So I want to give the kiddos access to DnD beyond on tablets and things, but is there a way I can do a "read only" on character sheets or something so they can't edit the background data and/or buy books with my credit card 🤣
I agree that that's the best plan. Get a master subscription and make a campaign that the kids' free accounts have a character in. Use the sharing controls so they can only read the books you want them to be able to. (They'll still have access to the character builder stuff within that campaign.)
I believe most phones/tablets have parental controls that let you lock out buying stuff, but there's no controls that'll stop them messing with your and each others' characters.
I haven’t looked but you can probably delete your card info and put it in only when your buying with the “do not keep card info” checked. A bit more of a pain for you but it will stop them buying on your card. It won’t stop them playing around with each other’s characters. To do that you have no choice but be nasty - kill off their character and toss them out of the group. Do warn them that that is the consequence of messing up another persons character. Inevitably some Idjit will feel they have to test it so follow thru - without hesitation. That will stop them buying others fairly well.
Not sure that booting your own kids out would be a viable punishment, but yes, some kind of discipline will probably be needed.
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If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
Let them suffer thru a session or two then let them back in but the nitial out has to be there or your telling everyone that your consequences are jokes. And, if you want to not have to do this kind of thing frequently then when you do it the consequences have to be hard so everyone pays attention to your warning - even if you don’t set a consequence - it’s called tough love done right.
Just going to remind everyone that letting anyone else use your account, even kids, is a violation of the Terms of Service.
Master tier subs is less than a starbucks coffee. [Redacted]
--
My suggestion is to make the characters yourself and unassign them. The kids can join with their own free accounts, use the campaign join link and claim the unassigned characters. You, as DM, can continue to access and add whatever is necessary in future. They can remove the characters from campaign and still use anything added to it.
Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond. Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ thisFAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
So I want to give the kiddos access to DnD beyond on tablets and things, but is there a way I can do a "read only" on character sheets or something so they can't edit the background data and/or buy books with my credit card 🤣
Thanks in advance
you can use the dndbeyond app while offline and browser any purchased material as for the character sheets - you might be able to export to pdf (if able to get that to work) to prevent alterations
To the OP, I recommend just downloading free D&D character sheets. There are several places online you can find them with a quick web search. Insert stats, equipment, features, etc. Print them out. You retain the master copy. Give your kids pencils with erasers. Maybe also color pencils and a blank sheet for them to draw their PC. This also encourages manual dexterity, spelling, arithmetic use. As long as you have a printer, this is probably the easiest way to get your kids into D&D without paying extra for stuff that you really don't need at this early in their lives. If you're just playing in your own household, there are plenty better things to spend $60 on than a Master Tier subscription.
Folk, please mind what the Original Poster has said and is asking for. We appreciate folk are trying to offer helpful suggestions or point something out, but if they have asked about specifically advice on how to use D&D Beyond and that certain things are not in consideration (Master Tier or so on) then please respect those choices and offer advice within that topic, to avoid derailing.
Please also do note ourTerms of Service rules on account sharing:
2. ABOUT YOUR D&D BEYOND ACCOUNT 2.2 Account Integrity:Your D&D Beyond account and the content you access are personal to you and can't be shared, sold, given away, or transferred to anyone else. Your access to and use of these services are guided by the Wizards Privacy Policy (link) and Code of Conduct (link), which may be updated or amended as needed. We will not have any liability to you (or anyone you share your account with) as a result of your or their actions under those circumstances.
5. RULES FOR USING D&D BEYOND 5.2 Rules of Use: In addition to the Wizards Fan Content Policy and Code of Conduct, here are comprehensive rules for using D&D Beyond, Services, Marketplace and Digital Content: VIII. Account Management: Sharing, buying, selling, transferring, gifting, lending, stealing, misappropriating, or misusing D&D Beyond accounts is not allowed. This includes the appropriate use of keys/codes, which should only be gifted, transferred, or used as permitted by D&D Beyond. For any queries or problems, our customer support is available to assist.
Please also remember our ruleson giving legal advice to each other on the forums which will fall under our Minor Prohibited Content rule.
but how does this apply within a household? Books would be used within a home and shared. So why not this? Especially when it comes to minors given 1.5?
1.5Age Restrictions:If you're over 18, you're all set to join in the fun. For those aged 13 to 18 in the US (and 16 to 18 in the rest of the world), we're excited to have you, but first, make sure a parent or guardian reviews and approves this Agreement for you. This is because in some places, you can't legally agree to contracts like this if you're under a certain age. Unfortunately, if you're under 13 in the US or under 16 in the rest of the world, you can't create a D&D Beyond account or use our services just yet, as we're not able to process personal data for children without specific parental or guardian consent. However, parents or guardians are more than welcome to sign up on their own!
So in this instance that my kids can't use your services just yet on their own account and I am the parent or guardian signing up on their own -- how does this apply? How does this make for a user experience or safe use of my account/information etc.
A.) You would rather not do the master subscription at this time.
2.) WotC/DDB would rather people not share accounts.
I'm racking my brain trying to figure out an elegant solution but I don't have a way to square those two constraints that would allow you and the kids to be using DDB all with access to the same content. Since you mentioned the master sub is pricey, I'll assume you don't want to set up separate accounts and buy content again for each of the kids.
Best I can figure is having the kids sit with you through character creation using your account and then exporting the character sheets to PDFs for the kids to use when they play. I think that stays on the right side of the no-sharing rules, though Elgate or someone on DDB staff would be better for absolute clarification on that. Also, you'd have to export new PDFs every time they level up or make changes, so it's not a very hands-off solution.
I'm racking my brain trying to figure out an elegant solution but I don't have a way to square those two constraints that would allow you and the kids to be using DDB all with access to the same content. Since you mentioned the master sub is pricey, I'll assume you don't want to set up separate accounts and buy content again for each of the kids.
Free accounts for the kids, all character building/updating is done by the parent, from the parental account, which is the campaign owner. I believe that, even without content sharing, you have access to all your stuff and can add it to the sheet. (But I can't check without making a dummy account.)
There are also methods involving unassigning and claiming characters, but they're more annoying.
(You don't actually need to do all updating from the parental account. Once a character has something, it keeps it until it gets removed.This even applies to higher-level features of subclasses. The free rules mean that most spells and items are available even to free users.)
You can edit the sheets within a campaign and add stuff you own (even without a sub). I did it for a while with my campaign and found it an annoyance. Then again, parents would probably have to be making the changes anyway, so it might not be a bad option. Spellcasters like Druids would be... problematic, though. Every time they change spells that aren't in the Free Rules, you'd have to do it as DM rather than letting them do it as players.
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If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
Unfortunately D&D Beyond has no Childlocks or Parental Controls at this time, for the reasons you've already discussed.
While I appreciate wanting to use D&D Beyond for this, it does seem like the best solution with this all in mind is indeed a mix of digital and physical. You could make the characters on your account with your children's input and use those characters to make physical copies (Either by printing the sheet or by having your kids fill in a sheet using the digital sheet as reference, essentially using D&D Beyond as an aid for character building). This might even work out for the better to help the kids focus on the sheets and maybe some physical visual aids, instead of a screen with tempting distractions, and ensures that they do not have unsupervised access to your account.
The TOS rules on account sharing and young users is partly intended to prevent things like other people on your account making unwanted purchases or breaking the rules and potentially getting your account warned, while also ensuring the safety and protection of underage users who are too young to share their data or engage with the online community without supervision.
Hey there!
So I want to give the kiddos access to DnD beyond on tablets and things, but is there a way I can do a "read only" on character sheets or something so they can't edit the background data and/or buy books with my credit card 🤣
Thanks in advance
Open them their own free accounts?
I agree that that's the best plan. Get a master subscription and make a campaign that the kids' free accounts have a character in. Use the sharing controls so they can only read the books you want them to be able to. (They'll still have access to the character builder stuff within that campaign.)
I believe most phones/tablets have parental controls that let you lock out buying stuff, but there's no controls that'll stop them messing with your and each others' characters.
I don't really want to go up to a master subscription, really. It's a little pricey.
So no way within my account?
Not within an account, no. They're more designed to be used by a single person.
I haven’t looked but you can probably delete your card info and put it in only when your buying with the “do not keep card info” checked. A bit more of a pain for you but it will stop them buying on your card. It won’t stop them playing around with each other’s characters. To do that you have no choice but be nasty - kill off their character and toss them out of the group. Do warn them that that is the consequence of messing up another persons character. Inevitably some Idjit will feel they have to test it so follow thru - without hesitation. That will stop them buying others fairly well.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
Not sure that booting your own kids out would be a viable punishment, but yes, some kind of discipline will probably be needed.
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
Let them suffer thru a session or two then let them back in but the nitial out has to be there or your telling everyone that your consequences are jokes. And, if you want to not have to do this kind of thing frequently then when you do it the consequences have to be hard so everyone pays attention to your warning - even if you don’t set a consequence - it’s called tough love done right.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
Just going to remind everyone that letting anyone else use your account, even kids, is a violation of the Terms of Service.
Master tier subs is less than a starbucks coffee. [Redacted]
--
My suggestion is to make the characters yourself and unassign them. The kids can join with their own free accounts, use the campaign join link and claim the unassigned characters. You, as DM, can continue to access and add whatever is necessary in future. They can remove the characters from campaign and still use anything added to it.
Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond.
Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ this FAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
Let's not shame people for what they can afford. No one knows his/her financial situation. Especially around the Christmas season.
you can use the dndbeyond app while offline and browser any purchased material
as for the character sheets - you might be able to export to pdf (if able to get that to work) to prevent alterations
To the OP, I recommend just downloading free D&D character sheets. There are several places online you can find them with a quick web search. Insert stats, equipment, features, etc. Print them out. You retain the master copy. Give your kids pencils with erasers. Maybe also color pencils and a blank sheet for them to draw their PC. This also encourages manual dexterity, spelling, arithmetic use. As long as you have a printer, this is probably the easiest way to get your kids into D&D without paying extra for stuff that you really don't need at this early in their lives. If you're just playing in your own household, there are plenty better things to spend $60 on than a Master Tier subscription.
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ModeratorFolk, please mind what the Original Poster has said and is asking for. We appreciate folk are trying to offer helpful suggestions or point something out, but if they have asked about specifically advice on how to use D&D Beyond and that certain things are not in consideration (Master Tier or so on) then please respect those choices and offer advice within that topic, to avoid derailing.
Please also do note our Terms of Service rules on account sharing:
2. ABOUT YOUR D&D BEYOND ACCOUNT
2.2 Account Integrity: Your D&D Beyond account and the content you access are personal to you and can't be shared, sold, given away, or transferred to anyone else. Your access to and use of these services are guided by the Wizards Privacy Policy (link) and Code of Conduct (link), which may be updated or amended as needed. We will not have any liability to you (or anyone you share your account with) as a result of your or their actions under those circumstances.
5. RULES FOR USING D&D BEYOND
5.2 Rules of Use: In addition to the Wizards Fan Content Policy and Code of Conduct, here are comprehensive rules for using D&D Beyond, Services, Marketplace and Digital Content:
VIII. Account Management: Sharing, buying, selling, transferring, gifting, lending, stealing, misappropriating, or misusing D&D Beyond accounts is not allowed. This includes the appropriate use of keys/codes, which should only be gifted, transferred, or used as permitted by D&D Beyond. For any queries or problems, our customer support is available to assist.
Please also remember our rules on giving legal advice to each other on the forums which will fall under our Minor Prohibited Content rule.
D&D Beyond ToS || D&D Beyond Support
but how does this apply within a household? Books would be used within a home and shared. So why not this? Especially when it comes to minors given 1.5?
So in this instance that my kids can't use your services just yet on their own account and I am the parent or guardian signing up on their own -- how does this apply? How does this make for a user experience or safe use of my account/information etc.
I'm seeing two constraints here:
A.) You would rather not do the master subscription at this time.
2.) WotC/DDB would rather people not share accounts.
I'm racking my brain trying to figure out an elegant solution but I don't have a way to square those two constraints that would allow you and the kids to be using DDB all with access to the same content. Since you mentioned the master sub is pricey, I'll assume you don't want to set up separate accounts and buy content again for each of the kids.
Best I can figure is having the kids sit with you through character creation using your account and then exporting the character sheets to PDFs for the kids to use when they play. I think that stays on the right side of the no-sharing rules, though Elgate or someone on DDB staff would be better for absolute clarification on that. Also, you'd have to export new PDFs every time they level up or make changes, so it's not a very hands-off solution.
Free accounts for the kids, all character building/updating is done by the parent, from the parental account, which is the campaign owner. I believe that, even without content sharing, you have access to all your stuff and can add it to the sheet. (But I can't check without making a dummy account.)
There are also methods involving unassigning and claiming characters, but they're more annoying.
(You don't actually need to do all updating from the parental account. Once a character has something, it keeps it until it gets removed.This even applies to higher-level features of subclasses. The free rules mean that most spells and items are available even to free users.)
You can edit the sheets within a campaign and add stuff you own (even without a sub). I did it for a while with my campaign and found it an annoyance. Then again, parents would probably have to be making the changes anyway, so it might not be a bad option. Spellcasters like Druids would be... problematic, though. Every time they change spells that aren't in the Free Rules, you'd have to do it as DM rather than letting them do it as players.
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
The other part of the issue is that the kids are technically below the age of DDB's ToS. So, it's clunky.
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ModeratorUnfortunately D&D Beyond has no Childlocks or Parental Controls at this time, for the reasons you've already discussed.
While I appreciate wanting to use D&D Beyond for this, it does seem like the best solution with this all in mind is indeed a mix of digital and physical. You could make the characters on your account with your children's input and use those characters to make physical copies (Either by printing the sheet or by having your kids fill in a sheet using the digital sheet as reference, essentially using D&D Beyond as an aid for character building). This might even work out for the better to help the kids focus on the sheets and maybe some physical visual aids, instead of a screen with tempting distractions, and ensures that they do not have unsupervised access to your account.
The TOS rules on account sharing and young users is partly intended to prevent things like other people on your account making unwanted purchases or breaking the rules and potentially getting your account warned, while also ensuring the safety and protection of underage users who are too young to share their data or engage with the online community without supervision.
D&D Beyond ToS || D&D Beyond Support
Is there a way to get this suggested for development?