Digital & Dragons: DungeonScape becomes digital face of D&D

In a world…

One of the biggest releases at GenCon this year was the latest edition of pen & paper stalwart, Dungeons & Dragons. I love D&D and dutifully picked up my Player’s Handbook like a good soldier, but quickly realized that no one at Pocket Tactics wants to hear about that one time that guy did that one thing in that one campaign, not to mention the daring adventures of Bibble Hardbottom, 11th-level halfling cleric and all-around great guy.

So, how to get one of my favorite non-digital hobbies onto a site about digital strategy games? Enter Trapdoor Technologies and DungeonScape, the official digital tools for the 5th edition of Dungeons & Dragons. This isn’t just a tool for players to track their character, but a full toolset that contains the obligatory character creation tools as well as planning and preparation tools for the Dungeon Master. I spoke with a rep from Trapdoor at GenCon and was told that their DM officiates the game while walking around the room with his iPad. No more sitting behind a cardboard wall.

Pricing’s not entirely clear yet, but it seems like everyone who wants to access the app on their device will need to shell out for at least the basic rules from the Player’s Handbook, but that other books–and DM material–will be easier to share between DMs and players. Also, while not confirmed, it sounds like books will be available within the app as they are released and purchasing the physical book will unlock the digital version via a code of some sort.

We were told at GenCon that they were submitting the tools to Apple “within a few weeks”. Considering that GenCon was nearly a month ago now, I’m hoping we’ll see these hit the App Store soon. What about Android? An Android as well as an online, browser version are also coming and should be released shortly after the iOS version hits.

More screens after the break.