Over the years playing and being the game master for D&D5e games i found out that most of the system is not only accessible online for free, but also that there are many other tools and websites that can help both players and DMs with most of them also being free.
So today, i will share the resources i use the most while of course separating the free from the paid ones.
Free tools and resources
Tools and rules
Finding the system and rules of DnD5e is surprisingly simple, while the official Open gaming license (OGL) has the main rules and a few options, it is very small compared to what the whole of DnD5e contains.
The issue encountered here is that most of these free resources that contain most of the DnD repository could be considered “piracy” even though they don’t always fall in the proper legal area for this.
5eTools
Starting with the big one !
5etools is a compendium of everything DnD all the while being entirely free. They have the player options, the items and the monsters aswell as tools the DM can use on virtual tabletops such as foundry and roll20.
5etools is in my opinion the most complete tool you can find online with more quality of life and utility than any other websites, even the official ones like DnDBeyond.
With encounter builders, CR modifiers for the bestiary and a few generator tools like the “this is your life” under player options and the loot generators you’ll find most of what you need here. It can even help you create your very own homebrew using the text converter, which takes your standard creation and turns it into a JSON format with a PDF to boot (so if you know a bit of HTML formatting you’ll feel right at home)
Thieves guild
While being far from my favorite tool to use, there is no denying the usefulness of this website.
And while it isn’t as much of a compendium as 5etools, it does have a few tools that i have been using now and then when DMing.
Mainly the shop generators and the harvesting tables.
Thieves guild has many of the standard generators gotten from tables in the DnD system aswell as some new ones that are very useful like tavern menus, shop inventories and other loot generators.
It has a couple of big flaws however.
The first being the adds. While i understand that a website often needs those to survive, the adds on this website are full page and somewhat frustrating.
The other is that it lacks in utility. You have tables to roll on yes but there isn’t much outside of that.
5e wikidot
Yet another compendium.
It’s a place to find all the resources you need as a player to make your character.
It is however much easier on the eyes than 5eTools for quick character creation. The UI is simple, the text is big and all the information is easily accessible.
Otherwise there isn’t much else to say.
DanDwiki
Not just for 5e and mostly homebrew, here you can find a lot of what people create on the side for this game.
It’s fun and while it also has most of the DnD systems in the website, the large part of it remains the homebrew.
I find that i can easily be inspired by what is made there and while the website is very old web, it is also the best place that i could find to have access to older editions.
So, when in need of odd or specific rules, this website often has you covered with an odd or specific homebrew!
Falindrith's Monster Maker
By far the simplest and best way to create monster statsheets.
Nothing less, nothing more.
If you want a pretty stat sheet for a monster that you want to make, this tool will basically convert what you write into each section to any type of file you want to use, from JSON to JPEG.
It’s easy to use, quick to learn and entirely free, what’s more to say ?
Here's the link to it so you don’t fall on the knockoff that i fell on a few times.
Generators
What better than a (non AI) generator that takes from tables and such to help with inspiration ?
OMGM
Oh my game master is a simple, cute and free tool that allows you to quickly get anything you need without adds.
Here you can get cities, NPCs, traps, travel prompts, landmarks and inn, all generated from home made tables, downloadable as pdfs and the cute art is a big plus in my books.
Go support it if you can !
Monster shuffler
A quick NPC stat generator.
If you need a bandit group that isn’t the simple DnD5e statsheet or if you need an enemy to take hints from DnD classes, here’s the tool for that.
These sheets are editable and there is a community made compendium or creatures that you can use in a pinch.
Fantasy names generator
I mean… of course this is here, it’s a pretty old website and has so far been the most reliable source of names for NPCs in my games.
It’s easy to use and the old web page has it’s charms. It does what it needs and all for free !
Link
Virtual Tabletops
Sadly there aren’t that many that are free so here i’ll share the only ones i know of that can be used for free.
Roll20
Roll20 is a standard resource for DnD games online, it can be used for free and while utility is pretty far from it’s best it has the basics.
I do not recommend the paid tiers, i have used them but it is better to use something else if you are to put money into your game.
Owlbear rodeo
I sadly never used this tool but from what i can tell it holds many more settings and uses than Roll20 does, and while it has some paid options, they don’t take away from the free version.
From what i can tell there also isn’t any issue with server hosting and is all done in browser.
So, i suppose, if you want a virtual tabletop for free, this looks to be the best option out there.
The paid ones
In here i’ll put the paid services and tools i use for my campaign. Some have a free option but i won’t recommend that free option because i find it too restrictive.
Foundry
My VTT of choice, it’s a bit complex and can be a headache but you can do a LOT with it.
With mods and many games systems you can chose from it’s one of the better tabletops out there. It’s also a one time payment (€44.00)!
The problem is server hosting. You’ll have to take care of that or use a third party hosting service for which i use Forge.
Inkarnate and Dungeondraft
Inkarnate and dungeondraft are map makers using stamps.
They’re easy to use and not too hard to learn.
Inkarnate is a subscription fee to get full access to the assets and is my favorite amongst the map makers out there.
I have made HUNDREDS of maps with this tool and at 25€ a year i can’t complain.
Dungeondraft uses content packs to add more assets and is easier to import to some VTTs. It is also available offline which is a big plus. It’s also less expensive at about 20€.
Adding more content is where i find issue, Inkarnate has many more mainly because it’s a subscription fee. Dungeondraft works with content pack that can be expensive. But still are one time payments.
It’s a question of preference.
There are many other resources online for playing TTRPGs but a good reminder is that these tools are optional.
A TTRPG can be played with a pen and paper. The rest is just a plus.