I am very new at this. Save for running a few adventures as DM back in the 1990s (ie A Light in the Belfry, gosh, I wish these were still being made) I am starting the Starter Kit (physical) with my wife and I was wondering how one would create/start new adventures online.
I know one will have to buy the adventure package in order to create a game with others. I bought a players handbook (digital) so I can share with my friend online or in a campaign.
Questions:
Do all players have to purchase a campaign or the adventure that we will all play?
Monsters are sold separately (fair enough, intellectual property and all). I own a Monsters Manual. If I buy a monsters manual (digital), would I have access to all the monsters? Will anyone else have to buy the books to access the content?
Is it worth running the adventures online?
The Campaign log is saved. Besides the notes and such, what is its practical utility?
Is there a video or link to a video anyone can share that shows how to pay online in this site/service?
I am very new at this. Save for running a few adventures as DM back in the 1990s (ie A Light in the Belfry, gosh, I wish these were still being made) I am starting the Starter Kit (physical) with my wife and I was wondering how one would create/start new adventures online.
I know one will have to buy the adventure package in order to create a game with others. I bought a players handbook (digital) so I can share with my friend online or in a campaign.
Playing an online campaign has several elements.
1) You can play it using theatre of the mind. In this case, you don't have a battle map or minis. The DM describes the situation and the players respond with what their characters would like to do. The DM adjudicates how far away everything is, whether a character can reach another creature by moving or if they need to dash, which creatures are within the range of spell effects and which are not. Theatre of the mind works well for some groups and less well for others. Players who like to know where their character is relative to everyone else or who have trouble imagining/picturing the scene will often do better with a battle map.
2) There are also VTT (virtual table tops) available where there are maps, tokens for players and monsters, dynamic lighting so that the players can only see the portion of the map that the character can see. Darkvision lets the character see in darkness though it might be represented as a shade of gray. Without darkvision or a light source a player could be left looking at a black screen because their character can't see anything (however, these choices are up to the DM, when I am running an online game, I usually have vision shared between all the characters and then keep in mind how well each individual character can see if it actually matters).
The most commonly used VTT are likely Roll20 and Fantasy Grounds though there are several other VTT out there and each has its benefits.
If you want to game online using just D&D Beyond then you will be playing using theatre of the mind since Beyond doesn't have a virtual table top (though WOTC is supposed to be building one). In this case, you will have the module on beyond, create a campaign where the players can create their characters. The campaign has a channel where dice rolls are displayed. Combine this with conferencing software like Discord, Zoom, Skype, Teams or something that lets everyone chat to each other and start playing.
The campaign has public and private notes where you can keep notes for yourself or share images/information/handouts with the players - but it doesn't have a battle map type functionality.
In terms of D&D Beyond content sharing, you need to have a master tier subscription in order to share your content with other accounts. The "Hero" tier is intended for players who want to make an unlimited number of characters while the "Master" tier is intended for DMs who want to share their content with player's in their campaigns. You can't share content you own on D&D Beyond with other accounts unless you have a Master tier subscription which has a monthly cost.
However, if using content sharing, you only need one person to own the product on D&D Beyond. If content sharing is turned on in a campaign then all content owned by all participants (players and DM) in the campaign is shared among all of the participants. The DM doesn't need to own everything. One thing to keep in mind is that the character options in the character creator from shared content are only available for characters in that campaign. If you make a character in your own account it doesn't have access to shared content character options though a character created in the campaign can be removed from that campaign and does not lose the options used in its creation.
If you are thinking of running a campaign on D&D Beyond or any VTT, I'd suggest purchasing at least the Player's Handbook. In terms of monsters, take a look at what is available for free on the platform - often those in the 5eSRD (System Reference Document). If you want more (likely will) then purchase the Monster Manual as well.
When I started running games online, I bought the PHB and Monster Manual to start with. I then bought the adventure content I wanted to run. The biggest issue is deciding exactly where and how you want to run your game since that determines where you want to own your content. If you have purchased character creation content like the PHB on D&D Beyond then there is a web browser plugin for Firefox and Chrome called Beyond20 that allows D&D Beyond characters to be used in a Roll20 game. Roll20 can be used with free accounts.
If you find that you need a basic hand drawn battle map for resolving combat then you can make all the monster and character die rolls in D&D Beyond and have them appear in the Roll20 chat window which provides a fairly simple way to run a game on D&D Beyond, own your content there, but run simple combat scenarios on a VTT. I think several other VTTs may be able to provide similar features (I've only ever used Roll20 for VTT needs).
Questions:
Do all players have to purchase a campaign or the adventure that we will all play?
No. The DM purchases the adventure.
Monsters are sold separately (fair enough, intellectual property and all). I own a Monsters Manual. If I buy a monsters manual (digital), would I have access to all the monsters? Will anyone else have to buy the books to access the content?
If you own the Monster Manual on D&D Beyond, you will have access to the Monster manual creatures on D&D Beyond. No one else will need to buy the content. However, if you want to share the content with others then you will need to turn on content sharing and invite the people to a campaign with content sharing turned on.
Is it worth running the adventures online?
I run games twice a week and it seems to work well. In both cases, folks are geographically distributed so getting together in person would require people to budget travel time instead of a 30 second stroll up the hall to their computer. Playing online doesn't have geographical boundaries. I played in a game where the DM and players were in various locations in North America and Europe. It helps if you know the people playing and it can take a bit to get used to playing without some of the typical visual or non-verbal cues that happen in person. Audio lag can also mean that everyone needs to be a bit more polite and give everyone a chance to talk and contribute since it is pretty easy to accidentally interrupt or find it a bit difficult to cut in to say something if someone else isn't sharing.
The Campaign log is saved. Besides the notes and such, what is its practical utility?
Dice rolls made on the character sheets or monsters in D&D Beyond can be echoed to the campaign log so that everyone can see the dice being rolled. This is less of an issue if everyone trusts everyone else to roll dice on their own but I find that it can be easier to just have the dice rolls made by the software so that folks no one has any doubts. Other than that, D&D Beyond has very limited support for running a campaign online - though reading the source material is a bit easier on D&D Beyond than on some of the other platforms. Also, if the source material has random events or tables which require die rolls then those can also usually be rolled online.
Other than that though, there isn't a lot of extra practical utility. Running a game on D&D Beyond only will be run with Theatre of the Mind exclusively unless you utilize another site for a virtual table top.
Is there a video or link to a video anyone can share that shows how to pay online in this site/service?
Thank you all
Here is the D&D Beyond link but I am not sure how useful it might be. Beyond at the moment is still mostly a character creator with limited support for running a campaign in my opinion.
Good sir, I thank you for your kind assistant. The thought you put into your response is of the highest order, level 20. The tale of your kindness will be retold.
Thank you.
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Greetings:
I am very new at this. Save for running a few adventures as DM back in the 1990s (ie A Light in the Belfry, gosh, I wish these were still being made) I am starting the Starter Kit (physical) with my wife and I was wondering how one would create/start new adventures online.
I know one will have to buy the adventure package in order to create a game with others. I bought a players handbook (digital) so I can share with my friend online or in a campaign.
Questions:
Thank you all
Playing an online campaign has several elements.
1) You can play it using theatre of the mind. In this case, you don't have a battle map or minis. The DM describes the situation and the players respond with what their characters would like to do. The DM adjudicates how far away everything is, whether a character can reach another creature by moving or if they need to dash, which creatures are within the range of spell effects and which are not. Theatre of the mind works well for some groups and less well for others. Players who like to know where their character is relative to everyone else or who have trouble imagining/picturing the scene will often do better with a battle map.
2) There are also VTT (virtual table tops) available where there are maps, tokens for players and monsters, dynamic lighting so that the players can only see the portion of the map that the character can see. Darkvision lets the character see in darkness though it might be represented as a shade of gray. Without darkvision or a light source a player could be left looking at a black screen because their character can't see anything (however, these choices are up to the DM, when I am running an online game, I usually have vision shared between all the characters and then keep in mind how well each individual character can see if it actually matters).
The most commonly used VTT are likely Roll20 and Fantasy Grounds though there are several other VTT out there and each has its benefits.
https://www.dicebreaker.com/categories/roleplaying-game/best-games/best-virtual-tabletops-dnd-rpg
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If you want to game online using just D&D Beyond then you will be playing using theatre of the mind since Beyond doesn't have a virtual table top (though WOTC is supposed to be building one). In this case, you will have the module on beyond, create a campaign where the players can create their characters. The campaign has a channel where dice rolls are displayed. Combine this with conferencing software like Discord, Zoom, Skype, Teams or something that lets everyone chat to each other and start playing.
The campaign has public and private notes where you can keep notes for yourself or share images/information/handouts with the players - but it doesn't have a battle map type functionality.
In terms of D&D Beyond content sharing, you need to have a master tier subscription in order to share your content with other accounts. The "Hero" tier is intended for players who want to make an unlimited number of characters while the "Master" tier is intended for DMs who want to share their content with player's in their campaigns. You can't share content you own on D&D Beyond with other accounts unless you have a Master tier subscription which has a monthly cost.
However, if using content sharing, you only need one person to own the product on D&D Beyond. If content sharing is turned on in a campaign then all content owned by all participants (players and DM) in the campaign is shared among all of the participants. The DM doesn't need to own everything. One thing to keep in mind is that the character options in the character creator from shared content are only available for characters in that campaign. If you make a character in your own account it doesn't have access to shared content character options though a character created in the campaign can be removed from that campaign and does not lose the options used in its creation.
If you are thinking of running a campaign on D&D Beyond or any VTT, I'd suggest purchasing at least the Player's Handbook. In terms of monsters, take a look at what is available for free on the platform - often those in the 5eSRD (System Reference Document). If you want more (likely will) then purchase the Monster Manual as well.
When I started running games online, I bought the PHB and Monster Manual to start with. I then bought the adventure content I wanted to run. The biggest issue is deciding exactly where and how you want to run your game since that determines where you want to own your content. If you have purchased character creation content like the PHB on D&D Beyond then there is a web browser plugin for Firefox and Chrome called Beyond20 that allows D&D Beyond characters to be used in a Roll20 game. Roll20 can be used with free accounts.
If you find that you need a basic hand drawn battle map for resolving combat then you can make all the monster and character die rolls in D&D Beyond and have them appear in the Roll20 chat window which provides a fairly simple way to run a game on D&D Beyond, own your content there, but run simple combat scenarios on a VTT. I think several other VTTs may be able to provide similar features (I've only ever used Roll20 for VTT needs).
No. The DM purchases the adventure.
If you own the Monster Manual on D&D Beyond, you will have access to the Monster manual creatures on D&D Beyond. No one else will need to buy the content. However, if you want to share the content with others then you will need to turn on content sharing and invite the people to a campaign with content sharing turned on.
I run games twice a week and it seems to work well. In both cases, folks are geographically distributed so getting together in person would require people to budget travel time instead of a 30 second stroll up the hall to their computer. Playing online doesn't have geographical boundaries. I played in a game where the DM and players were in various locations in North America and Europe. It helps if you know the people playing and it can take a bit to get used to playing without some of the typical visual or non-verbal cues that happen in person. Audio lag can also mean that everyone needs to be a bit more polite and give everyone a chance to talk and contribute since it is pretty easy to accidentally interrupt or find it a bit difficult to cut in to say something if someone else isn't sharing.
Dice rolls made on the character sheets or monsters in D&D Beyond can be echoed to the campaign log so that everyone can see the dice being rolled. This is less of an issue if everyone trusts everyone else to roll dice on their own but I find that it can be easier to just have the dice rolls made by the software so that folks no one has any doubts. Other than that, D&D Beyond has very limited support for running a campaign online - though reading the source material is a bit easier on D&D Beyond than on some of the other platforms. Also, if the source material has random events or tables which require die rolls then those can also usually be rolled online.
Other than that though, there isn't a lot of extra practical utility. Running a game on D&D Beyond only will be run with Theatre of the Mind exclusively unless you utilize another site for a virtual table top.
Here is the D&D Beyond link but I am not sure how useful it might be. Beyond at the moment is still mostly a character creator with limited support for running a campaign in my opinion.
https://www.dndbeyond.com/how-to-play-dnd#:~:text=Whether you'll be running,can get started any time.
Good luck! :)
Good sir, I thank you for your kind assistant. The thought you put into your response is of the highest order, level 20. The tale of your kindness will be retold.
Thank you.