I am sure there are threads about this already but I was trying to get more thought out responses. I have been slowly turning my way to using DNDBeyond for mostly everything DnD related. My concern is at a table there is limited space and I have been looking at tablets for use at the table and different android or windows based tablets. Not a fan of apple products.
I was mainly curious what people use at their table for DNDBeyond and how well it works out for larger groups that use it and how well it works at your table for the game. I wanted to know what screen size or resolution most found comfortable to use at the table and how well DNDBeyond looked on varying devices. I know I see a lot of people mention Kindle Fire but I'd rather spend a bit more and have full android OS and not Amazon's loaded device.
Any suggestions people make would be appreciated and if you have screenshots or images to help show hohow it looks on the device i would appreciate it as well.
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I use it on my iPad 10.5” (as a player, not a DM) and am pretty pleased. I have the app running at same time so I can switch back and forth as needed. I use the app to search for things when people grab books to look up something and 75% of the time find it faster and then just hand it to them to review. I use it in landscape mode for a full view of my character sheet (my preference) or in vertical mode for different screen views of each page of character sheet. So much better than paper. Currently only person using a device so can’t speak to other products other than my iPhone which I don’t like as it’s too small (but will work in a pinch).
I use my Surface Go when I'm DMing. I use OneNote to organize all my DMing and my adventures but also have D&D Beyond up for when I want to look something up super quickly. I'm still playing around with it, but thus far has been going pretty decently.
I use a Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8", which works great imo. I have a case which props it up and use it in landscape, and I haven't had a problem in any of the campaigns I've played in.
I was looking into the Surface Go device but I saw many terrible reviews of the device. I currently own a Samsung phone but it's not large enough to view all the information I need at once. I would also like to use a keyboard for a tablet which is an easy bluetooth keyboard case I'm sure I can find for most devices.
I currently own a Samsung phone but it's not large enough to view all the information I need at once. I would also like to use a keyboard for a tablet which is an easy bluetooth keyboard case I'm sure I can find for most devices.
In case this was directed to me... The Samsung I mentioned is a tablet. The Tab A 8".
I currently own a Samsung phone but it's not large enough to view all the information I need at once. I would also like to use a keyboard for a tablet which is an easy bluetooth keyboard case I'm sure I can find for most devices.
In case this was directed to me... The Samsung I mentioned is a tablet. The Tab A 8".
Yeah, this was one model I was considering but spec was I wasn't sure if it could handle browser and other apps open at once. Even on my phone I have spells app, initiative trackers, and pdfs open all at once. My other concern is word processing and note taking and how well these devices could handle it. I've never purchased a tablet device for personal use like this before. I've only ever had laptops and usually the laptops I buy are too large to be sitting on a table playing DnD.
I was looking into the Surface Go device but I saw many terrible reviews of the device. I currently own a Samsung phone but it's not large enough to view all the information I need at once. I would also like to use a keyboard for a tablet which is an easy bluetooth keyboard case I'm sure I can find for most devices.
Dunno - for my purposes (which basically serves primarily as a D&D device) it's perfect for my needs. However, I do also have a computer and laptop I would use for anything more.
I use a Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8", which works great imo. I have a case which props it up and use it in landscape, and I haven't had a problem in any of the campaigns I've played in.
You said you don't like apple products so my input is probably pointless, but as someone who uses their tablet exclusively I figured I'd chime in. I use an Apple iPad Pro 9.7. I initially got it as a digital art tool, for the apple pencil and apps like Pro-create. It's my go-to sketchbook and I take it with me everywhere. It's slowly taken over my life as I also use it for work a lot, as well as art, and as an e-reader for both books and comics. The screen is crystal clear and amazing. Though I have a matte finish screen protector on it for the purposes of making the drawing experience better. I don't really see that it detracts from the screen any, though some people think it makes it look more grainy. I've got an apple pencil and a keyboard and I use both for D&D.
At my table I take up the least space, because I roll up to the game with just my tablet and a bag of dice. Unusually I prop my tablet up with the keyboard like a laptop so I can type my notes into DNDBeyond, and have my dice beside me. But on a couple occasions when space has been tight it's been easy for me to lean back and just hold the iPad (it's ridiculously light, which I think is one thing the iPad has over android/windows devices, they are I think generally thinner and lighter than their competitors, at least the ones I was considering). I was able to easily hold my ipad level in one hand and roll my dice on it's surface with the other, taking up zero table space. But again, that's rare.
I especially love it because during RP encounters and downtime when not in combat and actively needing my character sheet I can swap to an art app and sketch during the game. I am also usually quicker to find a rule or stat from DNDBeyond than my friends can find it reaching for a book (when I have the info needed, I haven't bought all the stuff available, just the players handbook and a couple alternate backgrounds/spells/etc from other books).
I would not trade my iPad for anything and once I got over the nostalgia/aesthetic of paper and pencil I dunno if I'll ever go back. A couple of my friends shake their head at me insisting they could never play without the feel of pencil and paper and flipping pages in a book. I get it, and I hesitated myself in trying to go digital, but now that I have I'm sold.
We have a mix around our table - the DM has a Fire tablet (not sure which one, two of the party use their mobiles, one uses the 10" version of the Samsung Tab A and I use Huawei Mediapad M5 10" tablet. My tablet (although only a very slightly bigger screen) has a higher resolution than the Tab A (and slightly more powerful) but the text display is bigger (good for my old eyes) and looks (in my opinion) better than the Tab A (The Tab A shows a lot more of the background, whilst the M5 just shows the character sheet, you can barely see the background).
I got the M5 in the Prime Day sale recently, so instead of the usual price of around £329, got it for £263. More expensive than the Tab A and doesn't have a 4G option (at least in the UK yet) despite having the hardware onboard. Note - weirdly, the M5 has two slightly different processors in its tablets - the 8" version has the Kirin 960 whilst the 10" has the 960s - slightly slower, but still very capable.
Note - the Tab A, like the iPads, uses a 4:3 aspect ratio, whereas the M5 is 16:10, as it is designed more for watching video than general usage. personally like it (I also have an iPad 2, however this is slow and painful to use at the table)
I was looking into Huawei Mediapad m5 devices yesterday but some friends of mine when all conspiracy theories on the manufacturer. They have an 8.4 inch model I think would suit me since it's right on 9 inch without take up more space. After work today my wife and I will be shopping around to see what options are available here to us. I just dont want to take up a lot of space or not have enough visual space on the tablet to see it either and squint all the time.
Anyone have an app layout on a screen that isnt a phone? I don't mind tabbing over to skills and whatever, but I find the mobile app on phone doesn't display enough info, or didnt allow me to tab around to my liking (on android, its frequent that the app returns to the default news feed or minimizes with the use of the 'back' navigation button, and there are dozens of places which don't have a way back to your character sheet in-app without using the phone's 'back arrow' navigation button.
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I am sure there are threads about this already but I was trying to get more thought out responses. I have been slowly turning my way to using DNDBeyond for mostly everything DnD related. My concern is at a table there is limited space and I have been looking at tablets for use at the table and different android or windows based tablets. Not a fan of apple products.
I was mainly curious what people use at their table for DNDBeyond and how well it works out for larger groups that use it and how well it works at your table for the game. I wanted to know what screen size or resolution most found comfortable to use at the table and how well DNDBeyond looked on varying devices. I know I see a lot of people mention Kindle Fire but I'd rather spend a bit more and have full android OS and not Amazon's loaded device.
Any suggestions people make would be appreciated and if you have screenshots or images to help show hohow it looks on the device i would appreciate it as well.
I use it on my iPad 10.5” (as a player, not a DM) and am pretty pleased. I have the app running at same time so I can switch back and forth as needed. I use the app to search for things when people grab books to look up something and 75% of the time find it faster and then just hand it to them to review. I use it in landscape mode for a full view of my character sheet (my preference) or in vertical mode for different screen views of each page of character sheet. So much better than paper. Currently only person using a device so can’t speak to other products other than my iPhone which I don’t like as it’s too small (but will work in a pinch).
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D&D Beyond StaffI use my Surface Go when I'm DMing. I use OneNote to organize all my DMing and my adventures but also have D&D Beyond up for when I want to look something up super quickly. I'm still playing around with it, but thus far has been going pretty decently.
I use a Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8", which works great imo. I have a case which props it up and use it in landscape, and I haven't had a problem in any of the campaigns I've played in.
When DMing I use my Chromebook, though.
I was looking into the Surface Go device but I saw many terrible reviews of the device. I currently own a Samsung phone but it's not large enough to view all the information I need at once. I would also like to use a keyboard for a tablet which is an easy bluetooth keyboard case I'm sure I can find for most devices.
In case this was directed to me... The Samsung I mentioned is a tablet. The Tab A 8".
Yeah, this was one model I was considering but spec was I wasn't sure if it could handle browser and other apps open at once. Even on my phone I have spells app, initiative trackers, and pdfs open all at once. My other concern is word processing and note taking and how well these devices could handle it. I've never purchased a tablet device for personal use like this before. I've only ever had laptops and usually the laptops I buy are too large to be sitting on a table playing DnD.
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D&D Beyond StaffDunno - for my purposes (which basically serves primarily as a D&D device) it's perfect for my needs. However, I do also have a computer and laptop I would use for anything more.
Exact same thing here, plus a smaller Tab E Lite.
You said you don't like apple products so my input is probably pointless, but as someone who uses their tablet exclusively I figured I'd chime in. I use an Apple iPad Pro 9.7. I initially got it as a digital art tool, for the apple pencil and apps like Pro-create. It's my go-to sketchbook and I take it with me everywhere. It's slowly taken over my life as I also use it for work a lot, as well as art, and as an e-reader for both books and comics. The screen is crystal clear and amazing. Though I have a matte finish screen protector on it for the purposes of making the drawing experience better. I don't really see that it detracts from the screen any, though some people think it makes it look more grainy. I've got an apple pencil and a keyboard and I use both for D&D.
At my table I take up the least space, because I roll up to the game with just my tablet and a bag of dice. Unusually I prop my tablet up with the keyboard like a laptop so I can type my notes into DNDBeyond, and have my dice beside me. But on a couple occasions when space has been tight it's been easy for me to lean back and just hold the iPad (it's ridiculously light, which I think is one thing the iPad has over android/windows devices, they are I think generally thinner and lighter than their competitors, at least the ones I was considering). I was able to easily hold my ipad level in one hand and roll my dice on it's surface with the other, taking up zero table space. But again, that's rare.
I especially love it because during RP encounters and downtime when not in combat and actively needing my character sheet I can swap to an art app and sketch during the game. I am also usually quicker to find a rule or stat from DNDBeyond than my friends can find it reaching for a book (when I have the info needed, I haven't bought all the stuff available, just the players handbook and a couple alternate backgrounds/spells/etc from other books).
I would not trade my iPad for anything and once I got over the nostalgia/aesthetic of paper and pencil I dunno if I'll ever go back. A couple of my friends shake their head at me insisting they could never play without the feel of pencil and paper and flipping pages in a book. I get it, and I hesitated myself in trying to go digital, but now that I have I'm sold.
We have a mix around our table - the DM has a Fire tablet (not sure which one, two of the party use their mobiles, one uses the 10" version of the Samsung Tab A and I use Huawei Mediapad M5 10" tablet. My tablet (although only a very slightly bigger screen) has a higher resolution than the Tab A (and slightly more powerful) but the text display is bigger (good for my old eyes) and looks (in my opinion) better than the Tab A (The Tab A shows a lot more of the background, whilst the M5 just shows the character sheet, you can barely see the background).
I got the M5 in the Prime Day sale recently, so instead of the usual price of around £329, got it for £263. More expensive than the Tab A and doesn't have a 4G option (at least in the UK yet) despite having the hardware onboard. Note - weirdly, the M5 has two slightly different processors in its tablets - the 8" version has the Kirin 960 whilst the 10" has the 960s - slightly slower, but still very capable.
Note - the Tab A, like the iPads, uses a 4:3 aspect ratio, whereas the M5 is 16:10, as it is designed more for watching video than general usage. personally like it (I also have an iPad 2, however this is slow and painful to use at the table)
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I was looking into Huawei Mediapad m5 devices yesterday but some friends of mine when all conspiracy theories on the manufacturer. They have an 8.4 inch model I think would suit me since it's right on 9 inch without take up more space. After work today my wife and I will be shopping around to see what options are available here to us. I just dont want to take up a lot of space or not have enough visual space on the tablet to see it either and squint all the time.
I did a mistake and asked some friends for input as well and they added chromebooks to the mix since they can install Android Apps now as well.
Anyone have an app layout on a screen that isnt a phone? I don't mind tabbing over to skills and whatever, but I find the mobile app on phone doesn't display enough info, or didnt allow me to tab around to my liking (on android, its frequent that the app returns to the default news feed or minimizes with the use of the 'back' navigation button, and there are dozens of places which don't have a way back to your character sheet in-app without using the phone's 'back arrow' navigation button.