Today we’re handing the mic to one of the main developers behind the D&D 2024 character sheet on Roll20, Nic Bradley. Nic is going to walk us through his notes regarding some of the biggest design decisions for updating the D&D Character Sheet, and how the D&D 2024 sheet is built to withstand the tests of time and player options. Take it away, Nic!
The Dungeons & Dragons 2024 rules update presented the development team with several challenges from both technical and philosophical perspectives. Here’s how we approached them to create a seamless and forward-thinking solution for players.
Addressing Aging Infrastructure
The original D&D 5th Edition character sheet, introduced in 2014, was never designed to handle the sheer volume of content that has since been released. While it served players well for years, its limitations became evident as the game evolved. For instance, using the 2014 Charactermancer to build a high-level wizard exposed cracks in its foundational design due to the increased complexity created by having to load so many spells. These issues made updating the sheet not only desirable but essential.
Ensuring a Consistent Player Experience
Our second challenge was ensuring a consistent and delightful experience for all players. We wanted to:
- Support those adopting the new 2024 rules.
- Provide compatibility for players sticking with their 2014 materials.
- Enable interoperability between the two systems.
Staying true to these goals required a careful balancing act to meet diverse player needs.
Building a Platform for Deeper Integration
Digital character sheets have come a long way in the past decade. Expectations for features, usability, and integration with virtual tabletops (VTTs) have grown significantly. Our aim was to:
- Deliver a robust platform for deeper rules integration.
- Create tools that empower both players and developers.
- Set a strong foundation for future enhancements.
Overcoming the Limitations of Legacy Systems
In order to meet these challenges, we carefully considered a number of different options. We, of course, would have strongly preferred updating the existing character sheet, however this was ultimately deemed infeasible; ten years is a long time in web development, and the technology, already pushed to its limits by the complexity of 5e, wouldn’t have been able to support the pressures placed upon it by the 2024 version, and subsequent releases. The aging infrastructure was already pushed to its limits by the complexity of 5e. The 2024 version—and future expansions—required a fresh start.
Introducing Beacon: A New Development Tool
By breaking free from the constraints of the 2014 sheet, we developed Beacon, a tool that allows developers to create and integrate web apps directly with the VTT. Beacon:
- Supports stronger D&D 5e experiences.
- Opens opportunities for the sheet developer community.
- Provides a flexible and modern foundation for new tools by internal and external developers to hook into the VTT with any sort of web app they care to build.
Setting Priorities for the New Sheet
When building the new character sheet, we focused on three key priorities:
- Maintaining Functionality: Ensuring all features from the 2014 sheet were supported.
- Enhancing the Character Builder: Leveling up the character creation experience.
- Supporting Diverse Content: Building with the foresight to handle first-party, third-party, and homebrew content seamlessly.
A Powerful Rules Engine
At the core of the new sheet is a powerful rules engine. It treats characters as collections of discrete data bundles. For example:
- A magic sword could include a sword object, a bonus object, and a damage object.
- The rules engine processes this data and presents a cohesive character sheet.
The modifier builder is a standout feature, allowing users to add capabilities directly to various sheet sections.
Modularity for Agility
The new system’s modular architecture has enabled us to:
- Respond quickly to user feedback.
- Implement significant revisions during the alpha phase.
- Ensure the sheet’s long-term adaptability to new rules and content.
Looking Ahead to 2025
We’re committed to maintaining momentum into 2025. Our focus will be on:
- Refining features and capabilities.
- Leveraging new technologies to add novel functionalities.
- Delivering features that previously required API Mods.
The 2024 character sheet represents a significant leap forward, and our team is excited to see how the community embraces and enhances it for years to come.