Hi everyone! I've been using DnD Beyond since a while by this is my first post here!
I was wondering if anyone has ever tried to play online with DnD Beyond and some other platform.
Actual case: I am the DM for a group of friends. We've been playing together since 3.5e and we're still going strong together. However, we now live in different countries and - apart when we are on holiday - we have to play online.
We've been using Fantasy Grounds for a while but I am not 100% happy with it for many reasons. Same applies to Roll 20 as a main platform. Accordingly, I was trying to find a way to play online using DnD Beyond and hangouts. The idea itself works fine, my only concern would be on how to use maps and sharing pictures with them!
On the brights side, unlocking all DnD beyond content would help a great deal even my "live" games.
I use a combination of Roll 20, D&D Beyond, and Discord. D&D Beyond is excellent for character management and quick lookups. Roll 20 is adequate for managing maps/character position when necessary. Discord is our preferred communication program as it handles voip excellently and we've got a bot for dice rolls, if a player wants that option. It's kind of a mishmash of systems to play our game, but there is no one option that consolidates all aspects of the game into a single platform.
The worst complaint I have is you need 2 monitors or it's going to be slightly painful. If you're a GM it's a major pain not to have at least 2 monitors. I keep Roll20 on my primary monitor. Half my 2nd monitor is my Roll20 character sheet (since it has all the macros for Roll20).
The other half of the screen is whatever I need. If I'm looking up a spell on DnDB or what not. I always keep a 2nd copy of my Roll20 sheet in D&DB, but I don't use it all the time... except it's WAY better at tracking spell usage or abilites refresh.
DnDBeyond is basically an electronic version of your books that's searchable, sortable etc. It is actually best for offline games. It is not a virtual tabletop in any shape or form. For playing online, you really can't beat Fantasy Grounds + a voice chat client (Discord/Skype). There is just nothing better on the market. Yes I'm including Roll20, which is second best. Another thing is that if you are playing via these virtual tabletops, spending money on DnDBeyond is really questionable imo.
In my (pretty well researched) opinion, I think the best possible way to play D&D online is Fantasy Grounds + a discord video call w/ webcams. If it doesn't work for you, sorry it is literally the best method available by a longshot (well Roll20 is close, but it's a looong drop to 3rd place).
We use D&D Beyond for character sheets and rules reference, Discord for voice comms, Roll20 for maps, dice rolling & initiative tracker.
As FullMetalBunny mentions above, multiple monitors make this a whole lot better experience. I tend to view the main Roll20 map and chat/dice rolls on my main monitor, then have discord and DDB on my secondary monitor.
We've not used webcams as part of our play, but then again, we have mostly known each other for many years, so we all recognise each others voices.
We use a convention where, if we start a sentence with the name of the GM, then it's a player talking to the GM, otherwise it's the character talking. A number of us use character accents so it's really obvious when we're talking "in character"
I use Roll20 for the maps, tokens, and in-game die rolls.
We use Skype for communication, since Roll20's audio/video integration is sub-par.
I use D&D Beyond to quickly look up rules in game, and when I'm creating monsters in Roll20 I can easily copy and paste abilities, etc into the Roll20 sheet.
I have a three monitor set-up with DDB on the left monitor, Roll20 on the center monitor, and the right monitor is about 2/3 Roll20 NPC sheets, and 1/3 Skype.
Alternately you could use Skype alone and share your screen to show your other players you maps, but you don't get the benefit of using Roll20 character sheets and NPC sheets to automate stuff.
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"Orcs are savage raiders and pillagers with stooped postures, low foreheads, and piggish faces with prominent lower canines that resemble tusks." MM p245 (original printing) You don't OWN your books on DDB: WotC can change them any time. What do you think will happen when OneD&D comes out?
If you have purchased the physical books, and don't mind looking up rules, etc during a session, and if you don't mind doing the work to input all the monster/NPCs stats manually from your books, then you don't need D&D Beyond.
If you haven't yet bought any physical books, then you may wish to consider purchasing from D&D Beyond instead, if you plan to use Roll20, or directly from Fantasy Grounds, if you want to use them.
I purchased D&D Beyond because I want to be able to quickly look up rules, magic items, and monsters during the game without having to stop and flip through a book. I can also copy and paste info from DDB directly into the game, for example the details of a magic item I've given to a player.
In addition, I use Roll20 as my VTT, and Roll20 doesn't currently offer the full PHB or full DMG (so, limited rules, spells, and magic items). They charge $50 for their Monster Manual, while on DDB I was able to buy it for $20 when it was on sale.
It won't be useful to everyone. The best thing to do is test it. Try running a game on Roll20 for FREE and just use the FREE SRD material on DDB for reference during the game.
It's also good to note that if you and your players were to pool your money to buy the books once and also pool your money to get one Master Tier subscription, the assigned "DM" could then share the purchased, unlocked books with all the other players in the campaign via DDB at no extra cost.
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"Orcs are savage raiders and pillagers with stooped postures, low foreheads, and piggish faces with prominent lower canines that resemble tusks." MM p245 (original printing) You don't OWN your books on DDB: WotC can change them any time. What do you think will happen when OneD&D comes out?
Yeah, I get that. My actual question then would be: how do you integrate the two of them? Looking at beyond's stats and then typing /roll formulas in Roll20 seems a bit clunky as a workflow.
I do possess physical book, plus another digital copy on Fantasy Grounds, but I am truly tempted by the lightweight structure of Beyond. Basically I am just trying to find a way to integrate it in my online games ensuring a pleasant and smooth experience for my players.
Yeah, I get that. My actual question then would be: how do you integrate the two of them? Looking at beyond's stats and then typing /roll formulas in Roll20 seems a bit clunky as a workflow.
I do possess physical book, plus another digital copy on Fantasy Grounds, but I am truly tempted by the lightweight structure of Beyond. Basically I am just trying to find a way to integrate it in my online games ensuring a pleasant and smooth experience for my players.
There is currently no way to get a great full experience on ROll20 because they don't have the full PHB, and likely won't any time soon.
Curse have also stated repeatedly they don't intend to add a VTT.
Soooo..... if you are looking for the best integration of VTT and digital D&D core books and content, that would be Fantasy Grounds.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Orcs are savage raiders and pillagers with stooped postures, low foreheads, and piggish faces with prominent lower canines that resemble tusks." MM p245 (original printing) You don't OWN your books on DDB: WotC can change them any time. What do you think will happen when OneD&D comes out?
Actually I think the FG content is quite readable. If you aren't aware each module has an entry called a Reference Manual. Open that and it's very close to just reading the books as printed. This feature is imo better than what DnDBeyond offers (As far as I know there is no such feature, you just have subjects. I'm not that familiar though.). You do of course need to have the FG client up and running. It does preclude android devices etc.
And you should really watch this video before you go for Roll20 Pro. It compares what's available and pricing on both platforms. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gHmxi4EydE
Seen it already and actually it motivated me to get FG. However, I noticed how more than half of the "uber features" of FG can be easily replicated (for free) on Roll20. Having the hardcopies of the books in fact it does not take much to replicate them in Roll20. Accordingly, having DnD Beyond it becomes even quicker (ctrl c + ctrl v).
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Hi everyone! I've been using DnD Beyond since a while by this is my first post here!
I was wondering if anyone has ever tried to play online with DnD Beyond and some other platform.
Actual case: I am the DM for a group of friends. We've been playing together since 3.5e and we're still going strong together. However, we now live in different countries and - apart when we are on holiday - we have to play online.
We've been using Fantasy Grounds for a while but I am not 100% happy with it for many reasons. Same applies to Roll 20 as a main platform. Accordingly, I was trying to find a way to play online using DnD Beyond and hangouts. The idea itself works fine, my only concern would be on how to use maps and sharing pictures with them!
On the brights side, unlocking all DnD beyond content would help a great deal even my "live" games.
Any thoughts on how to do it?
Thanks!
I use a combination of Roll 20, D&D Beyond, and Discord. D&D Beyond is excellent for character management and quick lookups. Roll 20 is adequate for managing maps/character position when necessary. Discord is our preferred communication program as it handles voip excellently and we've got a bot for dice rolls, if a player wants that option. It's kind of a mishmash of systems to play our game, but there is no one option that consolidates all aspects of the game into a single platform.
I agree with everything Doctor said,
The worst complaint I have is you need 2 monitors or it's going to be slightly painful. If you're a GM it's a major pain not to have at least 2 monitors.
I keep Roll20 on my primary monitor. Half my 2nd monitor is my Roll20 character sheet (since it has all the macros for Roll20).
The other half of the screen is whatever I need. If I'm looking up a spell on DnDB or what not. I always keep a 2nd copy of my Roll20 sheet in D&DB, but I don't use it all the time... except it's WAY better at tracking spell usage or abilites refresh.
I’m also interested in hearing how others manage this. Curious if those of you that run online games use webcams or not in addition to discord?
DnDBeyond is basically an electronic version of your books that's searchable, sortable etc. It is actually best for offline games. It is not a virtual tabletop in any shape or form. For playing online, you really can't beat Fantasy Grounds + a voice chat client (Discord/Skype). There is just nothing better on the market. Yes I'm including Roll20, which is second best. Another thing is that if you are playing via these virtual tabletops, spending money on DnDBeyond is really questionable imo.
In my (pretty well researched) opinion, I think the best possible way to play D&D online is Fantasy Grounds + a discord video call w/ webcams. If it doesn't work for you, sorry it is literally the best method available by a longshot (well Roll20 is close, but it's a looong drop to 3rd place).
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D&D Beyond FoundersI play in an online-only game with friends.
We use D&D Beyond for character sheets and rules reference, Discord for voice comms, Roll20 for maps, dice rolling & initiative tracker.
As FullMetalBunny mentions above, multiple monitors make this a whole lot better experience. I tend to view the main Roll20 map and chat/dice rolls on my main monitor, then have discord and DDB on my secondary monitor.
We've not used webcams as part of our play, but then again, we have mostly known each other for many years, so we all recognise each others voices.
We use a convention where, if we start a sentence with the name of the GM, then it's a player talking to the GM, otherwise it's the character talking. A number of us use character accents so it's really obvious when we're talking "in character"
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I use Roll20 for the maps, tokens, and in-game die rolls.
We use Skype for communication, since Roll20's audio/video integration is sub-par.
I use D&D Beyond to quickly look up rules in game, and when I'm creating monsters in Roll20 I can easily copy and paste abilities, etc into the Roll20 sheet.
I have a three monitor set-up with DDB on the left monitor, Roll20 on the center monitor, and the right monitor is about 2/3 Roll20 NPC sheets, and 1/3 Skype.
You can also try PowerVTT https://www.poweredvtt.com/
Alternately you could use Skype alone and share your screen to show your other players you maps, but you don't get the benefit of using Roll20 character sheets and NPC sheets to automate stuff.
"Orcs are savage raiders and pillagers with stooped postures, low foreheads, and piggish faces with prominent lower canines that resemble tusks." MM p245 (original printing)
You don't OWN your books on DDB: WotC can change them any time. What do you think will happen when OneD&D comes out?
I use the same combo of DDB + Roll20 + Discord. Roll20 with Dynamic Lighting makes running dungeons more fun than using static maps.
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What is the point of using Beyond then?
"Orcs are savage raiders and pillagers with stooped postures, low foreheads, and piggish faces with prominent lower canines that resemble tusks." MM p245 (original printing)
You don't OWN your books on DDB: WotC can change them any time. What do you think will happen when OneD&D comes out?
Yeah, I get that. My actual question then would be: how do you integrate the two of them? Looking at beyond's stats and then typing /roll formulas in Roll20 seems a bit clunky as a workflow.
I do possess physical book, plus another digital copy on Fantasy Grounds, but I am truly tempted by the lightweight structure of Beyond. Basically I am just trying to find a way to integrate it in my online games ensuring a pleasant and smooth experience for my players.
"Orcs are savage raiders and pillagers with stooped postures, low foreheads, and piggish faces with prominent lower canines that resemble tusks." MM p245 (original printing)
You don't OWN your books on DDB: WotC can change them any time. What do you think will happen when OneD&D comes out?
The problem with FG is that books - once purchased - are confined to their environment and are not very useful for live games ecc.
Thus I think I will use the following solution:
- Roll20 Pro for online games (I am quite tech savy, I should be able to reach a decent level of automation)
- DnD Beyond as a resource for all my players (both online and offline) where they will create their characters that I will then import in roll20.
Actually I think the FG content is quite readable. If you aren't aware each module has an entry called a Reference Manual. Open that and it's very close to just reading the books as printed. This feature is imo better than what DnDBeyond offers (As far as I know there is no such feature, you just have subjects. I'm not that familiar though.). You do of course need to have the FG client up and running. It does preclude android devices etc.
And you should really watch this video before you go for Roll20 Pro. It compares what's available and pricing on both platforms. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gHmxi4EydE
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Seen it already and actually it motivated me to get FG. However, I noticed how more than half of the "uber features" of FG can be easily replicated (for free) on Roll20. Having the hardcopies of the books in fact it does not take much to replicate them in Roll20. Accordingly, having DnD Beyond it becomes even quicker (ctrl c + ctrl v).