If you have ever played Dungeons & Dragons, you know how complicated it can be. Campaign notes, character sheets, monster and item stats, and don’t even get us started on managing pertinent lore and world-building notes. And if you haven’t played before, all of this can seem so intimidating!
Whether you’re starting your very first adventure or looking to streamline your Dungeon Master methods, D&D Beyond can help you. And we’re here to help you understand how.
What Is D&D Beyond?
D&D Beyond is the official home of digital Dungeons & Dragons content. If you get really into it, that includes things like collectible digital dice, and there are subscriptions for additional features.
This article will stay on the desktop, but you can also access and manage features through a Player Tools App and a Reader App for reference material.
Download: D&D Beyond Player App for Apple | Android (free)
Download: D&D Beyond Reader App for Apple | Android (free with in-app-purchases)
Even without a subscription, the site’s marketplace lets you buy resources and collectibles as you want them. But don’t worry, all the tools that this article will look at are free.
How to Create a D&D Beyond Account
The first step to using D&D Beyond is creating a profile. You can access some of the game resources without signing in, but you won’t have access to any of the tools that we’ll be describing later.
From the D&D Beyond homepage, select Register from near the top right corner of the window. This takes you to another page, where you can create an account using a Google or Apple profile. You can use whatever name you want for your profile, and keep in mind that you can manage multiple D&D characters with one profile.
How to Create a Campaign and Form a Party
Once you have a profile, select Collections from the toolbar at the top of the window and then select the MY CAMPAIGNS tile. From this page, click the CREATE A CAMPAIGN button near the upper right corner of the window. Write a campaign title and description and press the CREATE CAMPAIGN button in the lower left.
Now that your campaign is started, select it from your Campaigns Manager. On the right side of the screen, you should see an invite link that you can email or text to your friends so that they can join your party. Once they’ve joined, you’ll see them as active characters. Click on their names and follow them to find them more easily next time.
Scroll down to find the buttons for adding private notes that party members can’t see, as well as public notes that all party members can read. This is a great way to manage DM information that characters wouldn’t have access to—separate from general story notes—that the players should keep track of.
How to Build Playable Characters and NPCs
You can create your own characters by going back to the Collections manager in the top toolbar and selecting the MY CHARACTERS tile, and then selecting the CREATE A CHARACTER button. Alternatively, select the CHARACTER BUILDER tile from the Tools drop-down in the toolbar near the top of the window.
You can also create NPC characters as a DM by selecting the CREATE UNASSIGNED CHARACTER button from the same page where you add notes.
There are three character creation methods: Standard, Quick Build, and Randomize.
Standard is best for players that are familiar with D&D already, and it gives you the most control over your character. Quick Build still provides a lot of flexibility, but also takes a lot of shortcuts. Randomize randomly generates a character. This can be a fun way to generate NPCs, get characters for one-shot sessions, or play with different builds.
No matter which option you go with, it’s pretty user friendly, so this article won’t walk you through that process.
D&D Beyond gives you 6 character slots. That’s great for having distinct characters for different campaigns and parties, or for managing NPCs in campaigns that you’re running.
How to Use the Character Sheet to Track Your Game
Now that your campaign is up and running and your party is all joined in, you can also track your game in real-time through the features and tools that we have discussed. If you’re managing a session as the DM, you’ll probably do this primarily through the public and private notes already discussed.
Other game tracking occurs primarily through changing your character sheet, just like when playing on a good, old-fashioned tabletop. With your character sheet open, you can even click the D20 icon in the lower-left to perform a digitally simulated dice roll.
Short and long rests are both buttons on the upper right corner of your character sheet. You can also apply them by selecting your character icon on the upper left corner of your character sheet. From here, you can also select MANAGE EXPERIENCE to apply XP as you defeat monsters and complete tasks.
You apply hit points through a simple counter below the long and short rest buttons. To apply or remove conditions, select the CONDITIONS box below the hit points counter to open a menu of all standard in-game conditions complete with toggle switches.
As your character collects loot, spends money, and loses or breaks weapons and armor, select Equipment in the box below the conditions field and select the currency icon or the MANAGE EQUIPMENT button to view your complete inventory and move items.
The NOTES field in the same box is where users can keep their own notes about their characters and their involvement in the campaign.
Happy Adventuring
There are a lot of great features in D&D Beyond, particularly if you’re new to D&D, play remotely, or need DM tools to keep ahead of your unruly party.
This article just presented some of the basic features but we encourage you to take a deeper dive on your next adventure.