Hi! I was looking for a post with links to any online tool available in the interweb, but I couldn't find any. So.. I starting this thread. Please, if there is already one about online tools to help the DM, just lead the way
I'll start with a Initiative Tracker that I am currently using with Hoard of the Dragon Queen. Just post your favorite online tool!
Improved Initiative - Initiative tracking tool, with much more. Stats for Monsters and Players, import and export your encounters, conditions and Spells. Great tool. One of the little things I like a lot is that you can set it up so whenever adding a creature, the system will roll its HPs, so every one is a little different.
Donjon - Great set of tools for everything Random. Names, NPCs, Quests, Loot, you name it.
Tabletopaudio - Audio for your session! Ambiance, sound effects, etc. I really do not use it that much, but works really well.
Homebrewery - Create your own house rules with 5th Edition Style! Realy easy to use online tool that let you design pages like the official books using markup. Really good to hand over to your players or to create personalized character sheets for your NPCs and their backgrounds
If the Phase 2 character builder turns out to be better than the one over at orcpub then I'll be glad to make the switch. Right now that is my current tool for character building and such.
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"The mongoose blew out its candle and was asleep in bed before the room went dark." —Llanowar fable
Donjon has been a stand-by for me for a long time. Kobold Fight Club is what I use regularly to design encounters. I tried Improved Initiative but I found it to be a nightmare, even if I was preparing encounters well beforehand. Honestly, a basic spreadsheet in Google Docs is better than it.
My hope is that I can stop using all of those and just use DDB. At some point in the near future I'm hoping that there's an encounter builder, initiative tracker, campaign manager, and a few of the random table generators that I use donjon for, all incorporated into DDB so that I only have to access one site using one, standardised UI so that finding things becomes more intuitive and quicker at the table.
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"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
My favourite tool is the interesting character generator (language NSFW). I always send it to new players to help them think of characters that aren't just cookie-cutter builds. It helps that it's funny.
Yes. OrcPub's content is all either from the SRD or are summaries created by OrcPub and intended to supplement, not replace, official game publications. There is NO unauthorized use of copyright.
Last updated:
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"The mongoose blew out its candle and was asleep in bed before the room went dark." —Llanowar fable
Donjon has been a stand-by for me for a long time. Kobold Fight Club is what I use regularly to design encounters. I tried Improved Initiative but I found it to be a nightmare, even if I was preparing encounters well beforehand. Honestly, a basic spreadsheet in Google Docs is better than it.
My hope is that I can stop using all of those and just use DDB. At some point in the near future I'm hoping that there's an encounter builder, initiative tracker, campaign manager, and a few of the random table generators that I use donjon for, all incorporated into DDB so that I only have to access one site using one, standardised UI so that finding things becomes more intuitive and quicker at the table.
If I can ask, what was it about Improved Initiative that you found to be a nightmare? Were you just using it as a standalone or importing your encounters from Kobold Fight Club? I've found it helpful with random encounters (pre-generated in KFC) - having the monster blocks on my screen without having to flip through the MM (or even have several tabs open here on DnDBeyond) and/or copy stats on note cards has been immensely valuable - though that said, I don't actually use it to track initiative (a white board and magnets does that for me). About the only pain has been its limitation to SRD.
That said, I for one would *love* to be able to do all my campaign management here. Staff, if you're seeing this, the encounter builder would be my top fave feature for you guys to roll out for DMs.
Yes. OrcPub's content is all either from the SRD or are summaries created by OrcPub and intended to supplement, not replace, official game publications. There is NO unauthorized use of copyright.
Last updated: <time class="js-adjust-time" datetime="2017-08-15T14:28:43-04:00" data-format="llll z">Tue, August 15 2017 1:28 PM CDT</time>
Orcpub appears to include Volo's information and all the feats? That doesn't appear to fall within the SRD information.
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The most memorable stories always begin with failure.
There are a few sites doing similar - skirting around an interpretation of what copyright might entail.
Personally, I wouldn't want to be risking it, knowing that Wizards of the Coast are owned by Hasbro.
I can guarantee you that they aren't skirting anything if they supply it themselves. The skirting comes when you put the illegal activity on the users (such as what I've heard Fight Club does, where they pass around uploads that are the complete rule sets, this is illegal as well) The fact that a C&D hasn't already been served is baffling to me, but maybe it's because WotC is fighting to allow these groups to offer these smaller products for people who don't want to/can't afford the larger products. But there would be no issue with getting them to stop if WotC/Hasbro actually wanted them to
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The most memorable stories always begin with failure.
I have just been playing with a world map creator called Inkarnate. Its currently in Beta, but its pretty good! It just needs some way of adding roads...
Hi! I was looking for a post with links to any online tool available in the interweb, but I couldn't find any. So.. I starting this thread. Please, if there is already one about online tools to help the DM, just lead the way
I'll start with a Initiative Tracker that I am currently using with Hoard of the Dragon Queen. Just post your favorite online tool!
One of the little things I like a lot is that you can set it up so whenever adding a creature, the system will roll its HPs, so every one is a little different.
Cool - nice selection of tools!
I'm really excited for all of the tools that D&D Beyond will provide, some of which will really surprise people!
Pun-loving nerd | She/Her/Hers | Profile art by Becca Golins
If you need help with homebrew, please post on the homebrew forums, where multiple staff and moderators can read your post and help you!
"We got this, no problem! I'll take the twenty on the left - you guys handle the one on the right!"🔊
I dream of DnD Beyond being a one-stop for all kind of tools and gadgets to make DM life easier!
If the Phase 2 character builder turns out to be better than the one over at orcpub then I'll be glad to make the switch. Right now that is my current tool for character building and such.
The surefire way of making sure that dndbeyond is better is the good'ol cease and desist! :D
Just had a look at Donjon... that is awesome!
So far, donjon has been the best.
Donjon has been a stand-by for me for a long time. Kobold Fight Club is what I use regularly to design encounters. I tried Improved Initiative but I found it to be a nightmare, even if I was preparing encounters well beforehand. Honestly, a basic spreadsheet in Google Docs is better than it.
My hope is that I can stop using all of those and just use DDB. At some point in the near future I'm hoping that there's an encounter builder, initiative tracker, campaign manager, and a few of the random table generators that I use donjon for, all incorporated into DDB so that I only have to access one site using one, standardised UI so that finding things becomes more intuitive and quicker at the table.
"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
― Oscar Wilde.
My favourite tool is the interesting character generator (language NSFW). I always send it to new players to help them think of characters that aren't just cookie-cutter builds. It helps that it's funny.
Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in awhile.
The most memorable stories always begin with failure.
The most memorable stories always begin with failure.
There are a few sites doing similar - skirting around an interpretation of what copyright might entail.
Personally, I wouldn't want to be risking it, knowing that Wizards of the Coast are owned by Hasbro.
Pun-loving nerd | She/Her/Hers | Profile art by Becca Golins
If you need help with homebrew, please post on the homebrew forums, where multiple staff and moderators can read your post and help you!
"We got this, no problem! I'll take the twenty on the left - you guys handle the one on the right!"🔊
The most memorable stories always begin with failure.
I have just been playing with a world map creator called Inkarnate. Its currently in Beta, but its pretty good! It just needs some way of adding roads...
Bit late to the party, but we actually had a great thread for this over here: http://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/dungeons-dragons-discussion/dungeon-masters-only/1201-campaign-management-tools
Lots of good stuff in there!
Really like these tools! They all seem pretty helpful. Thanks for the tools :)
Added these to the collection of resource links in my signature below.
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