This is my first time posting on these forums. I've started playing D&D for the first time in earnest last month. I'm the DM in my group of friends and we're absolutely hooked. I'm going to give some context below but here's the TLDR; I'm looking for someone who would be able to help me incorporate 3rd party materials into working private homebrew that I could use in my personal campaign with my friends. I just need help making the various actions, spells, etc. work in the various DnD beyond tools, like the combat tracker. I'd be willing to pay someone for their time if necessary
Context: My friends and I are hardcore gamers that have never really entered the tabletop space. When we play something we go all in and D&D has been no exception. So far, we've spent $400 on source material here on D&D beyond, and have spent another 100$ on 3rd party materials as well, mainly from Kobold Press. We've had 3 Sessions so far and have played for a total of 25 hours between those three sessions.
I love DMing, I love writing, I love tactical combat and I love narratives. I've been going hardcore on the worldbuilding and work a rather busy schedule when I'm not playing D&D. To say there's been a heavy workload on my shoulders as the DM so far would be an understatement, which is why I love D&D beyond, as it's helped streamline and automate elements of the game. I've been using D&D beyond to build encounters and have been using the Combat Tracker to handle initiative. I reallllllllllly love the ability to just click right on the stat block to roll attacks and damage. I HATE doing any sort of math myself, and love automation. It's been a bit of a hassle to use monsters from other source material as I have to do extra work and math whenever they come up in the round as well as track other things that D&D beyond licensed material incorporates in said tools.
I've looked around to see if there was a way to import my 3rd party content into D&D beyond for use and it seems the only way to do so is the homebrew system with the added stipulation of said homebrew needing to be private, never published, material for personal use only. Which is fine, minus the fact THAT I HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO DO THAT. I've looked at some tutorials and they seem to be informative enough, but the time cost is just a bit much. I'm looking for someone to maybe help me add my 3rd party materials into a private homebrew format, so that it would work in D&D beyond. I'm not sure why, but I would catch on quicker and save time if someone was able to walk me through adding the different stats and features in a way that Dnd beyond can capitalize on. I would be willing to pay someone for their time. For example, if I could just show someone or tell them the monsters actions and they would lead me like a kindergartener through the process of typing what and adding what where, that would be absolutely incredible. Or if someone can point me towards a similar resource?
I’m one of the folks ‘round here who usually tries to help with stuff like that. However, I really can’t offer much help at all unless you’re more specific than “3rd-party content.” (I mean, technically that includes… well, everything that isn’t D&D. And people have been doing that for 60,000+ years or so.
What I can help with immediately is to show you the easiest way to teach yourself. Follow this link and find a monster that’s sorta close to what you want:
That will give you a fully filled out copy of the original and you can dissect it to see how it does stuff. If you make it unusable that’s okay, just delete that copy and make another using that same template. (You should see my deleted homebrews file. It’s like a domain of dread or something in there. 😉)
(But i’ma warn you that the Monsters section is about the easiest thing to homebrew on DDB. So whatever you learn there won’t help much for anything else.)
Thanks for the response! To be specific, i'm referring to material from Kobold Press, titles such as tome of beasts 1&2, as well as Deep Magic.
Unfortunately I've tried to piece things together via the method you've mentioned, and while this is something I can manage with monsters usually (depending on how much of an existing template reflects the thing i'm trying to import), subclasses and spells etc have been difficult and I can't figure them out.
Are the third-party materials already intended for 5e, or would you also need help adjusting stat blocks from a different edition/game, on top of using the DDB 'brewer?
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Helpful rewriter of Japanese->English translation and delver into software codebases (she/e/they)
The materials in question are in fact intended for 5e. I just need to make it work. Kobold press builds their spell books and stat blocks exactly like dnd 5e does, so it's incredibly transferable. I also have all the information in said materials via pdf form. I could easily copy and past the descriptors, the die amounts and all conditions, saving throws, etc etc. I just don't know how to turn what is obviously easily interpreted on paper into the coded working homebrew on dnd beyond that I could use in the combat tracker.
I have never read any of those materials you mentioned, not do I have any wish nor intention to. As I said before, I can help you, but you have to actually disclose the things you want to incorporate.
Thanks for the response! To be specific, i'm referring to material from Kobold Press, titles such as tome of beasts 1&2, as well as Deep Magic.
I mean, there's many a thing from the 3 materials I listed I wish to incorporate. To many to name. But if you want to know what types of things i want to add, I'm trying to add subclasses, spells, and monsters. The thing I'm currently trying to figure out is the subclass. There's a subclass for sorcerers called the boreal bloodline that I want to add. I have no idea how to add this to DnD beyond. I figured dropping all the information from a privately owned 3rd party material on a forum post would be a big no no.
Maybe I'm missing something, what exactly do you need to know?
Thanks for the response! To be specific, i'm referring to material from Kobold Press, titles such as tome of beasts 1&2, as well as Deep Magic.
I mean, there's many a thing from the 3 materials I listed I wish to incorporate. To many to name. But if you want to know what types of things i want to add, I'm trying to add subclasses, spells, and monsters. The thing I'm currently trying to figure out is the subclass. There's a subclass for sorcerers called the boreal bloodline that I want to add. I have no idea how to add this to DnD beyond. I figured dropping all the information from a privately owned 3rd party material on a forum post would be a big no no.
Maybe I'm missing something, what exactly do you need to know?
Well, since I know absolutely nothing about anything from Kobold Press, everything…. Like, if you don’t tell me how something is supposed to work, I can’t tell you how to make it work. If you don’t want to include more info I understand. Good luck.
Apparently they were commissioned by WotC to write Hoard of the Dragon Queen and Rise of Tiamat, so not an entirely unaffiliated company.
Trying to decide whether to offer my help. I spend a lot of time tinkering with homebrew, so I'd be capable of it, though I also have chronic issues so not sure what I can promise within a timeframe, depending on day-to-day.
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Helpful rewriter of Japanese->English translation and delver into software codebases (she/e/they)
Apparently they were commissioned by WotC to write Hoard of the Dragon Queen and Rise of Tiamat, so not an entirely unaffiliated company.
Trying to decide whether to offer my help. I spend a lot of time tinkering with homebrew, so I'd be capable of it, though I also have chronic issues so not sure what I can promise within a timeframe, depending on day-to-day.
I'd take any help I can get! I don't have any tight timeframes and can make things work. Hopefully nothing would be to difficult to incorporate, and I've had some success doing monsters myself. It's the items and subclasses where I'm completely lost. My group plays every Saturday, so I would only need something on a "weekly" timeframe maximum. Although, I'm not rushing to make anything work. I can always just do it the old fashioned way. It's more so I'm hoping to be guided through the process at first so i can know exactly what to be looking for and doing. If that makes sense.
Thanks for the response! To be specific, i'm referring to material from Kobold Press, titles such as tome of beasts 1&2, as well as Deep Magic.
I mean, there's many a thing from the 3 materials I listed I wish to incorporate. To many to name. But if you want to know what types of things i want to add, I'm trying to add subclasses, spells, and monsters. The thing I'm currently trying to figure out is the subclass. There's a subclass for sorcerers called the boreal bloodline that I want to add. I have no idea how to add this to DnD beyond. I figured dropping all the information from a privately owned 3rd party material on a forum post would be a big no no.
Maybe I'm missing something, what exactly do you need to know?
Well, since I know absolutely nothing about anything from Kobold Press, everything…. Like, if you don’t tell me how something is supposed to work, I can’t tell you how to make it work. If you don’t want to include more info I understand. Good luck.
Okay! Well here's the information concerning the subclass I was mentioning
Hrm, do these PDFs allow you to copy/paste the text from them? That'd make the whole process much easier.
I did search published homebrew sorcerer subclasses and found boreal, for what it's worth; the text matches what you've shown. I have no idea how well-coded it is (or if it technically shouldn't have been published since copyright issues, so for all we know it won't last long), but take a look and see if it's implemented what you need.
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Helpful rewriter of Japanese->English translation and delver into software codebases (she/e/they)
Yes the Pdfs have almost 400 pages of content and have a directory, are obviously searchable, and copying and pasting is super easy.
As to your last point, yeah if it's identical to the one I demonstrated, it's in violation of D&D beyond rules for published homebrew and is infringing on copyright laws.
Dude, next time try to get it all in one shot, and rotate it or crop it or something. it’s more convenient to have a single cropped photo to look at. Taller, and without the dead space is better. Besides, we don’t need art or intro paragraphs full of flavor, only to see the class features since that’s what you need help with. (I’m on my phone, like, 90% of the time, bur even if I weren’t it would be easier to see all the class features in one.)
But naruhoodie is absolutely right about the copy/paste, half of what you’ll be doing most of the time is as simple as copy/paste. Speaking of which:
Name, copy/paste the flavor paragraph in as the “Description” and “Short Description.” DON’T THOUCH ANYTHING ELSE. [CREATE SUBCLASS]
Numbing Cold
Copy/paste into the “Snippet” field, then copy that and paste it into the “Description” field. (The Snippet field will scrub out any formatting that you may have picked up in the copy. Then you can copy the scrubbed version to drop in the Description. That random coding can mess stuff up, so scrubbing it away is helpful.)
In the Snippet field, edit that down to be as brief as you can. This is what will display on your character sheet on the “Features & Traits” tab. There are “snippet” codes that can make that easier for you. In this case, something like the following:
A creature that takes cold damage from one of your spells takes {{modifier:cha}} cold damage.
(Or if you really want to be fancier about it: “A creature that takes cold damage from one of your spells takes {{modifier:cha#unsigned}} additional cold damage.”)
After you have filled in the”Name,” "Description” and “Snippet” fields, it’s just “Required Class Level = 3,” “Display Order = 1,” “Feature Type = Granted.” [CREATE CLASS FEATURE]
Winter’s Child
Copy/paste source-Snippet-Description and abbreviate snippet, as above. Text only. Class Level: 3, Display Order: 2, Granted. [Create]
Gelid Form:
copy/paste:!Snippet—Description and abbreviate, Level: 6, Order: 3, Granted. As above. (Seeing a pattern here?)
Then add the following “Modifier”
Modifier: Resistance->Subtype: Cold Damage
After you [SAVE] the modifier, re-save the class feature using the [SAVE CHANGES] button.
Winter’s Form:
Copy/paste, abbreviate, 14, 4, Granted. Has Options ☑️, Levels Where Options Known = 14 [CREATE] Note: This Description only needs to contain the first paragraph, and the Snippet only needs contain info from the 1st paragraph, such as this “You can give your winters power one of two physical forms when you use this feature.” The rest will get entered elsewhere.
You will next need to “Add Action” This will be either a “General” action or a “Spell” action. (I don’t think it really matters in this case, but that may change in some future update. 🤷♂️) Name: Winter’s Form, if you chose “Spell” as the action type yo could set the “Spell Range” as “Self,” and finally the “Activation Time” would be “Bonus Action.” Then just plop that same snippet from before in this snippet field. Finally [SAVE].
Now you need to “Add Option.” There isn’t a name so pick something I suppose, like “Winter’s Form: Swirling Sleet and Snow.” The copy/paste the description of this first form into the Snippet & Description Fields, and figure out how to abbreviate that somehow (remember the {{modifier:cha}} snippet.) [Create Option] As for the rest:
Modifier: Immunity->Subtype: Cold Damage
Modifier: Resistance->Subtype: Bludgeoning, Piercing, Slashing from nonmagical sources. (There technically is no “magic damage” in 5e, only damage from nonmagical sources and damage from magical sources.)
And then you need to “add action” “Weapon” type, Name = “Slam” Ability = Cha, Is Proficient ☑️, Attack Range = Melee, Dice Count = 1, Die Size = d4, weapon Subtype = natural, Damage = Cold, Display as Attack = Yes, Martial Arts ☑️, Activation = Action, Snippet, [SAVE]
Then [SAVE CHANGES] for the feature too.
Finally, Winter’s Soul
This is the same round of copy/paste, and Modifiers I have already explained, so I won’t again. But I will tell you that the snippet code to automatic display your Spell Save DC is {{savedc:cha}}. After you [SAVE CHANGES] on this feature, you MUST re-save the whole subclass using the main [SAVE CHANGES] button under Basic Information.
No. And even if there were you would have to modify the Attack and Damage modifiers to match whichever ability score your monster uses for their attacks.
Hello all!
This is my first time posting on these forums. I've started playing D&D for the first time in earnest last month. I'm the DM in my group of friends and we're absolutely hooked. I'm going to give some context below but here's the TLDR; I'm looking for someone who would be able to help me incorporate 3rd party materials into working private homebrew that I could use in my personal campaign with my friends. I just need help making the various actions, spells, etc. work in the various DnD beyond tools, like the combat tracker. I'd be willing to pay someone for their time if necessary
Context: My friends and I are hardcore gamers that have never really entered the tabletop space. When we play something we go all in and D&D has been no exception. So far, we've spent $400 on source material here on D&D beyond, and have spent another 100$ on 3rd party materials as well, mainly from Kobold Press. We've had 3 Sessions so far and have played for a total of 25 hours between those three sessions.
I love DMing, I love writing, I love tactical combat and I love narratives. I've been going hardcore on the worldbuilding and work a rather busy schedule when I'm not playing D&D. To say there's been a heavy workload on my shoulders as the DM so far would be an understatement, which is why I love D&D beyond, as it's helped streamline and automate elements of the game. I've been using D&D beyond to build encounters and have been using the Combat Tracker to handle initiative. I reallllllllllly love the ability to just click right on the stat block to roll attacks and damage. I HATE doing any sort of math myself, and love automation. It's been a bit of a hassle to use monsters from other source material as I have to do extra work and math whenever they come up in the round as well as track other things that D&D beyond licensed material incorporates in said tools.
I've looked around to see if there was a way to import my 3rd party content into D&D beyond for use and it seems the only way to do so is the homebrew system with the added stipulation of said homebrew needing to be private, never published, material for personal use only. Which is fine, minus the fact THAT I HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO DO THAT. I've looked at some tutorials and they seem to be informative enough, but the time cost is just a bit much. I'm looking for someone to maybe help me add my 3rd party materials into a private homebrew format, so that it would work in D&D beyond. I'm not sure why, but I would catch on quicker and save time if someone was able to walk me through adding the different stats and features in a way that Dnd beyond can capitalize on. I would be willing to pay someone for their time. For example, if I could just show someone or tell them the monsters actions and they would lead me like a kindergartener through the process of typing what and adding what where, that would be absolutely incredible. Or if someone can point me towards a similar resource?
Thank you much <3
I’m one of the folks ‘round here who usually tries to help with stuff like that. However, I really can’t offer much help at all unless you’re more specific than “3rd-party content.” (I mean, technically that includes… well, everything that isn’t D&D. And people have been doing that for 60,000+ years or so.
What I can help with immediately is to show you the easiest way to teach yourself. Follow this link and find a monster that’s sorta close to what you want:
Then, follow this link and choose that monster as your template:
That will give you a fully filled out copy of the original and you can dissect it to see how it does stuff. If you make it unusable that’s okay, just delete that copy and make another using that same template. (You should see my deleted homebrews file. It’s like a domain of dread or something in there. 😉)
(But i’ma warn you that the Monsters section is about the easiest thing to homebrew on DDB. So whatever you learn there won’t help much for anything else.)
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Hello,
Thanks for the response! To be specific, i'm referring to material from Kobold Press, titles such as tome of beasts 1&2, as well as Deep Magic.
Unfortunately I've tried to piece things together via the method you've mentioned, and while this is something I can manage with monsters usually (depending on how much of an existing template reflects the thing i'm trying to import), subclasses and spells etc have been difficult and I can't figure them out.
Are the third-party materials already intended for 5e, or would you also need help adjusting stat blocks from a different edition/game, on top of using the DDB 'brewer?
Helpful rewriter of Japanese->English translation and delver into software codebases (she/e/they)
Hello!
The materials in question are in fact intended for 5e. I just need to make it work. Kobold press builds their spell books and stat blocks exactly like dnd 5e does, so it's incredibly transferable. I also have all the information in said materials via pdf form. I could easily copy and past the descriptors, the die amounts and all conditions, saving throws, etc etc. I just don't know how to turn what is obviously easily interpreted on paper into the coded working homebrew on dnd beyond that I could use in the combat tracker.
I have never read any of those materials you mentioned, not do I have any wish nor intention to. As I said before, I can help you, but you have to actually disclose the things you want to incorporate.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
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I mean, there's many a thing from the 3 materials I listed I wish to incorporate. To many to name. But if you want to know what types of things i want to add, I'm trying to add subclasses, spells, and monsters. The thing I'm currently trying to figure out is the subclass. There's a subclass for sorcerers called the boreal bloodline that I want to add. I have no idea how to add this to DnD beyond. I figured dropping all the information from a privately owned 3rd party material on a forum post would be a big no no.
Maybe I'm missing something, what exactly do you need to know?
If it helps you get started, there is also this in-depth homebrew guide that walks through nearly every aspect of using the homebrew tools.
Well, since I know absolutely nothing about anything from Kobold Press, everything…. Like, if you don’t tell me how something is supposed to work, I can’t tell you how to make it work. If you don’t want to include more info I understand. Good luck.
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Apparently they were commissioned by WotC to write Hoard of the Dragon Queen and Rise of Tiamat, so not an entirely unaffiliated company.
Trying to decide whether to offer my help. I spend a lot of time tinkering with homebrew, so I'd be capable of it, though I also have chronic issues so not sure what I can promise within a timeframe, depending on day-to-day.
Helpful rewriter of Japanese->English translation and delver into software codebases (she/e/they)
I'd take any help I can get! I don't have any tight timeframes and can make things work. Hopefully nothing would be to difficult to incorporate, and I've had some success doing monsters myself. It's the items and subclasses where I'm completely lost. My group plays every Saturday, so I would only need something on a "weekly" timeframe maximum. Although, I'm not rushing to make anything work. I can always just do it the old fashioned way. It's more so I'm hoping to be guided through the process at first so i can know exactly what to be looking for and doing. If that makes sense.
Okay! Well here's the information concerning the subclass I was mentioning
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uT4Th9yfdJIjDrcCmay6Rv-ULH7dxm2b/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/13nKPT5OYtXn_aq67HDIWnju3_YAObaWV/view?usp=sharing
Hrm, do these PDFs allow you to copy/paste the text from them? That'd make the whole process much easier.
I did search published homebrew sorcerer subclasses and found boreal, for what it's worth; the text matches what you've shown. I have no idea how well-coded it is (or if it technically shouldn't have been published since copyright issues, so for all we know it won't last long), but take a look and see if it's implemented what you need.
Helpful rewriter of Japanese->English translation and delver into software codebases (she/e/they)
Yes the Pdfs have almost 400 pages of content and have a directory, are obviously searchable, and copying and pasting is super easy.
As to your last point, yeah if it's identical to the one I demonstrated, it's in violation of D&D beyond rules for published homebrew and is infringing on copyright laws.
Dude, next time try to get it all in one shot, and rotate it or crop it or something. it’s more convenient to have a single cropped photo to look at. Taller, and without the dead space is better. Besides, we don’t need art or intro paragraphs full of flavor, only to see the class features since that’s what you need help with. (I’m on my phone, like, 90% of the time, bur even if I weren’t it would be easier to see all the class features in one.)
But naruhoodie is absolutely right about the copy/paste, half of what you’ll be doing most of the time is as simple as copy/paste. Speaking of which:
Ho here and “create from scratch.” https://www.dndbeyond.com/homebrew/creations/create-subclass
Name, copy/paste the flavor paragraph in as the “Description” and “Short Description.” DON’T THOUCH ANYTHING ELSE. [CREATE SUBCLASS]
Numbing Cold
After you have filled in the”Name,” "Description” and “Snippet” fields, it’s just “Required Class Level = 3,” “Display Order = 1,” “Feature Type = Granted.” [CREATE CLASS FEATURE]
Winter’s Child
Gelid Form:
Winter’s Form:
Copy/paste, abbreviate, 14, 4, Granted. Has Options ☑️, Levels Where Options Known = 14 [CREATE]
Note: This Description only needs to contain the first paragraph, and the Snippet only needs contain info from the 1st paragraph, such as this “You can give your winters power one of two physical forms when you use this feature.” The rest will get entered elsewhere.
You will next need to “Add Action” This will be either a “General” action or a “Spell” action. (I don’t think it really matters in this case, but that may change in some future update. 🤷♂️) Name: Winter’s Form, if you chose “Spell” as the action type yo could set the “Spell Range” as “Self,” and finally the “Activation Time” would be “Bonus Action.” Then just plop that same snippet from before in this snippet field. Finally [SAVE].
Now you need to “Add Option.” There isn’t a name so pick something I suppose, like “Winter’s Form: Swirling Sleet and Snow.” The copy/paste the description of this first form into the Snippet & Description Fields, and figure out how to abbreviate that somehow (remember the {{modifier:cha}} snippet.) [Create Option]
As for the rest:
After you’ve done adding all of that to the Option, [SAVE CHANGES].
Then, add a second Option to Winter’s Form for “Winter’s Form: Translucent Ice” Copy/paste & Abridge. As always. [CREATE OPTION]
You should know how to use the “Immunity, Resistance, and Vulnerability Modifiers” by now. Next it would be
(Pretty sure that’s 👆 correct.)
And then you need to “add action” “Weapon” type, Name = “Slam” Ability = Cha, Is Proficient ☑️, Attack Range = Melee, Dice Count = 1, Die Size = d4, weapon Subtype = natural, Damage = Cold, Display as Attack = Yes, Martial Arts ☑️, Activation = Action, Snippet, [SAVE]
Then [SAVE CHANGES] for the feature too.
Finally, Winter’s Soul
This is the same round of copy/paste, and Modifiers I have already explained, so I won’t again. But I will tell you that the snippet code to automatic display your Spell Save DC is {{savedc:cha}}. After you [SAVE CHANGES] on this feature, you MUST re-save the whole subclass using the main [SAVE CHANGES] button under Basic Information.
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is there a place were i can find all the copy pasta for weapons as below
Greataxe. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d12 + 3) slashing damage.
so that i can just copy and past when making monsters
No. And even if there were you would have to modify the Attack and Damage modifiers to match whichever ability score your monster uses for their attacks.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
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