The app itself is great. I can finally play d&d asynchronously in a play-by-post format on a platform that has dice rolls, character sheets, and maps all included.
The map maker is basic but gets the job done. It’s not great for setting up overworlds for scene setting, but it’s good for combat encounters. The main downside, and it’s actually quite a big one now that I’ve been playing for a while and DMing my own game, is that I can’t SAVE maps and switch between them. That means I have to decide when to make a map and the map has to either be easily rememberable to remake, or just not make the map at all.
The town my players frequent, for example. I’d love to set up a town for them, but there’s no point because I can’t save it. The party enjoys the town for a bit before delving back into a crypt (which I also have to make maps for), so without a save function, there’s really no reason for a town map since they spend most of their time in the depths of the crypt.
I also have to make each floor of the crypt from scratch every time. If they ever revisit a previous floor, I have to either try to remember the layout exactly or just have them use their imagination so I don’t have to delete the floor that they’re currently on. Not having a save-and-switch function means that I also can’t prep maps in advance when I have the time. This means that the party has to wait for me to make each map. In a world where everyone is busy and getting all of your players online at the same time is so rare, it’s a huge time killer that ultimately slows our game down.
Another glaring issue is the lack of tooltip assistance for rolls. It’s easier for the DM to roll attacks FOR the players because it applies all of the modifiers for you. That’s not fun for the players. The descriptions on weapons doesn’t show the applicable modifiers and that means that players might roll with less modifiers than they should be (or more) which hurts the game’s balance and can lead to players becoming disinterested in the game. Showing the applicable modifiers on weapons would make it much easier for the players to roll damage themselves. Same thing with attack rolls. Everyone knows you roll a d20. Not everyone knows you can add proficiency and certain stats, or bonuses to ranged or melee. It’s not clear what people are supposed to roll with which harms new players learning curve.
Another thing that I would love to see fixed is having a slider for items. The best example would be currency (gold, copper, silver) Say one of my players finds 70 copper pieces in a chest. I have to press the + icon on copper pieces 70 TIMES. In the campaign I’m running, we only use gold and as such, I have to give them more gold. Dividing 400 gold between 4 people is EXTREMELY tedious because I have to hit the button 100 times per person. Just give me a slider or let me hold the + button down so I don’t have to tap it so many times.
There is also no way of tracking spell slot usage. This means that as a DM, I have to. As a player, I have to track it myself and be honest about it. In a play-by-post format, a day or two might pass before anyone is available to play. People forget what spells they used and how many slots they have available in that time.
I would also like to be able to access this app on my computer. A PC version would be incredible. Even a browser version. That way when I’m at school or work, I can just open it up, type a few things, and go back to my work. It’s also much easier to type long messages on an actual keyboard and make maps with a mouse instead of the finicky tapping system on the in-app map maker. That would really set this app into the next level.
This app has huge potential to change the way that d&d is played. I have full faith in it. My main concern with this app is that as of writing this review, the last update was 6 months ago. I’m worried that it might be abandoned as the developers aren’t particularly communicative with the players in-app or on the app store here. Even a pop up message in the app that says “What we’re working on:” and then describes what the team is actively working on would be great. It would let me know that there are still changes being made and updates being pushed out that keep me excited for the future. Even the website has outdated update information.
I love this app and I want to see it succeed. It has re-sparked my love of d&d and it’s the perfect medium to get new players invested in the hobby. Just needs to be updated.
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