As I was driving home from the latest DnD session with my fellow dorks last Sunday, I started to let my mind drift. As per usual my body was filled with Doritos and Dr. Pepper so I was all hopped up on pure ‘dorkatude.’ This is when I recalled a moment during my day where a co-worker came by my office and shared his opinion of the ‘Best Apps for iPhone.’ The fact is everyday he comes by and tells that he has found the latest and best new app for the iPhone.
This got me thinking about iPhones and Dungeons and Dragons.
I decided that I would research what was in my opinion the best apps for iphone that were related to Dungeons and Dragons. When I arrived at home I cracked open iTunes and started searching through the app store in search of the best iphone apps for DnD. Below is my list of the top (there are only 4!) apps for the iPhone related to Dungeons and Dragons.
The Dicenomicon: I found a lot of dice rolling apps. Most of them were pretty crappy looking and lacked any real aesthetic value. If you own an iPhone it seems obvious that aesthetics are important to you. The Dicenomicon was the most realistic looking iphone app. The best feature was the fact that you can give your iPhone a shake to roll the dice, and if you reroll the dice you can hold a die in place and roll the rest. There are a ton of different condition you can apply when it creates the total for you. For example: roll 4d6 and keep the highest 3 rolls. I think the Dicenomicon is a must have iPhone app for any DnD player, especially for those sessions where you forget your dice and have to borrow your friends crap dice. Check out the light version or the full version of The Dicenomicon.
Spellbook Master: If you ever play any kind of spellcasting class then you know how much of a pain it is to be constantly thumbing through your book to check out a few details of a spell, or if you are a DM and you need to quickly check and see if a spell requires a saving through even though your PC’s say “No it doesn’t require a save.” The Spellbook Master iphone app makes it easy to reference spells either by class, domain, school, element etc. all from your iPhone! It is the best tool you can have if you play any kind of spellcaster. for more details and screenshots check out the app page for the Spellbook Master
Quick Roll: This is another dice rolling iphone app, yet it is much different than the Dicenomicon. With this you can program specific dice roll variables into the interface and then quickly roll them. So you can have your initiative roll modifier added in, your fortitude save and so on. You can pretty much have every item that you need to roll added into the app so you don’t have to slow down the game by constantly adding in all your modifiers from all over place. I am sure we have all had a moment where another player (never us) rolls to strike and then begins to keep adding in the modifiers: I have power attack, I’m using the weapon 2 handed, and on and on. If you want to streamline your gaming then read up on the Quick Roll app
tCiMP Character in My Pocket: This great iPhone app allows you to keep your character and all of it’s information stored on your iPhone. Gone are the days where you can’t play because you forgot your character sheet at home.It has a built in rolling system so you can roll stats and create new characters. With this app you will never be without a character ever again! Check out the Character in My Pocket app
So those are as far as I can tell the best apps for iPhone that pertain to Dungeons and Dragons. If you are browsing through the itunes app section and find another great DnD app please share it with us in the comment section below, or help spread the word to other dorks by clicking that precious Stumble Upon or Digg buttons!
well who would of thought it. I assumed D&D died with the invention of the computer. It doesnt seem right without the feel of dice and lead characters in your hand.
art brightons last blog post..Art Junky
Wow, that sounds a cool app. As im getting older, i realise that all the ‘dorks’ as you label yourself have the coolest jobs
It seems you guys were right all along…
Alot my colleagues love D&D, i just hope they can still get their work done, with this added distraction!
Tom Gurney – Gustav Klimt Fans last blog post..Gustav Klimt Timeline, The Kiss History
I have the spell book app and a couple of the free dice apps
and I really like the spellbook one. However, it’s missing a spell sheet
section so you can log spells per day and ones you’ve used.
In addition they should add the spells from the spell compendium.
But all in all it’s preatty good.
I see these sorts of apps on my Treo, too. Please, SOMEONE explain to me what’s so “revolutionary” about the iPhone when everything it does except maybe tilt sensing (Of course, the Nintendo DS has the iPhone beat on this.) has been done for years already on smartphones?
Or is this Apple fanbois being Apple fanbois and not even acknowledging prior implementations. There’s nothing truly innovative about the iPhone.
So this isn’t a native app, it’s a web app, but I believe it’s the coolest D&D on the iPhone to date:
iplay4e
Fully interactive character sheet optimized for use on the iPhone. It uses dnd4e files produced by the official Character Builder.
Cheers,
Andrew Reutter
iplay4e.com
All we need now is an app that will DM while I play
Great article. I never even thought of using the iPhone for D&D.
The Spellbook Master would be a life saver for me, the devout mage!
“So this isn’t a native app, it’s a web app, but I believe it’s the coolest D&D on the iPhone to date:
iplay4e
Fully interactive character sheet optimized for use on the iPhone. It uses dnd4e files produced by the official Character Builder.
Cheers,
Andrew Reutter
iplay4e.com”
Geez, you Apple fanboys are thick.
If its on the web it’s NOT FOR IPHONE ANY MORE THAN ITS FOR TREO.
Stop acting like the iPhone actually does anything new.
If it ain’t native to the iPhone it’s not for the iPhone and doesn’t qualify for lists like this.
And I also usually draw a line for apps that aren’t even exclusive to the iPhone either.
Show me something the iPhone has that I can’t already do with my Treo… oh wait… you can’t (Except for gimmicks like a motion sensor.).
The iPhone is nothing special… in fact, between the three big smartphones (Treo, Blackberry, iPhone) the iPhone lacks a LOT of functionality the others have.
“If it ain’t native to the iPhone it’s not for the iPhone and doesn’t qualify for lists like this.
And I also usually draw a line for apps that aren’t even exclusive to the iPhone either.
Show me something the iPhone has that I can’t already do with my Treo… oh wait… you can’t (Except for gimmicks like a motion sensor.).
The iPhone is nothing special… in fact, between the three big smartphones (Treo, Blackberry, iPhone) the iPhone lacks a LOT of functionality the others have.”
Obvious troll is obvious.
I didn’t see anywhere in his list where he claimed IPHONE IS GOD OF DND APPS GO AWAY TREO NUBS
It’s just a nice simple list to help people out…
But alas it must be fanboyism !!
so what is the difference between an iPhone fanboy and a treo fanboy?
[Quote]
I see these sorts of apps on my Treo, too. Please, SOMEONE explain to me what’s so “revolutionary” about the iPhone when everything it does except maybe tilt sensing (Of course, the Nintendo DS has the iPhone beat on this.) has been done for years already on smartphones?
———-
Show me something the iPhone has that I can’t already do with my Treo… oh wait… you can’t (Except for gimmicks like a motion sensor.).
[Quote]
1) Multi touch
2) Mac OS X
3) up to 32 Gb of storage
4) 3 megapixel camera (vs the Treo 680’s 0.3 megapixel… tsk tsk)
5) Voice control
6) Compass
7) Fully functional web browser
8) The iPhone app store
9) Tilt sensing (btw, the DS is not a phone…)
10) Visual Voicemail
11) Polished UI
12) Phone + widescreen ipod + internet device
13) Reliability
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/2451755/Reliability-Study-iPhone-Vs-Blackberry-Vs-Treo
1. Gimmick
2. OS X, the world’s worst UNIX implementation to date.
3. The iPhone is hardly the first device with 32 GiB of storage. Maybe I should rephrase this to what the hell the iPhone revolutionized and left the Treo out of it.
4. You’re comparing it to an OLD Treo? What, does the Palm Pre make the iPhone look that bad? Maybe the iPhone when compared to actual MODERN devices, whether smartphones are no, is actually behind.
5. Not invented here. Actually I could do that with my Treo 650. Not revolutionary.
6. Not invented here. Another gimmick.
7. HOLY FUCK. Treo’s had that since it was first a Smartphone. Are you Steve Jobs cultists honestly claiming the iPhone was the first to have a web browser? Typical Apple fanboyism. What next? You’re the only ones with Telnet/SSH/IM clients?
8. The iPhone is not the first to have an app store. Stop trying to claim thiongs that were not “innovated” by Apple as innovated by apple. hell, the vast majority of apps fr the iPhone 1. Have been done for years before there was an iPhone and 2. Are free. And at least I wouldn’t have to jailbreak my Treo to use them.
9. Gimmick. Still not invented by Apple.
10. Gimmick. Again, not invented by apple.
11. Gimmick. AGAIN not invented by Apple.
12. Not invented here + gimmick + not invented here.
13. First off, that’s a matter of opinion, second off, Palm OS is no less reliable than OS X. I love how Apple fanboys use this as a fallback when they have yet to prove that their platform is the most reliable beyond biased studies like what you linked there. Anything to Make the overrated Apple products look favorable, hmm?
I always love how when called for something that is 1. Invented by Apple, and 2. actually revolutionary by the iPhone, the iPhone fanboys always cite 1. Stuff done long before Apple did it and 2. Gimmicks that hardly revolutionize portable devices or smartphones
“Obvious troll is obvious.
I didn’t see anywhere in his list where he claimed IPHONE IS GOD OF DND APPS GO AWAY TREO NUBS
It’s just a nice simple list to help people out…
But alas it must be fanboyism !!”
He claimed WEB APPS were for the iPhone, whereas it’s for WEB. The WEB is a separate platform from the iPhone. Hence: Not apps for iPhone.
“so what is the difference between an iPhone fanboy and a treo fanboy?”
A Treo fanboy knows the difference between apps for the web and apps for the iPhone, unlike iPhone fanboys.
Again, show me REAL innovation. Something Apple INVENTED. By the way, implementing something not done before on a cell phone is NOT INNOVATION if it’s been done on a portable device anyway. Hence, if it’s been done on, say, the DS (Filled with gimmicks.), then I’d hardly call it revolutionary for the iPhone.Hence, widescreen, motion sensing, voice recording, homebrew, cameras, etc., is bullshit.
Show me something the iPhone has done that has NOT been done before by ANY device. Show me how Apple actually innovated instead of saying “Oh, look, this gimmick/shiny thing made this device popular, lets put it on ours, our fanboys will act like we invented it all!”
Seriously, the iPhone is still nothing special. And I can tell you all its problems, such as:
1. It’s a locked-down lump of plastic. You have to jailbreak the damn thing to actually get the real “capability” out of it. It may be simple to jailbreak, but it’s the principle of the thing. On Treo and Blackberry no one has to jailbreak to develop for it or get apps that didn’t pay Palm or Blackberry money for the “right” to be an app on their platform.
2. Only maybe two carriers worldwide even actually support it.
3. It’s overpriced. This is typical of Apple products. Macs are overpriced, too. You could find a Palm Pre that can do all an iPhone can do for cheaper, or a G1, or even older smartphones because I’m not a goldfish that doesn’t fall for gimmicks or already-been-done features like you people.
4. It is just as crash-prone as the Macs (Macs crash plenty, contrary to the claims of Steve Jobs Cultists like you.)
5. It’s not an open platform like the G1. (See #1 above.)
Isn’t a web app that’s been made using the iPhone web app sdk (dnt know actual name) a specific iPhone web app? My friend has a G1 and when viewed it still has the iPhone ui style and isn’t exactly set to
the right aspect. And I’m not too sure how multi touch is a gimick I use it a lot comes in quite handy expecially on the new MacBook pros.
Anyway I ain’t 1 to make an angry hater even worse so I’ll just say hello n thanks for the app list will be giving them a try now!
p.s. Try to chill, after all it’s just a phone, if u like it well that’s great if not well that’s great, nobody here is saying the iPhone is the best in the world, use what u hav cuz u like it
Regards,
Happy iPhone user (sry I mean stupid apple fanboy *shrugs n giggles*) lifes too short for this anyhoo am going to go play dnd now thanks again
Oh and 1 more thing, if the G1 is an open platform, why do u hav to root it for several applications? I understand that it is running on an open source kernel and a semi open source operating system, but it is by no means an open platform.
Oh ok i lied, last thing. I don’t think we’re all “apple fan boys” its more like ur an apple hater.
Name a better UNIX distro better than Mac and why they are better? Not a competition, just curiosity.
You asked for things the treo can’t do. When I list them, you call them gimmicks. Then you start pimping the Pre. Are you arguing all of Palm’s products against the iPhone? If you could just clarify, that would be cool. I didn’t dis the Treo. I listed things it can’t do well. But, I’m guessing that Treo users are looking for something different in their phone. Otherwise, they would just buy an iPhone…
So what has Apple really done that’s revolutionary? They have relied on good design rather than one revolutionary feature. And, I’m not saying “good design” like Apple has the best design ever. Look at the sales numbers. Apple hasn’t innovated by creating new features (except for UI stuff like the flick-scrolling which you will of course call a gimmick). They’ve just packaged a bunch of great features together in a more user-friendly way. Apple has given the masses the power of the smartphone.
[quote]
Are you Steve Jobs cultists honestly claiming the iPhone was the first to have a web browser?
[quote]
First of all, I don’t speak for “Steve Jobs cultists”. I’m just one guy giving my opinion. Everyone can take it or leave it. Second, I didn’t say the iPhone was first to have a web browser. I said it has a “fully functional” web browser meaning there’s no difference between the page you see on your home PC and the page on the iPhone. (By the way, we wouldn’t even be here talking about smartphones if Jobs and Wozniak hadn’t pioneered the PC with the Apple II.)
[quote]
I love how Apple fanboys use this as a fallback when they have yet to prove that their platform is the most reliable beyond biased studies like what you linked there. Anything to Make the overrated Apple products look favorable, hmm?
[quote]
Maybe you didn’t notice that the company conducting the study was a third party not associated with Apple… Feel free to post your own response in an “unbiased” study. Anyway, Apple products look favorable on their own merits. That’s why you see so many of them in movies and TV shows.
[quote]
On Treo and Blackberry no one has to jailbreak to develop for it or get apps that didn’t pay Palm or Blackberry money for the “right” to be an app on their platform.
[quote]
Yet, the competing app stores (app catalog for Pre) have little to no selection. Maybe you should examine the app store numbers for Palm and Apple, then get back to me on that one…
[quote]
You could find a Palm Pre that can do all an iPhone can do for cheaper, or a G1, or even older smartphones because I’m not a goldfish that doesn’t fall for gimmicks or already-been-done features like you people.
[quote]
Have you even tried the Pre?! Maybe you just tried it with your eyes closed or something. Most of the design for the Pre was inspired by the iPhone. The Pre has the single button on the face (when closed). There is an incredible resemblance between apps. You say things that the Treo doesn’t have are gimmicks? Well, the guys at Palm who designed the Pre seem to disagree. You still can’t compete with multitouch.
Yes, the Pre is beautifully designed, but its apps will always be limited by its lack of multitouch. I would argue that multitouch is largely responsible for the plethora of apps in the iPhone App Store. Maybe the Pre 2.0 will have it and you’ll stop calling it a gimmick.
Also, what the heck does the G1 have to do with anything here? Is your argument EveryOtherSmartPhone vs iPhone? Because, I know the iPhone is great and all, but Apple is quite new to the smartphone game.
[quote]
[The iPhone is a] locked-down lump of plastic. You have to jailbreak the damn thing to actually get the real “capability” out of it.
[quote]
What is this “capability” you speak of that doesn’t exist with a factory iPhone?
Anyway, I don’t really care whether you prefer the Pre or the G1 or the Treo or whatever else is in your smartphone grab-bag to the iPhone. I’m not trying to sell you on Apple products. You don’t have to buy them. I would rather that you don’t spread lies about their invented shortcomings or label anyone who prefers an iPhone to a Treo/Pre a “Steve Jobs Cultist”. But, that’s probably too much to ask.
The difference between iPhone fanboys and Treo fanboys?
Easy. Treo fanboys are angry that the world likes the iPhone better.
Getting away from the iPhone/Palm Pre flamewar for a second…
Many of these apps seem to be for 3.5. Any 4E apps out there?
I’m really sad that the author of this list had to have any kind of intelligent discussion ruined by some Treo troll.
Bottom line: Your private war with apple is best fought elsewhere. No one cares about the treo here except for you. I’ve had two different Windows based PPC, and a blackberry. I am very sold on the iPhone, but would just as soon pick up an Android device. The only thing holding me back is my provider.
That being said, this is a thread to provide information to like minded people. I googled dungeons and dragons iphone and found this. It was a great read until I came across your prattle. Please keep this on topic, as this isn’t your blog. If you don’t have one, I recommend you go make one now, and complain at how mean people are to the godly amazing treo. Shoo now. Shoo.
Owned
You may want to check out DiceEQ, it’s a nice little app for DMs to manage attack rolls.
I’m saying it’s rediculous to squabble over what’s better. I don’t care what other people paid over one hundred bucks for just so they can look at porn at work. If one is truely the inferior product, fine, it sucks for all those that own it. And guess what? I’m not gonna give myself an anurism because someone likes their phone! What you guys are doing is like a really lame version of racism.
Ok before I speak I would just like to say that I have had the palm pre since about a month after it came out, and have tried a few other smart phones. This is my very first apple product (I even use a pc at home and refuse to buy a mac) and yet I find that my new iPhone runs the smoothest compared to the others. So all of you people out there who just love bashing on those who use apple products please let us have our own freaking opinions and go blow of steam somewhere else, also if you do get the chance try out the iPhone and tell me that it doesn’t run smoother than other smart phones.
Sounds like someone has a little inferiority complex Treo fans? Let’s face it, there’s a lot of knowledge out there. We know in theory how to punch a black hole in space, but it’s the ability to bring technologies togethere that is all the difference. Sorry Treo boyz, don’t hyperventilate, but Iphone RULES!
When did this become about treo vs iPhone? Anyways I found i4e to be a great iPhone app . It uses the character save from the insider character builder.it is needs user input. But works great after that .
ok so really this is not about the GD phones or who is better its about the apps for d&d if you want to bash eachothers phones then do it some where else this is just plain dumb.
btw great list do you know if they work on a blackberry. i cant seem to find a pc sheet like this anywhere on the web for my blackberry.
ty good list.
Just stumbled across this thread whilst looking to find improovements for my D&D game (we have been looking at laptops and iPhone apps and even a projector to turn the table into a more ‘colorful’ surface) we still use pen and paper as well and our figures (don’t think we will ever give that up) the thread was really useful. The conversation underneath is ridiculous, as a PC user and a iPhone user im seeing both sides, and you guys need to chill the F out. PC’s and D&D definately go together with less hassle, Wizards are far more PC friendly than mac, and i know that the iPhone is not the ‘savior of mankind’ but it does do more and has a much wider base for plugins, but the main reason people like it so much? its user friendly. its a pretty machine that works extreemly well, most Palm-pre/windowsmobile/etc etc cannot beat it for that. especially not in its price range. all in all just let bygones be bygones guys theres room in this world for both, and competition means advance ment, we all win! *gets off soap box* ehem.
Check out the app named “d20 Rules”. It contains a ton of d20 3.5e material (all of the core, monsters, epic, divine, psionic and variant rules) for a meager $1:
Throw some acid or fire on that troll already!
I may be just TOO WILDLY IGNORANT, but i just dont know what treo has to do with the post. Also, what the hell is treo?! XD
Not adding much to the topic, but I have sought cool RPG’s & gamer helpers for iPhone. I didn’t find much useful — the dice simulators are cool, but … I prefer dice.
I was working with a developer on a character sheet archive software, and he dropped out when we were ~ 30% done. If anyone’s an iPhone dev out there, hit me up & we can work together (I’m an artistic creative gamer type). All the char sheet apps I’ve seen are limited to a system.
But cool apps? I like: Defender Chronicles, HighBorn, Battle of Wesnoth, Fargoal, Rogue Touch, Archon, Sorceror, Dungeon Solitaire, Catan (ie Settlers of….), and Civilizations Revolutions
I also like BGG (board game geek) app, and I use TapForms to save my current characters from games. TapForms is a db, not spec tailored for gaming, so it’s not a perfect fit for gaming — but it also does other cool stuff.
I also tried Google Wave & several ‘gaming table’ simulators for PC. From what I see now, they’re all ‘apps in progress’, but I imagine soon they’ll be awesome.
See –>
Game Maker – http://gmc.yoyogames.com/
and more
As for the iPhone vs whatever argument, it’s irrelevant. The smartphone experience is a personal thing. I used to be love my Treo, then it broke. I bought a Droid 1.0, returned it, unsatisfied. Then I got an iPhone — and I was impressed, despite all the block the developer / counter-creative stuff Apple has done on the phone. And the iPhone 4 is even better. I enjoyed my old Treo, liked my old Blackberry (esp battery life), didn’t like my HTC Droid, and now the iPhone — wow, I am still impressed 2 yrs later, despite various shortcomings of the phone.
rekzkarz.com
Hi, I’m the developer of a new iPhone app for quick reference of your d20 3.5e characters.
It’s named RPG Sheets. You can see it in the App Store.
I also think the i4e app looks good although I have yet to try it.
I noticed there is an app called d20 rules which appears to be all the rules to the 3.5 ed, but does anyone know of anything similar for 4th ed?
Also I would like to see a good app for creating scenarios, as a DM I’d find that Very useful!
Thanks for the post!
I find Character4ge Redux to be the best iPhone app for a 4E character sheet. Took me about 3 minutes to set up my level 6 character.
WHO MADE THIS SITE IS JUST A DORK.
D&D is a SOCIAL game.
MMORPGS = you play it alone = you become a dork
D&D = you TALK with friends = you win
This webpage = fail
I have found that the DM Toolkit is the best iPod app for dnd. Works for 4e and 3.5 along with a slew of other platforms. It is a DB so requires user input but there are downloadables in-app that help significantly. The downside is it’s rather expensive. Also support for the app is top notch. Had a minor issue when I first DL the app. the developer of the app got back to me in under 24 hrs.
Oh also it containes crib sheets, dice rollers, initiative trackers, and scratch pad. The downloadables include a spell list monster list item lists traps ect…
@ Average Roleplayer:
How many shrooms did you eat, for pete’s sake??
These are apps to use WHILE YOU ARE PLAYING D & D WITH OTHER PEOPLE IN REAL LIFE.
Read the damn article before you act like a crazy Luddite.
1: what the hell is a treo.
2: this web page is for the IPhone, so all you litle girls with your tree phones, SHUT UP.
Shall I get an iphone 4 now or wait for the iphone 5 that might be launched in June 2011? i’m not in the US?
just got the iPhone 4S and was looking for D & D for it …
any updates on that ?
Fay in Sedona
I wanted to add that for those DMs who want a little more flavor and atmosphere created through sound, DMDJ is a great app!