I believe DnD beyond to be the best system for playing DnD. However, I believe the limitations of character sheet manipulation and homebrew to be disappointing at best and frustrating at worst. The base character sheet system is built to facilitate casual play perfectly, but if you want to do certain things it can be cumbersome. Examples of the limitations include:
Initiative and proficiency can't be customized. As an epic-level player, being able to customize these foundational elements would be helpful. Almost every other element of the character sheet can be overridden, why not initiative and proficiency?
Custom non-magic weapons and armor can't be created. Being able to create a custom armor that affects the AC calculation, and to create weapons with custom damage die would be great. There should be the ability to create non-magic items that can be equipt, be affected by stats, and have custom proficiency for them.
Custom items can't be given tags. Tags are a great way of showing the use of items. If over the course of a long campaign, the DM is giving non-magic items with unique names and uses, being able to tag custom items would be super helpful!
Saving throw and ability check non-number modifiers can't be added. Certain features add advantage(signified by a green A) or disadvantage(signified by a red D), but there is no way to add these modifiers through the character sheet for custom advantage and disadvantage.
Custom actions can't appear as actions, bonus actions, or reactions. When a custom action is made it is displayed as "other", this may seem like a nitpick but it makes looking at available actions cumbersome.
There is no way to add custom class features and racial traits. Homebrewed feats can be used to fix this issue but it is still a pain. When a DM decides to enhance a class or add racial traits, there should be a way for players to customize their features to add new ones.
Can't edit the appearance paragraph of a character in the character builder, only in the character sheet. This limitation is minor but it is confusing for new players. It should be as simple as adding a tab after "Personal Characteristics" and before "Notes" in the builder called "Appearance".
Not able to raise ability scores higher than 30. While this is a hard-capped rule in 5e, I believe players should be given the freedom to override their ability scores higher than 30 if their DM allows it.
Spell attack and Save DC cannot be customized. This is similar to the initiative and proficiency problem, most things can be customized, why not these?
These limitations to character sheet quality of life may seem small but they make a big difference in the long run. The second major limitation is homebrew. There is no way I could explain all the limits to dnd beyond homebrew in this single post but I'll give a couple of examples.
There is a distinct lag between editing existing homebrew and it updating on the character sheet. This is more of a bug, but it should be addressed. Editing homebrew is the best way to learn the system. The lag between edits makes working with the homebrew system painfully cumbersome.
There is no way to create homebrew classes. This is something the community has wanted for years. I do understand that this is a huge undertaking but I wanted to mention it.
As I said, I love the DnD Beyond system, but I do think that alleviating these limitations would vastly improve the user experience and overall enjoyment of the platform. If there are any glaring errors in my lists of limitations or logic, let me know. Also if there are any other issues you feel should be addressed, I would be interested in hearing those.
So of course, I'm not an official voice, but I'm going to speak to some of the things that have been spoken to by official voices.
First an foremost, the homebrew tools we have access to are by and large the same tools the dev team behind the scenes has. They might have some easier forms of it, but by and large its the same. Expanding on that, everything you are asking for, it means it would have to be tested, bug checked, etc. While the ability score piece I agree would be a rather easy thing to just go "Sure, lets just let the number have no real cap, go nuts", everything is already seemingly designed with this in mind so I too do not understand why the hard limit of 30 is on the sheet, if for no other reason than to keep things aligned with how the DMG states.
That being said, some of the things you are asking for CAN be done with the homebrew system, with some creative tweaking.
Here's my Cleric that I use for Rime, and he has an 80 initiative and 15 Prof Bonus. Obviously, for my game, he doesn't, but I found a homebrew item that someone created that simply gives a +5 to init and doesn't require attunement. Since the character sheet doesn't have any restrictions on the amount of rings he can wear, I just have 18 of these "Alert" rings, which gives him +80 to Init. Ditto with my Prof bonus, with those Cloak of the Ministry. Now, you might argue that it'll clog your inventory space, and you'd be right, but its proof of concept that it can be done. This can also be done with spell attack and saves via custom items.
I don't understand quite what you mean by " Being able to create a custom armor that affects the AC calculation", but you can create any armor that mimics current armors up to the base 18 armor class, and worst case, to the earlier point, just make custom items if need be to bump it up further than that.
This being said, you're playing the game right now in a way that 5th isn't intended if you're playing at Epic levels, and D&D Beyond being the official toolset of 5th simply isn't designed for it. While it can be broken to KIND OF achieve what you want, the sad fact is it isn't designed that way. Hopefully, when the new features system rolls out WHENEVER it rolls out, it alleviates some of your pain points and becomes a tool that's much more malleable for your needs.
The point and purpose of the Character Builder tool is to make legal-by-the-rules characters so that people can make a character and use it in pretty much any game. You can shut off non-core content entirely, or restrict which sourcebooks, shut out homebrew, and so on. This is very useful. The entire reason why D&D has rules is so that people can go from different games to other games and have a common set of guidelines. The DM tells them what has been changed, and they are ready to play.
I have found the D&D Beyond Feedback and Bugs & Support forums very useful. It is surprising what you can actually customize. I wanted to be able to hit people with a shield and have it show up under Bonus attacks as an Improvised Weapon. I've gotten it, except that I get the wrong stats for damage. If I tell it what sized die to use, it invariably adds a bonus to damage from my scores. That one, I have not figured out.
I believe DnD beyond to be the best system for playing DnD. However, I believe the limitations of character sheet manipulation and homebrew to be disappointing at best and frustrating at worst. The base character sheet system is built to facilitate casual play perfectly, but if you want to do certain things it can be cumbersome. Examples of the limitations include:
Initiative and proficiency can't be customized. As an epic-level player, being able to customize these foundational elements would be helpful. Almost every other element of the character sheet can be overridden, why not initiative and proficiency?
You can add bonuses to initiative using a homebrew feat that adds a modifier to your initiative bonus. Alternatively as someone has said, you can also make a non-attunement magic item. Modifier > Bonus > Initiative > Fixed Value: X As for proficiencies, these can be added through a homebrew feat (Modifier > Proficiency > [Proficiency]) or by adding them to your sheet directly; either from the skills section or from the other proficiencies section.
Custom non-magic weapons and armor can't be created. Being able to create a custom armor that affects the AC calculation, and to create weapons with custom damage die would be great. There should be the ability to create non-magic items that can be equipt, be affected by stats, and have custom proficiency for them.
Yep, this is a current limitation. However, you can make custom actions directly on your character sheet. Just go to the actions tab and select 'Manage Actions'. From there you can create custom actions that can emulate weapons. You can also manually override your AC calculation should you need to represent some form of custom armor
Custom items can't be given tags. Tags are a great way of showing the use of items. If over the course of a long campaign, the DM is giving non-magic items with unique names and uses, being able to tag custom items would be super helpful!
The tag library is currently only possible to customise by the devs as it's a listing indexing tool.
Saving throw and ability check non-number modifiers can't be added. Certain features add advantage(signified by a green A) or disadvantage(signified by a red D), but there is no way to add these modifiers through the character sheet for custom advantage and disadvantage.
You can create a custom feat or magic item that gives you advantage or disadvantage on saving throws, as well as ability checks using certain skills. This is all possible from the homebrew modifiers, such as Modifier > Advantage > Dexterity Saving Throws
Custom actions can't appear as actions, bonus actions, or reactions. When a custom action is made it is displayed as "other", this may seem like a nitpick but it makes looking at available actions cumbersome.
This can be done from the Edit menu of the Custom Actions menu. Just select the appropriate type from the 'Activation Type' drop down
There is no way to add custom class features and racial traits. Homebrewed feats can be used to fix this issue but it is still a pain. When a DM decides to enhance a class or add racial traits, there should be a way for players to customize their features to add new ones.
You're right that feats are currently the only way to do this. However, the generic feature system, something a lot of the team is very excited about, is hopefully something that'll ease this pain point. You can also create a homebrew copy of a race or class and then customise that as needs require.
Can't edit the appearance paragraph of a character in the character builder, only in the character sheet. This limitation is minor but it is confusing for new players. It should be as simple as adding a tab after "Personal Characteristics" and before "Notes" in the builder called "Appearance".
This is totally valid feedback, being able to edit your characters appearance details makes sense at this point in the user flow.
Not able to raise ability scores higher than 30. While this is a hard-capped rule in 5e, I believe players should be given the freedom to override their ability scores higher than 30 if their DM allows it.
You've hit the nail on the head; it's a hard capped rule of the 5th edition of Dungeons & Dragons, rules that D&D Beyond endeavours to reproduce as accurately as possible. DDB is a toolset for 5th edition D&D and as such, follows the core rules. If Wizards of the Coast ever releases content that allows for ability scores over 30, DDB will do everything it can to respect that within the tools
Spell attack and Save DC cannot be customized. This is similar to the initiative and proficiency problem, most things can be customized, why not these?
These can both be customised using a custom feat or item: Modifier > Bonus > Spell Attack > Fixed Value: X or Modifier > Bonus > Spell Attack > Fixed Value: X
These limitations to character sheet quality of life may seem small but they make a big difference in the long run. The second major limitation is homebrew. There is no way I could explain all the limits to dnd beyond homebrew in this single post but I'll give a couple of examples.
There is a distinct lag between editing existing homebrew and it updating on the character sheet. This is more of a bug, but it should be addressed. Editing homebrew is the best way to learn the system. The lag between edits makes working with the homebrew system painfully cumbersome.
In order to improve the resilience, stability, and scalability of D&D Beyond a lot of elements of the system are siloed from each other. This means your character sheet loads quicker, is less likely to crash, D&D Beyond is more stable and it's easier to upgrade things. The downside is that due to server caching, changes can take some time to propagate.
There is no way to create homebrew classes. This is something the community has wanted for years. I do understand that this is a huge undertaking but I wanted to mention it.
Yep, homebrew classes are a massively popular suggestion. But the only thing more massive than their popularity is the complexity of such a task. Needless to say, it's a big ask.
As I said, I love the DnD Beyond system, but I do think that alleviating these limitations would vastly improve the user experience and overall enjoyment of the platform. If there are any glaring errors in my lists of limitations or logic, let me know. Also if there are any other issues you feel should be addressed, I would be interested in hearing those.
I believe DnD beyond to be the best system for playing DnD. However, I believe the limitations of character sheet manipulation and homebrew to be disappointing at best and frustrating at worst. The base character sheet system is built to facilitate casual play perfectly, but if you want to do certain things it can be cumbersome. Examples of the limitations include:
These limitations to character sheet quality of life may seem small but they make a big difference in the long run. The second major limitation is homebrew. There is no way I could explain all the limits to dnd beyond homebrew in this single post but I'll give a couple of examples.
As I said, I love the DnD Beyond system, but I do think that alleviating these limitations would vastly improve the user experience and overall enjoyment of the platform. If there are any glaring errors in my lists of limitations or logic, let me know. Also if there are any other issues you feel should be addressed, I would be interested in hearing those.
So of course, I'm not an official voice, but I'm going to speak to some of the things that have been spoken to by official voices.
First an foremost, the homebrew tools we have access to are by and large the same tools the dev team behind the scenes has. They might have some easier forms of it, but by and large its the same. Expanding on that, everything you are asking for, it means it would have to be tested, bug checked, etc. While the ability score piece I agree would be a rather easy thing to just go "Sure, lets just let the number have no real cap, go nuts", everything is already seemingly designed with this in mind so I too do not understand why the hard limit of 30 is on the sheet, if for no other reason than to keep things aligned with how the DMG states.
That being said, some of the things you are asking for CAN be done with the homebrew system, with some creative tweaking.
https://ddb.ac/characters/36118488/yZo7rh
Here's my Cleric that I use for Rime, and he has an 80 initiative and 15 Prof Bonus. Obviously, for my game, he doesn't, but I found a homebrew item that someone created that simply gives a +5 to init and doesn't require attunement. Since the character sheet doesn't have any restrictions on the amount of rings he can wear, I just have 18 of these "Alert" rings, which gives him +80 to Init. Ditto with my Prof bonus, with those Cloak of the Ministry. Now, you might argue that it'll clog your inventory space, and you'd be right, but its proof of concept that it can be done. This can also be done with spell attack and saves via custom items.
I don't understand quite what you mean by " Being able to create a custom armor that affects the AC calculation", but you can create any armor that mimics current armors up to the base 18 armor class, and worst case, to the earlier point, just make custom items if need be to bump it up further than that.
This being said, you're playing the game right now in a way that 5th isn't intended if you're playing at Epic levels, and D&D Beyond being the official toolset of 5th simply isn't designed for it. While it can be broken to KIND OF achieve what you want, the sad fact is it isn't designed that way. Hopefully, when the new features system rolls out WHENEVER it rolls out, it alleviates some of your pain points and becomes a tool that's much more malleable for your needs.
I think this is better off in the feedback forum, and many of these issues and others have already been raised countless times there.
I personally want spell points, epic boons, removal of the level cap, and being able to multiclass into the same class or even subclass.
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You can one hundred percent add racial traits,you just need to make a race.
Check out my homebrew subclasses spells magic items feats monsters races
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The point and purpose of the Character Builder tool is to make legal-by-the-rules characters so that people can make a character and use it in pretty much any game. You can shut off non-core content entirely, or restrict which sourcebooks, shut out homebrew, and so on. This is very useful. The entire reason why D&D has rules is so that people can go from different games to other games and have a common set of guidelines. The DM tells them what has been changed, and they are ready to play.
I have found the D&D Beyond Feedback and Bugs & Support forums very useful. It is surprising what you can actually customize. I wanted to be able to hit people with a shield and have it show up under Bonus attacks as an Improvised Weapon. I've gotten it, except that I get the wrong stats for damage. If I tell it what sized die to use, it invariably adds a bonus to damage from my scores. That one, I have not figured out.
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You can add bonuses to initiative using a homebrew feat that adds a modifier to your initiative bonus. Alternatively as someone has said, you can also make a non-attunement magic item. Modifier > Bonus > Initiative > Fixed Value: X
As for proficiencies, these can be added through a homebrew feat (Modifier > Proficiency > [Proficiency]) or by adding them to your sheet directly; either from the skills section or from the other proficiencies section.
Yep, this is a current limitation. However, you can make custom actions directly on your character sheet. Just go to the actions tab and select 'Manage Actions'. From there you can create custom actions that can emulate weapons.
You can also manually override your AC calculation should you need to represent some form of custom armor
The tag library is currently only possible to customise by the devs as it's a listing indexing tool.
You can create a custom feat or magic item that gives you advantage or disadvantage on saving throws, as well as ability checks using certain skills. This is all possible from the homebrew modifiers, such as Modifier > Advantage > Dexterity Saving Throws
This can be done from the Edit menu of the Custom Actions menu. Just select the appropriate type from the 'Activation Type' drop down
You're right that feats are currently the only way to do this. However, the generic feature system, something a lot of the team is very excited about, is hopefully something that'll ease this pain point.
You can also create a homebrew copy of a race or class and then customise that as needs require.
This is totally valid feedback, being able to edit your characters appearance details makes sense at this point in the user flow.
You've hit the nail on the head; it's a hard capped rule of the 5th edition of Dungeons & Dragons, rules that D&D Beyond endeavours to reproduce as accurately as possible. DDB is a toolset for 5th edition D&D and as such, follows the core rules. If Wizards of the Coast ever releases content that allows for ability scores over 30, DDB will do everything it can to respect that within the tools
These can both be customised using a custom feat or item: Modifier > Bonus > Spell Attack > Fixed Value: X or Modifier > Bonus > Spell Attack > Fixed Value: X
In order to improve the resilience, stability, and scalability of D&D Beyond a lot of elements of the system are siloed from each other. This means your character sheet loads quicker, is less likely to crash, D&D Beyond is more stable and it's easier to upgrade things. The downside is that due to server caching, changes can take some time to propagate.
Yep, homebrew classes are a massively popular suggestion. But the only thing more massive than their popularity is the complexity of such a task. Needless to say, it's a big ask.
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I see how creating custom actions allow custom damage, but how would I make a weapon attack action with +2 to hit as well?