If you drop a bunch of the same creature, they're all called the same thing (Like Goblin). Selecting the creature in the initiative order doesn't help either, since nothing on the map is highlighted to show who is selected. Renaming the creatures (Goblin 1, Goblin 2, etc.) results in the creatures getting individual initiative instead of group initiative like it is supposed to.
When you start combat, their names switch from Commoner to different ones like Commoner A, Commoner B, Commoner C, to differentiate them.
Not sure if this is the right place, not sure if anyone on staff even reads these forums anymore (other than to occasionally reprimand people if debates get a bit too....heated), but, sure where else would I put it?
Anyway, even if this just serves to highlight the issue for other users, at least I'll have contributed something, I guess. Monster Stat Blocks in DnDBeyond Maps aren't calculating the Monster Ability Mods and Saves correctly. Here's a screenshot of a Giant Crocodile. Should have a -1 Dex Mod and Save, and a -2 Cha Mod and Save... I've checked a few others that I know to have negative mods, and it's mostly Cha and Dex that are not calculating correctly, from what I can see.
Side note: Is the Maps tool being developed by DnDBeyond/WotC Staff or by a Third Party, does anyone know? Because I'm noticing a fair amount of small inconsistencies that I would like to think internal Devs wouldn't miss, and it shouldn't just be teething problems of a new tool, it's that Maps just doesn't have some basic fundamentals right yet! Another example, in addition to the above Stat Blocks - DnDBeyond has the ability to right-click and roll To Hit with Advantage/Disadvantage, on both character sheets, and monster stat blocks in the Encounter Builder / Combat Tracker, whereas Maps does not... DnDBeyond has the ability to right-click and roll Damage as Flat or Crit, on both character sheets, and monster stat blocks in the Encounter Builder / Combat Tracker, whereas Maps does not... I mean, if this is in-house, then they already have the code to calculate Stat Blocks correctly, they already have the code to roll Adv/Disadv and Flat/Crit, but for some reason they've neglected these very fundamental things in this new tool!
There's quite a few little, subtle things like this that makes me think it's possibly Third Party Integrated to DnDBeyond.
Not sure if this is the right place, not sure if anyone on staff even reads these forums anymore (other than to occasionally reprimand people if debates get a bit too....heated), but, sure where else would I put it?
All feedback on Maps should be submitted in the "Feedback" button of the Maps site.
As for capabilities, they seem to be going with the minimum requirements first. Things like rolling advantage are likely to come later. They do have advantage for initative already baked in which the Encounter Tracker does not.
Loving the Map tool so far! I don't see the purported "Feedback" feature, so I'm adding my feedback here. Hope that's okay! (I'm not running many browser extensions, so if you have a list of them that are known to conflict, I'd appreciate someone pointing me to it)
It's difficult to tell who's turn it is. While the "Next" button allows you to advance to the next PC / Monster, neither their token nor their block in the left panel are highlighted. It also makes it harder to keep track of which token belongs to which block (I'm using the color outlines but I'd prefer not to have to).
When a monster dies, I'd like it's token to automatically indicate that, maybe a skull badge attached to it. I'd removed a few dead monsters, but then they're removed from the encounter, which makes it harder to track XP. Speaking of which...
...while the old Encounter builder provided XP rewards, the Map tool doesn't seem to show that anywhere. Or if it is there, it's not easy to find.
The ability to draw shapes to display spell effects is great - but I'd love to be able to center them on or emanate from a character token. Even better would be the ability to click the spell from the side panel and choose the direction or location with an appropriate cone or area. In the FAQ, there appears to be an animated GIF showing something like that, with damage being automatically rolled for all targets within the AoE. If that exists already, I can't find it.
I'd love to be ablet to import files from Dungeon Alchemist so I can include animated effects, or the ability to overlay animated effects on a static image.
Despite these minor grievances, my group and I are having a lot of fun with the map tool so far! Can't wait to see it evolve!
It's difficult to tell who's turn it is. While the "Next" button allows you to advance to the next PC / Monster, neither their token nor their block in the left panel are highlighted. It also makes it harder to keep track of which token belongs to which block (I'm using the color outlines but I'd prefer not to have to).
When combat is running, it's highlighted for the DM.
For spectator/player mode look at the top of the screen. The portrait that is highlighted is the person currently having their turn.
What it doesn't do (and I wish it did) would be to flash the token when you click on the side bar, and middle-mouse click to center the map on the token of the person in the list.
I tried using Maps for my campaigns, but two things caused me to go back to using Owlbear Rodeo:
(1) Maps tendency to Time Out after a period of non-use is irritating as all heck!!! (2) Maps needs far more work on its Fog of Wars Tools (FoW). Notable the ability to reveal large concealed blocks from FoW. I suffered a minor stoke several years ago. Since then fine control of my mouse hand is a little shaky. Trying to reveal FoW as is, sucks big time.
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Watch your back, conserve your ammo, and NEVER cut a deal with a dragon!
I tried using Maps for my campaigns, but two things caused me to go back to using Owlbear Rodeo:
(1) Maps tendency to Time Out after a period of non-use is irritating as all heck!!! (2) Maps needs far more work on its Fog of Wars Tools (FoW). Notable the ability to reveal large concealed blocks from FoW. I suffered a minor stoke several years ago. Since then fine control of my mouse hand is a little shaky. Trying to reveal FoW as is, sucks big time.
Regarding number 1 I think it might have to do with the browser. I am using chrome and chrome puts non-active pages in hibernate mode after a while. You can disable this for the dndbeyond page.
First of all, thank you for the incredible work you’ve done with D&D Beyond Maps! It’s a fantastic tool that has already enhanced my Dungeon Master experience. However, I believe there are a few key features that could elevate D&D Beyond Maps to a fully-fledged Virtual Tabletop (VTT) and make it even more immersive and user-friendly. Here are my suggestions:
1. Integrated Journal for Notes
Suggestion: Add a journal feature that allows DMs to take notes and link them to specific areas on the map. For example, clicking on a room or area could immediately display relevant notes, lore, or encounter details.
Why It’s Needed: This would streamline preparation and gameplay, making it easier to keep track of important information without switching between multiple tools or windows.
2. Selective Encounter Management
Suggestion: Allow DMs to place all NPCs and monsters on the map during preparation without automatically adding them to the encounter tracker. Instead, provide an option to selectively add creatures to encounters as they become relevant.
Why It’s Needed: Currently, if I pre-place all NPCs on the map, I have to manually remove them from the encounter tracker if they’re not part of the current scene. This is time-consuming and disrupts the flow of preparation.
3. Animated Maps and Dynamic Lighting/Walls
Suggestion: Introduce support for animated maps (e.g., flowing water, flickering torches) and more advanced lighting/wall tools. For example, allow DMs to create dynamic walls that block vision and light, similar to features in other VTTs.
Why It’s Needed: While Fog of War is a great start, it feels a bit simplistic. Adding dynamic lighting and walls would make exploration more engaging and visually appealing.
4. Soundboard and Area-Based Audio
Suggestion: Integrate a soundboard or music player that triggers specific sounds or music when players enter certain areas. For example, eerie music could play in a haunted forest, or the sound of dripping water in a cave.
Why It’s Needed: Audio is a powerful tool for immersion. Having this feature built into D&D Beyond Maps would eliminate the need for external tools and make it easier to create atmospheric experiences.
5. Multiple Time-of-Day Settings
Suggestion: Add the ability to switch between different times of day (e.g., day, night, dusk) for maps. This could include changes in lighting, shadows, and even environmental effects (e.g., torches lit at night).
Why It’s Needed: Many adventures take place over multiple days or in environments where time of day matters. This feature would add depth and realism to the maps.
Final Thoughts
D&D Beyond Maps has the potential to become one of the best VTTs on the market, especially with its seamless integration with the D&D Beyond ecosystem. By adding these features, you could create a more immersive, user-friendly, and versatile tool that meets the needs of both DMs and players. I hope you consider these suggestions for future updates!
Thank you for your hard work and dedication to improving the D&D experience. I’m excited to see where you take D&D Beyond Maps next!
Now that the new Monster Manual is out for Master-tier subscribers (yay!) I gave it a go in the Maps tool.
And it seems the Maps tool desperately needs to indicate the monster's 'origin' in the token browser! Or at least some way of filtering. Because now I just see every creature twice with no way of telling which one is which unless the monster type has changed (and you know what the new type is).
Really need the CR listed here as well because building encounters with the 2024 rules is way harder than it should be. There is no separate tool - the existing builder still uses the old rules - and you can't use the one built into Maps without first adding the monsters. But you can't tell which monsters you may want without first knowing the CR and building them in an 2024 Encounter builder!
(Obviously can use the Encounter Builder manually, but the point of an online tool is to make it easier, not harder)
I would like Encounters to be updated to be able to use the new statblock format. Some details can't be seen with the new monsters, and Encounters is more useful to me than Maps cause I play in person.
Encounters is still working much better for me preemptively creating encounters on my encounter charts.
Is there a way to build encounters in maps without actually having maps uploaded? If I have a squad of assassins hunting my players, but they could in any number of locations is there a way to build that encounter that can be moved to the appropriate map based on when the encounter happens?
Really wish the original encounter builder could just be updated with the 2024 rules. The filtering, labeling, clear at a glance challenge ratings and legacy status listings, among many other features.. makes the original encounter builder far superior to what the one in maps can do. The Encounter Builder should build Encounters. The Maps, build Maps.
Really wish the original encounter builder could just be updated with the 2024 rules. The filtering, labeling, clear at a glance challenge ratings and legacy status listings, among many other features.. makes the original encounter builder far superior to what the one in maps can do. The Encounter Builder should build Encounters. The Maps, build Maps.
Can I upvote this ten times please
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When you start combat, their names switch from Commoner to different ones like Commoner A, Commoner B, Commoner C, to differentiate them.
I'm glad to be proven wrong. Maybe it was latching onto the old encounter info. New encounter did exactly that when starting, which is good.
Not sure if this is the right place, not sure if anyone on staff even reads these forums anymore (other than to occasionally reprimand people if debates get a bit too....heated), but, sure where else would I put it?
Anyway, even if this just serves to highlight the issue for other users, at least I'll have contributed something, I guess. Monster Stat Blocks in DnDBeyond Maps aren't calculating the Monster Ability Mods and Saves correctly. Here's a screenshot of a Giant Crocodile. Should have a -1 Dex Mod and Save, and a -2 Cha Mod and Save... I've checked a few others that I know to have negative mods, and it's mostly Cha and Dex that are not calculating correctly, from what I can see.
Side note: Is the Maps tool being developed by DnDBeyond/WotC Staff or by a Third Party, does anyone know? Because I'm noticing a fair amount of small inconsistencies that I would like to think internal Devs wouldn't miss, and it shouldn't just be teething problems of a new tool, it's that Maps just doesn't have some basic fundamentals right yet! Another example, in addition to the above Stat Blocks - DnDBeyond has the ability to right-click and roll To Hit with Advantage/Disadvantage, on both character sheets, and monster stat blocks in the Encounter Builder / Combat Tracker, whereas Maps does not... DnDBeyond has the ability to right-click and roll Damage as Flat or Crit, on both character sheets, and monster stat blocks in the Encounter Builder / Combat Tracker, whereas Maps does not... I mean, if this is in-house, then they already have the code to calculate Stat Blocks correctly, they already have the code to roll Adv/Disadv and Flat/Crit, but for some reason they've neglected these very fundamental things in this new tool!
There's quite a few little, subtle things like this that makes me think it's possibly Third Party Integrated to DnDBeyond.
All feedback on Maps should be submitted in the "Feedback" button of the Maps site.
As for capabilities, they seem to be going with the minimum requirements first. Things like rolling advantage are likely to come later. They do have advantage for initative already baked in which the Encounter Tracker does not.
Loving the Map tool so far! I don't see the purported "Feedback" feature, so I'm adding my feedback here. Hope that's okay! (I'm not running many browser extensions, so if you have a list of them that are known to conflict, I'd appreciate someone pointing me to it)
Despite these minor grievances, my group and I are having a lot of fun with the map tool so far! Can't wait to see it evolve!
When combat is running, it's highlighted for the DM.
For spectator/player mode look at the top of the screen. The portrait that is highlighted is the person currently having their turn.
What it doesn't do (and I wish it did) would be to flash the token when you click on the side bar, and middle-mouse click to center the map on the token of the person in the list.
I tried using Maps for my campaigns, but two things caused me to go back to using Owlbear Rodeo:
(1) Maps tendency to Time Out after a period of non-use is irritating as all heck!!!
(2) Maps needs far more work on its Fog of Wars Tools (FoW). Notable the ability to reveal large concealed blocks from FoW. I suffered a minor stoke several years ago. Since then fine control of my mouse hand is a little shaky. Trying to reveal FoW as is, sucks big time.
Watch your back, conserve your ammo,
and NEVER cut a deal with a dragon!
It wasn't highlighting for me in the DM panel. I'd seen it work before, but for some reason it wasn't during the session.
Regarding number 1 I think it might have to do with the browser. I am using chrome and chrome puts non-active pages in hibernate mode after a while. You can disable this for the dndbeyond page.
I am having a problem finding the section in Google Chrome under iOS 18.2.1
Driving me mad 😜
Watch your back, conserve your ammo,
and NEVER cut a deal with a dragon!
Sorry, I am running windows, so have no idea on ios :(
Unless this is already a thing and I'm missing it ~ I'd like to be able to rearrange/sort maps that I've already added from the Map Browser. Thx!
First of all, thank you for the incredible work you’ve done with D&D Beyond Maps! It’s a fantastic tool that has already enhanced my Dungeon Master experience. However, I believe there are a few key features that could elevate D&D Beyond Maps to a fully-fledged Virtual Tabletop (VTT) and make it even more immersive and user-friendly. Here are my suggestions:
1. Integrated Journal for Notes
Suggestion: Add a journal feature that allows DMs to take notes and link them to specific areas on the map. For example, clicking on a room or area could immediately display relevant notes, lore, or encounter details.
Why It’s Needed: This would streamline preparation and gameplay, making it easier to keep track of important information without switching between multiple tools or windows.
2. Selective Encounter Management
Suggestion: Allow DMs to place all NPCs and monsters on the map during preparation without automatically adding them to the encounter tracker. Instead, provide an option to selectively add creatures to encounters as they become relevant.
Why It’s Needed: Currently, if I pre-place all NPCs on the map, I have to manually remove them from the encounter tracker if they’re not part of the current scene. This is time-consuming and disrupts the flow of preparation.
3. Animated Maps and Dynamic Lighting/Walls
Suggestion: Introduce support for animated maps (e.g., flowing water, flickering torches) and more advanced lighting/wall tools. For example, allow DMs to create dynamic walls that block vision and light, similar to features in other VTTs.
Why It’s Needed: While Fog of War is a great start, it feels a bit simplistic. Adding dynamic lighting and walls would make exploration more engaging and visually appealing.
4. Soundboard and Area-Based Audio
Suggestion: Integrate a soundboard or music player that triggers specific sounds or music when players enter certain areas. For example, eerie music could play in a haunted forest, or the sound of dripping water in a cave.
Why It’s Needed: Audio is a powerful tool for immersion. Having this feature built into D&D Beyond Maps would eliminate the need for external tools and make it easier to create atmospheric experiences.
5. Multiple Time-of-Day Settings
Suggestion: Add the ability to switch between different times of day (e.g., day, night, dusk) for maps. This could include changes in lighting, shadows, and even environmental effects (e.g., torches lit at night).
Why It’s Needed: Many adventures take place over multiple days or in environments where time of day matters. This feature would add depth and realism to the maps.
Final Thoughts
D&D Beyond Maps has the potential to become one of the best VTTs on the market, especially with its seamless integration with the D&D Beyond ecosystem. By adding these features, you could create a more immersive, user-friendly, and versatile tool that meets the needs of both DMs and players. I hope you consider these suggestions for future updates!
Thank you for your hard work and dedication to improving the D&D experience. I’m excited to see where you take D&D Beyond Maps next!
Best regards,
Marv
If you didn't find it, this is it under Windows (and IIRC, MacOS)
Settings -> Performance -> Always keep these sites active -> Add.
Now that the new Monster Manual is out for Master-tier subscribers (yay!) I gave it a go in the Maps tool.
And it seems the Maps tool desperately needs to indicate the monster's 'origin' in the token browser! Or at least some way of filtering. Because now I just see every creature twice with no way of telling which one is which unless the monster type has changed (and you know what the new type is).
Really need the CR listed here as well because building encounters with the 2024 rules is way harder than it should be. There is no separate tool - the existing builder still uses the old rules - and you can't use the one built into Maps without first adding the monsters. But you can't tell which monsters you may want without first knowing the CR and building them in an 2024 Encounter builder!
(Obviously can use the Encounter Builder manually, but the point of an online tool is to make it easier, not harder)
Second the need to filter/differentiate monsters in token selection.
Also, as of today all the new monster stat block still refer to legacy version of spells when clicked.
Also can't find the Feedback button in Maps anymore to report these issues
I would like Encounters to be updated to be able to use the new statblock format. Some details can't be seen with the new monsters, and Encounters is more useful to me than Maps cause I play in person.
Encounters is still working much better for me preemptively creating encounters on my encounter charts.
Is there a way to build encounters in maps without actually having maps uploaded? If I have a squad of assassins hunting my players, but they could in any number of locations is there a way to build that encounter that can be moved to the appropriate map based on when the encounter happens?
Really wish the original encounter builder could just be updated with the 2024 rules.
The filtering, labeling, clear at a glance challenge ratings and legacy status listings, among many other features.. makes the original encounter builder far superior to what the one in maps can do.
The Encounter Builder should build Encounters. The Maps, build Maps.
Can I upvote this ten times please