Access Your Dungeons & Dragons Character From Any Browser

[Koeryn]

...So this is only for that cruddy Genero-WoW-on-paper game they're calling D&D?

Pass.

Well in this case although I have to agree, D&D 4th Edition was the reason I quit D&D (that and that all my friends grew up got married and now have different and difficult schedules).

But 4th Edition feels more like a MMORPG than the tabletop pen an paper game of old. I mean there's even tanks and aggro controllers and stuff now... But still I wish there was a character creator like this for 3.5/3rd or even 2nd edition (advanced), and if there is please do tell

My GM has a character / campaign editor that allows a degree of modification (he's been tweaking it for years now) for v.2.5. I'll see if I can get a name for you.

 

[Koeryn]

Or better yet you use one of the many free online character sheet sites. Not only do you get to avoid the dissapointing D&D insider (maybe one day they'll get more than the remnants of two formerly great D&D magazines and an updated version of E-Tools), but you can also apply your House Rules or Player-Created content with ease.

Or, better yet, keep your character sheets on Google Wa... oh, right.

Sure, you don't get the eTools convenience, which I admit I used a lot for a while (My DM still does for most NPCs), but I find it's better to use a character sheet or *gasp* lined paper to create my characters. It ends up being more fun, and I end up liking my characters more that way.

I still haven't played 4e, but that doesn't make this any less applicable.

Lined (and graph!)paper character sheets are full of awesome.

 

[Misho-]

My GM has a character / campaign editor that allows a degree of modification (he's been tweaking it for years now) for v.2.5. I'll see if I can get a name for you.

Thank you, that would be awesome

 

[mattaui]

The web-based builder, while not being an unalloyed good, was generally an enjoyable experience to try out. I especially liked the new layout of the character sheets, as well as the fact that Essentials is kept in its own little cubbyhole. I subscribe to their Insider program by the year, so it's around $6 a month for me, which includes access to the digital versions of the magazines Dungeon and Dragon. Do I wish they still had the paper versions of the magazines? You bet. I always subscribed to them and loved reading them every month. Of all the decisions they've made in the years of tweaking the game, ceasing publication of the paper magazines was quite possibly the worst. Still, for such a small monthly fee, I feel like I get my money's worth.

I did have some issues with lag today, which I'm (at present) willing to chalk up to it being new and being under a lot more strain than it will be day to day on average. It did crash on me a few times, though with a web-based application it was just a matter of reloading the window, and it saved most of the work I had done. I wish I could say software that crashes was some sort of intolerable aberration, but I have AAA PC -and- console titles that do that to me, some way more frequently than they should, so the fact that such a niche product has issues doesn't floor me.

I understand folks who want a non-web based version, and I hope that they see the light and enable it to run offline, at least in some functionality. A mobile version or mobile features would be cool, but I really prefer my pencil and paper gaming to be just that, pencil and paper. If all the players have their phones and laptops out (I make a special dispensation for the DM), it starts to make me wonder why I'm bothering to play tabletop.

As for the endless holy war that wages between editions, this is nothing new. Saw it when we went from 1e to 2e, then from 2e to 3e, and then it got really dicey (ha) with 3e and 3.5e, and now on to 4e and what I'd call the Essentials Heresy. Fortunately for hard core 3.5ers, there's always Pathfinder for you, which is a first in this long and bloody march, a supported haven for a previous edition of the game.

 

[mattaui]

Glorious double posts...

 

[scotth266]

Alas, to use this I'd have to subscribe to DnD Insider for $5 a month.

I'll wait for a freeware version, if one doesn't already exist.

 

[zHellas]

...So this is only for that cruddy Genero-WoW-on-paper game they're calling D&D?

Pass.

Troll, obviously.

The only problem I have with it is its mandatory $10/month charge.

Yeah, that's the only problem I have with the online D&D character maker.

 

[Tom Phoenix]

WotC? What's that? I'm not that much of an expert on D&D history to recognize that one, please do tell

WotC is short for Wizards of the Coast, the publisher behind the D&D books.

 

[The Great JT]

If I didn't have to pay, I would try it out. Sorry, but I can find other alternatives for free.

 

[Misho-]

WotC? What's that? I'm not that much of an expert on D&D history to recognize that one, please do tell

WotC is short for Wizards of the Coast, the publisher behind the D&D books.

Duh! Of course, I should have known it! Still thanks for clarifying that for me

 

[Zechnophobe]

So, I decide I'd like to give the new Online character builder a try.

In order to do this, I go to the website. I have to sign up for DDI of course, but that is expected.

I choose a one month subscription, and fill out a form or two on the product. Then I'm told I need a
wizards.com account to create a DDI account. Really? I need ONE account to make a DIFFERENT account?

Alright fine, I go to create a new account and follow a page or four of clicks and fill out the new
account information. Funny someone is already using my normal Screen Name, that'd really random.

I click 'create account'... and am told my e-mail is already in use. I guess I made an account a decade ago and forgot
Well, fine, I'll just retrieve the lost password. I type in my e-mail address... and I get an error saying
I should contact customer support. They show two numbers, I call the one for US since that is where I live.
After listening to two or three automated messages, it finally informs me that customer service hours don't
include my time of call, 12:00 am.

Why didn't they mention that on the call page? Woulda saved me a few minutes. So I'll try to e-mail someone
since I won't really have a chance to call during work hours cuz.. that's when I have to work too.

I go to wizards.com/customerservice after two or three clicks. I appear to need to LOG IN to get customer service
That's great, what if I need help logging in? In fact, I click all over the place looking for a plain gosh dang
email, and there is quite literally none to be found. Anywhere. I can't request help to get the account that
I need for the other account that I'm trying to pay for. It has now been about an hour.

So I break down and decide "I'll just use my work e-mail for now, and change it later."
I fill out new information to create a new account for the other account. Account Created!

I try to log in using the user name and password. No dice, says it doesn't work. Maybe It sent me an
e-mail for activation? That is pretty common. Nothing. No e-mail. I don't even have a spam filter at the work account.

So, I have neither of the accounts I need for the service, and no way to contact customer support. I can't even create an account to complain on there forums. I will have to CALL someone on the phone during my work days to SIGN UP for an account that I need only so I can buy a 10 dollar product. Y'know what? Fuck it.

 

[Koeryn]

My GM has a character / campaign editor that allows a degree of modification (he's been tweaking it for years now) for v.2.5. I'll see if I can get a name for you.

Thank you, that would be awesome

Ah, apparently it's the AD&D Core Rules CD from like, 12 years ago. I don't know if you can get your hands on it at all.

 

[Misho-]

My GM has a character / campaign editor that allows a degree of modification (he's been tweaking it for years now) for v.2.5. I'll see if I can get a name for you.

Thank you, that would be awesome

Ah, apparently it's the AD&D Core Rules CD from like, 12 years ago. I don't know if you can get your hands on it at all.

Ah, the one that came with a magazine I think... Yeah I have that one but that is scratched due poor misuse by some of my friends Thanks anyhow

 

[Koeryn]

My GM has a character / campaign editor that allows a degree of modification (he's been tweaking it for years now) for v.2.5. I'll see if I can get a name for you.

Thank you, that would be awesome

Ah, apparently it's the AD&D Core Rules CD from like, 12 years ago. I don't know if you can get your hands on it at all.

Ah, the one that came with a magazine I think... Yeah I have that one but that is scratched due poor misuse by some of my friends Thanks anyhow

Hey, no problem. Considering the age and lack of physical media availability, you might be able to find it for download somewhere. Best of luck!

 

[sthanatos]

Sweet! Let me just load up the page on my ipad here...and...um...oh. Silverlight. huh. Well I guess I'll...hmm. damn it.

 

[Zechnophobe]

The more I use it, the more I think this is a terrible, terrible application. The thick client app is many times more capable.

The Web app:

1) Doesn't let you export a character (so someone else could load it)
2) Doesn't list class properties anywhere
3) Doesn't let you modify what shows up on the character sheet
4) Doesn't let you do quick characters of things OTHER than pre determined ESSENTIALS ONLY class-race combinations.
5) Doesn't let you house rule anything
6) Doesn't let you add custom campaign elements.
7) Makes an EVEN WORSE jumble of trying to pick relevant feats.
8) Displays many things wrong. Beastmaster Rangers are basically screwed.
9) Doesn't let you choose custom portraits, only pre-existing ones.
10) Somehow has a worse harder to use marketplace interface.
11) Doesn't let you have character sheet open at the same time as the builder
12) Doesn't give power cards for second wind and Action Point. This also means that effects which augment these have no where to be placed.
13) Has issues importing existing character (Like not knowing how much XP it has so leveling it up further is a pain).
14) Doesn't have breakdowns anywhere on sheet for how things are tallied up.

I think the only real thing I've liked about it, is that the power cards for utility powers use the same color scheme as other power cards. Less times I'll get asked "How often can I use utilities?"

Seriously, I think this only looks like a cool product if you never used the desktop version.

 

[Jesus Phish]

I've the desktop version but sadly it's out of date. The monk class in it is missing an awful lot of powers for example. Perhaps more classes are too, but I mainly play monks so I was dissapointed when I found out the offical product was missing the basic knowledge.

It even lists the monk as being PH3, but still omits powers. It's missing two level one dailies for example.

And since it's out of date and I have no longer a sub and they've changed to this new version, I'll probably never get an update.

 

[Scars Unseen]

This is an obvious money grab for people like me that only pay once every 6 months to get updates. But they made the mistake of actually decreasing functionality, so I guess I'll go post my gripe on the WotC forum and just stop paying them anything at all.