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Like many of you, we often play online using Roll20.net. The built-in tools there are very pleasant and functions like automatic rolling and macros are very helpful. Unfortunately, the “Charactermancer” at Roll20 is somewhat less appealing than the one at Dndbeyond.com. Here’s where Beyond20 comes into play and makes your life easier!
What does Beyond20 do?
Beyond20 is a browser extension for Chrome and Firefox that allows you to press a button directly in dndbeyond.com to roll dice in the game at Roll20.net. This works for both player characters and monsters, which can be especially helpful for Dungeon Masters.
For attacks as well as spells and all other elements of character sheets like feats or simple descriptions, you’re given the ability to send this to Roll20. It’s then displayed in the chat there, as is usual with Roll20. In the following video you can see a quick demo.
Why not just do everything in Roll20?
I personally find the character creation tool at Dndbeyond.com better and especially more intuitive for new players than at Roll.net. That’s why I’ve also bought some of the books there and use the subscription there to share them with my players. To have these functions in Roll20, I would normally also need a subscription and the books there. So I save money by using Beyond20.
I also often have ideas for a character in between and can then create him more quickly at dndbeyond.com on my phone. Additionally, I can more easily use characters from one campaign in another, even with a different Dungeon Master.
Beyond20 Setup
Actually, after downloading the extension, you don’t need to do much more than have Roll20 and D&D Beyond open at the same time. Then the rolled values are displayed directly in the chat.
But there are also some nice functions, such as secret rolling, that can be found in the settings. This might be particularly interesting for Dungeon Masters who want to use this tool for monsters. Additionally, certain special rules for critical hits and hotkeys can also be set. You can find more information about this on the Beyond20 page.
When creating characters, it’s not just about which website you use, but also what your party looks like. For this, it’s worth having a so-called Session Zero before the campaign. Here you can learn more about what that is and how it can help you.
