. I do have some suggestions on how to make it better, though. I'm sure a lot of this has been said already (40+ pages of comments), but I figure it's best to just put them all down to make sure I don't leave something out.
I understand having things in PHB order for character creation, but there should be a more user friendly option, at least for beginners. There are a couple of areas where a different order could be helpful.
Skills - A separate skills page after making all of the decisions that affect how many and which skills are available. Instead of using dropdown menus, having all of the skills shown with the unavailable ones grayed out (including automatically selected proficiencies) with selection via radio buttons seems more efficient. All selected proficiencies could be bolded to increase visibility. You could even have a counter that says, "X skills remaining" or however you want to word it. Another helpful thing would be to have somewhere on that page an explanation of where each skill option comes from.
Description - The background should probably be the first thing on that page. If not, then it should at least come before Personal Characteristics. Also, if the Suggested Characteristics aren't going to be selectable (with the option write your own), they should at least be in the same order. Currently, the background's order is Flaws, Ideals, Bonds, Personality. It should be Personality, Ideals, Bonds, Flaws. Also, there should be a prompt to choose two personality traits and one each of the other characteristics but not restricting it to those paramaters.
The equipment manager could use a few upgrades.
Selecting the suggested starting equipment needs to be much easier. Selecting them right from the Choose Equipment page by radio buttons or dropdown menus without going into the equipment manager would be ideal.
Packs should populate their contents as individual items in your gear section, not as description text for the pack.
Please add tooltips and/or some other way to see more information about the items without having to have another tab open.
For players going the starting gold route, only show the relevant class from the starting gold table along with a box to input starting gold right there.
Please add tooltips and/or some other way to see more information about spells during spell selection without having to have another tab open.
There needs to be a better system in place to notify users that there is a decision they need to make for their character.
The (!) system is nice, but they can often be "hidden" at the bottom of the page, requiring a scroll to see them. At the very least, a (!) at the top of the page that needs choices.
If there are choices that haven't been made, that should be clear on the character sheet page. I didn't select any options one the race and class page (aside from a race and class), and there's no way to tell from the character sheet that I haven't chosen languages, ability score increases, skills, feats, proficiencies or sorcerous origin. Especially for beginners, this needs to be fixed.
Also, there currently are no (!) symbols signifying that you need to select a higher class level and/or multiclass beyond first level.
Resource management needs to be more comprehensive.
If I have a quiver of 20 +1 arrows, I need to be able to remove them as they're used. Similarly with rations, torches, etc.
Also, there should be an easier way to add buffs/debuffs from spells or abilities. For example, I should be able to cast Mage Armor and have it use a spell slot and automatically show a boosted AC, or using Rage should add reminders in the appropriate areas about the buffs it gives.
Sorry this post is so long. I think DDB has the potential to be truly amazing, and I want to be as sure as possible that it succeeds. Thanks for all the amazing work you've already done! Can't wait to see what this all looks like at launch.
One thing I'm finding consistently is that I don't pick my class skill proficiencies until after I've chosen my background, since the background proficiencies are fixed. I find the back-and-forth a little tiresome, but I don't know how you'd fix it.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
One quick suggestion that just popped into my head. In the player's lists of spells it would be very convenient if you could reveal/hide spells according to whether they require Materials, Vocal, or Somatic. So if your character's hands are restrained, thus making them unable to cast somatic spells, you could go and "Hide All Somatic Spells", effectively eliminating the stall in gameplay caused by the player trying to figure out what spells they can cast. If this is already implemented please let me know, thanks!
It is kind of hard to add the added HP you receive when leveling up. that might be something to look at.
There are 44 pages on this topic.
I admit my lazyness to notread them all so i just post this out.
I think I found a bug with Char creation for races with selectable Ability bonus, like Half-Elf and variant Human: you can select the same Ability twice (even Charisma for an half-elf, for a no-regular +4 Cha) but no bonus are shown nor calculated on the Ability roll screen.
I also got an error of some sort when i tried to add 20 bolt of crossbow tothe equipment. I know the item already refers to 20 ammunition but i tried to tested the limit of what i could add with a single push. It just froze the screen on a loading spinner and had to reload the page ; character was correctly saved but no equip added.
First the positive: I really like how notes are added to the context where they're useful, like how modifiers to saving throws (like the Elven advantage vs sleep and charm) are put in the saving throws box and how Ki for monks is added to the "Limited Use" section.
Surveying your available options is challenging though, since class abilities are hidden in the "Features" section under and expando and in the same list with things like "Hit points" and "Proficiencies". It'd be nice to have things that aren't shown elsewhere on the sheet (like Slowfall or Sneak Attack) to be elevated to some other section where they're easy to see.
Finally, the status markers around the HP box are useful, but adding them requires too much clicking and scrolling, and it'd be helpful to be able to see what effect they have reflected on the sheet somewhere. Maybe as a stretch goal, timers for status effects would be nice.
Keep up the good work!
I'd really like to see the ability to plan ahead with level ups. I'd like to be able to look at what my character would be like at any level, not just the level that it's at. This isn't just a fun thing to be able to do, but would also make levelling up in session very slick.
All in all, this is VERY impressive. I'd like to be able to take my current characters and recreate them exactly as they are on paper. I know this is a vague statement, so I'll just say, please build in lots of flexibility and detail (customization) into the various character sheet sections. My hope is that I will no longer have much paper with me at my D & D gaming sessions; just my Macbook with the D & D sites open for character sheet reference and updating and access to equipment and spell data, etc. Also, an open journal software to record the session notes, triumphs and tragedies!
I haven't read all the posts in this thread, so if this has already been suggested or mentioned...apologies.
Cheers to all and happy adventuring!
J
I haven't checked more than the last couple of pages, but I do have some feedback:
Overall, this is an excellent and easy-to-use tool, I really liked it! It's especially handy to have the tool remember (and spell out) the ability bonuses before actually determining the ability scores.
I only have two suggestions at this time:
Even without the above suggestions and leaving some items blank, doing the meat of a quick character build is a real pleasure to do - nice work developers! Thank you!
It would be nice to be able to see abilities gained from character class. Specifically looking at things like Tranquility or Quivering Palm on the Monk. Having the descriptions under the Limited Use section would be very helpful. Beyond that having the ways that Ki could be used in the same section could be handy for controlling your Ki usage as well. The same thing could probably be great for sorc points as well.
Also, mostly for the monk but having unarmed attack be listed in the attack section as well as the Martial arts damage for Monk weapons instead of only under the features description.
I think this should go in here, I'm not sure if it's a bug or not. When searched up, Bag of Tricks links directly to all the creatures it spawns. It would be nice if it worked that way when equipped on a character sheet, if it not linking is not a bug in the first place.
I think I've found a bug with the Warlock's Invocations. When creating at level 5 it has three drop down boxes, 2 that appeared at level 2 and 1 that appeared at level 5, however, the level 2 boxes remained restricted to invocations available at level 2. Because Warlocks can retrain one invocation every time they gain a level in Warlock to "another invocation that you could learn at that level" , at 5th level a Warlock can known 2 invocations with a prerequisite of 5th level. At 6th level all three known invocations can have a prerequisite of 5th level.
The drop-down lists that are available from earlier levels therefore need to expand to include new options as you gain Warlock levels to reflect the allowed retraining while still displaying your originally selected option.
You're right, my bad, I was tired when I wrote that ... but it still doesn't allow the option to attack 1h vs 2h damage-wise as far as I've seen.
Just a few suggestions, Basic equipment is difficult to find, so stuff like a base, non-magical leather armor does not show up by searching "Light Armor" only the enchanted/magical versions appear. Basic armor should show up when you search for a specific armor type.
it'd be nice if the character options from volo's like the bugbear and goblin were added.
And, finally, I'm unsure if this is by design or not, but i can't share my character sheet with friends. I pass them the Link to the final sheet but they cannot see them, instead getting a 404 error. It'd be cool if you could show others your character's sheet even if just a "read more" only version of it
Thanks!
Digging the character builder so far, but I have enabled Homebrew content and still can't change my Paladin Oath (I use Oath of the Crown from the Sword Coast Legends book, so I'm sure it won't matter once all content is available). Yet it has made me feel like players should have some more control over things in character building (we very often wright our own feats at our table).
DM's needs to be able to have full Admin privileges on their campaign pages. We should be able access our players' character sheets while they are in the process of character creation so we can help with the process, making corrections and helping where needed. Right now I won't be able to see my players' characters until they have completed their character creation which isn't going to work out since I hold onto everyone's character sheets between games. My plan was to have my players start the process of inputting their characters' basic information and then I would finish it up. The way it is now that won't be possible and I'm not really sure how we can make the current model work at all.
On the screen it looks good, and the interface generally works well. A couple of features I wouldn't mind seeing:
1) an option to autoroll Hit Dice when you check them off, with an on/off switch for groups that prefer to roll at the table. (You could combine with with autorolling level-up HP for tables that use it.)
2) A more involved options tree for spending sorcery/ki/whatever points--pick the feature you're using (and at which cost, if there's a question), and the interface automatically deducts the points from your pool and adjusts the rest of your CS accordingly.
Are we going to see any of the export options go live during the beta?
3) A randomizer option that actually has some dials and parameters would be nice too, though I wouldn't prioritize it.
4) And a way to turn off/on the helper text in the middle of the generation process, in case you forget.Never mind; found it.I'm really excited that the character builder is finally here. For the most part, I think it's been implemented very well. I do have some suggestions on how to make it better, though. I'm sure a lot of this has been said already (40+ pages of comments), but I figure it's best to just put them all down to make sure I don't leave something out.
Sorry this post is so long. I think DDB has the potential to be truly amazing, and I want to be as sure as possible that it succeeds. Thanks for all the amazing work you've already done! Can't wait to see what this all looks like at launch.
One thing I'm finding consistently is that I don't pick my class skill proficiencies until after I've chosen my background, since the background proficiencies are fixed. I find the back-and-forth a little tiresome, but I don't know how you'd fix it.