Hi! Overall, D&D Beyond is a great tool, but there are a few things that are not working well for me that I wanted to give feedback on.
1. Portent rolls are poorly handled. I'd like two boxes in my action chart where I can record my Portent rolls. It should be pretty easy to program DnD Beyond's Dice Roller to save the result of a d20 roll into these boxes. If I could then click to create a cross or check for each result when I use it (and the check clears after a long rest) that would be fantastic!
2. Override Max HP is reset after a long rest. It would be nice if the Max HP Override didn't reset after a long rest.
3. Mage Armor doesn't update the AC. When I cast Mage Armor, it would be nice if it updated the AC, and perhaps put a time tracker reminder next to the AC box on the character sheet.
4. Spells in general are hard to see. Can there be a separate page for spells like the paper character sheets? That would be so much better. Full caster classes really need the separate sheet instead of a tiny scroll box.
5. There seems to be a lot of problems and needed workarounds for Homebrew Content. I had to add several custom actions because there were a lot of restrictions built into homebrew content. This was quite frustrating!
1. Portent rolls are poorly handled. I'd like two boxes in my action chart where I can record my Portent rolls. It should be pretty easy to program DnD Beyond's Dice Roller to save the result of a d20 roll into these boxes. If I could then click to create a cross or check for each result when I use it (and the check clears after a long rest) that would be fantastic!
You have a Notes field for this. The sheet cannot have its design changed for specific classes. That is way more difficult to code than you think it is. So for these more specific cases of needing to note something: you have a Notes section. Click Notes - Other. This box is so you can record anything not automated.
2. Override Max HP is reset after a long rest. It would be nice if the Max HP Override didn't reset after a long rest.
When you click Long Rest there is a popup first. In this you will a checkbox and the text "Reset Maximum HP changes during this rest" - if left checked, guess what it does? It resets HP changes. So, uncheck it. Now your changes stay.
3. Mage Armor doesn't update the AC. When I cast Mage Armor, it would be nice if it updated the AC, and perhaps put a time tracker reminder next to the AC box on the character sheet.
The sheet does not yet support temporary effects. For this reason most parts of the sheet can be customised to represent ad-hoc temporary changes. For example, if you click the AC you can customise it how you want, and you can even put in a note such as "Mage Armor - 8 hours". Takes seconds and more convenient than pen and paper. Plus, this is something they are considering as a future update.
4. Spells in general are hard to see. Can there be a separate page for spells like the paper character sheets? That would be so much better. Full caster classes really need the separate sheet instead of a tiny scroll box.
I have eyesight issues and still can't disagree with you more. Click a spell and the sidebar opens up with all the details. Easy to read, and neatly organised. Either you have an unsuitable resolution - trying to use the website on a small device (you should use the app designed, the site is not designed for mobile devices) or you desperately need to get your eyes tested. I'm not joking. It's standard size text, easy to read and nicely formatted - if you are having difficulty, that is a bad sign. This also isn't going to change. The whole entire point of this character sheet is to have everything right there without needing to have separate pages for different things.
If you're preparing spells and want the full page you actually can just go into the builder, class tab, click spells. The whole page dedicated to the spells there.
5. There seems to be a lot of problems and needed workarounds for Homebrew Content. I had to add several custom actions because there were a lot of restrictions built into homebrew content. This was quite frustrating!
Depends on what you're trying to do. This site is a "rules first, homebrew second" deal. The primary purpose, above all else, is to have a character sheet that offers a lot of automation for official rules. If you are having a "homebrew everything" type of game, this isn't the toolset for you. It's not designed that way. The homebrew tools were not part of the original site setup and added later - which meant it was going to be clunky and limited. Short of redoing the whole system it will never improve to a full, proper, homebrew setup. It's just the way it is. They are working on improving it when and how they can. It's a massive undertaking to do properly, and some things can't be done without denying access for several days. So, let's be a bit lenient and patient here.
There is a lot of homebrewing you can do, however, providing it isn't too different from the official rules and often still more convenient than pen and paper.
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Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond. Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ thisFAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
I agree with you, all five points, there should be something in place that deals with all those. I get specially frustrated with the custom actions you can make. Yes, you can create them but they suck at being custom! You can't have a fixed "to hit" bonus or a fixed "damage" bonus. It's not that hard, the first already exists for weapons. Anyway... Of all your points, I've got a comment about the third. Something to ease the pain until a proper solution is set in place.
3. Mage Armor doesn't update the AC. When I cast Mage Armor, it would be nice if it updated the AC, and perhaps put a time tracker reminder next to the AC box on the character sheet.
Some people (me included now since I discovered it not too long ago) use homebrew items that add the effects of such spells. As Cyb3rM1nd says, you can update the values yourself and that's fine when you're only updating your AC but what happens when your barbarian rages and suddenly you have to update multiple stats in many places? What happens when you forget to change one or two of those back? Homebrew items are the best option to deal with this until D&D Beyond gets some work done. Here's a couple of them Add Spell Effects - Mage Armor and Add Effects - Rage (lvl 9-15).
Hi! Overall, D&D Beyond is a great tool, but there are a few things that are not working well for me that I wanted to give feedback on.
1. Portent rolls are poorly handled. I'd like two boxes in my action chart where I can record my Portent rolls. It should be pretty easy to program DnD Beyond's Dice Roller to save the result of a d20 roll into these boxes. If I could then click to create a cross or check for each result when I use it (and the check clears after a long rest) that would be fantastic!
2. Override Max HP is reset after a long rest. It would be nice if the Max HP Override didn't reset after a long rest.
3. Mage Armor doesn't update the AC. When I cast Mage Armor, it would be nice if it updated the AC, and perhaps put a time tracker reminder next to the AC box on the character sheet.
4. Spells in general are hard to see. Can there be a separate page for spells like the paper character sheets? That would be so much better. Full caster classes really need the separate sheet instead of a tiny scroll box.
5. There seems to be a lot of problems and needed workarounds for Homebrew Content. I had to add several custom actions because there were a lot of restrictions built into homebrew content. This was quite frustrating!
You have a Notes field for this. The sheet cannot have its design changed for specific classes. That is way more difficult to code than you think it is. So for these more specific cases of needing to note something: you have a Notes section. Click Notes - Other. This box is so you can record anything not automated.
When you click Long Rest there is a popup first. In this you will a checkbox and the text "Reset Maximum HP changes during this rest" - if left checked, guess what it does? It resets HP changes. So, uncheck it. Now your changes stay.
The sheet does not yet support temporary effects. For this reason most parts of the sheet can be customised to represent ad-hoc temporary changes. For example, if you click the AC you can customise it how you want, and you can even put in a note such as "Mage Armor - 8 hours". Takes seconds and more convenient than pen and paper. Plus, this is something they are considering as a future update.
I have eyesight issues and still can't disagree with you more. Click a spell and the sidebar opens up with all the details. Easy to read, and neatly organised. Either you have an unsuitable resolution - trying to use the website on a small device (you should use the app designed, the site is not designed for mobile devices) or you desperately need to get your eyes tested. I'm not joking. It's standard size text, easy to read and nicely formatted - if you are having difficulty, that is a bad sign. This also isn't going to change. The whole entire point of this character sheet is to have everything right there without needing to have separate pages for different things.
If you're preparing spells and want the full page you actually can just go into the builder, class tab, click spells. The whole page dedicated to the spells there.
Depends on what you're trying to do. This site is a "rules first, homebrew second" deal. The primary purpose, above all else, is to have a character sheet that offers a lot of automation for official rules. If you are having a "homebrew everything" type of game, this isn't the toolset for you. It's not designed that way. The homebrew tools were not part of the original site setup and added later - which meant it was going to be clunky and limited. Short of redoing the whole system it will never improve to a full, proper, homebrew setup. It's just the way it is. They are working on improving it when and how they can. It's a massive undertaking to do properly, and some things can't be done without denying access for several days. So, let's be a bit lenient and patient here.
There is a lot of homebrewing you can do, however, providing it isn't too different from the official rules and often still more convenient than pen and paper.
Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond.
Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ this FAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
I agree with you, all five points, there should be something in place that deals with all those. I get specially frustrated with the custom actions you can make. Yes, you can create them but they suck at being custom! You can't have a fixed "to hit" bonus or a fixed "damage" bonus. It's not that hard, the first already exists for weapons. Anyway... Of all your points, I've got a comment about the third. Something to ease the pain until a proper solution is set in place.
Some people (me included now since I discovered it not too long ago) use homebrew items that add the effects of such spells. As Cyb3rM1nd says, you can update the values yourself and that's fine when you're only updating your AC but what happens when your barbarian rages and suddenly you have to update multiple stats in many places? What happens when you forget to change one or two of those back? Homebrew items are the best option to deal with this until D&D Beyond gets some work done. Here's a couple of them Add Spell Effects - Mage Armor and Add Effects - Rage (lvl 9-15).
I hope it helps!