D&D’s new mapping tool is entering public beta, but it’s probably not the one you expected

Wizards of the Coast has announced that its new virtual tabletop, Maps, is entering public beta after a year of alpha testing. This new phase of Maps takes all the original features of the virtual tabletop – including rolling digital dice, character tokens, and integration of maps and monsters from a user’s D&D Beyond library – and adds the ability for players to conduct combat encounters and initiatives can be followed directly on the virtual tabletop.

However, no mention was made of Wizards of the Coast’s coolest new toy, Project Sigil, a 3D virtual map currently in closed beta. Sigil premiered at Gen Con earlier this year to mixed reviews starring a live play Baldur’s Gate 3 actors Samantha Béart and Neil Newbon alongside real stage titans Brennan Lee Mulligan, Aabria Iyengar and Anjali Bhimani.

Features that require little preparation include easy integration of player and enemy tokens, and real-time encounter balancing based on the updated versions Dungeon Master’s Guideand a flexible initiative without interrupting the meeting. For larger encounters or multi-stage dungeons, monsters can be hidden until the time is right, giving Dungeon Masters a tool to always keep the drama going (or take away some extra monsters if things aren’t looking good for the party) .

This Maps update, oddly enough, makes Wizards a strong contender in a digital landscape teeming with competing products, including popular solutions like Alchemy and Foundry. But it also puts it in direct competition with its own partners, including officially licensed VTTs like Roll20 and Fantasy Grounds. The benefit for harried gamemasters, of course, is that after players have digitally rolled out a character, they can simply press a button in the web browser to seamlessly take the action out of the theater of the mind and into a 2D, visually immersive game. digital combat experience. According to the post on the D&D Beyond blog, “the goal of Maps has always been to let Dungeon Masters prepare less (and) play more.”

According to D&D Beyond’s announcementOnly Master Tier subscribers can host game sessions in Maps, but all users with a free account and browser-based Internet access can participate in a hosted game.

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