A D&D Beyond alternative for playing at the table

If you’re looking for a D&D Beyond alternative for playing at the table, start with the job you want to replace. dm-screen.com can run your shared map, turn display, and manual fog of war while you use physical dice and your existing character sheets. It isn’t a replacement for a purchased rules library or a complete character builder.

You don’t need to move every part of your game at once. A group can change how it presents maps while keeping the books, sheets, and habits that already work.

Separate the shared screen from the character sheet

Write down what everyone needs to see together. For an in-person dungeon crawl, that might be the current room, whose turn it is, and an illustration you reveal when someone opens a door. Spell preparation and private character notes can remain with the individual player.

That division is where dm-screen.com fits. The DM controls a campaign from a laptop, and a separate game display shows the selected scene. Character cards and conditions can keep session information visible. A map-focused layout leaves more space for the battle map when you prefer to handle initiative elsewhere.

This is a narrower role than replacing all of D&D Beyond. If your main reason for changing tools is a character-building feature or access to a particular book, evaluate that requirement separately.

First check the option you already have

D&D Beyond supports in-person maps too. Its Spectator View puts a player-facing map in a separate tab, suitable for another display. If that solves the problem, you may not need an alternative.

Try dm-screen.com when you’d like to bring your own maps and manage the shared screen independently. The D&D Beyond comparison explains how those approaches differ. This guide is written by dm-screen.com; the linked competitor documentation was checked on 27 September 2026.

Run a small session without migrating your campaign

Start with an encounter that needs one map. Create a campaign in dm-screen.com, upload an image you have permission to use, and activate it. You can use a still image such as PNG or JPEG, or an animated upload such as MP4 or WebM.

Open Game screens and choose Full screen map, or use Open game screen to include character cards. Put that browser window on the TV and select its session with Set as main screen. The display must be signed in with campaign access. If you’re using a separate computer for the TV, check its login before the session.

Prepare fog over the parts you want hidden. During play, use the map’s Fog of war controls to uncover rooms as players explore. This is a manual reveal: moving a physical miniature doesn’t reveal anything automatically. For cable and window placement instructions, follow the table-TV setup guide.

Leave each player’s existing character sheet in place. If you want initiative on the shared screen, create the character records you need and enter initiative there. You’re choosing what to display for this encounter, not committing to transcribing every detail of a campaign.

Keep these limits in your plan

The workflow doesn’t transfer D&D Beyond books, character sheets, or encounters into dm-screen.com. There is no account link or automatic synchronization being promised here. Prepare your own map files and treat the two services as separate tools.

You’ll need an internet connection, and a browser running on a computer connected to the TV is a practical starting point. Don’t plan around offline access or assume a smart TV’s built-in browser has been tested. Core tools are free, with optional paid extras.

For a group around one screen, also agree what the shared map represents. You might reveal what the party collectively knows, even when one character is temporarily elsewhere. dm-screen.com’s fog won’t resolve individual vision rules for you.

Judge it after an actual encounter

After trying a scene, ask whether the display helped people follow the action and whether you could operate it without losing your place. If you only used the map, keep that simple setup. Add turn cards or prepared reveals when they solve something your table needs.

You can begin with the free core tools through the account link below. Keep the first test small enough that changing your mind doesn’t mean rebuilding a campaign.