DND Beyond announced Maps as a new feature. This is the first step for DND Beyond bringing the 3D VTT. This option is similar to AVTT. This option is only available now for groups with someone with a Masters Level Tier Subscriber with DND Beyond in their group. I currently have a Master’s Level subscription.
I tested this out. It is in the Alpha stage so there will be improvements to the Maps.
It is easy to sign into the Maps area by going to the Tools- Maps. This is much easier than Launching the AVTT. The page to add a map and play on the map is more cumbersome. It took me a bit to figure it out. There isn’t a nice GUI screen that makes it more accessible. Currently, there aren’t many maps being provided but there is a promise that more will be added soon and all the new maps will be added. Adding an existing map is easy if you have it on your computer. It is a drag and drop and you can rename it.
I haven’t tried it out with a group yet. Right now, I have everything in AVTT and it is pretty easy to use. The convenience of the DND Beyond Maps may win out for me in the future but there is a long way to go for it. But it is in the Alpha phase. I believe this is a good start as long as they will work on it.
According to the video, the DM will be able to seamlessly move from Maps to VTT and then to digital or paper. They promise to make it be what the group and DM need and want. I hope that is true.
Below is the announcement and video from DND Beyond.
A long-awaited D&D Beyond tool is making its Alpha debut: Maps! Now, Dungeon Masters can bring their players into a single browser-based play space to share interactive maps from their D&D Beyond digital library to host game sessions.
Maps is another step toward our goal of making it easier to jump into the action of Dungeons & Dragons, no matter how you choose to play, whether that’s on D&D Beyond, with pen and paper, or using our upcoming 3D VTT.
We invite DMs with a Master-tier subscription and their players to dive into the Alpha phase of this exciting new tool! A fair warning: This tool is in Alpha, so bugs and performance issues are to be expected! (DND Beyond)
Stay Geeky!
