D&D Beyond To Make Maps Feature Free For All Users… Sort Of
Starting September 16th, with the launch of the new D&D starter set, D&D Beyond will make its Maps feature free for all users. Sort of.
D&D’s new head of franchise Dan Ayoub made a big new announcement about the D&D Beyond Maps feature, which is that the virtual tabletop would be free to all registered users, not just those with a Master-tier subscription. This news comes along with a general overview of “D&D’s new direction” and promises to but D&D back “where it belongs: at your table.”
D&D Beyond To Make Maps Free – But Here’s The Catch
In a new post on D&D Beyond titled Welcome Back to the Table: D&D’s New Direction, head of franchise Dan Ayoub talks about a few things: the Maps feature, the creation of an “advisory group” from community members, more transparent communication, a creator spotlight and other outreach type moves.
The big one, the one with an actual timeline and concrete steps of what that will mean, though is D&D Beyond making its Maps vtt free to all users starting September 16th. This coincides with the launch of the new Heroes of the Borderlands Starter Set, both digitally and physically. But where does the sort of come in? Let’s take a closer look.
“Starting September 16, in time with the release of Heroes of the Borderlands, all D&D Beyond registered users can run games on the Maps virtual tabletop (VTT) —no subscription required.
The core experience will be made available to everyone: If you own a map, module, or adventure on D&D Beyond, you can use it on Maps and invite your friends to play. Period.
Our Master Tier subscription will unlock more customizability for DMs who need it. You’ll be able to upload homebrew maps, custom tokens, and access exciting tools built just for you.”
The last two points in the announcement are the most relevant here. Because while anyone can use D&D Maps, starting in September, it’ll only be for stuff that you personally own. At press time, D&D Beyond’s standard content sharing isn’t compatible with maps. Which I mention because if you’re a DM looking to use Maps, you have to be the one that owns the title, not whoever is content sharing for the campaign.
Same goes for if you want to use your own tokens or make your own maps. Which is why it’ll be free…sort of. The basic experience will, sure, but I don’t think that letting you make your own maps or put your own tokens in play are necessarily “advanced” features. That’s what D&D has been all about since the days of drawing on graph paper and using M&Ms for goblins. You get to eat them when you kill them.
But we’ll just have to see what September brings.
For more from maps, check back in September!
