I've been playing D&D every now and then for a long time but just recently started playing as a DM (yay). I chose dnd beyond since i've used it for my characters as a player before.
I'm very fond of digital tools that can help me in any way, and character sheet and management is awesome in dnd beyond.
But now im trying out the DM role. I use a custom table with a built in tv screen so only local play around the table (with my kids and wife) and the VTT for that extra oumph in storytelling and battles, the kids love it.
Now i'm 3 (real) days into my adventure and I find myself switching between way too many browser tabs for things that could easily be integrated for a much smoother experience in the VTT. So i looked at the roadmap and was stunned to see where the focus lie. 3D dice? campaign console? Rules assistant.....
There must be a hundred different things more important than that to help DMs out and make the games more fun and fluent?
The things i'm missing after 3 days and as a rookie DM that i feel would help me ALOT are:
DM Overlay to put notes, like a pin to activate or something. Draw things, post-it notes, you name it. Since i'm new to this i sometimes get a bit "stressed" as a fight or event is happening (at the same time as i try to tell a story about what is happening) and i tend to forget important triggers or i do remember that something is supposed to happen here and i must read, putting the flow of the game to a complete halt which is so annoying because i want to deliver a super fun experience. And i do prep before sessions spending time to read up on all the aspects of the adventure chapter(s), but sometimes it's just a bit too much to remember it all :) An overlay in which i could add lots of stuff that never gets rendered for the spectators would be such a huge improvement.
I don't know if all adventures come with this but the ones i've bought (mostly starter ones for my kids) have a player version and a DM version. But i dont see the point with a DM version in the VTT as I can only have one map visible. so if i add the dm maps and want to look at them i have to pause the session, check them, and even then (since i cannot make notes) switch tabs and read the corresponding section in times where i forget about certain events/triggers or whatever. Now i know i can look at the DM map in the adventure but still, it's annoying to switch browser tab and such. and pair this with the notes, and one can prepare like a god.
quick access to the characters stat block. for this i need to bring up the campaign in the mobile app and select characters. That gives a nice overview of their passive skills, hp, conditions and senses all in one nice overview, none of which is available in the vtt when not in an encounter. And from this overview also easy access to their character sheets by just clicking them. Just weird to need an extra device for this or browser tabs (since this nice overview isnt available in a web browser i need all character sheets opened for quick reference). would be nice if one could access this, again, without this context switching.
The ability to send notes to characters, like secrets i dont want to disclose to other members. And yes, we're doing local play and have pen and paper available but still, i like digital helpers :) And the player could then add it to the characters notes section or something or discard it if it's of no importance after reading it. And it goes the other way around aswell, the players should be able to send notes to me as a DM, maybe with some cool thing they want to do, sending this digitally even in local play dont make it as obvious as handing me a physical note :)
Ability to apply conditions for x turns. I know border colors are available. But i'm new and there's a lot going on sometimes and i miss things :)
Ability to change token image to any of the ones you have available. For instance, in our game of LMoP
we faced the goblins and their leader Yeemik
, which was available as a monster (super convenient!). But the token was a humanoid standard icon making him stand out from the others even though i had initially renamed him so secretly to "Goblin".
I know most experienced DMs keep track of things like this like pros already, and keep the games flowing, but it would really be of great help for new ones. I bought clothespins to my "dm kit" the other day to pin notes to my dm screen and all, so im getting there :)
Are there any more detailed plans for the maps vtt available? Or is it just those vagueish general directions (Roadmap) available to the public? I really like this platform and what it could become but i cant help but to sneak a peak on the other tools that seem to have much of this. But it's rather costly to switch platforms as the digital licenses are platform specific :/
And don't get me wrong, it's actually the simplicity that made me take a liking to this platform. With the features available it's very intuitive and doesnt need a 3 hour tutorial in which you forget half, to get starting. But there are room for huge (and more obvious to me) improvements apart from those on the roadmap...
Any tips and tricks are also welcome to tackle these dilemmas :)
I've been playing D&D every now and then for a long time but just recently started playing as a DM (yay). I chose dnd beyond since i've used it for my characters as a player before.
I'm very fond of digital tools that can help me in any way, and character sheet and management is awesome in dnd beyond.
But now im trying out the DM role. I use a custom table with a built in tv screen so only local play around the table (with my kids and wife) and the VTT for that extra oumph in storytelling and battles, the kids love it.
Now i'm 3 (real) days into my adventure and I find myself switching between way too many browser tabs for things that could easily be integrated for a much smoother experience in the VTT. So i looked at the roadmap and was stunned to see where the focus lie. 3D dice? campaign console? Rules assistant.....
There must be a hundred different things more important than that to help DMs out and make the games more fun and fluent?
The things i'm missing after 3 days and as a rookie DM that i feel would help me ALOT are:
DM Overlay to put notes, like a pin to activate or something. Draw things, post-it notes, you name it. Since i'm new to this i sometimes get a bit "stressed" as a fight or event is happening (at the same time as i try to tell a story about what is happening) and i tend to forget important triggers or i do remember that something is supposed to happen here and i must read, putting the flow of the game to a complete halt which is so annoying because i want to deliver a super fun experience. And i do prep before sessions spending time to read up on all the aspects of the adventure chapter(s), but sometimes it's just a bit too much to remember it all :) An overlay in which i could add lots of stuff that never gets rendered for the spectators would be such a huge improvement.
I don't know if all adventures come with this but the ones i've bought (mostly starter ones for my kids) have a player version and a DM version. But i dont see the point with a DM version in the VTT as I can only have one map visible. so if i add the dm maps and want to look at them i have to pause the session, check them, and even then (since i cannot make notes) switch tabs and read the corresponding section in times where i forget about certain events/triggers or whatever. Now i know i can look at the DM map in the adventure but still, it's annoying to switch browser tab and such. and pair this with the notes, and one can prepare like a god.
quick access to the characters stat block. for this i need to bring up the campaign in the mobile app and select characters. That gives a nice overview of their passive skills, hp, conditions and senses all in one nice overview, none of which is available in the vtt when not in an encounter. And from this overview also easy access to their character sheets by just clicking them. Just weird to need an extra device for this or browser tabs (since this nice overview isnt available in a web browser i need all character sheets opened for quick reference). would be nice if one could access this, again, without this context switching.
The ability to send notes to characters, like secrets i dont want to disclose to other members. And yes, we're doing local play and have pen and paper available but still, i like digital helpers :) And the player could then add it to the characters notes section or something or discard it if it's of no importance after reading it. And it goes the other way around aswell, the players should be able to send notes to me as a DM, maybe with some cool thing they want to do, sending this digitally even in local play dont make it as obvious as handing me a physical note :)
Ability to apply conditions for x turns. I know border colors are available. But i'm new and there's a lot going on sometimes and i miss things :)
Ability to change token image to any of the ones you have available. For instance, in our game of LMoP
we faced the goblins and their leader Yeemik
, which was available as a monster (super convenient!). But the token was a humanoid standard icon making him stand out from the others even though i had initially renamed him so secretly to "Goblin".
I know most experienced DMs keep track of things like this like pros already, and keep the games flowing, but it would really be of great help for new ones. I bought clothespins to my "dm kit" the other day to pin notes to my dm screen and all, so im getting there :)
Are there any more detailed plans for the maps vtt available? Or is it just those vagueish general directions (Roadmap) available to the public? I really like this platform and what it could become but i cant help but to sneak a peak on the other tools that seem to have much of this. But it's rather costly to switch platforms as the digital licenses are platform specific :/
And don't get me wrong, it's actually the simplicity that made me take a liking to this platform. With the features available it's very intuitive and doesnt need a 3 hour tutorial in which you forget half, to get starting. But there are room for huge (and more obvious to me) improvements apart from those on the roadmap...
Any tips and tricks are also welcome to tackle these dilemmas :)
Cheers and happy adventuring!
Marcus
For my zoom games, I have a very wide screen and I use all of it.
I usually have three separate browser windows open side by side - left one to the DND Beyond page for the adventure, where I would look at the DM version of the map if needed (maybe even have it on another tab). Center browser on the Maps page (DM Version). Then the right side is on the Campaign where I put a copy of the player's view of the map and then have the various character sheets up on tabs.
That said, I agree with you, my players' (and campaign NPC's) stat blocks should just be one click away like it is with the "monsters" (which are often module-included NPC's). My players would probably like the ability to right click and attack with an armed weapon as well, but they all have taken to two browser windows side-by-side as well, one for their map and another for their own character sheets. Having the iPad app compatible with both the maps and their character sheets at the same time would also be awesome, some have an iPad with the character sheet and a separate computer for the player map, for example. Maps isn't even available from the Beyond app yet... (feels like something to toss on that roadmap)
I was really looking forward to the handouts feature until it actually launched. It is nice in that you can splash a screen of the creature the team is facing, but only if the image was in the module and has a pre-made handout for it. That said, even some of the "handouts" that come with the Borderlands campaign are NOT included even if you own the kit, such as the Menu from the tavern.
There was a recent post about how the Maps Roadmap drifted (all those things were slated for delivery by end of year, but have now been delayed to ship when they are ready) and now they're doubling down to communicate better... That was Dec 10th, but the first real direct statements since about six months earlier. To be fair, the new reveals feature did drop the following week, so let's hope the momentum continues and we see feedback and improvements continue to delver. Post link: The Road Ahead: Join Our Journey to Improve the Maps VTT | Dungeons & Dragons
Hello y'all!
I've been playing D&D every now and then for a long time but just recently started playing as a DM (yay). I chose dnd beyond since i've used it for my characters as a player before.
I'm very fond of digital tools that can help me in any way, and character sheet and management is awesome in dnd beyond.
But now im trying out the DM role. I use a custom table with a built in tv screen so only local play around the table (with my kids and wife) and the VTT for that extra oumph in storytelling and battles, the kids love it.
Now i'm 3 (real) days into my adventure and I find myself switching between way too many browser tabs for things that could easily be integrated for a much smoother experience in the VTT. So i looked at the roadmap and was stunned to see where the focus lie. 3D dice? campaign console? Rules assistant.....
There must be a hundred different things more important than that to help DMs out and make the games more fun and fluent?
The things i'm missing after 3 days and as a rookie DM that i feel would help me ALOT are:
we faced the goblins and their leader Yeemik
, which was available as a monster (super convenient!). But the token was a humanoid standard icon making him stand out from the others even though i had initially renamed him so secretly to "Goblin".I know most experienced DMs keep track of things like this like pros already, and keep the games flowing, but it would really be of great help for new ones. I bought clothespins to my "dm kit" the other day to pin notes to my dm screen and all, so im getting there :)
Are there any more detailed plans for the maps vtt available? Or is it just those vagueish general directions (Roadmap) available to the public? I really like this platform and what it could become but i cant help but to sneak a peak on the other tools that seem to have much of this. But it's rather costly to switch platforms as the digital licenses are platform specific :/
And don't get me wrong, it's actually the simplicity that made me take a liking to this platform. With the features available it's very intuitive and doesnt need a 3 hour tutorial in which you forget half, to get starting. But there are room for huge (and more obvious to me) improvements apart from those on the roadmap...
Any tips and tricks are also welcome to tackle these dilemmas :)
Cheers and happy adventuring!
Marcus
For my zoom games, I have a very wide screen and I use all of it.
I usually have three separate browser windows open side by side - left one to the DND Beyond page for the adventure, where I would look at the DM version of the map if needed (maybe even have it on another tab). Center browser on the Maps page (DM Version). Then the right side is on the Campaign where I put a copy of the player's view of the map and then have the various character sheets up on tabs.
That said, I agree with you, my players' (and campaign NPC's) stat blocks should just be one click away like it is with the "monsters" (which are often module-included NPC's). My players would probably like the ability to right click and attack with an armed weapon as well, but they all have taken to two browser windows side-by-side as well, one for their map and another for their own character sheets. Having the iPad app compatible with both the maps and their character sheets at the same time would also be awesome, some have an iPad with the character sheet and a separate computer for the player map, for example. Maps isn't even available from the Beyond app yet... (feels like something to toss on that roadmap)
I was really looking forward to the handouts feature until it actually launched. It is nice in that you can splash a screen of the creature the team is facing, but only if the image was in the module and has a pre-made handout for it. That said, even some of the "handouts" that come with the Borderlands campaign are NOT included even if you own the kit, such as the Menu from the tavern.
There was a recent post about how the Maps Roadmap drifted (all those things were slated for delivery by end of year, but have now been delayed to ship when they are ready) and now they're doubling down to communicate better... That was Dec 10th, but the first real direct statements since about six months earlier. To be fair, the new reveals feature did drop the following week, so let's hope the momentum continues and we see feedback and improvements continue to delver. Post link: The Road Ahead: Join Our Journey to Improve the Maps VTT | Dungeons & Dragons
Thank you for this information. Looks promising to have a more transparent dev team and more frequent updates.