A Beta version of the D&D Monster Builder is now available for download to D&D Insider subscribers! A godsend for both beginning and experienced Dungeon Masters, this online tool lets you build and print your very own D&D monsters.
Discuss this News here.
I am on my way out the door but I noticed two things.
1) During install when you get to the last screen where it says Finish there is a 'radial box', the box you normally check for an option. However, there is no text next to the box. It is just a random box floating there by itself.
2) Parts of the application run very slow while others are very quick. I clicked on a monster and it popped up instantly. But then I decided to resort the list of monsters by level. I clicked Level at the top and the app took a good 30 seconds to rearrange the list. I don't know if there is anything that can be done about that but there it is.
I will check it out more thoroughly when I get home.
Simple, easy to use interface, had it "done" in about 5 minutes!
I like it, my only complaint (right now!) is that I have to wait til September 8th for the next update!
Funny so far, i would love a xml format to save to.
Laures
2) Parts of the application run very slow while others are very quick. I clicked on a monster and it popped up instantly. But then I decided to resort the list of monsters by level. I clicked Level at the top and the app took a good 30 seconds to rearrange the list. I don't know if there is anything that can be done about that but there it is.
Depending on your processing power sorting a few thousand monsters is going to take some time.
I recommend applying any/all filters to the monsters/powers BEFORE you sort them - anything you can do to limit down the list will make it sort faster.
The first is when I change a monster from standard to Elite, or Elite to Solo I can't auto find a way to attach a template to it. I like using the templates in the DMG and wanted to quickly add the template to the monster.
The same goes for giving a monster class levels is their a way we will be able to simply do that? It just seems easier then having to search through every power one by one.
It's a very nice start. I love that you can minion anything although I have a few things I am wondering if you are planning on implementing.
The first is when I change a monster from standard to Elite, or Elite to Solo I can't auto find a way to attach a template to it. I like using the templates in the DMG and wanted to quickly add the template to the monster.
The same goes for giving a monster class levels is their a way we will be able to simply do that? It just seems easier then having to search through every power one by one.
I seem to recall it being said elsewhere that Templates are on the roadmap, but wouldn't be part of the inital release.
So, be patient.
Huge, mad, awesome props to WotC! I thought the Character builder was cool, but this will change the way I plan/run games.
You can sort creatures by their source, but nowhere on the monsters does it say where that monster comes from.
Possibly an addition would be to link the monsters to the compendium entries somehow.
Also source and keywords drop downs IMO should be sorted alphabetically
First, I would say I also eagerly await the inclusion of the Templates to monsters. Along with sort of a way to automatically add the DMG recommendations for leveling and making monsters Elite that would be really helpful.
Second, I'd like the program to tell me the source of the monster, like the entries in the compendium do. Just so I can know what book to look in for the Lore and such.
Third relates to items. When giving my PCs items I like to give them to the monsters they get them from. It makes them work for them, and it can show them sort of how they work. When adding equipment to the monsters you can't add custom elements. That drop down menu is really pretty poor, given the beautiful sort capabilities in the rest of the program. I'd also like to be able to pull magic items, like the Character Builder does, and have it automatically add the power.
But as I said, this program is splendid. I look forward to it coming out of Beta and the other programs in the Adventure Tools Suite.
Depending on your processing power sorting a few thousand monsters is going to take some time.
I recommend applying any/all filters to the monsters/powers BEFORE you sort them - anything you can do to limit down the list will make it sort faster.
Cool, cool. I will filter from now on.
Also, I'd like to be able to get the diseases included in the monster stat block somehow. This is tricky, since diseases are their own thing and are just inflicted by monsters... but it makes the print-outs much more useful in running the game to have the disease as part of the monster entry.
D&D Monster Builder Beta Launch
A Beta version of the D&D Monster Builder is now available for download to D&D Insider subscribers! A godsend for both beginning and experienced Dungeon Masters, this online tool lets you build and print your very own D&D monsters.
Bold is mine - it is acutally available for everyone as far as I can tell:
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/insider/monsterbuilder
It says to try it and I can download it when I am not logged into my DDI account.
I haven't downloaded it yet. Does it require you to login to your DDI account on install or startup? If so you may not want to allow people to download it if they are not logged in so as it does not appear as a trial like the CB.
It implies that it is a trial when they say to Try the Monster Builder.
I haven't downloaded it yet. Does it require you to login to your DDI account on install or startup? If so you may not want to allow people to download it if they are not logged in so as it does not appear as a trial like the CB.
It implies that it is a trial when they say to Try the Monster Builder.
It does require you to log in to download an "update," which is the entire application. (It's like updating the character builder.) I agree, it might be better not to give the download link to non-subscribers, as it's only going to disappoint and irritate.
say a friend and I are working on an adventure together... and he needs the exact creature I am working with... can I send him my version??
or does WotC want to prevent fifty million raging goblins types... I mean that would be crazy to have over 100 different versions of the same creature in the monster builder... just because its name different, but still has the exact same stats...
hmm... just thought of some stuff to write up for a few improvements!!
is there a way to share monsters??
say a friend and I are working on an adventure together... and he needs the exact creature I am working with... can I send him my version??
You can save the monster as an image file and send your friend the monster.
However, it apparently isn't possible to save the monster as a data file and re-import it elsewhere. I think it would be a good idea to address that in future updates.
However, it apparently isn't possible to save the monster as a data file and re-import it elsewhere. I think it would be a good idea to address that in future updates.
just as I feared... that... hopefully if its not gonna be next patch or two... maybe when the full toolset is complete...
then you can Use My Adventures in the VTT!!
I think I just scared the crap out of my co-workers, lol. I just finished renewing my subscription to DDI and am waiting for the update to finish downloading. I've read that you can't save monsters like you can characters on the CB, but can you copy and paste the info in a Word Doc?
Thanks WOTC, my birthday present came early this year!!!
*INSERT HYSTERICAL LAUGHTER*
I think I just scared the crap out of my co-workers, lol. I just finished renewing my subscription to DDI and am waiting for the update to finish downloading. I've read that you can't save monsters like you can characters on the CB, but can you copy and paste the info in a Word Doc?
Thanks WOTC, my birthday present came early this year!!!
You can right click on a monster and export it as an image or a rich text document.
You can right click on a monster and export it as an image or a rich text document.
Sweet! *snip* Nevermind, working now
Edit my Edit: I spoke too soon, seems like I am going to have to wait my turn, the servers appear to be overwhelmed and my update won't update past the half-way mark. Funny, the CB updated just fine.
*INSERT HYSTERICAL LAUGHTER*
I think I just scared the crap out of my co-workers, lol. I just finished renewing my subscription to DDI and am waiting for the update to finish downloading. I've read that you can't save monsters like you can characters on the CB, but can you copy and paste the info in a Word Doc?
Thanks WOTC, my birthday present came early this year!!!
I just printed mine to a pdf using cutePdf.
I just printed mine to a pdf using cutePdf.
Brilliant! Printing to CutePDF is a great idea. :D
I do want to echo what's been said previously about putting the source on each monster. Preferably, on the monster's stat block, so that when printed, we will have the reference back to the book while we're sitting at the table.
I do want to echo what's been said previously about putting the source on each monster. Preferably, on the monster's stat block, so that when printed, we will have the reference back to the book while we're sitting at the table.
except when the creature or item in the creature's statblock is listed as being in the magazines or another non substantial source
I do agree that it would be nice to be able to look at my dragonspawn kobolds, and see that they are from MM1, MM2, Draginomicon, Dungeon #??? that way I could have some more clutter on the table
EDIT: I think I know why Tiamat isn't in the Builder. She isn't a MONSTER in the Compendium, and I would bet that both the compendium and the builder had the same set of monsters. Oh well. To confirm that, Vecna is in the compendium as both a monster and a Diety. This seems to verify that.
Kronosos Librarian Ghost
Kronosos Librarian Ghost Level 25 Elite Controller
Medium fey humanoid (undead, eladrin) XP 14,000
Initiative +18 Senses Perception +18
Terror Cloud aura 3; enemies take a -5 to saves against fear effects
HP 460; Bloodied 230
AC 39; Fortitude 37; Reflex 37; Will 37
Resist 0 Insubstantial Immmune Disease, Poison; Vulnerable 15 Radiant
Speed 7 fly hover (phasing), teleport 4
Action Points 1
m Wrist Slap (standard; at-will) • Psychic, Necrotic, Fear
A quick wrap on the wrist with a ruler leaves a welt that stings your wrist and your mind
+29 vs. Will; 2d8 + 9 Necrotic and Psychic Damage and the target is Weakened (save ends)
R Banish (standard; at-will) • Teleportation
The Librarian put you in the box
Ranged 10; +29 vs. Reflex; 3d8 + 9 damage and the Librarian teleports the target to any square within range.
C Angry Shriek (immediate reaction; at-will) • Psychic, Fear
When hit with radiant damage
Close Burst 2; +29 vs. Will; 2d8 + 9 Psychic Damage and the target is dazed (save ends) Deafened targets are unaffected.
C Shush (standard; recharge 5) • Necrotic, Psychic, Fear
The librarian tells you to keep it quiet
Close Blast 5; +29 vs. Will; 3d8 + 9 Necrotic and Psychic damage. Targets are deafened and cannot use encounter or daily powers (save ends both)
A Warding Zone (standard; recharge 6) • Force
The Librarian uses an ancient spell creating a bubble of force enclosing a small area
Area Burst 1 in 10; The power creates a zone bounded by translucent wall of force which lasts until the end of the ghost's next turn. Creatures inside the zone cannot exit or gain line of effect to creatures outside the zone and creatures outside the zone cannot enter or gain line of effect to creatures inside the zone. All creatures inside the zone are slowed until they leave it. Sustain: Minor the zone persists.
Alignment Unaligned Languages —
Str 22 (+18) Dex 22 (+18) Wis 22 (+18)
Con 22 (+18) Int 22 (+18) Cha 22 (+18)
© 2009 Wizards of the Coast LLC, a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. All rights reserved. This monster statistics block has been generated using the D&D Adventure Tools.
Kronosos Librarian Ghost Level 25 Elite Controller
Medium fey humanoid (undead, eladrin) XP 14,000
Initiative +18 Senses Perception +18
Terror Cloud aura 3; enemies take a -5 to saves against fear effects
HP 460; Bloodied 230
AC 39; Fortitude 37; Reflex 37; Will 37
Resist 0 Insubstantial Immmune Disease, Poison; Vulnerable 15 Radiant
Speed 7 fly hover (phasing), teleport 4
Action Points 1
m Wrist Slap (standard; at-will) • Psychic, Necrotic, Fear
A quick wrap on the wrist with a ruler leaves a welt that stings your wrist and your mind
+29 vs. Will; 2d8 + 9 Necrotic and Psychic Damage and the target is Weakened (save ends)
R Banish (standard; at-will) • Teleportation
The Librarian put you in the box
Ranged 10; +29 vs. Reflex; 3d8 + 9 damage and the Librarian teleports the target to any square within range.
C Angry Shriek (immediate reaction; at-will) • Psychic, Fear
When hit with radiant damage
Close Burst 2; +29 vs. Will; 2d8 + 9 Psychic Damage and the target is dazed (save ends) Deafened targets are unaffected.
C Shush (standard; recharge 5) • Necrotic, Psychic, Fear
The librarian tells you to keep it quiet
Close Blast 5; +29 vs. Will; 3d8 + 9 Necrotic and Psychic damage. Targets are deafened and cannot use encounter or daily powers (save ends both)
A Warding Zone (standard; recharge 6) • Force
The Librarian uses an ancient spell creating a bubble of force enclosing a small area
Area Burst 1 in 10; The power creates a zone bounded by translucent wall of force which lasts until the end of the ghost's next turn. Creatures inside the zone cannot exit or gain line of effect to creatures outside the zone and creatures outside the zone cannot enter or gain line of effect to creatures inside the zone. All creatures inside the zone are slowed until they leave it. Sustain: Minor the zone persists.
Alignment Unaligned Languages —
Str 22 (+18) Dex 22 (+18) Wis 22 (+18)
Con 22 (+18) Int 22 (+18) Cha 22 (+18)
© 2009 Wizards of the Coast LLC, a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. All rights reserved. This monster statistics block has been generated using the D&D Adventure Tools.
I noticed that, while Dragonomicon was included in the builder, Tiamat herself, which is in the Dragonomicon 1, was not.
I think it is explained in the "Known Issues" that they didn't have a good way to do a multiple form creature yet.
EDIT: ha, my feng shui is powerful. By making this post I affected the universe thus allowing me to update....bwa...haa.hahaha...ahhaha...aaahk....caaa....urk.
I agree that being able to apply templates would be very useful, although this will save enough time that manually applying the template changes and saving a monster as "Goblin Wizard (Devastator)" or whatever is a trivial matter. It would be nice to eventually see support for standard templates, custom templates, and those "monster themes" that were recently previewed from DMG2, though.
Only a couple of minor complaints/issues so far:
- Keywords are not sorted nicely, if at all. Plain alphabetic sort would be fine, but if it is possible to color code damage types in red, origins in green, and so forth (or better yet, have the list split into sections), that would be fantastic!
- The copy/paste output to RTF ends up as 12-14 point Georgia in Word. Perhaps this is because I go from MB running in WMWare Fusion to Word for Mac, but it requires some reformatting before the stat blocks don't fill half the page. How do they come out looking for you guys?
- Pasting into Pages on a Mac does not work at all. I can't even describe how screwed up the table becomes. Pasting to Word, then copy/pasting from there to Pages works alright, though, so it may be also be a Fusion > Mac issue, or Pages might not like complex RTF.
- Copying as an image does not not see to work, but this might also be because I am running it in Fusion and trying to paste into Mac applications.
- Adding proxy support would be nice, for both this and Character Builder, since it is necessary to download updates. The ability to download updates directly would be better, but I can see how this might become a problem with people giving it to their non-subscriber friends.
Overall, I am incredibly impressed with this tool, especially for a first public release beta product. It is even more impressive given the abysmal history of digital tools for D&D. Thank you, WotC, for finally putting some real effort into digital tools and releasing products that are actually more of a help than a hindrance. I would much rather have tools like this that make it easier to plan and play tabletop D&D than a virtual game table, character visualizer, and all that other stuff. All we need now is a good encounter builder (the "Bonus Tool" encounter builder is about useless) that can interact with this thing to use customized monsters and add traps and treasure, would be the icing on the cake. I am looking forward to finding out what the other circles on the main Adventure Tools screen will be!
Excellent work on this. I can't thank you enough for providing it!
Is anyone else having problems updating it? Mine just sits at the update screen, the progress bar doesn't move at all.
cancel it and try it it again.
cancel it and try it it again.
Hmm.. okay I just canceled it and got a message saying the servers are down. So maybe that's why; I'll have to try it later on.
it is a beta... and we are testing it out! its no where near perfect yet, but it's close
servers aren't down... it had to try 4 times... and now I got it
it is a beta... and we are testing it out! its no where near perfect yet, but it's close
Hmm... okay. I wish there was some other kind of status saying what it's doing, instead of just a progress bar.
I'll keep trying it.
EDIT: Very odd, I downloaded it on my XP machine and it updates fine, but not on Vista.
THIS FLIPPIN' ROCKS!!!
THIS
WOTC has driven off my last remaining excuse for not submitting adventures for publication. Now I can round out my home made encounters with honest to goodness home made monsters and not have to fear rejection due to screwing up my conversion! Within 30 minutes, I was able to accurately create the monsters I wanted for the adventure written for my group. So, after a playtest this weekend, I will shine up the bad spots and click "submit". lol
Wow, awesome timing with the release of this! I was planning to spend the weekend making up several one-page encounter sheets and updating my reverse dungeon adventure. Monster Builder will make both of those a LOT easier!
I agree that being able to apply templates would be very useful, although this will save enough time that manually applying the template changes and saving a monster as "Goblin Wizard (Devastator)" or whatever is a trivial matter. It would be nice to eventually see support for standard templates, custom templates, and those "monster themes" that were recently previewed from DMG2, though.
Only a couple of minor complaints/issues so far:
- Keywords are not sorted nicely, if at all. Plain alphabetic sort would be fine, but if it is possible to color code damage types in red, origins in green, and so forth (or better yet, have the list split into sections), that would be fantastic!
- The copy/paste output to RTF ends up as 12-14 point Georgia in Word. Perhaps this is because I go from MB running in WMWare Fusion to Word for Mac, but it requires some reformatting before the stat blocks don't fill half the page. How do they come out looking for you guys?
- Pasting into Pages on a Mac does not work at all. I can't even describe how screwed up the table becomes. Pasting to Word, then copy/pasting from there to Pages works alright, though, so it may be also be a Fusion > Mac issue, or Pages might not like complex RTF.
- Copying as an image does not not see to work, but this might also be because I am running it in Fusion and trying to paste into Mac applications.
- Adding proxy support would be nice, for both this and Character Builder, since it is necessary to download updates. The ability to download updates directly would be better, but I can see how this might become a problem with people giving it to their non-subscriber friends.
Overall, I am incredibly impressed with this tool, especially for a first public release beta product. It is even more impressive given the abysmal history of digital tools for D&D. Thank you, WotC, for finally putting some real effort into digital tools and releasing products that are actually more of a help than a hindrance. I would much rather have tools like this that make it easier to plan and play tabletop D&D than a virtual game table, character visualizer, and all that other stuff. All we need now is a good encounter builder (the "Bonus Tool" encounter builder is about useless) that can interact with this thing to use customized monsters and add traps and treasure, would be the icing on the cake. I am looking forward to finding out what the other circles on the main Adventure Tools screen will be!
Excellent work on this. I can't thank you enough for providing it!
Since you brought it up. this tool is just about useless to those of us that can't play D&D because we don't have the game table.
Now back to our normally scheduled topic...
Now that I've had a chance to play around with it, the only problem I see is that I can't save what I have in the holding pen. It may just be me, but I just don't see how to save the holding pen without copy/pasting it to another app.
Still seems to have updating issues on Vista 64-bit. Very strange, since Character Builder works perfectly on that OS. Beta or not, I would expect it to use the same base and at least be able to update. As it stands, I'm unable to use it (although I loaded it on XP and played with it, and it seemed pretty cool) on my primary laptop because it doesn't seem to download anything at the "Downloading" screen; it's been running for about 1 hour now and nothing at all.
I have no problems with Vista 64-bit. Are you making sure it's not being firewalled or something? Try running the installer in Administrator mode if you have to.
I have no problems with Vista 64-bit. Are you making sure it's not being firewalled or something? Try running the installer in Administrator mode if you have to.
Yeah, I've done that (run in Administrator), and it's not being firewalled because Character Builder updates just fine - in fact I just tried it with both A/V and Firewall disabled, while running in admin mode, and nothing at all. The progress bar just doesn't do anything when it says it's downloading the update. I'll have to play with it more (being an IT professional, it's what I do best :D)
Yeah, I've done that (run in Administrator), and it's not being firewalled because Character Builder updates just fine - in fact I just tried it with both A/V and Firewall disabled, while running in admin mode, and nothing at all. The progress bar just doesn't do anything when it says it's downloading the update. I'll have to play with it more (being an IT professional, it's what I do best :D)
Try uninstalling it, deleting the folder, then restarting and then reinstalling it. That works for most windoze problems.
The resolution was to start Character Builder, to let it running and then start Adventure Tools and... oops! It worked. :D The [Launch Adventure Tools] button was active. And now it works without running CB.
However, when I click "+" to create a new monster the program crashes to Windows.
Any idea? I have Dell D6400 with Windows XP 32b SP3
After installation I started Adventure Tools, but the [Launch Adventure Tools] button was not active.
The resolution was to start Character Builder, to let it running and then start Adventure Tools and... oops! It worked. :D The [Launch Adventure Tools] button was active. And now it works without running CB.
However, when I click "+" to create a new monster the program crashes to Windows.
Any idea? I have Dell D6400 with Windows XP 32b SP3
Try what I said above, and keep in mind it is a beta and probably will crash seemingly randomly.
After installation I started Adventure Tools, but the [Launch Adventure Tools] button was not active.
The resolution was to start Character Builder, to let it running and then start Adventure Tools and... oops! It worked. :D The [Launch Adventure Tools] button was active. And now it works without running CB.
However, when I click "+" to create a new monster the program crashes to Windows.
Any idea? I have Dell D6400 with Windows XP 32b SP3
That is most definitely weird. I have both installed and haven't seen any problems like this. There should be no need to have to run the Character Builder in order to have access to the Monster Builder.
One question - When you installed the Monster Builder, did you install it into the same directory as the Character Builder? By that I mean, could you have written over some Character Builder files with Monster Builder files of the same name?