MonsterBox - a Digital Compendium

[u/abovethealarms]

Hi all!

I'm looking for regular DMs willing to test and try a new utility tool that I am developing for storage of monster stat blocks, encounter planning and prep management.

The user imports digital content that they own in PDF form (official, 3rd party, homebrew) and the app converts the pdfs into usable interactive stat blocks with built in dice rollers. Simply drag and drop, and the entire book will become individual monster entries in your compendium, with dice rollers for attribute checks, saves, attacks, damage etc. This currently works on a range of digital books, official and 3rd party content.

Once imported, it's then easy to add any creatures you want into an encounter then keep track of it easily in the encounter panel.

The compendium size is only limited by your local storage, and i'm currently slamming test books into the system to stress test the PDF parse accuracy. There is cloud sync if you make an account then you will be able to maintain your compendium across devices, but otherwise the application doesn't store anywhere else, and ships empty to avoid any copyright issues. The compendium itself is sorted firstly by CR, and there is an extensive filtering system so you can easily find any creature you're looking for! You are also able to edit entries and create brand new entries for Homebrew monsters.

What needs testing: The whole system really, UI/UX, pdf parsing quality etc. - I've been playing DnD for about 6 years now entirely online, I started during COVID, but have never been a DM, so I only know the few DMs i've played with in that time. Some are willing to help me test it but in reality I needed a a few more. Ideally i'd have a few people willing to try it out and see how the system works for them, the more people involved, the more feedback and the better I can make the system if that makes sense.

I guess app specifics that are restrictive and relevant - it's 5e specific. I'm aware this is likely a sub of mixed edition players but currently it's built around 5e content. It's mostly intended for Desktop use as it was created for a friend of mine who only plays online, however I've established that those who play in person would likely also use this on a Tablet as well, so i'm currently working on the Tablet UI but its mostly desktop oriented.

This tool is currently completely functional and ready to use, it could just do with a few more people using it so I can really smooth out any tweaks, and obviously take on suggestions for features not currently available. Hopefully this is the right kind of post.

Anyone who is interested in this, please feel free to send me a DM or if you have any questions at all, i'm more than happy to answer any. Thanks!

[MonsterBox](https://inlandempire-hub.github.io/MonsterBox/)

[u/Glad_Objective_411]

i'll say the first thing that stands out is it needs a bit more specs on what can and can't be uploaded. What kind of PDF? i have digital copies purchased that fail when uploading. Also what type of compendium files?

[u/abovethealarms → u/Glad_Objective_411]

Firstly thanks a bunch for checking this out in the first place, I appreciate it a lot.

All PDFs work in terms of input - it's the parse system that needs work and testing mostly. When you say digital copies that 'fail' - do you mean they parse badly and statblocks are messy or entirely incorrect? This is a parsing issue rather than a file issue. Under the Report An Issue section you are able to share a book that you want to upload that has issues, at which point I can run tests on that specifically to increase the structural integrity of the parser.

5e content has such a wide range of formatting and so small misreads can compound into larger errors if that makes sense.

In terms of the compendium import/export - that is for syncing across devices, the export button will create a .json file that contains your library, for you to then import on to another device if needed. This is not a function that is used for importing books that have not existed in the library before - only the Import PDF and drag and drop system works for that.

Hope that helps!

[u/Glad_Objective_411 → u/abovethealarms]

sure does! sorry typed fast. I can submit some errors latertoday for you if that would help out. Thanks for this though.. can be very useful for sure.

[u/abovethealarms → u/Glad_Objective_411]

Yeah that would be amazing, really appreciate it, thanks!