This is a really big news, but it needs to interact with encounter builder, so that I can prepare encounters beforehand, and then have not only a turn order during combat, but also a way to see what the monsters actually do.
I thoroughly second this. Either have it directly link to the encounter creator through a drop down selection or in the very least have the tokens selected have a roll to hit and roll to dmg ability.
@nunya3963 I like the quickness of it and if you have some character and monster sheets printed out it can be handy. For myself when I dm online I'm a hybrid role. I still roll actual dice and add modifiers manually. Take notes etc. So having this thing track initiative is nice still
Encounter builder is going to get abandoned eventually. There's already a notice on there that difficulty rules are 2014 and if you want 2024 rules you have to use Maps.
I made a quick test - it shows the initiative, but nothing else. You cannot run an encounter in this tool, you need a separate tab with the encounter builder to access the monsters' actions and tracking HP and everything else. I think this update is a step in the right direction, but it is far from encounter integration into the maps.
It needs to have integration with the existing encounter builder. Right now this is way too slow, it doesn't let you change HP or refer to statblocks/character sheets or have links to their pages. It also lacks integration with the 3D dice that are advertised and users pay money for, dice animations of all players should be shown to anyone in the map.
yes, a integration of stat blocks would be a much needed improvement! like being able to just click a monster or NPC and as DM be able to see their whole stat block - what a improvement that would be. AboveVTT already have this.
Totally. The fact that this doesn’t use the monster stat block is kinda waste… but great improvement. Hopefully this isn’t all the features that’s supposed to be in maps
This is not an encounter builder or tool. It is merely an initiative tracker that interfaces with basic token functionality. This is misnamed. In order to be able to "run encounters directly in maps" we need access to statblocks and dice rolling for monsters. 3D dice would be a great option, since players pay for those, but statblock access is the bare minimum for running an encounter. Even if I had to do all that in a separate tab with the Encounters tool, that would be fine, but those do not interface at all right now, making this impossible.
I think its coming quickly...they even had a disclaimers stating " 3d dice are not yet rollable in Maps" which means they are aware of the want for it...
@@maverickgames9551 I'm sure it was on one of the roadmaps they've released, but it's a really low priority compared to other things. Down in the "we'll get around to it at some point" category.
I don't see a feedback tab... so ill give you my feed back here ... these 3 things that would make me switch from owl bear rodeo 1. gotta have custom tokens without custom token its a non starter. 2. I want to be able have a drop down with my monsters stat block that I can roll form right int the map, I should also be able to keep track of damage 3. Assistant mode: you should be able to promote a player to your assistant and give them control over adding AoE effects, summons, conditions... the DM has a lot to do to keep the game moving .
Those are all good suggestions. To further add to this. Being able to have monster stat blocks with rollable actions would make me move from roll20 to this. I don't want to be switching screens to see what abilities an aboleth has and roll dice off screen
The Feedback tab is actually in the Maps page on the right hand side of the screen. It would be nice for there to be a Faster Custom Token, you can currently create custom tokens through the home brew manager. but that is hardly improv friendly, and I'd like to be able to create token's for Vehicles and mounts.
Assistant mode is implemented. DM is moving NPC and Enemies during combat. I move my character and my friend's characters. If any player cast a spell, I create the AoE effects and based player's description. No problems there. As for Token I think there is option to have Custom picture on token. And as for Drop down menu, I do not know.
This is in the right direction. I love how it is built into the map and I don’t need to run encounter builder separate. I am going to assume hp tracking will follow soon. And monster stat blocks .
Love the update. The last thing that is needed to be able to get rid of the separate Encounters feature completely is access to creature stat blocks while running the encounter on the map. Love that feature in Encounters and absolutely vital for ease of use. I use D&D Beyond Maps for multiple games as a DM. Please add this.
Ok, this is all awesome! Now I want to start DM'ing again just to play with this. Next... please add condition rings or identifiers. Or... allow multiple colored borders.
@@uptheironschris17 especially since the Overlays already have a second selection for different types of damage in that area. It would be cool to have the color marker, and then a second section that includes conditions
I love this. It's probably now my favourite VTT, it makes running premade modules a breeze, it looks clean, it's super intuitive, and makes DDB just that much more helpful of a tool. I hope more updates come soon, I'm super excited for HP tracking as well as character sheet and stat block integration like in the Encounter Builder. Imagine later down the line if there's dynamic fog of war and light sources, or independent player views, or condition tracking. I'd love to run a dungeon crawl where I don't have to constantly worry about darkvision and light cones and stuff like that. I've tried all the other big name VTTs and they're cool but there's just so much prep and setup involved that it just becomes a slog, not to mention dealing with paying for game systems, or subscriptions, or renting servers. This is just seamless and low maintenance and already part of a product I support and enjoy using. The D&D and DDB creative teams just have it right. Great work on this update! I can't wait for the next one.
Erm have you tried FoundryVTT tho? This BeyondVTT is better than maybe Roll20 (but no dynamic lighting?), but it is nothing remotely close to Foundry in automation, quality or freedom, or even price... You don't need server hosting either. Just a one-time payment much cheaper than Beyond subscription and free forever.
Very neat. I'd recommend looking into something of object tokens, like a boulder that gets tossed onto the map. A token works, but a specialized picture would be better!
Great improvements. As a foundry vtt user I am waiting to see how this compares when it is finished. A lot of these improvements seems like just the basics of what a vtt should have. What are the plans/roadmap for features going forward. What about in the far future?
I'm planning on using Foundry in the future for my games since it's one of the few one time purchasable vtts out there that im aware of, i just havent had the time to sink into learning how to use it.
I didn’t see anything about enemy stat blocks. Is there functionality to at least see action capabilities for monsters? Or do I have to have a monster manual open in another tab so I know what they can do?
@@benjamight4996 I'm testing it right now too. I can't seem to figure out how to adjust their HP should the enemies take damage, have you? Perhaps this is just purely an initiative tracker and not at all like the combat encounter system? ...meaning I'd probably need to have another tab open as well for their normal stat block. Unless I am missing something.
@@JeffsAquaponics Encounters system doesn't let you put npc's and monsters in as allies or neutral parties, or use the revised difficulty system. A big part of this update was on DM control of tokens, how they align to party and how they interact with the initiative tracker and spectators/players.
Pretty cool BUT - this tool will have mechanics like: show hit and miss attacks, fail or succeed saves, damage applied to characters, automatic apply dis or adv when blinded, poisoned, inspired, etc,... all that stuff like Fantasy Grounds do?
So you can’t create an encounter in the encounter builder and then have it import the tokens to maps? I feel like this would be there already versus having to build an encounter twice. Point me to how if this is there and I missed it
there isn't, I think the plan looks like they will eventually take down the Encounter builder or make it legacy once all its functionality is built into Maps more completely. the Encounter builder was designed pre WotC owning DND beyond, Maps is entirely a WotC idea. I'm hopeful they'll add the ability to connect the Encounter builders autorollers and stuff to Maps around the time the new Monster Manuel is released.
For context am a Master Tier Subscriber Feedback: I was ok with the alpha being Master Tier only it was super early access and you wanted feedback from the very invested users. However now it has moved to beta ot should no longer be a master tier only perk. Maybe let Heroic havr beta access and then everyone get access full release (at this point, i would say just give everyone access cause alpha was multiple years and if we wait for feature compleness it will be many more). But locked features behind subscriptions especially as this is functionality every other vtt offers for free is ridiculous. Please let maps and the encounter builder be public access cause it will honestly help this community and service thrive far better than hiding everything behind subscription. Cause even if its only for testing these features have been in testing for so long they should just be released and iterated upon publicly
@EricMesa Roll 20 the DM doesn't have to pay to use it they just don't get all the features but they can set up maps with npc and player counters. I also believe owlbear rodeo is free to use.
@EricMesa YES! Shard Tabletop! I love it as a DM and as a player. Has everything being asked for here. Only downside is they don't have a license to use WotC material. But you can just import it manually. You get 1 free maps use as DM and player for free.
Seems like it's coming along pretty well. I would really like to have the monster stats show up through to know what abilities they have on the fly and adding vision for the character nodes to auto clear the fog of war. Also for me personally i really like isometric battle maps maybe a option to change the grid would also be nice. great job so far guys keep the updates coming please
The game I run is in-person at a physical table. So, I don't really need a VTT at this point, but I'm watching things evolve when the time comes to make the switch. If the maps tool were integrated with encounter builder, it would be helpful to me. However, the current version doesn't allow for encounter management aside from initiative tracking. I still prefer Encounter Builder because I can click and get the summary card for each monster and link to its details page if I need to go there. If these two tools were merged, it'd be VERY helpful, and I'd consider it a replacement for the encounter builder. It's a great step. Keep up the good work. I can't wait till it becomes helpful to me.
I played with this last night and agree with some of the comments on here about having the creature's stats available. Also being able to roll from those would be great. Controlling HP is another thing. I do like the thought behind this. I only just started using D&D Beyond, and was thinking how convenient something like this would be as i was flipping from one tab to the other during our initial session.
if we can get hp track and the stat blocks it would be pretty perfect. If it could at least be connected with the encounter builder that would be awesome. I run a vtt and I like that the player can see this on the map. If I could interact with in from the encounter builder and it show up on the vtt it would be perfect or close enough
Its a great step forward in the developing of the platform. A few things that would help a LOT (and I think youre already trying to add) are: Tracking health points Quick access to NPC's and PC's Character sheets, even if it's simplified to the actions they can take, movement speed, Passive senses and saving throws chart. Dosent have to be the entire sheet.
the +/-5 is only on non rolled innitiative. if you set it to advantage or disadvantage and hi the autoroll it will roll twice and pick the highest or lowest
It looks good. Question would be would players still need to have Video Conferencing software or Voice Channel on another application to communicate, or is there any built in communications functionality?
Feedback: Literally pick up what you have done in encounters and drop it into maps. It works. It tracks health, it allows me to roll creature hits and track what's happening to my players. What you've shown here is an initiative tracker. The functionality of that initiative tracker is brilliant. I genuinely love what it does... buuuuuut I wont use it because its yet another screen to keep track of. and doesn't have the functionality that Encounters has. Just keep swimming, just keep swimming....
Very nice! Getting closer and closer for me to change plattform. Just need dynamic lightning and explorer mode and i will move all my campaigns. Nice work!!
You really need to be able to access the character sheets and monster stat blocks from the tokens, roll from them (attack, spells, etc.), drag those roll functions to the map for ease of use, have combatants be able to target others so that their attack rolls are directed to the target and damage rolls deduct hp from the target. Those are the kind of things I want from this.
This is a great update. I've been using Maps alongside the Encounter Builder for around a year now and love the simplicity of it. The ability to create encounters like this in Maps will save me sooooo much administration and prep time! However, the biggest blocker at the moment is I can't seemingly use it to track monster HP, which feels like a fundamental thing an encounter tracker should do. Being able to see and use the monster stat block like in the Encounter Builder would also be amazing.
It's getting there! Has a lot of work to go but I like the improvements. Would like to see this actually integrated with the existing encounter builder as I use that heavily. Still looking for persistent maps so my players can log into it without me having to constantly restart it every 15 minutes.
Adding the initiative track for player viewing is wonderful. It's the one thing my players have been asking for. The problem I see is that it wasn't being presented in a way to indicate that it links to the Encounter Builder. It looks like I have to build the encounter twice and run two separate initiative tracks to get this to function... Let us know when these are linked!!! Thanks!
I run a play by post game and was so excited for Maps. But in practice I found it not a good fit because the map times out so fast, the DM needs to be logged in and active in the browser to keep the "session" open for the players. That makes it tough for PBP games as one round might take a day or more IRL.
I'm curious if they're waiting for monster stat block and encounter builder integration until the new Monster Manual releases in 2025. It's a very clear and easy point for them to build something without having to retroactively update a lot of stat blocks. They can then work overtime on updating the backlog of stat blocks, similar to adding the maps from old adventures overtime like they have been.
Is there a way to change the opacity or colors of the control panels? For me, it's basically white text on a white-ish map, and it's really hard to see.
Love updates that head in this direction! Hoping one day we get targeting and characters and dm can target and attack and use attacks and spells that affect the characters and npcs life and status effects.
It's a decent initiative tracker, but as a DM I really would appreciate a way to adjust HP on the enemies here. Also a hyperlink to the character sheet of the enemies would be helpful to roll their attacks from but I can set that up with screen tabs in advance. The beta encounter tracker already provides this. Can't wait to see more development on this MAPS program, however, it does not have the hyped "Unreal Tournament" vibe that was being touted when it was first announced and shown. I do like the ease of general use and simplicity. This is great for new players and non tech savvy DMs like myself. I currently use Fantasy Grounds as my primary VTT, but I have some groups that complain if every feature of their character immediately calculated in the code and I grow weary of trying to make the VTT meet their expectation when I'm not Tech Saavy.
needs a dm overlay layer for making map notes/translucent image over alternate map, like other VTTs already have. I.e if there is a secret door players will not see it but I can. It's a pain to use a module player version of the map and then the dm has to constantly flick between the map tab and a separate tab with the DM version of the Map
Need to intergate more the other encounter features, still need to switch back between 2 different windows to track hp and rolls but this is a nice step in the right directions
Some super obvious needs to make the truly useable: 1. Give clickable access to stat blocks. 2. Give the dice roller an easy modifier adjustment. Like in Fantasy grounds. If the attack is plus nine, I want that to click “+, 9” then roll the d20. I want my players to see the “23 to hit” in the dice log, NOT SEE 14 to hit and HEAR me say “23 to hit.” Fantasy Grounds does it so can you. 3. Gotta make it easier to tweak monster stats without having to learn programming language.
I have the top tier subscription option but my Maps screens are not showing up with the same depth of detail / options that are present in this video. The tokens do not separate into party members and enemies, and there are no options under each token.
This looks fantastic. I am a DM for my son and his friends and I use encounters to track HP for the party and the monsters. Are you thinking of adding an HP tracker to the maps encounters for quick reference on how everyone is doing?
After using Maps for a bit, I have a few comments. First the feedback button doesn't exist in maps for me. Second, I agree with most people that the maps need to tie into the encounter builder, but I also want to build encounters on the fly. Third, I need to be able to create a project folder to put the maps in. This would be a container for maps related to a specific area, or campaign, one shot, etc. Also consider a "state" or reset. This would allow people to reuse maps if they replay the campaign. Lastly I need to be able to scale the FOW tool, larger and smaller depending on the needs. The single size takes to long to clear a large area, and a bigger one would make smaller changes more difficult. I'd be happy to submit this feedback through the tool, but I am currently unable to do so.
The encounter manager is great news. Please link it to the encounter builder or add the monster statblock so this can be a more useful feature. And of course, monster HP tracking.
I also am curious on the buildings your own map when I tried it i didn't see how I can add treesor anything just draw stuff. I would love a full walk through.
Looks amazing! I'm so close to switching over to this but it's still missing a few things. I need to be able to pull up the sheets super quick to do their rolls. I don't want to have to manually click a d20 then look up their +hit bonus. I want to just click the dragon on the map and see all their skills and attacks and click it to roll it all right there.
Is there a way to have access to premade map to adventure if I only have the physical adventure and not the digital? Or do I have to take a picture of said maps from the book and then upload it to the account?
No easy access stat blocks, no way to program fog of war for darkvision so cleaning it always a mess still, no easy way to just make or enlarge a token outside of creating a whole brand new monster token or player sheet just to import art... We don't need an initiative tracker, a way to make tokens faster and easier will be WAY MORE USEFUL than something that can be done on a piece of paper the size of a ruler.
I could be wrong, but I believe they are all already in there. Some don't have art, but they don't have art in the current Encounter builder, and theres no art added to those creatures in the books generally speaking. But I've used creatures from all the books I've owned, and i own most of the content on the site.
Needs monster stat blocks, HP tracking, and 3d dice rolls on maps... This needs to be a #1 priority implementation. D&D beyond has all the tools necessary to run a great VTT campaign, the problem is none of these tools are fully integrated with each other. Nobody wants to have 3 - 5 tabs open, it should all be right there on maps easy to access.
Inside of online play, can this be used at a table with a tv as the battle mat with all the tokens on it? So it’s something that the DM controls but the players only see the player version?
Please give us the animated dice in maps. there needs to be a point in buying them and showing them off. dice are an integral part of dnd and showing them of is essencial for many of my players.
a little to bare bones pt. so it might be the video not showing off enough for the program is still to ealry for me (most of my players are new to DnD (januar start) and came from Baldurs gate 3. )
I may have missed it but does this integrate with the existing encounters tool? I've often used that to pre build encounters that could come up in a session.
So after trying it a bit, I kinda changed my mind. 1. This dev update doesn't mention the fact that the current encounter builder is NOT updated to 2024 and there are no plans to do so.. It means that you are currently unable to pre build encounters in advance with 2024 rules. 2. The Maps encounters are very lacking in basic usability . The turn tracker is nice, but it's very much useless when you can't go to monster abilities directly from it - a feature "old" encounter builder had. 3. The Maps encounters lack a proper search functionality besides the monster name. You cannot filter by CR, monster type etc. 4. The Maps encounters only show a brief "low"/"medium"/"high" encounter difficulty, but not the maths behind it - no info what the budget is, how much each monster contributes to the budget etc etc.. Overall it's nice for the on-the-fly encounters but it's a giant PITA if you want to pre build anything proper in advance.. There's a lot of work to be done to make it even on par with the "old" encounter builder, you guys are apparently deciding to kill off :( Not to mention - the Maps encounters are nice.. But what am I supposed to use if I don't run the game with VTT? The "old" builder worked perfectly for that use case.. This one.. not so much.
I don't want to be a downer, but this won't be usable until we can run the encounters from the map - integration with encounter builder, updating hit points and conditions on monsters, showing stat blocks, rolling dice for saving throws and attacks from stat blocks, players rolling initiative. Also, we (DMs and players) need the ability to send custom messages and whispers to chat.
We need to be able to click on monsters and see their monster sheets or we still have to have to combat tracker open and this doesn't really benefit much. This is just a second place we have to track encounters as it sits rather than instead of.
How does the maps work with the encounter builder? will they both link up or will i have to manually do everything twice? especially when moving through the turn order
they don't, well So the Encounter builder can roll to the Gamelog still. What I currently do is run the encounter builder for tracking HP and rolling without using it's initiative at all. If they added Tracking HP in Maps It would be so easy to just use the Encounter builder for autorollers i wouldn't even need to fully access encounters. But I suspect because it makes sense to work this way even if it's kinda lame, that they will be adding that side of Maps into it with the new Monster Manual. Maps would then essentially have everythign the encounter builder would have, and argueably have a easier to improv system. But that's all wishfull thinking while we are still using Encounter builder to autorollers and HP tracking.
So there is no link to emcounter builder so i cant really prep. Irritating. Also no way of seeing stat blocks for momsters. That just a hyperlink. How hard are hyperlinks. Mark as open on new window if you have to. Cmon its 2024.
yeah this is cool and all but whats the point if i can't view stat blocks or modify HP in this same window. all you've added realistically is an initiative tracker. i still have to have another window open to manage all this.
Like literally all you need to do to take this from totally useless to basically perfect is make the encounter generate with your rolled initiative in the encounters tool. That's it. It would obviously be better to roll that functionality into maps completely, but at the very least I shouldn't have to make an encounter in two different tabs and then manually copy every single initiative roll into the Encounter builder and then remove defeated creatures manually from both windows.
Roll20 and Foundry still blow this out of the water. It's encouraging to see more features are being added, but it's still far below par for the course.
Whats the point of all this, when this feature is lack of encounter managements tools needed? How can i change monster HP when its hit? How can i access monster stat block? Why its not paired with your encounter tool? I would like to build encounter in advance a then just load it in Map module and get all my tokens on table automaticaly... Those are simple features, why they are not in already? After a year of development, we can now track initiative in Map module, and don´t even get all features encounter module has for few years already? why? how? Im lost... sorry... Definitely potencial here BUT...
its a little silly to me that a free browser extension has features a paid first party product doesn't. automatically logging initiative for players when they roll and showing character sheets and stat blocks are both very basic features for a VTT to have
This looks good, but I don't see why anybody would be using this over other VTT that has all of these features (and more). If only there was an integration with the encounter builder and the character sheet so people can roll from their sheet directly. Also add a journal tab so we can link any data source inside maps this way you don't need another monitor to be able to find a rule or details of the adventure. This feels like a standalone tool even though you are trying to be a one stop shop.
Feedback: 1: Each DND Map (especially one DND Beyond) has a GM Version and Player version. I would love for the GM Map and Player map to be synced with GM view and PLayer view. That way the GM can keep track of room numbers and hidden traps without the players seeing it. 2: 3D dice rolling on the map has to be a thing. It really feels like you are playing D&D when you see 3D dice rolling. 3: Players should be able to access they spells/character sheet from the map, and the GM can access Monster stat blocks as well
Try Maps: www.dndbeyond.com/games?icid_medium=organic&icid_source=bluebanner&icid_campaign=mapsbeta
This is a really big news, but it needs to interact with encounter builder, so that I can prepare encounters beforehand, and then have not only a turn order during combat, but also a way to see what the monsters actually do.
almost like it's the biggest selling point for a dndb product
I thoroughly second this.
Either have it directly link to the encounter creator through a drop down selection or in the very least have the tokens selected have a roll to hit and roll to dmg ability.
Without being able to fully run an encounter through it, what’s the point?
@nunya3963 I like the quickness of it and if you have some character and monster sheets printed out it can be handy.
For myself when I dm online I'm a hybrid role. I still roll actual dice and add modifiers manually. Take notes etc. So having this thing track initiative is nice still
Encounter builder is going to get abandoned eventually. There's already a notice on there that difficulty rules are 2014 and if you want 2024 rules you have to use Maps.
I made a quick test - it shows the initiative, but nothing else. You cannot run an encounter in this tool, you need a separate tab with the encounter builder to access the monsters' actions and tracking HP and everything else. I think this update is a step in the right direction, but it is far from encounter integration into the maps.
Far from a 'complete' integration. We're still in Beta though, and the grouping mechanics are a really useful update.
It needs to have integration with the existing encounter builder. Right now this is way too slow, it doesn't let you change HP or refer to statblocks/character sheets or have links to their pages. It also lacks integration with the 3D dice that are advertised and users pay money for, dice animations of all players should be shown to anyone in the map.
yes, a integration of stat blocks would be a much needed improvement! like being able to just click a monster or NPC and as DM be able to see their whole stat block - what a improvement that would be. AboveVTT already have this.
As long as you can turn off the virtual dice because they take forever to land sometimes
Totally. The fact that this doesn’t use the monster stat block is kinda waste… but great improvement. Hopefully this isn’t all the features that’s supposed to be in maps
@@mrmuffins951 thats why i love the chat dice roller option
@ what is that?
This is not an encounter builder or tool. It is merely an initiative tracker that interfaces with basic token functionality. This is misnamed. In order to be able to "run encounters directly in maps" we need access to statblocks and dice rolling for monsters. 3D dice would be a great option, since players pay for those, but statblock access is the bare minimum for running an encounter. Even if I had to do all that in a separate tab with the Encounters tool, that would be fine, but those do not interface at all right now, making this impossible.
Would also be nice to have the DnD Beyond Dice actually in the maps as well.
I think its coming quickly...they even had a disclaimers stating " 3d dice are not yet rollable in Maps" which means they are aware of the want for it...
@@maverickgames9551 I'm sure it was on one of the roadmaps they've released, but it's a really low priority compared to other things. Down in the "we'll get around to it at some point" category.
I don't see a feedback tab... so ill give you my feed back here ... these 3 things that would make me switch from owl bear rodeo
1. gotta have custom tokens without custom token its a non starter.
2. I want to be able have a drop down with my monsters stat block that I can roll form right int the map, I should also be able to keep track of damage
3. Assistant mode: you should be able to promote a player to your assistant and give them control over adding AoE effects, summons, conditions... the DM has a lot to do to keep the game moving .
Those are all good suggestions.
To further add to this. Being able to have monster stat blocks with rollable actions would make me move from roll20 to this. I don't want to be switching screens to see what abilities an aboleth has and roll dice off screen
If you don't see it refresh the page. It should show up on the right side of the screen. It's a big gray tab.
The Feedback tab is actually in the Maps page on the right hand side of the screen.
It would be nice for there to be a Faster Custom Token, you can currently create custom tokens through the home brew manager. but that is hardly improv friendly, and I'd like to be able to create token's for Vehicles and mounts.
Assistant mode is implemented. DM is moving NPC and Enemies during combat. I move my character and my friend's characters. If any player cast a spell, I create the AoE effects and based player's description. No problems there. As for Token I think there is option to have Custom picture on token. And as for Drop down menu, I do not know.
facts
This is in the right direction. I love how it is built into the map and I don’t need to run encounter builder separate. I am going to assume hp tracking will follow soon. And monster stat blocks .
Love the update.
The last thing that is needed to be able to get rid of the separate Encounters feature completely is access to creature stat blocks while running the encounter on the map. Love that feature in Encounters and absolutely vital for ease of use.
I use D&D Beyond Maps for multiple games as a DM.
Please add this.
100%. That is all that is missing.
I'd love this to
Ok, this is all awesome! Now I want to start DM'ing again just to play with this.
Next... please add condition rings or identifiers. Or... allow multiple colored borders.
@@MichaelGalt you can colour code the marker outline now.(ie: red, blue, gray, etc) But I agree, condition indicators would be a great add-on.
@@uptheironschris17 especially since the Overlays already have a second selection for different types of damage in that area. It would be cool to have the color marker, and then a second section that includes conditions
I use the maps on a projector to DM for the D&D club at my college. They love it and so do I.
I love this. It's probably now my favourite VTT, it makes running premade modules a breeze, it looks clean, it's super intuitive, and makes DDB just that much more helpful of a tool. I hope more updates come soon, I'm super excited for HP tracking as well as character sheet and stat block integration like in the Encounter Builder.
Imagine later down the line if there's dynamic fog of war and light sources, or independent player views, or condition tracking. I'd love to run a dungeon crawl where I don't have to constantly worry about darkvision and light cones and stuff like that. I've tried all the other big name VTTs and they're cool but there's just so much prep and setup involved that it just becomes a slog, not to mention dealing with paying for game systems, or subscriptions, or renting servers. This is just seamless and low maintenance and already part of a product I support and enjoy using.
The D&D and DDB creative teams just have it right. Great work on this update! I can't wait for the next one.
Erm have you tried FoundryVTT tho? This BeyondVTT is better than maybe Roll20 (but no dynamic lighting?), but it is nothing remotely close to Foundry in automation, quality or freedom, or even price... You don't need server hosting either. Just a one-time payment much cheaper than Beyond subscription and free forever.
Very neat. I'd recommend looking into something of object tokens, like a boulder that gets tossed onto the map. A token works, but a specialized picture would be better!
Make one through monster creation.
Great improvements. As a foundry vtt user I am waiting to see how this compares when it is finished. A lot of these improvements seems like just the basics of what a vtt should have. What are the plans/roadmap for features going forward. What about in the far future?
Agreed seeing the roadmap more flesh out would be really good
I'm planning on using Foundry in the future for my games since it's one of the few one time purchasable vtts out there that im aware of, i just havent had the time to sink into learning how to use it.
same here
I didn’t see anything about enemy stat blocks. Is there functionality to at least see action capabilities for monsters? Or do I have to have a monster manual open in another tab so I know what they can do?
I'm testing it now it seems like you have to have another tab
@@benjamight4996 I'm testing it right now too. I can't seem to figure out how to adjust their HP should the enemies take damage, have you? Perhaps this is just purely an initiative tracker and not at all like the combat encounter system? ...meaning I'd probably need to have another tab open as well for their normal stat block. Unless I am missing something.
@@BrandonHerrera26 Yeah it just seems to track initiative
So many things you could have done to improve maps, and you add a simple initiative tracker? The encounter tracker already does that and way more.
@@JeffsAquaponics Encounters system doesn't let you put npc's and monsters in as allies or neutral parties, or use the revised difficulty system. A big part of this update was on DM control of tokens, how they align to party and how they interact with the initiative tracker and spectators/players.
Pretty cool BUT - this tool will have mechanics like: show hit and miss attacks, fail or succeed saves, damage applied to characters, automatic apply dis or adv when blinded, poisoned, inspired, etc,... all that stuff like Fantasy Grounds do?
So you can’t create an encounter in the encounter builder and then have it import the tokens to maps? I feel like this would be there already versus having to build an encounter twice. Point me to how if this is there and I missed it
there isn't, I think the plan looks like they will eventually take down the Encounter builder or make it legacy once all its functionality is built into Maps more completely. the Encounter builder was designed pre WotC owning DND beyond, Maps is entirely a WotC idea. I'm hopeful they'll add the ability to connect the Encounter builders autorollers and stuff to Maps around the time the new Monster Manuel is released.
For context am a Master Tier Subscriber
Feedback: I was ok with the alpha being Master Tier only it was super early access and you wanted feedback from the very invested users. However now it has moved to beta ot should no longer be a master tier only perk.
Maybe let Heroic havr beta access and then everyone get access full release (at this point, i would say just give everyone access cause alpha was multiple years and if we wait for feature compleness it will be many more). But locked features behind subscriptions especially as this is functionality every other vtt offers for free is ridiculous.
Please let maps and the encounter builder be public access cause it will honestly help this community and service thrive far better than hiding everything behind subscription. Cause even if its only for testing these features have been in testing for so long they should just be released and iterated upon publicly
Is there a VTT that doesn't at least require the DM to have paid for it (Foundry/Fantasy Grounds) or have a sub (Roll20)?
@@EricMesa I don't sub to Roll20, but I also don't get some effects (fog of war for example).
@EricMesa Roll 20 the DM doesn't have to pay to use it they just don't get all the features but they can set up maps with npc and player counters. I also believe owlbear rodeo is free to use.
@@EricMesaAbovevtt
@EricMesa YES! Shard Tabletop! I love it as a DM and as a player. Has everything being asked for here. Only downside is they don't have a license to use WotC material. But you can just import it manually. You get 1 free maps use as DM and player for free.
Seems like it's coming along pretty well. I would really like to have the monster stats show up through to know what abilities they have on the fly and adding vision for the character nodes to auto clear the fog of war. Also for me personally i really like isometric battle maps maybe a option to change the grid would also be nice. great job so far guys keep the updates coming please
Awesome work everyone. Great video instruction and presentation!
The game I run is in-person at a physical table. So, I don't really need a VTT at this point, but I'm watching things evolve when the time comes to make the switch. If the maps tool were integrated with encounter builder, it would be helpful to me. However, the current version doesn't allow for encounter management aside from initiative tracking. I still prefer Encounter Builder because I can click and get the summary card for each monster and link to its details page if I need to go there. If these two tools were merged, it'd be VERY helpful, and I'd consider it a replacement for the encounter builder. It's a great step. Keep up the good work. I can't wait till it becomes helpful to me.
I second all of this. :)
I played with this last night and agree with some of the comments on here about having the creature's stats available. Also being able to roll from those would be great. Controlling HP is another thing. I do like the thought behind this. I only just started using D&D Beyond, and was thinking how convenient something like this would be as i was flipping from one tab to the other during our initial session.
if we can get hp track and the stat blocks it would be pretty perfect. If it could at least be connected with the encounter builder that would be awesome. I run a vtt and I like that the player can see this on the map. If I could interact with in from the encounter builder and it show up on the vtt it would be perfect or close enough
Still not going to move my big campaigns to DDB maps from Foundry, but this a really great tool to quickly prep and run oneshots. Good job, guys.
really diggin where this is going. Currently running with Roll20, as are a lot of folk, but this sort of stuff is making me want to test it out.
Its a great step forward in the developing of the platform. A few things that would help a LOT (and I think youre already trying to add) are:
Tracking health points
Quick access to NPC's and PC's Character sheets, even if it's simplified to the actions they can take, movement speed, Passive senses and saving throws chart. Dosent have to be the entire sheet.
Oh, yay, another DnDBeyond Beta for Encounters. When you gonna fix encounters for the standard encounter builder. Hasn't seen update in years.
Why do +/-5 as advantage/disadvantage for initiative instead of just traditional roll twice and pick the lowest or highest?
the +/-5 is only on non rolled innitiative. if you set it to advantage or disadvantage and hi the autoroll it will roll twice and pick the highest or lowest
It looks good. Question would be would players still need to have Video Conferencing software or Voice Channel on another application to communicate, or is there any built in communications functionality?
No built-in comms. But everyone just uses Discord anyway. :)
Feedback: Literally pick up what you have done in encounters and drop it into maps. It works. It tracks health, it allows me to roll creature hits and track what's happening to my players. What you've shown here is an initiative tracker. The functionality of that initiative tracker is brilliant. I genuinely love what it does... buuuuuut I wont use it because its yet another screen to keep track of. and doesn't have the functionality that Encounters has.
Just keep swimming, just keep swimming....
Very nice! Getting closer and closer for me to change plattform. Just need dynamic lightning and explorer mode and i will move all my campaigns. Nice work!!
You really need to be able to access the character sheets and monster stat blocks from the tokens, roll from them (attack, spells, etc.), drag those roll functions to the map for ease of use, have combatants be able to target others so that their attack rolls are directed to the target and damage rolls deduct hp from the target. Those are the kind of things I want from this.
This is a great update. I've been using Maps alongside the Encounter Builder for around a year now and love the simplicity of it. The ability to create encounters like this in Maps will save me sooooo much administration and prep time! However, the biggest blocker at the moment is I can't seemingly use it to track monster HP, which feels like a fundamental thing an encounter tracker should do. Being able to see and use the monster stat block like in the Encounter Builder would also be amazing.
Didn’t a previous Dndbeyond survey reveal that Bob was the most common character name? Now we get to see that in action
I will be testing it in the beta. It looks like it still has some ways to go but its coming along.
It's getting there! Has a lot of work to go but I like the improvements. Would like to see this actually integrated with the existing encounter builder as I use that heavily. Still looking for persistent maps so my players can log into it without me having to constantly restart it every 15 minutes.
Adding the initiative track for player viewing is wonderful. It's the one thing my players have been asking for. The problem I see is that it wasn't being presented in a way to indicate that it links to the Encounter Builder. It looks like I have to build the encounter twice and run two separate initiative tracks to get this to function... Let us know when these are linked!!! Thanks!
I run a play by post game and was so excited for Maps. But in practice I found it not a good fit because the map times out so fast, the DM needs to be logged in and active in the browser to keep the "session" open for the players. That makes it tough for PBP games as one round might take a day or more IRL.
I'm curious if they're waiting for monster stat block and encounter builder integration until the new Monster Manual releases in 2025. It's a very clear and easy point for them to build something without having to retroactively update a lot of stat blocks. They can then work overtime on updating the backlog of stat blocks, similar to adding the maps from old adventures overtime like they have been.
Is there a way to change the opacity or colors of the control panels? For me, it's basically white text on a white-ish map, and it's really hard to see.
Love updates that head in this direction! Hoping one day we get targeting and characters and dm can target and attack and use attacks and spells that affect the characters and npcs life and status effects.
It's a decent initiative tracker, but as a DM I really would appreciate a way to adjust HP on the enemies here. Also a hyperlink to the character sheet of the enemies would be helpful to roll their attacks from but I can set that up with screen tabs in advance. The beta encounter tracker already provides this. Can't wait to see more development on this MAPS program, however, it does not have the hyped "Unreal Tournament" vibe that was being touted when it was first announced and shown. I do like the ease of general use and simplicity. This is great for new players and non tech savvy DMs like myself. I currently use Fantasy Grounds as my primary VTT, but I have some groups that complain if every feature of their character immediately calculated in the code and I grow weary of trying to make the VTT meet their expectation when I'm not Tech Saavy.
needs a dm overlay layer for making map notes/translucent image over alternate map, like other VTTs already have.
I.e if there is a secret door players will not see it but I can. It's a pain to use a module player version of the map and then the dm has to constantly flick between the map tab and a separate tab with the DM version of the Map
im waiting for two cool things one is adjustable hp and condition counters
love how this is evolving
Need to intergate more the other encounter features, still need to switch back between 2 different windows to track hp and rolls but this is a nice step in the right directions
Some super obvious needs to make the truly useable: 1. Give clickable access to stat blocks. 2. Give the dice roller an easy modifier adjustment. Like in Fantasy grounds. If the attack is plus nine, I want that to click “+, 9” then roll the d20. I want my players to see the “23 to hit” in the dice log, NOT SEE 14 to hit and HEAR me say “23 to hit.” Fantasy Grounds does it so can you. 3. Gotta make it easier to tweak monster stats without having to learn programming language.
I have the top tier subscription option but my Maps screens are not showing up with the same depth of detail / options that are present in this video. The tokens do not separate into party members and enemies, and there are no options under each token.
I almost switched to Roll20 this week because of this exact reason. Well done.
This looks fantastic. I am a DM for my son and his friends and I use encounters to track HP for the party and the monsters. Are you thinking of adding an HP tracker to the maps encounters for quick reference on how everyone is doing?
After using Maps for a bit, I have a few comments. First the feedback button doesn't exist in maps for me. Second, I agree with most people that the maps need to tie into the encounter builder, but I also want to build encounters on the fly. Third, I need to be able to create a project folder to put the maps in. This would be a container for maps related to a specific area, or campaign, one shot, etc. Also consider a "state" or reset. This would allow people to reuse maps if they replay the campaign. Lastly I need to be able to scale the FOW tool, larger and smaller depending on the needs. The single size takes to long to clear a large area, and a bigger one would make smaller changes more difficult. I'd be happy to submit this feedback through the tool, but I am currently unable to do so.
look, the tracker is neat, but can we hard quick edit the intiative for those of us, not using the basic stat blocks you guys have...
Been playing around with this feature. It’s been super cool! A few latency issues but I assume those will be ironed out.
The encounter manager is great news. Please link it to the encounter builder or add the monster statblock so this can be a more useful feature. And of course, monster HP tracking.
Will we have a hit point tracker on the Tokens at any point?
I’m running When a Star Falls and it works really well.
I also am curious on the buildings your own map when I tried it i didn't see how I can add treesor anything just draw stuff. I would love a full walk through.
You don't add any of that stuff you upload a map completely finished.
@solarisdevorak where would I build it?
all i need is the ability to edit hp and see the stat block from maps and this will be a perfect feature
Looks amazing! I'm so close to switching over to this but it's still missing a few things. I need to be able to pull up the sheets super quick to do their rolls. I don't want to have to manually click a d20 then look up their +hit bonus. I want to just click the dragon on the map and see all their skills and attacks and click it to roll it all right there.
Also, what the players see should be based on the environment and their vision (dark-vision, blindsight, etc).
Is there a way to have access to premade map to adventure if I only have the physical adventure and not the digital? Or do I have to take a picture of said maps from the book and then upload it to the account?
No easy access stat blocks, no way to program fog of war for darkvision so cleaning it always a mess still, no easy way to just make or enlarge a token outside of creating a whole brand new monster token or player sheet just to import art...
We don't need an initiative tracker, a way to make tokens faster and easier will be WAY MORE USEFUL than something that can be done on a piece of paper the size of a ruler.
moving to beta, how close are you to having tokens for all monsters (in all books)?
I could be wrong, but I believe they are all already in there. Some don't have art, but they don't have art in the current Encounter builder, and theres no art added to those creatures in the books generally speaking. But I've used creatures from all the books I've owned, and i own most of the content on the site.
Needs monster stat blocks, HP tracking, and 3d dice rolls on maps... This needs to be a #1 priority implementation. D&D beyond has all the tools necessary to run a great VTT campaign, the problem is none of these tools are fully integrated with each other. Nobody wants to have 3 - 5 tabs open, it should all be right there on maps easy to access.
Inside of online play, can this be used at a table with a tv as the battle mat with all the tokens on it? So it’s something that the DM controls but the players only see the player version?
Please give us the animated dice in maps. there needs to be a point in buying them and showing them off. dice are an integral part of dnd and showing them of is essencial for many of my players.
Am honestly surprised they have enough people to do these updates.
Hope the lay offs didn't impact your team too much :( Sucks that shareholder dividends are more important then the quality of product and work teams.
All the way up to "what do you mean there are no dividends?"
a little to bare bones pt. so it might be the video not showing off enough for the program is still to ealry for me (most of my players are new to DnD (januar start) and came from Baldurs gate 3. )
so im currious on how you upgrate the program for future use
Does anyone know where this map that appears at 0:08 is from? I really liked the style.
Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen
@ Thank you
@@piratelego1 :)
Hot take: If it can't readily represent sloping 3D spaces with overhanging ledges, etc, then it doesn't really do anything other VTTs already do.
I may have missed it but does this integrate with the existing encounters tool? I've often used that to pre build encounters that could come up in a session.
So after trying it a bit, I kinda changed my mind.
1. This dev update doesn't mention the fact that the current encounter builder is NOT updated to 2024 and there are no plans to do so.. It means that you are currently unable to pre build encounters in advance with 2024 rules.
2. The Maps encounters are very lacking in basic usability . The turn tracker is nice, but it's very much useless when you can't go to monster abilities directly from it - a feature "old" encounter builder had.
3. The Maps encounters lack a proper search functionality besides the monster name. You cannot filter by CR, monster type etc.
4. The Maps encounters only show a brief "low"/"medium"/"high" encounter difficulty, but not the maths behind it - no info what the budget is, how much each monster contributes to the budget etc etc..
Overall it's nice for the on-the-fly encounters but it's a giant PITA if you want to pre build anything proper in advance.. There's a lot of work to be done to make it even on par with the "old" encounter builder, you guys are apparently deciding to kill off :(
Not to mention - the Maps encounters are nice.. But what am I supposed to use if I don't run the game with VTT? The "old" builder worked perfectly for that use case.. This one.. not so much.
I don't want to be a downer, but this won't be usable until we can run the encounters from the map - integration with encounter builder, updating hit points and conditions on monsters, showing stat blocks, rolling dice for saving throws and attacks from stat blocks, players rolling initiative. Also, we (DMs and players) need the ability to send custom messages and whispers to chat.
We need to be able to click on monsters and see their monster sheets or we still have to have to combat tracker open and this doesn't really benefit much. This is just a second place we have to track encounters as it sits rather than instead of.
Can we upload larger maps than shown here? Otherwise, the limit looks like perhaps 30 by 30 squares = 150 by 150 feet?
our group loves Maps! thanks Elliot!
How does the maps work with the encounter builder? will they both link up or will i have to manually do everything twice? especially when moving through the turn order
they don't, well So the Encounter builder can roll to the Gamelog still. What I currently do is run the encounter builder for tracking HP and rolling without using it's initiative at all. If they added Tracking HP in Maps It would be so easy to just use the Encounter builder for autorollers i wouldn't even need to fully access encounters. But I suspect because it makes sense to work this way even if it's kinda lame, that they will be adding that side of Maps into it with the new Monster Manual. Maps would then essentially have everythign the encounter builder would have, and argueably have a easier to improv system. But that's all wishfull thinking while we are still using Encounter builder to autorollers and HP tracking.
Hey, is there any way to use character sheets from previous versions of D&D? 5e?
Do all team members have to have the same master licence tier to see/use maps? Or just the DM?
I don't see a way to adjust monster hit points during combat.... am I missing something?
So there is no link to emcounter builder so i cant really prep. Irritating.
Also no way of seeing stat blocks for momsters. That just a hyperlink. How hard are hyperlinks. Mark as open on new window if you have to.
Cmon its 2024.
yeah this is cool and all but whats the point if i can't view stat blocks or modify HP in this same window.
all you've added realistically is an initiative tracker. i still have to have another window open to manage all this.
Like literally all you need to do to take this from totally useless to basically perfect is make the encounter generate with your rolled initiative in the encounters tool. That's it. It would obviously be better to roll that functionality into maps completely, but at the very least I shouldn't have to make an encounter in two different tabs and then manually copy every single initiative roll into the Encounter builder and then remove defeated creatures manually from both windows.
This is huge news! This is why I choose Maps as my go to VTT now.
Mobile app would be amazing, as running this on a tablet would be super cool!
Roll20 and Foundry still blow this out of the water. It's encouraging to see more features are being added, but it's still far below par for the course.
Whats the point of all this, when this feature is lack of encounter managements tools needed? How can i change monster HP when its hit? How can i access monster stat block? Why its not paired with your encounter tool? I would like to build encounter in advance a then just load it in Map module and get all my tokens on table automaticaly... Those are simple features, why they are not in already? After a year of development, we can now track initiative in Map module, and don´t even get all features encounter module has for few years already? why? how? Im lost... sorry... Definitely potencial here BUT...
If you don't have hp & rolls you can't run an encounter... Add Encounter Builder into maps
Miss dndbeyond video content. 😢
is it possible to modify HPs on the fly?
would be nice if they just release this on steam instead of a subscription option
So many things you could have done to improve maps, and you add a simple initiative tracker? The encounter builder already does that and so much more.
Need map building tokens. Trees, chests, boulders etc....
If I could at least change the HP, then I could begin to actually use it for combat.
we need walls and field of view asap
its a little silly to me that a free browser extension has features a paid first party product doesn't. automatically logging initiative for players when they roll and showing character sheets and stat blocks are both very basic features for a VTT to have
This looks good, but I don't see why anybody would be using this over other VTT that has all of these features (and more). If only there was an integration with the encounter builder and the character sheet so people can roll from their sheet directly. Also add a journal tab so we can link any data source inside maps this way you don't need another monitor to be able to find a rule or details of the adventure. This feels like a standalone tool even though you are trying to be a one stop shop.
These updates are AWESOME! This is what I've been waiting for in maps since I first started using it!
Feedback:
1: Each DND Map (especially one DND Beyond) has a GM Version and Player version. I would love for the GM Map and Player map to be synced with GM view and PLayer view. That way the GM can keep track of room numbers and hidden traps without the players seeing it.
2: 3D dice rolling on the map has to be a thing. It really feels like you are playing D&D when you see 3D dice rolling.
3: Players should be able to access they spells/character sheet from the map, and the GM can access Monster stat blocks as well
Gonna play with this tonight for my session next Tuesday! Loving the new PHB by the way