DMHelper

A Dungeon Masters Helping Hand

The DMHelper Team

July 28, 2020

 C ONTENTS
P AR T 1: F IRST S TEPS D OWNLOAD ................................... 12
C ONTACT ..................................... 12
E MPTY CAMPAIGN ........................... 2
S UPPOR T U S ................................. 12
C REATING THE FIRST C ONTENT .......... 3
T HANKS ....................................... 12
S UMMARY ..................................... 10
L EGAL R EFERENCES ....................... 13
P AR T 2: E PILOGUE

CONTENTS
ii
 P AR T 1

F IRST S TEPS

1
 H
ELLO U SER ! Thank you so much for using
DM Helper! This tutorial will guide you through creating your first campaign (in this case
the example campaign), using the interface and setting up your world to run your game in.

E MPTY CAMPAIGN
First of all, a new campaign has to be created or opened. Check the DM Helper menu tab to see your
options.

If there is no recent campaign to

open, the options are opening the
example campaign or creating a
new one.

Just hit the New button to open a dialog for creation where you can enter the name of the new
campaign. I’ll use DMHelper Realm for this example.

Click OK, then the DM Helper interface will be active and we can start adding our first content.
This is a good moment to save your file in a location where it is safe.

CHAPTER 0: EMPTY CAMPAIGN

2
C REATING THE FIRST C ONTENT

Now the DM Helper should show

you an empty campaign, with
several categories where you can
add your content.

First, I’ll need someone to kill ... ahem create a challenge for.
Let’s add some player characters by right-clicking on Party and
selecting New PC or clicking the New PC button on the Campaign
menu tab.

I’ll name them John, Viol, Tick and Grog.

Whole character sheets can be stored here, particularly the Image

is interesting. It does not have to be a portrait or something
fancy like that, just a single character will do. Clicking on the
portrait icon opens a file selection dialog, where you can select the
character image.

CHAPTER 0: CREATING THE FIRST CONTENT

3
 After that, the picture will be shown in the character view and in
any combat scenes.

Next, we’ll create an adventure. Let’s call it "Lair of the

Necromancer". Right click on Adventures and select New Text
Entry or click the Text Entry button in the Campaign menu tab.

After you enter the name of the adventure, it will be added to

the campaign tree. Once you have created the new adventure,
see if you can create further text entries called "Encounters" and
"Maps".

Let’s add a map to our new adventure. To do so, right click

on "Maps" and select New Map or click the Map button in the
Campaign menu tab. First, it has to be named, so let’s call it "Lair
Map".

CHAPTER 0: CREATING THE FIRST CONTENT

4
Once you click ok, a file selection
dialog will pop up where you can
pick a file for the map. Let’s find
LairoftheNecromancer.jpg and add
it.

Now I’ll just assume the players

dropped to a trapdoor in Room
1 of this lair, while investigating
the cemetery to find why some
of the graves are suddenly open
and empty. Notice that the map is
slightly darker than your original
file. That’s the fog of war, which
you now can remove for room one
by just painting over the area. Use
the FoW Area tool or the square
brush to clear the fog of war from
Room 1.

The zoom controls can be used to

change the view of the map, which
comes in handy if you have really
large maps and cannot make out
the details fully zoomed out. Just
try them, you will not mess up your
map by zooming.

CHAPTER 0: CREATING THE FIRST CONTENT

5
 I like to keep my room descriptions
in the DM Helper as well. For that
we’re going to create an encounter
by right clicking on Encounters
and adding a new Text Entry. Let’s
name it Room 1 and put in the
description we need.

This way, I can just read the players the descriptions right out of the DM Helper.
Now let’s assume that the players go to Room 19. Let’s create another text entry with a description:

The old, wooden door opens to your pushing it, the hinges creaking loudly. After a few inches the door gets stuck, just wide
enough opened for you and your companions to push through, one by one. The following room is dark. Really dark. The little light
spilling over from the room before does not help, even a little.
If the players have a torch or darkvision: The room is mostly empty. Here and there are some little clusters of rubble. The door
got stuck on a rock, embedded in the muddy ground. On the other corner of the room, there are two, halfling sized holes, right
next to each other. (perception check) You think you saw a reflection off an eye. Just before two large rats emerge from the holes.

Now, there will be a fight, so let’s

add combat under the Room 19
description by right-clicking and
adding a New Combat, which we
can call Room 19 Battle

Now I’ll add the Map by clicking on New Map in the Combat menu
tab and selecting the Lair Map.

CHAPTER 0: CREATING THE FIRST CONTENT

6
 Using the Grid Size, the H-Shift
and the V-Shift the grid overlay
can be adapted to fit the actual
map picture, regardless of scaling.
This will also be important for
measurement of effect areas or
ranges.

You’ll notice that all of our PCs

were automatically added to the
combat.

You can enter the initiative values for the various combatants and
hit sort to order the combatants.

CHAPTER 0: CREATING THE FIRST CONTENT

7
 Now I want to add two Giant Rats
by clicking on Add Monster. A new
dialog comes up where I can select
the Monster, how many and even
override some stats right there. I’ll
just stick to two basic Giant Rats.

Then, since there is always more

than one rat, I’ll add another set
of four Giant Rats and deselect
the "Known" checkbox so that they
remain hidden from the PCs for
now. After two rounds of fighting,
the four additional Rats will join
the fight.

You can move the characters and monsters

around on the map by dragging them with the
mouse cursor. When you drag somebody over
the map, you will see exactly how far they
can move, as stated in the character/monster
page.

CHAPTER 0: CREATING THE FIRST CONTENT

8
If you click the Publish button, a
new window will open, which can
be moved to a second screen or
screen share to be shown to the
players.

The player or monster whose turn it

is will be highlighted. Clicking Next
(Ctrl+N) will end their turn and the
next combatant in the list will be
up.

John did nothing, Viol moved and

then used a cone shaped spell. I
added the effect by right clicking on
the background. With a left click it
gets dragged, a right click is used
to rotate it in place.

CHAPTER 0: CREATING THE FIRST CONTENT

9
 Viol is hitting both rats (red marker)
with the spell.

S UMMARY
These were just a few basic, first steps with the DM Helper and should get you started for your first
adventure. This first steps file covers the base functions of the DM Helper and there is lots more to do.
For example: NPCs can be added, scrolling text cutscenes created with animated backgrounds and
whole campaigns can be planned.
If you have any issues, ideas or questions, feel free to get in contact with us!

CHAPTER 0: SUMMARY
10
 P AR T 2

E PILOGUE

11
 D OWNLOAD

Y
OU CAN GET THE DM H ELPER FOR FREE FROM THE FOLLOWING POR TALS :
Itch.io: https://dm-helper.itch.io/dm-helper
DriveThruRPG.com: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/274208/DM-Helper

C ONTACT

Y
OU CAN REACH US UNDER THE USUAL CHANNELS :
Email: info@dm-helper.com
Twitter: @TheRealDMHelper
Join us on our Discord server here: https://discord.gg/C7zPKBp

S UPPOR T U S

W
E ARE HAPPY FOR EVERYBODY TO USE THE DM H ELPER FOR FREE AND ARE COMMITTED TO GIVING
our tool to anybody interested in using it.

If you would like to support us in our efforts to continually improve and expand, you are welcome to
do so either through Pay What You Want on one of the download portals or via our Patreon here:
https://www.patreon.com/dmhelper

T HANKS

A
LL MENU ICONS ARE DERIVED FROM TOKENS PROVIDED BY R OSS FROM 2-M INUTE T ABLETOP, AN
amazing source of RPG resources: https://2minutetabletop.com/ under the
Creative Commons BY-NC 4.0 (https://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)

The vectorized dragon logo was provided by Mike Rickard from "I Cast Pod!", our guide to everything
dungeonesque and dragonny (and a great DnD podcast!)
Many thanks to the following people for allowing us to use their amazing artwork and maps for our
documentation! We highly recommend that you check out their work and support them in every way
possible!

B ACKGROUND IMAGES AND CHARACTER IMAGES DONATED BY :

Rixt Heerschop
Artist & Illustrator
https://rixtheerschop.com/
Maps donated by:
Alex van der Aa
https://www.patreon.com/neutralparty
https://www.reddit.com/user/Urza_Is_Mine
Rustajb
https://www.reddit.com/user/rustajb

CHAPTER 0: THANKS
12
 F EATURE I MPROVEMENTS :
Furthermore, thanks to the following community members for their ideas, requests and
recommendations to help us make the DM Helper as good as possible!
• Cricketot (https://www.reddit.com/user/Cricketot) for the Random Marketplace inspiration
and algorithm
• NutritiousCookie for the improvements to the Player’s Window (rotation still to come!)
• anomalystic777 for the customizable calendars and reference tables
• Thanks to Alex (https://www.reddit.com/user/wurschtbrotwilli) for the original Python-based
inspiration for the Translate Text menu
... and many more for their chats and wise words on Reddit, Twitter, itch.io or any of the other
clever corners of the Internet

L EGAL R EFERENCES

T
HE DM H ELPER IS UNOFFICIAL F AN C ONTENT PERMITTED UNDER THE F AN C ONTENT P OLICY. N OT
approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions
of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC.

Some content provided in the bestiary and the quick reference tables are from the Wizards of the
Coast SRD (Systems Reference Document) published under the OPEN GAME LICENSE Version 1.0a as
follows:
OPEN GAME LICENSE Version 1.0a The following text is the property of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and is
Copyright 2000 Wizards of the Coast, Inc ("Wizards"). All Rights Reserved.
1. Definitions:
(a) "Contributors" means the copyright and/or trademark owners who have contributed Open Game Content;
(b) "Derivative Material" means copyrighted material including derivative works and translations (including into
other computer languages), potation, modification, correction, addition, extension, upgrade, improvement,
compilation, abridgment or other form in which an existing work may be recast, transformed or adapted;
(c) "Distribute" means to reproduce, license, rent, lease, sell, broadcast, publicly display, transmit or otherwise
distribute;
(d) "Open Game Content" means the game mechanic and includes the methods, procedures, processes and
routines to the extent such content does not embody the Product Identity and is an enhancement over the
prior art and any additional content clearly identified as Open Game Content by the Contributor, and means
any work covered by this License, including translations and derivative works under copyright law, but
specifically excludes Product Identity.
(e) "Product Identity" means product and product line names, logos and identifying marks including trade dress;
artifacts; creatures characters; stories, storylines, plots, thematic elements, dialogue, incidents, language,
artwork, symbols, designs, depictions, likenesses, formats, poses, concepts, themes and graphic, photographic
and other visual or audio representations; names and descriptions of characters, spells, enchantments,
personalities, teams, personas, likenesses and special abilities; places, locations, environments, creatures,
equipment, magical or supernatural abilities or effects, logos, symbols, or graphic designs; and any other
trademark or registered trademark clearly identified as Product identity by the owner of the Product Identity,
and which specifically excludes the Open Game Content;
(f) "Trademark" means the logos, names, mark, sign, motto, designs that are used by a Contributor to identify
itself or its products or the associated products contributed to the Open Game License by the Contributor
(g) "Use", "Used" or "Using" means to use, Distribute, copy, edit, format, modify, translate and otherwise create
Derivative Material of Open Game Content.
(h) "You" or "Your" means the licensee in terms of this agreement.
2. The License: This License applies to any Open Game Content that contains a notice indicating that the Open
Game Content may only be Used under and in terms of this License. You must affix such a notice to any Open
Game Content that you Use. No terms may be added to or subtracted from this License except as described by
the License itself. No other terms or conditions may be applied to any Open Game Content distributed using
this License.

CHAPTER 0: LEGAL REFERENCES

13
 3. Offer and Acceptance: By Using the Open Game Content You indicate Your acceptance of the terms of this
License.
4. Grant and Consideration: In consideration for agreeing to use this License, the Contributors grant You a
perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license with the exact terms of this License to Use, the Open
Game Content.
5. Representation of Authority to Contribute: If You are contributing original material as Open Game Content, You
represent that Your Contributions are Your original creation and/or You have sufficient rights to grant the rights
conveyed by this License.
6. Notice of License Copyright: You must update the COPYRIGHT NOTICE portion of this License to include the
exact text of the COPYRIGHT NOTICE of any Open Game Content You are copying, modifying or distributing,
and You must add the title, the copyright date, and the copyright holder’s name to the COPYRIGHT NOTICE of
any original Open Game Content you Distribute.
7. Use of Product Identity: You agree not to Use any Product Identity, including as an indication as to
compatibility, except as expressly licensed in another, independent Agreement with the owner of each element of
that Product Identity. You agree not to indicate compatibility or co-adaptability with any Trademark or
Registered Trademark in conjunction with a work containing Open Game Content except as expressly licensed
in another, independent Agreement with the owner of such Trademark or Registered Trademark. The use of any
Product Identity in Open Game Content does not constitute a challenge to the ownership of that Product
Identity. The owner of any Product Identity used in Open Game Content shall retain all rights, title and interest
in and to that Product Identity.
8. Identification: If you distribute Open Game Content You must clearly indicate which portions of the work that
you are distributing are Open Game Content.
9. Updating the License: Wizards or its designated Agents may publish updated versions of this License. You may
use any authorized version of this License to copy, modify and distribute any Open Game Content originally
distributed under any version of this License.
10. Copy of this License: You MUST include a copy of this License with every copy of the Open Game Content You
Distribute.
11. Use of Contributor Credits: You may not market or advertise the Open Game Content using the name of any
Contributor unless You have written permission from the Contributor to do so.
12. Inability to Comply: If it is impossible for You to comply with any of the terms of this License with respect to
some or all of the Open Game Content due to statute, judicial order, or governmental regulation then You may
not Use any Open Game Material so affected.
13. Termination: This License will terminate automatically if You fail to comply with all terms herein and fail to cure
such breach within 30 days of becoming aware of the breach. All sublicenses shall survive the termination of
this License.
14. Reformation: If any provision of this License is held to be unenforceable, such provision shall be reformed only
to the extent necessary to make it enforceable.
15. COPYRIGHT NOTICE Open Game License v 1.0 Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.

CHAPTER 0: LEGAL REFERENCES

14