I would like to be able to manage and save groups of encounters into subfolders or collections. This would enable me to organize and pull up various parts of adventures more easily.
I would like to be able to load all monsters needed for a specific encounter.
Clicking on any monster name or portrait will give me the full info of the monster from the book
I would like to be able to manage initiative and health of the monsters and order players in between on an overview screen.
I would like to see an abbreviated stat block of the monster on the overview screen.
I would like to be able to type out or pull up links to any loot the encounter may drop. I can then immediately say what the players may or may not find after they have defeated an encounter.
There have been a lot of good things mentioned so far. I really like mattswymer post he made and the ideas he presented. To add on to that, I would like to see individual encounter tabs similar to the DM campaign section. This way I could label each encounter and select which one I want to use. It would also be nice to have a section where we can make notes on the encounter, results of the encounter, and a loot section for rewards. This could include stealth notes for an ambush, traps, or perception for lookouts. It would also be nice to be able to link encounters to a current campaign (shows up under the campaign tab). I would also like to see an initiative tracker. I feel this would make combat flow a little quicker and allow me to keep track of an enemy or occurrence that doesn't happen until a couple of rounds have gone by.
I manage my campaigns and build my encounters in a custom wiki. I would like to be able to generate a URL to link into your Encounter builder and build the encounter. Nothing too complex, just to be able to send 3 Wrights and 2 Ghouls, for example. I can have my wiki automatically build any URL syntax you define.
This would be much more helpful than just creating Encounter93847393 as a hard piece of data.
Curious how one get's on board to test the alpha version of this. I read something about how hero and master tier subscribers would be given access, though I'm not sure how one goes about getting access to that.
Curious how one get's on board to test the alpha version of this. I read something about how hero and master tier subscribers would be given access, though I'm not sure how one goes about getting access to that.
When will this be available looks like its been a long endeaver and i can understand trying to integrate all the core books with a randomizer. it would help myself a lot its one of things im not the greatest at.
Ah: I'm sorry, I wasn't being clear. I have a hero tier subscription, I'm just not sure how to get access to the alpha test.
I was also as confused as you are. I asked the same question a couple of pages back. No worries!
It is not currently available even to those with subscriptions. No mention of a target date as far as I know. We would just have to wait until they formally release the Alpha version of the Encounter Builder.
The ability to not only track the Monsters HP but my PC's as well, in real time. As my players are using Beyond to track there info and they are already in my "Campaign" if the PC's HP was changed on my screen in real time of them changing it on there devices.
The ability to add Monster to the excising Initiative order for cases like a creature calling for more help and additional help arriving.
the ability push a image out to my players as a group or as an individual PC.
If they were marked as an "active player" in the campaign for that encounter you send them info or images directly and view there info in the encounter section rather than just back and fourth between players web pages.
I'm assuming things such as tracking HP, distances traveled, amount and types of monsters, etc. are already being considered in development. Trying to think outside the box, I'd like to see the following:
Support for obstacles, which may include blocking vision, preventing attacks that rely on line of sight, and preventing players (or the DM) from moving a token onto that square. Maybe allow it to be climbable?
Support for creatures that are flying/hovering.
The ability to display a spoiler-free version of the encounter, maybe through a shareable link that can be displayed on any device, for the players to view. This would be great to use on a TV or projector. (Bonus: wireless casting support for things like Chromecast, FireStick, etc.)
Integration with purchased adventures (such as Waterdeep or Tomb of Annihilation), with the ability to import maps, locations, and NPCs. This would be extremely useful for quick-starting adventurers!
And, a few things that would just be fun:
Ambient sound control panel. Similar to (or maybe integrated with) https://tabletopaudio.com/. This would be a great tool for creating ambience.
Music integration, possibly with external services such as Spotify or YouTube.
Attack/Spell effects! I know this is would be an enormous undertaking, but particle effects and the sort would sure add some flair to the combat! Similar to how Hearthstone applies effects on-top of the cards.
Quick question as well: If a player in my campaign is subscribed to the Master Subscription plan and has enabled content sharing, will I be able to take advantage of the alpha for our campaign? We would all love to try out the encounter alpha and could provide detailed feedback.
Maybe a dumb question but, is the intent for Encounter Bldr to include a visual map shared out to all players during the encounter?
If not, I’d like to officially list that as a wishlist feature.
And I feel like it wouldn’t really need to be over-engineered to be effective... I think just allowing the DM to upload a static image as the bg, and then layering player/monster tokens on top would be quick to implement and enrich the gameplay tremendously. You could just give the DM drag n drop control of the tokens, and let him click an “update map” btn to refresh on all the players’ screens, for ex.
i mean, from there you can make a lot of obvious enhancements (area of effect visuals, distance calculation, collision detection, etc) but, to me just a simple, static, spatial visual gets us 90% of the way there already.
I don't think this is quite what you're expecting. This is less of a Roll20 style map system and more of an encounter planner that will enable GM's to plan out the logistics of combat.
A map system is on the cards eventually; in the short term (although short is relative here) they have interactive adventure maps planned and in the longer term they have a virtual tabletop. I think that an adventure map is actually more of an adventure planning tool like a brainstorming board instead of a battlemap but I could of course be wrong.
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It's not really clear whether we're discussing a tool for planning encounters or running them. Though I see great recommendations for both, I would see them as separate tools, with room for connection/linking between them.
For planning an encounter, a la XP budgets, I agree with everything mattswymer posted (which many others echoed.)
For directing an encounter, there is a lot of overlap in all these good suggestions, but what I especially want to second (or thirty-second) is the idea of having a separate "viewing screen" for the GM to display temporary stuff to players.
Such a tool would be awesome for campaigns even if not tied to initiative/combat management. I would use the Abyss out of a kind of white-board type space where I could: -- display a monster or NPC image to players (with the option to update from the initiative counting tool) -- stylus or finger-draw a quick and dirty room layout when needed (my current group plays mostly Theater of the Mind style combat)
(I guess this last suggestion speaks to a feature that might be entirely separate from an Encounter Building tool, but it would dovetail so nicely)
Right now, for most encounters in my home game and AL League play, I take screen shots of the various monster stat blocks that the published adventure requires, and then compile those by encounter in Word, and then print those out for quick reference.
What I would like to do is just be able to build these encounter groups in Beyond and have a running list of encounters that are sorted by names like "Mad Mage, Floor 1, Area 4" and so on, so that I can just click on a tab and have all of the monsters I loaded into that encounter populate on one screen for easy viewing.
This is what I usually do, too, putting similar monsters all on one page, with a small empty table/grid below each stat block -- one row per monster of that type, 1 column per HP. I tick off the boxes as enemies take damage, so I can see the health of the group at a glance. If the encounter proves too easy, I pencil in an extra row or two for each appropriate monster.
What would be really interesting that's I've been thinking about, and something I don't think has been done before is to auto generate damage against PCs.
For example, assuming you can input your players and their stats into the encounter, you could select which attack you want your monster to make and against who. It will then auto roll + modifier, and if it hits, take the average damage away from the player.
This would be really helpful against something like a Marilith, who has 7 attacks for 2d8 + 4 damage.
So, with one click of a button the encounter builder could be like:
Marilith attacks PC 1 with 7 longsword attacks - 7d20 + 9
That's totally what it is. Surprising how much overlap there was that I stopped looking.
Attack: [roll]1d20+[AMOD][/ roll]
Damage: [roll]if([roll:-1:fumble],=1,0,if([roll:-1],<[TARGET],0,if([roll:-1:critical],=1,2{[DAMAGE]}.expand(),[DAMAGE])+[DMOD]))[/ roll]
This would enable me to organize and pull up various parts of adventures more easily.
I can then immediately say what the players may or may not find after they have defeated an encounter.
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There have been a lot of good things mentioned so far. I really like mattswymer post he made and the ideas he presented. To add on to that, I would like to see individual encounter tabs similar to the DM campaign section. This way I could label each encounter and select which one I want to use. It would also be nice to have a section where we can make notes on the encounter, results of the encounter, and a loot section for rewards. This could include stealth notes for an ambush, traps, or perception for lookouts. It would also be nice to be able to link encounters to a current campaign (shows up under the campaign tab). I would also like to see an initiative tracker. I feel this would make combat flow a little quicker and allow me to keep track of an enemy or occurrence that doesn't happen until a couple of rounds have gone by.
I manage my campaigns and build my encounters in a custom wiki. I would like to be able to generate a URL to link into your Encounter builder and build the encounter. Nothing too complex, just to be able to send 3 Wrights and 2 Ghouls, for example. I can have my wiki automatically build any URL syntax you define.
This would be much more helpful than just creating Encounter93847393 as a hard piece of data.
Legendary Bundle, Master Tier Subscriber.
Curious how one get's on board to test the alpha version of this. I read something about how hero and master tier subscribers would be given access, though I'm not sure how one goes about getting access to that.
Subscriptions
does anyone know when the alpha will launch? I'm a master tier and can't wait to try this out
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When will this be available looks like its been a long endeaver and i can understand trying to integrate all the core books with a randomizer. it would help myself a lot its one of things im not the greatest at.
Ah: I'm sorry, I wasn't being clear. I have a hero tier subscription, I'm just not sure how to get access to the alpha test.
I was also as confused as you are. I asked the same question a couple of pages back. No worries!
It is not currently available even to those with subscriptions. No mention of a target date as far as I know. We would just have to wait until they formally release the Alpha version of the Encounter Builder.
Things I would like for encounters are:
I'm assuming things such as tracking HP, distances traveled, amount and types of monsters, etc. are already being considered in development. Trying to think outside the box, I'd like to see the following:
And, a few things that would just be fun:
Quick question as well: If a player in my campaign is subscribed to the Master Subscription plan and has enabled content sharing, will I be able to take advantage of the alpha for our campaign? We would all love to try out the encounter alpha and could provide detailed feedback.
Thanks for everything you guys do!
Maybe a dumb question but, is the intent for Encounter Bldr to include a visual map shared out to all players during the encounter?
If not, I’d like to officially list that as a wishlist feature.
And I feel like it wouldn’t really need to be over-engineered to be effective... I think just allowing the DM to upload a static image as the bg, and then layering player/monster tokens on top would be quick to implement and enrich the gameplay tremendously. You could just give the DM drag n drop control of the tokens, and let him click an “update map” btn to refresh on all the players’ screens, for ex.
i mean, from there you can make a lot of obvious enhancements (area of effect visuals, distance calculation, collision detection, etc) but, to me just a simple, static, spatial visual gets us 90% of the way there already.
I don't think this is quite what you're expecting. This is less of a Roll20 style map system and more of an encounter planner that will enable GM's to plan out the logistics of combat.
A map system is on the cards eventually; in the short term (although short is relative here) they have interactive adventure maps planned and in the longer term they have a virtual tabletop. I think that an adventure map is actually more of an adventure planning tool like a brainstorming board instead of a battlemap but I could of course be wrong.
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I figured. But it couldn't hurt to ask =)
@dev team: Are there any comps / mockups for this feature that might be possible to share with the community for feedback?
It's not really clear whether we're discussing a tool for planning encounters or running them.
Though I see great recommendations for both, I would see them as separate tools, with room for connection/linking between them.
For planning an encounter, a la XP budgets, I agree with everything mattswymer posted (which many others echoed.)
For directing an encounter, there is a lot of overlap in all these good suggestions, but what I especially want to second (or thirty-second) is the idea of having a separate "viewing screen" for the GM to display temporary stuff to players.
Such a tool would be awesome for campaigns even if not tied to initiative/combat management.
I would use the Abyss out of a kind of white-board type space where I could:
-- display a monster or NPC image to players (with the option to update from the initiative counting tool)
-- stylus or finger-draw a quick and dirty room layout when needed (my current group plays mostly Theater of the Mind style combat)
(I guess this last suggestion speaks to a feature that might be entirely separate from an Encounter Building tool, but it would dovetail so nicely)
That's actually a really cool tool -- well done!
I especially like your "build combat in waves" options.
(Don't take offense if I say I hope DnDBeyond does something better)
This is what I usually do, too, putting similar monsters all on one page, with a small empty table/grid below each stat block -- one row per monster of that type, 1 column per HP.
I tick off the boxes as enemies take damage, so I can see the health of the group at a glance.
If the encounter proves too easy, I pencil in an extra row or two for each appropriate monster.
What would be really interesting that's I've been thinking about, and something I don't think has been done before is to auto generate damage against PCs.
For example, assuming you can input your players and their stats into the encounter, you could select which attack you want your monster to make and against who. It will then auto roll + modifier, and if it hits, take the average damage away from the player.
This would be really helpful against something like a Marilith, who has 7 attacks for 2d8 + 4 damage.
So, with one click of a button the encounter builder could be like:
Marilith attacks PC 1 with 7 longsword attacks - 7d20 + 9
PC1 has an AC of 17 - 5 of them hit.
5x15 = 75
Deduct 75 hp from PC 1
A mix between these tools
https://www.improved-initiative.com/e/
and
http://tools.goblinist.com/5enc
would been nice.