Art & Handout Reveals in Maps – Coming December 16
On December 16, we plan to launch a new feature in the Maps VTT that lets DMs reveal art and handouts to players. We’ll have a full walkthrough when the feature goes live.
There are three features from our 2025 Maps VTT roadmap that, rather than being rushed out, we’re giving the time and thought they need.
3D Dice Rolling in Maps (Early 2026): We are taking extra time to rebuild our dice engine so that dice rolling appears consistent across everyone’s screens.
Rules Assistant (Early 2026): This rules reference assistant serves as a searchable encyclopedia that helps keep your game moving. Housed within the Maps VTT tool, it is currently in internal testing. It just needs a little bit more testing time and should release in alpha soon.
Campaign Console (TBD): Based on our own internal feedback, we realized the original concept didn’t solve enough DM pain points. The team has shifted focus to a broader, more flexible campaign tool that should solve more DM needs.
Thanks for the updates! The handouts was my most wanted feature so I'm excited that's coming.
I'm disappointed the other stuff is delayed but I get it. I know nobody from the maps team reads these forums, but they're doing a really good job. I use maps every week for my online game and am super pleased with it.
I'm interested to see what the Rules Assistant looks like. After the handouts this is the thing I'm most hype for. I don't care about the 3D dice, but I know a lot of people do.
Honestly, there are better tools for DMs right now. Why should I use maps from D&D Beyond?
I'm missing:
Dynamic view (walls/doors/windows)
Meaningful fog of war (you can't even hide a dedicated wall/house/obstacle)
Visibility across different levels (elevation differences)
Meaningful combat encounters (it's too rigid)
I find the following features cute (but not necessarily the killer feature):
3D dice rolling (during an online session, you're already connected via a tool that also displays dice rolls, right?)
Reveal feature (same argument - you can share documents/content via Discord or similar collaboration tools that you already use to connect online)
I also wonder why energy is being spent on the Rules Assistant feature. Where was this requested by users/DMs? Isn't the DM the best (in the game, the only) point of contact for rules questions?
That leaves only the interactive integration of the character sheet as a supposed unique selling point (even with its current bugs like barbarians short rest not affecting its rage)... To put it bluntly: There's room for improvement! ...and yes, it's still in beta, but the roadmap doesn't meet my expectations for a VTT, and it shows that the development is moving away from—at least my—expectations.
And that makes me sad and disappointed.
I wish there were more opportunities to provide feedback. Perhaps then I would feel more heard.
A question for those people who use Maps VTT (because the others probably use other VTTs for the same reasons): Don't you feel the same way?
A question for those people who use Maps VTT (because the others probably use other VTTs for the same reasons): Don't you feel the same way?
Using Maps VTT to take a group through Heroes of the Borderlands worked out nicely. That said, this is my first use of a VTT, as other games have all been in-person on maps that get drawn as we proceed.
The integration goes beyond character sheets. I now have a fair amount of purchased content and the first thing that Roll20 wanted me to do was re-buy the books I already own in dndbeyond, so it's a second walled garden for the same content, unfortunately.
I'm hopeful that shutting down Sigil means that they have more time to make VTT better because, yeah, there are a lot of things that could be improved. Importing my own stickers and handouts are front of what I'd like. The initial implementation of handouts is pretty useless as it only includes some content from the books, and not other content. I can't even really tell how they decided what to include and what to skip.
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Thanks for the updates! The handouts was my most wanted feature so I'm excited that's coming.
I'm disappointed the other stuff is delayed but I get it. I know nobody from the maps team reads these forums, but they're doing a really good job. I use maps every week for my online game and am super pleased with it.
I'm interested to see what the Rules Assistant looks like. After the handouts this is the thing I'm most hype for. I don't care about the 3D dice, but I know a lot of people do.
The handouts are what I wanted most too!
Honestly, there are better tools for DMs right now. Why should I use maps from D&D Beyond?
I'm missing:
I find the following features cute (but not necessarily the killer feature):
I also wonder why energy is being spent on the Rules Assistant feature. Where was this requested by users/DMs? Isn't the DM the best (in the game, the only) point of contact for rules questions?
That leaves only the interactive integration of the character sheet as a supposed unique selling point (even with its current bugs like barbarians short rest not affecting its rage)... To put it bluntly: There's room for improvement! ...and yes, it's still in beta, but the roadmap doesn't meet my expectations for a VTT, and it shows that the development is moving away from—at least my—expectations.
And that makes me sad and disappointed.
I wish there were more opportunities to provide feedback. Perhaps then I would feel more heard.
Using Maps VTT to take a group through Heroes of the Borderlands worked out nicely. That said, this is my first use of a VTT, as other games have all been in-person on maps that get drawn as we proceed.
The integration goes beyond character sheets. I now have a fair amount of purchased content and the first thing that Roll20 wanted me to do was re-buy the books I already own in dndbeyond, so it's a second walled garden for the same content, unfortunately.
I'm hopeful that shutting down Sigil means that they have more time to make VTT better because, yeah, there are a lot of things that could be improved. Importing my own stickers and handouts are front of what I'd like. The initial implementation of handouts is pretty useless as it only includes some content from the books, and not other content. I can't even really tell how they decided what to include and what to skip.