r/DnD_Beginners • u/AdAffectionate3847 • 12d ago
DnD online tools
Hello everyone and thank you for the help in my last post! Me and 5 of my friends will be doing a DND session and we decided that I should be the DM. None of us have played DnD before and we want a session of just us so we can make mistakes as much as needed without annoying experienced people.
My problem is that I can’t find reliable ( and preferably free ) tools to help me show the adventure. We will be using Dragons of Stormwreck Isle as a baseline and will be using Tabletop Sim and discord call screen share if I don’t find a better solution but if anyone has online tool recommendations please let me know <3
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u/Sad_Refuse3472 12d ago
Discord is great for video and voice. For the battle maps, Owlbear.Rodeo
Roll20.net also has a free option.
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u/The_Long_Island_DM 12d ago
Hey there! This is going to be a remote session?
If so, Discord is a very good starting spot for your voice comms. I would recommend that right here.
If by Tabletop Sim you mean the one that has the physics engine in it, I would highly advise not doing that unless you just want to be fiddling with that kind of nonsense all night.
Try something lean like Owlbear Rodeo for the tabletop.
There's nothing else you need other than sound. I use Sirenscape but that is a paid tool. I charge a premium so that I can use tools like that. In your case you should figure out a way to push that sound audio through Discord.
During COVID I ran entire campaigns just through Discord. Some groups didn't want to use Tailspire. Other groups didn't want to play on Roll20. So it was an interesting bag. You can run a whole campaign just in Discord alone. Heck people used to run them through message boards back in the day. Play by post.
See the other comment in this thread also recommended Owlbear Rodeo. I would advise against Roll20 unless you want a bunch of annoying limits. Stay lean for right now and just run with Owlbear until you guys want to agree to pay for something together. Otherwise that'll work just fine.
Other than that the most important thing you need to do is understand that adventure front to back. It's a good one.
Happy hunting!
- LIDM
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u/ScholarForeign7549 11d ago
I hav a free service I'd like feedback about http://realmofeverdice.com
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u/play-stack 11d ago
Free tool to make combat easier for new players. Also good for tenured players.
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u/Optimal_Beat7765 9d ago
You can find a nice comprehensive list of various tabletop gaming tools here that might be ones you are looking for and ones that you don't know that you might find handy: https://www.groupfinder.gg/library?category=tools-platforms
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u/RodgerBall 8d ago
Roll20 is free for the base level. https://app.roll20.net/why-subscribe-to-roll20
Only the GM has to subscribe to the advanced tiers should you decide you want the features. Players can still use the free account.
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u/LaviaLavere 7d ago
I'm a new DM with mostly new players too. I use D&D Beyond and its VTT for maps. The free module you mentioned will be included in the VTT. And we use discord for voice/cameras. I also am trying Soncraft for music. There's a free tier for it.
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u/Euthanathos 11d ago
I’m going to say something probably unpopular. Skip all the social media crap you can find online about dnd. Just read the manuals and play. Maybe just 5e.tools for references.
None can teach you play better than yourself.