D&D (2024) OneDnD, playtesting and DnDBeyond

[fluffybunbunkittens]

I'm about to start running a new campaign (Drakkenheim), using DnDBeyond for characters, and decided this would be a good time to implement the playtest changes so people get a preview ahead of time.

And... I cannot implement half of them. I can make subclasses, but not change classes. I can make new feats, but not hide old feats, and we don't know if there's going to be more feats in the actual release. I can make new races, but not tie racial feats to them. I guess I could manage weapon masteries by creating homebrew weapons that have those effects attached, but that's not super-smooth (edit: what do you mean magic items cannot have unique actions attached to them)

I'll end up just running a weird mix of old and new, but I didn't think that trying to run an actual playtest, using the official tools, would be so actively discouraged. The homebrew tools are in a really weird place where you can almost do so much stuff, but not quite.

Just venting.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

I'm about to start running a new campaign (Drakkenheim), using DnDBeyond for characters, and decided this would be a good time to implement the playtest changes so people get a preview ahead of time.

And... I cannot implement half of them. I can make subclasses, but not change classes. I can make new feats, but not hide old feats, and we don't know if there's going to be more feats in the actual release. I can make new races, but not tie racial feats to them. I guess I could manage weapon masteries by creating homebrew weapons that have those effects attached, but that's not super-smooth (edit: what do you mean magic items cannot have unique actions attached to them)

I'll end up just running a weird mix of old and new, but I didn't think that trying to run an actual playtest, using the official tools, would be so actively discouraged. The homebrew tools are in a really weird place where you can almost do so much stuff, but not quite.

Just venting.

I feel ya. I'm playtesting, and I had to tell my players NOT to make their characters with Beyond, and I make them myself on Word documents that take me about 5 hours or so to make, EACH. It's a lot of work.

 

[fluffybunbunkittens]

Beyond is still useful enough (for the players, as one in my group has a subscription and the books) that I'll work on its terms, using Beyond20 to link to Roll20, and using Roll20 because it's getting Drakkenheim VTT materials released soon.

I just cannot understand the lack of development on it.

 

[Yaarel]

I use DnDBeyond because its customization is genuinely useful, including to create new background features, new equipment, and new species.


That said, I agree with the request for the following customizations, including the ability for a specific setting to hide unused options.

I can make subclasses, but not change classes.

I can make new feats, but not hide old feats, and we don't know if there's going to be more feats in the actual release.

I guess I could manage weapon masteries by creating homebrew weapons that have those effects attached, but that's not super-smooth (edit: what do you mean magic items cannot have unique actions attached to them)

With regard to species feats, I feel any species should be able to choose any species feat in order to represent a multispecies character.

 

[darjr]

I do wonder how long it'll take to implement 2024 in dndbeyond. If they'll wait for it before the books are printed. Or if they'll curtail dndbeyond things because of 2024 or curtail 2024 things because of dndbeyond limitations?

I agree it's frustrating. I'm no longer using it by default for games anymore. If folks want to use it fine but I assume they don't and now also will look at character sheets for any constraints on the campaign. Note I usually don't limit campaigns, but I am this time around.

 

[Yaarel]

I do wonder how long it'll take to implement 2024 in dndbeyond.

I assume 2024 core rules will be available in DnDBeyond at the same time that the core books come out.

I agree, to currently implement the Playtest rules is limited.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

Beyond is still useful enough (for the players, as one in my group has a subscription and the books) that I'll work on its terms, using Beyond20 to link to Roll20, and using Roll20 because it's getting Drakkenheim VTT materials released soon.

I just cannot understand the lack of development on it.

Yeah, I generally like Beyond, just not for playtesting. It helps that I'm doing it in-person, of course.

I do wonder how long it'll take to implement 2024 in dndbeyond.

I'm kind of hoping that they'll give the whole thing a big overhaul for 2024. Maybe that's why it's seemed to stagnate a bit lately.

 

[Morrus]

I don’t use DNDB myself but why would they code in temporary playtest material? That’s not what the playtest documents are for.

I mean sure, maybe they’d hypothetically get more playtesters that way, but it would take longer to code all that stuff in than the duration of the playtest survey and be very costly. As it is it seems they feel the volume of playtest feedback they get from the playtest documents is more than adequate.

 

[BookTenTiger]

I remember they used to put all the Unearthed Arcana play test material on Dndbeyond, but eventually they made an announcement that it was an unsustainable practice. So I'm not too surprised they haven't put in 2024 play test material.

On the other hand, it wouldn't surprise me if they were already working on uploading all the 2024 rules so they're in place on Day 1 of the launch.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

I don’t use DNDB myself but why would they code in temporary playtest material? That’s not what the playtest documents are for.

I mean sure, maybe they’d hypothetically get more playtesters that way, but it would take longer to code all that stuff in than the duration of the playtest survey and be very costly. As it is it seems they feel the volume of playtest feedback they get from the playtest documents is more than adequate.

They could, in theory have templates or a tagging system to parse playtest material into a central database and run everything from that but I suspect that it is not designed that way. That is why they abandoned the incorporation of playtest material in D&DBeyond.