D&D Beyond is an officially licensed toolkit for D&D 5e, by Curse. I learned about it by word of mouth, from one of my fellow gamers, ogehn, who uses it with his D&D campaigns. If all you want to do is make a few (6, to be exact) PCs, using D&D Basic or the SRD (system reference document) or look up full information from those, free is fine. (You can make more PCs by deleting some of your current ones.) You can also create and share homebrew content–but not use others’. All you need to do is register, or use your current Twitch account if you have one. Note that you will see ads at the free tier. (For mobile use, you can download free iOS or Android apps.)
Don’t want the ads, or want unlimited characters? That costs, but the cost is low, if you stick with Basic/SRD content. There are 2 subscription tiers, a Hero Tier (US$26/year) for individual players and a Master Tier ($54/year) aimed at DMs. Both tiers offer monthly and 6 month subscriptions as well. The big advantage of Master Tier is that if you’ve purchased content besides Basic/SRD (see below), you can share it with your players in 3 different campaigns, so they can use it. Full information on costs and a comparison of benefits is on their subscription page.)
I just mentioned the possibility of buying other official D&D 5e content for this toolkit, and this is where we leave Try Before You Buy Land. However, I am going to cover it briefly, so you know what official content the subscriptions do and do not include. They don’t include content from the core books (Players Handbook, DM’s Guide, Monster Manual) or any sourcebooks or adventure books, either to read online or use in the character builder (CB). To get, say, the DMG or Curse of Strahd, you have to buy this content via Beyond’s Marketplace. (This is a model similar to Lone Wolf Development’s Hero Lab software, that I reviewed here.)
How much does additional content cost? Most core, adventure, and source books cost around $30 for both the full contents to read online and to have the data added to the CB. For comparison, the suggested retail price of a hardcover core book or Curse of Strahd is $50. Once you have bought content, you have it as long as you have your account. Incidentally, you can buy content for a free account. I don’t see that option being much use, since you are limited in the number of characters you can have, and the devices you can use it on. After looking over the prices, I count myself lucky that ogehn does have a Master Tier account and I am in one of his campaigns, so I can see all that he has. I have noticed, however, that while I can read all this content, I don’t see it when I go into the CB. But I can still use it to build characters without using Beyond’s builder.
And speaking of Beyond’s CB, how does it work? I love it! And so do my fellow players. You can make a complete character in minutes, once you have a basic concept, including Class & Race, narrowed down. The CB has a total of 6 pages. Home lets you pick (or randomize) a name and upload an image, as well as select some options–Rolled/Fixed Hit Dice, content to exclude, XP/Milestone advancement, etc. The pages for Race, Class, and Equipment each have dropdowns for all the sections. The dropdowns give a description and, if applicable, related options (subrace, ability score increase, etc.). You can also go to the full entry in the Beyond compendium right from the CB.
Abilities lets you choose from Point Buy, Standard Array, and Manual (to enter random roll scores). Description covers Backgrounds, Faith (deity), Notes, and Lifestyle, as well as physical traits. These are a mix of fill-in and dropdowns. There is even an option to fill in custom background information. Equipment is where you manage your currency as well as gear. You do need to have your class selected to choose starting gear and gold. Finally, you can print and export your sheet. Again, for a free account, you can only have 6 saved at a time.
I haven’t done much with the Campaign Builder, as I will stick to playing, but it seems to be mainly an editing window. Ogehn’s page for the game I am in has a list of deities, a link to more campaign info, and links to the PC’s D&D Beyond sheets, as well as for him to toggle sharing of his purchased content on and off.
Overall, I do recommend D&D Beyond, for both making characters and as a reference for the Basic and SRD content, even if you don’t upgrade to paid subscriptions or buy content. I suggest either free or buying a month’s Hero Tier for $3, to Try Before You Buy. Then you can better decide if subscriptions and/or paid content are worth it for you, and–if you’re a DM–your group.
Linda Whitson
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