‘D&D Beyond’ Goes All-in on Maps in Latest Update
D&D Beyond reaaaally wants you to play your D&D campaign using D&D Beyond and nothing else. A new update is all about the Maps feature.
D&D Beyond released a new developer update this week. And from the sound of it, they’re all in on the new Maps feature. While the feature is still in Alpha, the emphasis is there. From adding the new third-party content, like Lairs of Etharis and Dungeons of Drakkenheim, to the program to increase the size of their back catalog, this update was all about Maps.
It’s an interesting moment for D&D. Since clearly, people have already adopted their virtual platforms, and have a good idea of what they want in a toolset. D&D Beyond will have a long way to go to compete with the other services out there. This is, in part, why the whole OGL debacle happened in January 2023.
If you recall, a lot of the language was focused on limiting what 3rd parties could do with their license, including limiting animations and digital character sheets. This is because D&D is going hard on their virtual tabletop, which as far as we know, is still in development.
At any rate, D&D Beyond continues its rollout of Maps. And it’s worth keeping an eye on for the near future of D&D.
D&D Beyond Update – Maps Maps Maps Maps Maps Maps Maps Maps Maps Maps Maps Maps Maps Maps Maps Maps, EVERYBODY
Among the new features are the Draw feature, which lets you draw little arrows and symbols and things on the maps. This is an important feature to have, and one that most other VTTs already have. They’re also rolling out a fog of war style update, as well as new tokens for all of the recent additions to D&D Beyond.
Again, all basic features that you can find in other VTTs, but Maps is a relatively new development for D&D Beyond. Another big feature is the Spectator Mode, which lets you show a tab as though you were a player without having to actually be a player, which could be helpful for streaming or just using D&D Beyond Maps in person.
All Maps, Everything Else Waits
Of course, D&D Beyond’s focus on Maps has meant that other updates have sort of fallen off. Character sheets have been sorely in need of some love for a while now. It was last year when devs talked about adding new features to the character sheets, especially to managing inventory and using Encounters. These have been rollouts that have been a long time coming.
And if you’re looking to use D&D Beyond’s content sharing with Maps, you’ll have a while to wait. Currently, Maps only works for the person who owns the product you’re trying to use, so if you’re not the DM but you are sharing content on D&D Beyond, get ready to do some work.
A reminder though, that all of this is just in Alpha, still. It’ll be a while before the full fleshed out stuff is in. Until then, all we can do is look at where D&D is headed in terms of virtual tables.
Look for more D&D Beyond updates around the release of the 2024 PHB!
