dndR: Dungeons & Dragons Functions for Players and Dungeon Masters

The goal of dndR is to provide a suite of Dungeons & Dragons (Fifth Edition a.k.a. “5e”) related functions to help both players and Dungeon Masters (DMs). Below are short descriptions of the functions currently included in dndR. I am always willing to expand that list though so if you have a DnD-related task that could be cool as a function, please post it as an Issue on this package’s GitHub repository!

You can also check out the pkgdown style website for this package here or a more–in my opinion–visually appealing vignette-style website I’ve created here. The latter website was created using Quarto.

Installation

You can install the development version of dndR from GitHub with:

# install.packages("devtools")
devtools::install_github("njlyon0/dndR")

For Players and DMs

• roll – Roll specified number of standard dice and sum their outcomes. “Standard” dice have the following number of sides: 100, 20, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 3, or 2

• ability_scores – Roll for six ability scores using specified method (e.g., 4d6 drop lowest, 3d6, or 1d20)

• mod_calc – Calculate roll modifier for given ability score(s)

• pc_creator – Stat out a character of specified race and class using your preferred method of rolling ability scores

  • Run dnd_races() or dnd_classes() to see which races/classes are currently supported by pc_creator

• spell_list – Identify all spells that fit certain criteria (e.g., spell level, school of magic, character class list, etc.)

• spell_text – Retrieve full information and description text for specified spell(s)

• probability_plot – Generate a ggplot2 plot of the frequency of roll outcomes for the specified type and number of dice. You can also specify the number of times to roll those dice to inform the plot

• pc_level_calc – Identify the current level of a player character based on earned experience points (XP). Also returns the proficiency modifier to be used at that level

  • Thank you to Humberto Nappo for contributing this function!

For DMs

• xp_pool – Identify XP total for desired encounter difficulty at a specified player level and party size

• xp_cost – Find “realized” XP amount by applying appropriate multiplier for “raw” XP based on number of creatures and party size

• monster_stats – Return monster stat block of specified XP value or challenge rating (CR)

• monster_creator – Generate a homebrew monster with additional immunities and vulnerabilities of specified difficulty (adjustment for these is performed automatically)

  • This function is inspired by Zee Bashew’s video on creating Witcher-esque homebrew monsters

• party_diagram – Create a ggplot2 diagram of party ability scores separated either by player or by score. This plot can be useful in identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the party as a whole to help you (the DM) create encounters with that in mind

  • Thank you to Tim Schatto-Eckrodt for contributing this function!

• npc_creator – Pick a job and race for any number of non-player characters (NPCs). Hopefully this provides a useful starting point when describing the patrons of a tavern or the travelers players glimpse on the edge of the flickering light cast by their campfire

Contributing Functions

If you’d like to contribute function scripts or ideas, that is more than welcome! For specific instructions check out CONTRIBUTING.md but at a glance:

• For function ideas, open a Github issue

• For function scripts, either open a Github issue or fork the repository and add your content to the dev folder

Looking Ahead

I know that there are rumblings of a change to statistic modifiers becoming based on background rather than race so once those details are finalized I plan on creating a suite of functions that follow those guidelines. The extant functions follow “5e” rules as detailed in the Player’s Handbook (PHB) and Dungeon Master’s Guide (DMG).