I'm sure there have been and are countless posts like the one I'm making here, so I apologize in advance for asking such a "stupid" FAQ, but just what purpose does DDB serve? I was quick to jump on the bandwagon as soon as I caught word of the then upcoming DDB, but didn't wind up having the time to explore it further, or to run a game. To ring in the New Year, I decided to start working on an original campaign to bring some long-time gaming friends back to the table and, so, returned to DDB in hopes of using it in conjunction with some other tools/services I've just started tooling around with. I created a campaign, but I'm not seeing a next step, other than inviting friends to read a campaign description. I'm guessing that I'm just overlooking what should be an obvious application of what DDB offers, but the fact remains that I am overlooking it, and don't see an idiot's "How To" guide to walk me through the process of getting the ball rolling. What is it that I'm missing here--are there tools for plotting out adventures and encounters, or is DDB just reference material? Thanks in advance for pointing me in the right direction; it's much appreciated.
Currently, the Campaign part of DDB is mostly a repository of notes and such. You can use the spaces given (Description, DM Notes, Players Notes) to write down the adventure/campaign, taking advantage of the tooltip capabilities of the website (more on this in the link in my signature) in order to make the whole thing more useful and almost auto-referencing.
There are big plans on expanding this (initiative tracker, encounter builder and the like, no VTT though), bue there is still some time to wait. I am currently designing a campaign here on DDB, and I have to admit I find it quite more useful already than writing notes on anything else. It is worth saying, though, that to have full access and make the most of the tooltips you need at least the basic 3 manuals (PHB, DMG and MM), as otherwise the stuff you can tooltip would be limited to the contents of the Basic Rules.
Aside from this, you also have the repository of the characters in the campaign, and there are expansions planned for this as well (possibility of giving ownership of a character to someone else included, if for example you want to have pre-gen characters in your campaign for new, inexperienced players).
Overall I find DDB to be extremely useful, albeit still limited. The universal search is indeed extremely useful for a quick reference check, and the homebrew capabilities (currently you are able to create and use your own magic items, monsters, feats and backgrounds, and soon-ish subraces and subclasses) can be a godsend for the most original campaigns. On this, you could technically recreate and use anything you want from the published manuals as homebrew material, but you are not allowed to make them public (so available to everyone dwelling here in DDB), as that would break the rules of the site.
A friend of mine is about to DM his first 5th edition campaign (I'm getting to be a player, yay!) which includes a mixture of experienced roleplayers and a those who haven't played tabletop before.
Due to geographical location, we're going to be playing over the internet, using voice comms and roll20 for maps.
Of course, I suggested that the DM create a campaign on D&D Beyond and everyone create their characters on here too - that has been an amazing experience - the players have been able to easily understand how to build their characters, including adding the detail backgrounds etc. Prior to logging into D&D Beyond, the DM and I are the only ones to have read the 5th edition Player's Handbook, but the new players are enthused and understand their characters.
The DM is happy, as he can see everyone's characters in full detail and, as we're starting at 3rd level, is able to jump in and give us some additional equipment and so forth really easily.
When it comes to play, I know from running my own games in person, that D&D Beyond is REALLY useful as a reference.
"Wait, isn't there a spell for that?" "Yeah, Cleric spell - your character probably has access to it." "What's it called?" "No idea, I think it's 5th level though." *jumps to cleric spells on D&D Beyond, clicking 5th level to bring up the list* "Yup, here we go .... it's from XGtE as well, which is why you didn't find it in the Player's Handbook infront of you."
I see the real value in DDB at the moment (as a DM) in having access to published campaigns, rules and monster stats at my finger tips. My players aren't all on board, so that's a bummer, and I'm mainly using it for house rules and session notes for those who are. With the third party D&D Toolbox Chrome extension, I look forward to beginning to manage encounters as well. It's not Obsidian Portal (which I've only played with) or Game Master 5e (which I use and love), but honestly, with time I see it becoming much better than almost anything else out there. But it might not be ready for everyone.
I definitely see a lot of potential here, with as much room for growth. I'm a little disappointed that there isn't more to this service currently, but look forward to seeing how it comes along. Given that it's linked to Twitch, I just figured there might be more to it than there is at the time being, and was hoping for at least some campaign development/tracking tools for a more centralized and streaming-friendly set-up. Still, as you said, it has its use, with more to come, no doubt. Anyway, thanks for the clarification; helps a lot to know what can and cannot be expected.
I definitely see a lot of potential here, with as much room for growth. I'm a little disappointed that there isn't more to this service currently, but look forward to seeing how it comes along. Given that it's linked to Twitch, I just figured there might be more to it than there is at the time being, and was hoping for at least some campaign development/tracking tools for a more centralized and streaming-friendly set-up. Still, as you said, it has its use, with more to come, no doubt. Anyway, thanks for the clarification; helps a lot to know what can and cannot be expected.
For the streaming-friendly part, integration with Twitch is definitely planned, most probably after the campaign manager is released and properly feedbacked, but it will arrive, eventually.
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Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
A friend of mine is about to DM his first 5th edition campaign (I'm getting to be a player, yay!) which includes a mixture of experienced roleplayers and a those who haven't played tabletop before.
Due to geographical location, we're going to be playing over the internet, using voice comms and roll20 for maps.
Of course, I suggested that the DM create a campaign on D&D Beyond and everyone create their characters on here too - that has been an amazing experience - the players have been able to easily understand how to build their characters, including adding the detail backgrounds etc. Prior to logging into D&D Beyond, the DM and I are the only ones to have read the 5th edition Player's Handbook, but the new players are enthused and understand their characters.
The DM is happy, as he can see everyone's characters in full detail and, as we're starting at 3rd level, is able to jump in and give us some additional equipment and so forth really easily.
When it comes to play, I know from running my own games in person, that D&D Beyond is REALLY useful as a reference.
"Wait, isn't there a spell for that?" "Yeah, Cleric spell - your character probably has access to it." "What's it called?" "No idea, I think it's 5th level though." *jumps to cleric spells on D&D Beyond, clicking 5th level to bring up the list* "Yup, here we go .... it's from XGtE as well, which is why you didn't find it in the Player's Handbook infront of you."
This feature can't be understated. The quick access to "Known Spells" on the character sheet, especially for "All Spells Are Known" classes like druids and clerics, is super helpful. No digging through books, flipping to find the spell list, flipping to find each spell alphabetically. Or even, no googling. Just, all your known spells. Right there. As a DM viewing your player's sheets or a player using D&D Beyond- this is a loved feature.
A friend of mine is about to DM his first 5th edition campaign (I'm getting to be a player, yay!) which includes a mixture of experienced roleplayers and a those who haven't played tabletop before.
Due to geographical location, we're going to be playing over the internet, using voice comms and roll20 for maps.
Of course, I suggested that the DM create a campaign on D&D Beyond and everyone create their characters on here too - that has been an amazing experience - the players have been able to easily understand how to build their characters, including adding the detail backgrounds etc. Prior to logging into D&D Beyond, the DM and I are the only ones to have read the 5th edition Player's Handbook, but the new players are enthused and understand their characters.
The DM is happy, as he can see everyone's characters in full detail and, as we're starting at 3rd level, is able to jump in and give us some additional equipment and so forth really easily.
When it comes to play, I know from running my own games in person, that D&D Beyond is REALLY useful as a reference.
"Wait, isn't there a spell for that?" "Yeah, Cleric spell - your character probably has access to it." "What's it called?" "No idea, I think it's 5th level though." *jumps to cleric spells on D&D Beyond, clicking 5th level to bring up the list* "Yup, here we go .... it's from XGtE as well, which is why you didn't find it in the Player's Handbook infront of you."
This feature can't be understated. The quick access to "Known Spells" on the character sheet, especially for "All Spells Are Known" classes like druids and clerics, is super helpful. No digging through books, flipping to find the spell list, flipping to find each spell alphabetically. Or even, no googling. Just, all your known spells. Right there. As a DM viewing your player's sheets or a player using D&D Beyond- this is a loved feature.
can you explain why this is a better feature than i have stored locally (faster access) on my pc?
Here is a quick screenshot of a first level druid I made to play around with features. This is the bottom of his character sheet page, and the spells are the right column. Everything is in a quick drop down menu and more details can be accessed by tapping the expand button. It's similar to storing a spell list locally, and OneNote is a great tool, but this requires no preparation for players. Make your character, boom, here are all the available spells. It also sections off your prepared spells and known cantrips, and as you can see quickly displays character specific information like spellcasting mod information and spell save DC.
Here are some screenshots from higher up on the sheet.
Prepared spells that do damage are automatically moved to the top of my sheet and added to the attacks box. I can use the attacks box to manage my consumed and remaining spell slots, as well. Expanding the spell will provide more information, but also character specific math and spell level management. This is all in a one-view with my abilities and skills.
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I'm sure there have been and are countless posts like the one I'm making here, so I apologize in advance for asking such a "stupid" FAQ, but just what purpose does DDB serve? I was quick to jump on the bandwagon as soon as I caught word of the then upcoming DDB, but didn't wind up having the time to explore it further, or to run a game. To ring in the New Year, I decided to start working on an original campaign to bring some long-time gaming friends back to the table and, so, returned to DDB in hopes of using it in conjunction with some other tools/services I've just started tooling around with. I created a campaign, but I'm not seeing a next step, other than inviting friends to read a campaign description. I'm guessing that I'm just overlooking what should be an obvious application of what DDB offers, but the fact remains that I am overlooking it, and don't see an idiot's "How To" guide to walk me through the process of getting the ball rolling. What is it that I'm missing here--are there tools for plotting out adventures and encounters, or is DDB just reference material? Thanks in advance for pointing me in the right direction; it's much appreciated.
Currently, the Campaign part of DDB is mostly a repository of notes and such.
You can use the spaces given (Description, DM Notes, Players Notes) to write down the adventure/campaign, taking advantage of the tooltip capabilities of the website (more on this in the link in my signature) in order to make the whole thing more useful and almost auto-referencing.
There are big plans on expanding this (initiative tracker, encounter builder and the like, no VTT though), bue there is still some time to wait.
I am currently designing a campaign here on DDB, and I have to admit I find it quite more useful already than writing notes on anything else. It is worth saying, though, that to have full access and make the most of the tooltips you need at least the basic 3 manuals (PHB, DMG and MM), as otherwise the stuff you can tooltip would be limited to the contents of the Basic Rules.
Aside from this, you also have the repository of the characters in the campaign, and there are expansions planned for this as well (possibility of giving ownership of a character to someone else included, if for example you want to have pre-gen characters in your campaign for new, inexperienced players).
Overall I find DDB to be extremely useful, albeit still limited.
The universal search is indeed extremely useful for a quick reference check, and the homebrew capabilities (currently you are able to create and use your own magic items, monsters, feats and backgrounds, and soon-ish subraces and subclasses) can be a godsend for the most original campaigns.
On this, you could technically recreate and use anything you want from the published manuals as homebrew material, but you are not allowed to make them public (so available to everyone dwelling here in DDB), as that would break the rules of the site.
Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
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D&D Beyond FoundersA friend of mine is about to DM his first 5th edition campaign (I'm getting to be a player, yay!) which includes a mixture of experienced roleplayers and a those who haven't played tabletop before.
Due to geographical location, we're going to be playing over the internet, using voice comms and roll20 for maps.
Of course, I suggested that the DM create a campaign on D&D Beyond and everyone create their characters on here too - that has been an amazing experience - the players have been able to easily understand how to build their characters, including adding the detail backgrounds etc. Prior to logging into D&D Beyond, the DM and I are the only ones to have read the 5th edition Player's Handbook, but the new players are enthused and understand their characters.
The DM is happy, as he can see everyone's characters in full detail and, as we're starting at 3rd level, is able to jump in and give us some additional equipment and so forth really easily.
When it comes to play, I know from running my own games in person, that D&D Beyond is REALLY useful as a reference.
"Wait, isn't there a spell for that?"
"Yeah, Cleric spell - your character probably has access to it."
"What's it called?"
"No idea, I think it's 5th level though."
*jumps to cleric spells on D&D Beyond, clicking 5th level to bring up the list*
"Yup, here we go .... it's from XGtE as well, which is why you didn't find it in the Player's Handbook infront of you."
Pun-loving nerd | Faith Elisabeth Lilley | 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!"🔊
I see the real value in DDB at the moment (as a DM) in having access to published campaigns, rules and monster stats at my finger tips. My players aren't all on board, so that's a bummer, and I'm mainly using it for house rules and session notes for those who are. With the third party D&D Toolbox Chrome extension, I look forward to beginning to manage encounters as well. It's not Obsidian Portal (which I've only played with) or Game Master 5e (which I use and love), but honestly, with time I see it becoming much better than almost anything else out there. But it might not be ready for everyone.
I definitely see a lot of potential here, with as much room for growth. I'm a little disappointed that there isn't more to this service currently, but look forward to seeing how it comes along. Given that it's linked to Twitch, I just figured there might be more to it than there is at the time being, and was hoping for at least some campaign development/tracking tools for a more centralized and streaming-friendly set-up. Still, as you said, it has its use, with more to come, no doubt. Anyway, thanks for the clarification; helps a lot to know what can and cannot be expected.
Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
I'll be glad when such a time comes—and hope I'm ready to make use of it when it does.
Thanks, again, for the feedback, everyone. I've gotten more comfortable with the tool set, now that I know what I'm working with.
Looking forward to getting this thing off the ground, and taking it to new heights.