You also say that "6 months I've been using this service they haven't even begun to work on something as simple as an initiative tracker, or an encounter builder.", how can you be sure of this? Couldn't they be in the research and ideation process since a while, and did not tell us (very possible scenario)? Just because they are not telling us exactly what they are working at any given moment doesn't mean that they are only and exclusively focus on the things that they do tell us they are actively working on.
I believe the best way to make the process quicker (as limited as our involvement might seem) is to constructively let the team know what we would like to have, not by bashing the efforts and work they are doing, but by presenting what we think would make for a good tool or update we feel is needed, giving them ideas and helping them better define what the community wants.
I don't know about you, but in every development livestream, and in several comments and forum posts I've seen from the team, they've had to address people's constant requests for an improved campaign tracker. It's clear that the team knows that the current "campaign management tools" are unacceptable, and have made it clear to us in several ways that they see it as a "later on down the road" kind of problem. In a recent developer livestream, it was even clearly said that they didn't even know what kind of campaign management tools would be helpful to DMs
so here we go, some things that would greatly benefit me (and I assume most other DMs on the site)
An initiative tracker that allows me to rank my players and the monsters they're facing in initiative order
The ability to view important stats such as current HP, Saves, and resistances/immunities, as well as monster abilities from the initiative tracker
The ability to group sets of monsters together into encounters, which can be saved for later use, and brought up in the initiative tracker
The ability to view the total experience value of the group of monsters, and to compare it to the total levels of the party, to determine the difficulty rating of the encounter
these are all utilities that free online websites such as kobold fight club allow me to do, but which would be greatly improved by DDBs compendium. It seems like this is a pretty common sense feature to include, and I hope something like this is already in the minds of the developers.
I would be happy with the ability to tag a creature (or creatures) to separate page as an encounter page. And maybe be able to subtract h.p. from their base would be nice. I hate needing to have several windows opened up to run an encounter along with a dry erase board for initiative tracking and h.p. upkeep and resolution.
I'm overall pretty happy with the product, but for people to point out that we are "salty" when updates have been posted in the dev notes is a little tone deaf. Blacklisting / whitelisting has been in the dev notes for 9 months...
Seeing how this is a paid product / freemium it should be more clear on the exact dates or priority of updates. And Like I said from a DM management point of view one of the selling points is sharing content. So waiting 8 months for what should have been a day 1 feature is a little silly.
You also say that "6 months I've been using this service they haven't even begun to work on something as simple as an initiative tracker, or an encounter builder.", how can you be sure of this? Couldn't they be in the research and ideation process since a while, and did not tell us (very possible scenario)? Just because they are not telling us exactly what they are working at any given moment doesn't mean that they are only and exclusively focus on the things that they do tell us they are actively working on.
I believe the best way to make the process quicker (as limited as our involvement might seem) is to constructively let the team know what we would like to have, not by bashing the efforts and work they are doing, but by presenting what we think would make for a good tool or update we feel is needed, giving them ideas and helping them better define what the community wants.
I don't know about you, but in every development livestream, and in several comments and forum posts I've seen from the team, they've had to address people's constant requests for an improved campaign tracker. It's clear that the team knows that the current "campaign management tools" are unacceptable, and have made it clear to us in several ways that they see it as a "later on down the road" kind of problem. In a recent developer livestream, it was even clearly said that they didn't even know what kind of campaign management tools would be helpful to DMs
so here we go, some things that would greatly benefit me (and I assume most other DMs on the site)
An initiative tracker that allows me to rank my players and the monsters they're facing in initiative order
The ability to view important stats such as current HP, Saves, and resistances/immunities, as well as monster abilities from the initiative tracker
The ability to group sets of monsters together into encounters, which can be saved for later use, and brought up in the initiative tracker
The ability to view the total experience value of the group of monsters, and to compare it to the total levels of the party, to determine the difficulty rating of the encounter
these are all utilities that free online websites such as kobold fight club allow me to do, but which would be greatly improved by DDBs compendium. It seems like this is a pretty common sense feature to include, and I hope something like this is already in the minds of the developers.
I think this is an issue of seeing a large(ish) number of people who are sharing the same complaints/critiques you have and assuming that equates to most. I don't think anyone here thinks that there aren't people who are unhappy or disagree with the prioritization. I would even go so far as to say that there are relatively few people who outright dismiss the validity of those viewpoints.
The missing piece of information is that the majority of people who provided input on what they wanted out of DDB are getting exactly (or very close to exactly) what they asked for in terms of prioritization. This in no way delegitimizes the views of those who disagree. It does, however, come across a bit less-than-helpful to aggressively argue a point that essentially boils down to, "You have a bad business model because you cater to the majority of your users instead of me."
Based on your join date, you were not part of the forums when a lot of discussion happened in relation to campaign management. A big theme that became apparent in those discussions was that there was no universally accepted definition of what, exactly, constitutes campaign management. It almost seemed like there were twice as many definitions as there were people weighing in on the conversation. I say all this to say that, what seemed at first like a fairly simple concept, turned out to be ridiculously complex with a lot of disagreement over what should or should not be included. What seemed brazenly obvious to one person was like an alien language to another. The DDB staff has combed through all of this and come up with a plan that reflects the wants and desires of the largest number of people possible. You don't have to like the direction they are going, but it would be nice to at least respect the work that's been done and approach criticisms from a perspective of actually believing that DDB wants what is best for everyone.
I'm overall pretty happy with the product, but for people to point out that we are "salty" when updates have been posted in the dev notes is a little tone deaf. Blacklisting / whitelisting has been in the dev notes for 9 months...
Seeing how this is a paid product / freemium it should be more clear on the exact dates or priority of updates. And Like I said from a DM management point of view one of the selling points is sharing content. So waiting 8 months for what should have been a day 1 feature is a little silly.
As I alluded to above, an "obvious" day 1 feature for you is not necessarily an "obvious" day 1 feature for everyone else. These forums have gone back and forth pretty much since the get-go over what should and shouldn't be included. As a DM, I feel extremely happy with what I currently have to work with as far as what DDB offers for campaign management. I tend to be a bit more minimalist in my approach, though. A few spoiler boxes here, a simple table there, and I'm good to go. Would other features be nice? Sure! I'd probably even use most of the suggested additions at least a bit in my future campaigns. Would I use blacklisting/whitelisting over all or nothing, though? Probably not. That seems like an unnecessary level of granularity, and I'd rather the DDB team spend there time elsewhere. Will I be upset if DDB releases blacklisting/whitelisting tomorrow? No.
I think the thing that's really "silly" here is how upset people are that the features people asked for the most are the features DDB is prioritizing. I am sorry that some people have to wait longer for DDB to be the ideal toolset they have been wanting. Unfortunately, with as many different opinions as there are on which way to go, I think giving the largest number of people what they want first is the best business model. Since that's the business model that will keep them around long enough to (hopefully) have something for everyone, I'd much rather them do that than customize DDB for just my preferences.
Well once again... the dm management was strictly designed around sharing content. On release that was it's #1 intention (as far as dm management went). Obviously this is just a small portion of the overall site and service. However if the number one purpose of of your dm management is to share content, then it SHOULD have more sharing options that yes or no...
I think DND Beyond is doing a great job overall, but I don't think it's unjustified to ask about features that have been in the dev notes for 3/4 of a year....
I would like the ability to set a list of banned races for my campaign, so when people crate a character attached to the campaign, they cannot choose those races.
This has been repeatedly said to be coming. It's the next update.
Quote from LukeS7>>As a DM, I understand your frustration (especially having been here since the beta); but as a software developer myself, I understand that these things can take time and that there is data that is guiding their decisions. In the mean-time, a wet-erase notepad and pen have sufficed for encounter tracking for me, though I look forward to the eventual release of more DM tools.
Seconded. I'd also love to see some DM tools released, but having well-organised players is huge boon, and the character builder/sheet really helps with that. Also, just having access to a well-maintained compendium has improved my game planning. My adventure notes for each game include a bunch of links to D&D Beyond. For each encounter, I have all the links to each monster, trap, treasure item and/or NPC character sheet ready to click as I need them during the game.
Not having the game stopped every 30 seconds to look up what the exact phrasing of abilities and spells are is the best thing to ever happen to me as either a player or a DM.
Well once again... the dm management was strictly designed around sharing content. On release that was it's #1 intention (as far as dm management went). Obviously this is just a small portion of the overall site and service. However if the number one purpose of of your dm management is to share content, then it SHOULD have more sharing options that yes or no...
I think DND Beyond is doing a great job overall, but I don't think it's unjustified to ask about features that have been in the dev notes for 3/4 of a year....
I don't think it's unjustified to ask about it at all. I 100% encourage everyone to ask about any features, whether they've been in dev notes from day 1 or no one has ever asked about them before or anywhere in between. Asking about them isn't the issue. The issue is when people say that DDB is doing a bad job because {feature I want} hasn't been implemented.
DM management is designed around sharing content. You can currently share content. Goal met. Anything beyond what currently exists (in regards to content sharing) is technically unnecessary.
Again, I'm not saying the want list of anyone is invalid. You want what you want. Perfectly valid. I don't have to agree with it. I could think it's the stupidest idea to have ever been thought. Doesn't matter. It's still something you want, so it's a valid desire. More people, however, wanted DDB to go in the direction they're going. The sound business decision is to continue going down that path. Does that mean some people will have to wait longer to get what they want? Sadly, yes. That's just an unfortunate reality of what happens when a large group of people want different things. Someone isn't going to get what they want. The good news is that, if DDB can stay in operation long enough (all signs point to yes), even the people who aren't going to get what they want right now will get what they want at some point.
Keep offering feedback and constructive criticism. Keep sharing what you want and why you want it. Doing so will help shape DDB into a toolset that will benefit any and all people who choose to use it. All I ask is that we do so without hostility. The more civil the forums are, the more likely people will be willing to share their hopes of what DDB could be. Who knows. Someone who is afraid their ideas might be shot down might come up with the most revolutionary, amazing use for DDB that levels up gaming for everyone.
I just hope that since they realised what we been saying since last year... that people aren't on their cells when they look at DDB. i just hope they will make a windows version of their app for those on windows tablet or laptop who still wishes to use the thing offline.
when it comes to DM campaign management.... i really just require a place to put my files and manage them. much like how they have those adventures setup. how about we get the opportunity to create our own aventures like those and set them up. gve me that and the rest will be ok with me.
for me... 3 rich text boxes aren't enough. feels to me like they are boxes of synopsys and noting else.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM of two gaming groups. Likes to create stuff. Check out my homebrew --> Monsters --> Magical Items --> Races --> Subclasses If you like --> Upvote, If you wanna comment --> Comment
Play by Post Games --> One Shot Adventure - House of Artwood (DM) (Completed)
Can't wait for Campaign Management. However, I'm totally ok if they take building blocks approach before they stitch things together. Encounter and Monster builder will be first steps (depending on the definition used to describe Campaign Management as it's still quite loosey goosey). For me file management isn't a big issue. There are providers for that (OneNote, Google Drive, OneDrive etc). I mean I'm not sure I would pay for storage on DnDBeyond for content I create for my private campaigns. Perhaps integration with those types of products for that. What is more important for me is linking those files/documents to the right things at the right times within a campaign.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Want to see Virtual Table Top like no other before it built within DnDBeyond.com? Upvote the feature request. It's 2nd highest voted so far:
NOTE: You will need to setup a zendesk account (which is not your DnDBeyond.com account, the team uses this 3rd party software). It's easy to do and your votes are needed!
Envaris... If you see it that way then roll20 fg and like 5 other websites already do what you are asking. So why bother making anything then ?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM of two gaming groups. Likes to create stuff. Check out my homebrew --> Monsters --> Magical Items --> Races --> Subclasses If you like --> Upvote, If you wanna comment --> Comment
Play by Post Games --> One Shot Adventure - House of Artwood (DM) (Completed)
I just hope that since they realised what we been saying since last year... that people aren't on their cells when they look at DDB. i just hope they will make a windows version of their app for those on windows tablet or laptop who still wishes to use the thing offline
Lol, don't hold your breath. Windows app isn't even on the roadmap!
The integration of D&D beyond's database into an encounter builder is something that I'm excited for.
D&D beyond has already all-but killed free online character builders like Orcpub who were in essence giving out pirated content, and created an inexpensive way to recreate that utility in a legal and user friendly way. There's nothing wrong with blizzard protecting their content by C&Ding websites that offer it for free, but at some point they had to realize that these websites only existed because it was a service that they were not providing. In the days of 4th edition, Wizards of the Coast had a paid subscription service that allowed you access to a character builder and compendium that contained most, if not all, of the abilities, magic items, races, and classes that they had printed. When 5th edition released I had hoped that something similar would one day be created for 5th edition. D&D beyond is the clear answer that I was looking for, but until it was launched, I was happy using sites like Orcpub, that provided the same basic utility for free. I wasn't sad when Orcpub was forced to remove non-srd content, since at the same time a wizards approved, legal way of accessing the same service was being launched.
I just want to see that same trend happen with encounter builders. As of now we're stuck in a middle ground, where the free online encounter builders are getting C&Dd if they offer non-srd content, but no official method of using an encounter builder with that content currently exists.
I've been one of the people arguing for campaign manager being for campaigns (with notes, world data, etc.) rather than encounters (initiative tracker, monster stats, etc.). I've changed my mind. D&D Beyond is amazing for all the nuts and bolts of D&D. But I've recently started using World Anvil to track the other stuff and it does a great job at that (and is... not great at the stuff D&DB does). So I say - let each service do what it does best. And D&DB is the best for keeping track of characters and stats.
The integration of D&D beyond's database into an encounter builder is something that I'm excited for.
Me too.
Whilst I am not allowed to reveal future plans that have been shared with me by staff (because things can change and it's not fair to discuss features that may not happen), the whole area of encounter building is something I find fascinating and the future of it in D&D Beyond is going to be amazing & awesome.
Umm, so, yeah... you know how there's a way to get your deleted homebrew back? I just had a great idea! There should be a way to undelete campaigns as well!
Not that I would need such a feature, because, umm, I'm just, I'm asking for a friend, see?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
I don't know about you, but in every development livestream, and in several comments and forum posts I've seen from the team, they've had to address people's constant requests for an improved campaign tracker. It's clear that the team knows that the current "campaign management tools" are unacceptable, and have made it clear to us in several ways that they see it as a "later on down the road" kind of problem. In a recent developer livestream, it was even clearly said that they didn't even know what kind of campaign management tools would be helpful to DMs
so here we go, some things that would greatly benefit me (and I assume most other DMs on the site)
these are all utilities that free online websites such as kobold fight club allow me to do, but which would be greatly improved by DDBs compendium. It seems like this is a pretty common sense feature to include, and I hope something like this is already in the minds of the developers.
I would be happy with the ability to tag a creature (or creatures) to separate page as an encounter page. And maybe be able to subtract h.p. from their base would be nice. I hate needing to have several windows opened up to run an encounter along with a dry erase board for initiative tracking and h.p. upkeep and resolution.
I'm overall pretty happy with the product, but for people to point out that we are "salty" when updates have been posted in the dev notes is a little tone deaf. Blacklisting / whitelisting has been in the dev notes for 9 months...
Seeing how this is a paid product / freemium it should be more clear on the exact dates or priority of updates. And Like I said from a DM management point of view one of the selling points is sharing content. So waiting 8 months for what should have been a day 1 feature is a little silly.
I think this is an issue of seeing a large(ish) number of people who are sharing the same complaints/critiques you have and assuming that equates to most. I don't think anyone here thinks that there aren't people who are unhappy or disagree with the prioritization. I would even go so far as to say that there are relatively few people who outright dismiss the validity of those viewpoints.
The missing piece of information is that the majority of people who provided input on what they wanted out of DDB are getting exactly (or very close to exactly) what they asked for in terms of prioritization. This in no way delegitimizes the views of those who disagree. It does, however, come across a bit less-than-helpful to aggressively argue a point that essentially boils down to, "You have a bad business model because you cater to the majority of your users instead of me."
Based on your join date, you were not part of the forums when a lot of discussion happened in relation to campaign management. A big theme that became apparent in those discussions was that there was no universally accepted definition of what, exactly, constitutes campaign management. It almost seemed like there were twice as many definitions as there were people weighing in on the conversation. I say all this to say that, what seemed at first like a fairly simple concept, turned out to be ridiculously complex with a lot of disagreement over what should or should not be included. What seemed brazenly obvious to one person was like an alien language to another. The DDB staff has combed through all of this and come up with a plan that reflects the wants and desires of the largest number of people possible. You don't have to like the direction they are going, but it would be nice to at least respect the work that's been done and approach criticisms from a perspective of actually believing that DDB wants what is best for everyone.
As I alluded to above, an "obvious" day 1 feature for you is not necessarily an "obvious" day 1 feature for everyone else. These forums have gone back and forth pretty much since the get-go over what should and shouldn't be included. As a DM, I feel extremely happy with what I currently have to work with as far as what DDB offers for campaign management. I tend to be a bit more minimalist in my approach, though. A few spoiler boxes here, a simple table there, and I'm good to go. Would other features be nice? Sure! I'd probably even use most of the suggested additions at least a bit in my future campaigns. Would I use blacklisting/whitelisting over all or nothing, though? Probably not. That seems like an unnecessary level of granularity, and I'd rather the DDB team spend there time elsewhere. Will I be upset if DDB releases blacklisting/whitelisting tomorrow? No.
I think the thing that's really "silly" here is how upset people are that the features people asked for the most are the features DDB is prioritizing. I am sorry that some people have to wait longer for DDB to be the ideal toolset they have been wanting. Unfortunately, with as many different opinions as there are on which way to go, I think giving the largest number of people what they want first is the best business model. Since that's the business model that will keep them around long enough to (hopefully) have something for everyone, I'd much rather them do that than customize DDB for just my preferences.
Well once again... the dm management was strictly designed around sharing content. On release that was it's #1 intention (as far as dm management went). Obviously this is just a small portion of the overall site and service. However if the number one purpose of of your dm management is to share content, then it SHOULD have more sharing options that yes or no...
I think DND Beyond is doing a great job overall, but I don't think it's unjustified to ask about features that have been in the dev notes for 3/4 of a year....
This has been repeatedly said to be coming. It's the next update.
Not having the game stopped every 30 seconds to look up what the exact phrasing of abilities and spells are is the best thing to ever happen to me as either a player or a DM.
I don't think it's unjustified to ask about it at all. I 100% encourage everyone to ask about any features, whether they've been in dev notes from day 1 or no one has ever asked about them before or anywhere in between. Asking about them isn't the issue. The issue is when people say that DDB is doing a bad job because {feature I want} hasn't been implemented.
DM management is designed around sharing content. You can currently share content. Goal met. Anything beyond what currently exists (in regards to content sharing) is technically unnecessary.
Again, I'm not saying the want list of anyone is invalid. You want what you want. Perfectly valid. I don't have to agree with it. I could think it's the stupidest idea to have ever been thought. Doesn't matter. It's still something you want, so it's a valid desire. More people, however, wanted DDB to go in the direction they're going. The sound business decision is to continue going down that path. Does that mean some people will have to wait longer to get what they want? Sadly, yes. That's just an unfortunate reality of what happens when a large group of people want different things. Someone isn't going to get what they want. The good news is that, if DDB can stay in operation long enough (all signs point to yes), even the people who aren't going to get what they want right now will get what they want at some point.
Keep offering feedback and constructive criticism. Keep sharing what you want and why you want it. Doing so will help shape DDB into a toolset that will benefit any and all people who choose to use it. All I ask is that we do so without hostility. The more civil the forums are, the more likely people will be willing to share their hopes of what DDB could be. Who knows. Someone who is afraid their ideas might be shot down might come up with the most revolutionary, amazing use for DDB that levels up gaming for everyone.
I just hope that since they realised what we been saying since last year... that people aren't on their cells when they look at DDB. i just hope they will make a windows version of their app for those on windows tablet or laptop who still wishes to use the thing offline.
when it comes to DM campaign management....
i really just require a place to put my files and manage them. much like how they have those adventures setup. how about we get the opportunity to create our own aventures like those and set them up. gve me that and the rest will be ok with me.
for me... 3 rich text boxes aren't enough. feels to me like they are boxes of synopsys and noting else.
DM of two gaming groups.
Likes to create stuff.
Check out my homebrew --> Monsters --> Magical Items --> Races --> Subclasses
If you like --> Upvote, If you wanna comment --> Comment
Play by Post Games
--> One Shot Adventure - House of Artwood (DM) (Completed)
Can't wait for Campaign Management. However, I'm totally ok if they take building blocks approach before they stitch things together. Encounter and Monster builder will be first steps (depending on the definition used to describe Campaign Management as it's still quite loosey goosey). For me file management isn't a big issue. There are providers for that (OneNote, Google Drive, OneDrive etc). I mean I'm not sure I would pay for storage on DnDBeyond for content I create for my private campaigns. Perhaps integration with those types of products for that. What is more important for me is linking those files/documents to the right things at the right times within a campaign.
Want to see Virtual Table Top like no other before it built within DnDBeyond.com? Upvote the feature request. It's 2nd highest voted so far:
https://dndbeyond.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/115008597088-Virtual-Tabletop-Gameboard
NOTE: You will need to setup a zendesk account (which is not your DnDBeyond.com account, the team uses this 3rd party software). It's easy to do and your votes are needed!
Envaris... If you see it that way then roll20 fg and like 5 other websites already do what you are asking. So why bother making anything then ?
DM of two gaming groups.
Likes to create stuff.
Check out my homebrew --> Monsters --> Magical Items --> Races --> Subclasses
If you like --> Upvote, If you wanna comment --> Comment
Play by Post Games
--> One Shot Adventure - House of Artwood (DM) (Completed)
Lol, don't hold your breath. Windows app isn't even on the roadmap!
Being able to use the desktop without WiFi is top on my list. That would be useful for me to manage my campaign.
--> Been playing D&D since 1987. - - - - My Blog: Children of the Ampersand - - - - Storyteller For Hire (DuBois, PA) - - - - My Stuff at DM's Guild - - - ->
Can't speak for Envaris, but just off the top of my head:
The integration of D&D beyond's database into an encounter builder is something that I'm excited for.
D&D beyond has already all-but killed free online character builders like Orcpub who were in essence giving out pirated content, and created an inexpensive way to recreate that utility in a legal and user friendly way. There's nothing wrong with blizzard protecting their content by C&Ding websites that offer it for free, but at some point they had to realize that these websites only existed because it was a service that they were not providing. In the days of 4th edition, Wizards of the Coast had a paid subscription service that allowed you access to a character builder and compendium that contained most, if not all, of the abilities, magic items, races, and classes that they had printed. When 5th edition released I had hoped that something similar would one day be created for 5th edition. D&D beyond is the clear answer that I was looking for, but until it was launched, I was happy using sites like Orcpub, that provided the same basic utility for free. I wasn't sad when Orcpub was forced to remove non-srd content, since at the same time a wizards approved, legal way of accessing the same service was being launched.
I just want to see that same trend happen with encounter builders. As of now we're stuck in a middle ground, where the free online encounter builders are getting C&Dd if they offer non-srd content, but no official method of using an encounter builder with that content currently exists.
I would greatly appreciate the ability to transfer the DM role to one of my players for One-Shots and the like.
I've been one of the people arguing for campaign manager being for campaigns (with notes, world data, etc.) rather than encounters (initiative tracker, monster stats, etc.). I've changed my mind. D&D Beyond is amazing for all the nuts and bolts of D&D. But I've recently started using World Anvil to track the other stuff and it does a great job at that (and is... not great at the stuff D&DB does). So I say - let each service do what it does best. And D&DB is the best for keeping track of characters and stats.
Me too.
Whilst I am not allowed to reveal future plans that have been shared with me by staff (because things can change and it's not fair to discuss features that may not happen), the whole area of encounter building is something I find fascinating and the future of it in D&D Beyond is going to be amazing & awesome.
Pun-loving nerd | She/Her/Hers | Profile art by Becca Golins
If you need help with homebrew, please post on the homebrew forums, where multiple staff and moderators can read your post and help you!
"We got this, no problem! I'll take the twenty on the left - you guys handle the one on the right!"🔊
Umm, so, yeah... you know how there's a way to get your deleted homebrew back? I just had a great idea! There should be a way to undelete campaigns as well!
Not that I would need such a feature, because, umm, I'm just, I'm asking for a friend, see?
"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
― Oscar Wilde.
Well then in 2020 when they finally get to releasing something, I hope it meets expectations.