How DnDnWe works
Turn-based D&D from your phone, your desk, or the table. Someone always knows whose turn it is.
Turns
Out of combat, play goes around the table in seat order and the DM closes each round. In combat, the DM taps Roll initiative, the server rolls for everyone with a public seed, and the order re-sorts.
Taking a turn is three steps. Say what you do in words. If it's chancy, tap a check (Stealth, Persuasion, an attack…): the bonus from your sheet is already in the number, and the roll is written into your post. Then Post & end turn. The DM compares your number to a target you don't see and narrates what happens. If you post without rolling and the DM wants a check, they can ask for it by name, with a target number you may or may not be shown and advantage or disadvantage if the situation calls for it: you get a ping and a one-tap roll on the Turn tab, it posts even though your turn is over, and the DM sees pass or fail (and can overrule the dice). If the DM has switched on auto play, the Narrator does that comparing for the small stuff: it picks a DC from the table's difficulty, calls success or failure, and posts the outcome right under yours. The DM can retract it or post over it.
- Post & end turn passes the token. If the DM has turned on I adjudicate each turn, the button is Send to the DM instead: they read it, ask for a roll, accept it, or send it back with a note before the next player is up. Hold lets the next person go first and puts you last this round (a delay); you keep that later place. When a monster forces a save, you get a ping and roll it yourself; the damage lands when you do. At 0 HP your turn is a death save: the card appears on the Turn tab and in the ⚔ blade, and the table sees each roll. Damage while you are down is a failed death save (two on a critical), and enough damage at once kills outright.
- The action blade (⚔). The sword button in the corner of every campaign page opens a drawer so you can act while reading your sheet, the Codex or the map: the turn order with enemy health, your attacks aimed at a named enemy in two taps like at a table (roll to hit, see whether it lands, then roll damage; a miss resolves itself, a hit goes to the DM to apply, or applies at once under auto play), any check the DM asked for, a quick check of your own, and Post & end turn. The DM's blade has Start a fight: search the bestiary, name the enemies, and one tap spawns them, places the party and rolls initiative; then run each creature's turn from its stat block, ask for checks, and read the ledger.
- Answering a roll. Any roll in the feed that nobody asked for (an attack from the Map tab, a free roll) gets a reply row for the DM: type the AC or DC it was against and the verdict lights up, tap hits/misses or succeeds/fails to post it, or narrate it to pull the roll into your post and say what happens.
- Contests. Grapple, shove, sneak past: the DM starts a contest from Roll for the world, picks you and your opponent (a character or a creature on the map). The creature rolls from its stat block on the spot; you get a one-tap roll. Higher total wins, a tie goes to the defender, and the DM can apply grappled or prone to the loser with one tap or overrule it.
- Ready an action. “When the door opens, I shoot.” Set the trigger and the deed on your turn; it waits under Readied actions until the DM fires it or your next turn starts.
- Surprise. Before Roll initiative the DM can tick who is surprised (they roll initiative with disadvantage) or declare an ambush: the ambushers roll Stealth against each defender's passive Perception, and the server decides.
- Exhaustion is counted on the Party page (the DM adds or removes levels): every level is −2 on every d20 you roll, already in your chips. A long rest removes one level; six is death.
- Who notices? The DM types a DC and sees everyone's passive Perception, Insight or Investigation against it. No roll, no tell.
- Async mode has a turn timer (24h by default): a nudge at half, a note to the DM at expiry.
- Live mode is for everyone in one room: shorter timers, physical dice allowed, a Table view for the TV.
Who sees what
Every post, roll, event, token, item and map pin carries a visibility level. The database enforces it, not the screen: a DM-only token's hit points never reach a player's phone. The Helper, the Discord feed and the Log all follow the same rule.
Dice
Type an expression (1d20+5, 2d6, d20 adv, 4d6kh3) and roll. The server rolls with a seed it publishes, so any roll in the Log can be re-verified by anyone.
Natural 1: sad tuba. Natural 20: chunky. Both are tracked and unlock things.
Combat and the override queue
On the Map tab, pick a target and an attack from your sheet (or a save, a heal, or free text). The rules engine rolls to hit, handles advantage, criticals, weapon masteries, resistances and conditions, and writes a proposal. The DM's queue shows it with every roll; they apply it as-is, change the damage with a note, or reject it. Only then do hit points change. The DM acting for a monster can apply immediately.
Maps
A region map is a picture with pins: towns, dungeons, rumors. A pin can open a battle map: a grid where the DM places the party, spawns creatures from the Bestiary, measures distance and paints fog. Players drag their own token; the DM moves anything.
No art? The DM's scene forge draws a tidy procedural map for the common places (tavern, cellar, forest, market, cave, road) in one tap.
Characters
The guided builder walks species → class → background → scores → skills → review, with plain-language help on every step and "place it for me" buttons if you'd rather not do the arithmetic. It computes hit points, armor class, attacks and starting gear, and drops the gear into your bag.
Leveling is by milestone: you request the next level, the app precomputes HP and features and asks for your choices, and the DM approves from their screen.
Characters come and go over a campaign. Retiring moves your gear to the left-behind pile and the Helper will write your exit (or your replacement's entrance) if you ask it to.
The six tabs
⟳Turn
Whose turn it is, the order strip, the feed, dice, voice notes, the Helper. Post, roll, hold, or post-and-end-turn.
✎Sheet
Build a character with the guided builder or fill the manual sheet. Request level-ups. Write yourself in or out of the story. Once you join the party the sheet locks: current HP, notes, spells and rests are yours; stats, level and max HP change through a level-up request or when the DM unlocks it.
⌘Map
Fight here: pick a target and attack, or cast from the Spell tab (your known spells, with the dice and DCs from your sheet; area spells take several targets). Results go to the DM's queue, or apply at once under auto play. The DM makes a battle map three ways: describe the place and the image model paints it, generate one for free, or upload a picture; then configure the grid, fog and which scene uses it, or replace the picture later. Region maps with pins open into battle maps with tokens, measuring and fog of war. Players drag their own token. Double-tap anywhere to ping the table. The DM can hide a token until it matters, give a condition a countdown, and sees bloodied rings on anyone at half HP.
⌂Bag
Personal, party and left-behind inventories. Equip, attune, use charges, nickname things. Tap the weight line three times.
☗Party / DM
Players see the party roster. The DM gets scene controls, the override queue, the bestiary, roles, Discord and the scene forge.
⚄Log
Every roll with its seed, searchable. Ask it 'who do I blame'. Search what was said across posts and transcripts.
↶Undo
Moved the wrong token? Healed the wrong goblin? The ↶ button (floating on phones, in the left rail on desktop) lists recent changes with an Undo on each. The DM can undo anything and, on the Map tab, put everyone back where they were a few minutes ago. Players can undo their own changes for ten minutes.
☗DM
The DM's home: what's happening now, open and dress a scene, the forge, level-ups. One row of links takes you to Party (everyone's HP and sheets, unlock or edit any sheet), Encounters (bestiary, spawn, XP budget), the Queue, the Story and Settings (invite code, mode, helper, auto play, Discord, roles).
❦Codex
The SRD at your thumb: 287 spells, monsters, items, conditions and the rules you forget mid-fight. Type @spell Fire Bolt or @rule Prone in a post and it becomes a tap-to-read card for everyone.
Questions people actually ask
Do I need to know the rules to play?
No. The guided character builder does the arithmetic, the action composer rolls and applies the rules, and the ✦ Helper will explain any of it on request. You need to know what your character wants to do; the app knows what the dice say.
How do I know when it's my turn?
The Turn tab says so in big letters, your card turns orange, and you get a ping on whichever channels you picked in Settings (push, email, Discord). In async mode there's a timer; you'll get a nudge at halfway.
What if I can't take my turn for a while?
Tap Hold. You skip this round and keep your seat; the order moves on. The DM can also end or skip a turn for you, and the async timer will eventually do it on its own.
Can I use my real dice?
In live mode, yes: enter the total as a 'tabled' roll and it's logged with a chair icon. In async mode rolls happen on the server so everyone can trust and re-verify them.
Why didn't my attack change the goblin's HP?
Attacks are proposals. The rules engine rolls and recommends; the DM applies it from the Override queue (as-is, edited, or rejected). HP only changes when the DM applies.
Can other players see my character sheet?
The Party tab shows names, HP, conditions and ability modifiers to everyone at the table. Your full sheet, notes and bag are yours and the DM's. Rows marked DM-only never leave the database for anyone else.
What is a Ghost?
A read-only seat. Ghosts see everything the party sees and can't post, roll or act. Good for a friend who wants to follow along, or a player between characters.
What happens to my stuff if my character retires or dies?
Their gear moves to the 'Left behind' pile in the Bag tab. The DM can hand it to someone else, put it in the party bag, or send it to the void.
What are the locked cosmetics in Settings?
Unlockables, earned from things that happen on the timeline: a natural 20, a kill, going down, reaching level 3, being on a WANTED poster. Locked ones show a cryptic hint. That is the whole hint.
Is the Helper cheating?
The Helper only sees what you can see: your sheet, the party's public info, the visible timeline. It can't read the DM's notes or hidden tokens. The DM can turn it off per campaign, and you can turn it off for yourself.
How does Discord fit in?
A bot answers /turn, /roll, /end, /hold and /link in your server, and a channel can get a live feed of beats, combat and loot. Link your account once from Settings.
Uppies?
Uppies.