Are there any good builders available?

[Kair0s]

I'm broke so I need something I can use for free. It seems the most common advice online was to use OrcPub or ForgedAnvil but they seem to not be feasible options anymore because Wizards is trying to make everyone pay for stuff. I've already pitched in for some of the books and figures and don't really have the budget for Beyond.

P.s.: Let me know if this thread is breaking the rules, I'm not sure what the policy is here regarding asking for things that aren't explicitly pulled down yet.

 

[ccs]

I'm broke so I need something I can use for free. It seems the most common advice online was to use OrcPub or ForgedAnvil but they seem to not be feasible options anymore because Wizards is trying to make everyone pay for stuff. I've already pitched in for some of the books and figures and don't really have the budget for Beyond.

Shocking, a company aiming to make $. You know, selling you things IS the entirety of what they're about....

That said? D&D is one of the cheapest hobbies you could ever have.
You need the following:
1) The Players Handbook. Cheap on amazon, or free as a PDF if your a thief & can handle a Google search.
2) A legal pad/notebook
3) A pencil
4) A set of dice - the 2nd most expensive thing you need after the PHB....
5) Your brain.

6) Time to play & friends.

7) Holidays + family/friends - Did you know that D&D books make great Christmas & Birthday gifts?

Leave the DMing to someone else as that requires the Monster Manual & Dungeon Masters guide on top of the PHB.

 

[Kair0s]

Look, I already wrote that I understand that this might be contentious to some people and I'm okay with deleting the thread if I'm breaking any laws. I'm not looking to have an argument online, just asking for advice if anyone has something constructive to offer. I've checked out Beyond and there's a lot of stuff missing from the builder, like races I might want to use. I realize I can write everything out but there's a rather sizeable community that likes to use builders because they make the process a lot more streamlined, especially for those who are newer to pen and paper builds. I don't think it's unreasonable to search for less difficult way of playing something I love, and I can ask the party if they'd like to pitch in for a subscription, but even if I could convince them I'm not sure the builder would have all the content. Also it feels more wrong for me to pirate actual books than use a builder that has a lot of content we've paid for and some we haven't.

 

[nugstradamus]

I would honestly be fine paying for an official character builder. My only issue is how much time it takes to research everything. I want to spend my free time actually playing D&D, not researching a character. I like the convenience of drop down menus and being able to click a spell to add it, etc.

When 4E was a thing and, I was subscribed to the official builder and used it regularly. I haven't yet seen if they have that. I can but all the books they have, but at the end of the day, the product I want to use if still not available.

To me it's less about "ahhh booo they wanna make money" and more about, "damn they're looking competition except, they don't have a competing product.."

 

[darjr]

Http://Dndbeyond.com
http://roll20.net
http://www.wolflair.com/index.php?context=hero_lab
http://www.fantasygrounds.com/home/home.php

I think they have some limited but free options. But all of them need to put food on the table.

 

[Chryssis]

requires excel but
one acronym for you.

MPMB, you can find a link to it on this forum I believe and if you follow the instruction you can import all the options from all the books and unearthed arcana`s.

Wizards currently has nothing that can compare.