D&D Insider

The original Dungeons & Dragons was published in 1974 and much has changed between then and now. D&D is traditionally played at a table with dice and stationery, but there is no reason that you can't use modern technology to enhance the experience. Whether it's simply an iPhone application for dice rolling or a projector to display maps on the tabletop, there's surely some digital tool that can improve your games.

I'll begin with D&D Insider, a subscription-based service from Wizards of the Coast. DDI provides the subscribers with access to tools such as Character Builder and Monster Builder (which is currently in beta), full access to D&D Compendium and monthly editions of Dungeon Magazine and Dragon Magazine.

Character Builder is a very useful interactive tool that guides you through the character creation process and will automatically fill out your character sheet based on your choices of race, class, feats, etc. There is a demo available that limits characters to levels 1-3, download it here: Character Builder Demo

D&D Compendium is essentially a huge database that allows you to search for information on feats, powers, rituals, items, monsters etc. You can view a demo here: D&D Compendium Demo

Dungeon Magazine is a resource for Dungeon Masters to help them improve their campaigns with world-building advice, new monsters and villains and even full pre-made adventures. Dragon Magazine is a resource for players with content to help expand character options beyond that of the Player's Handbooks; each issue contains new powers, feats, magic items, paragon paths and epic destinies.

Whether DDI is worth the subscription cost is really a matter of opinion. The tools are useful and excellent quality, though some have yet to see the light of day despite being announced years ago. The compendium is simply information that can mostly be found within the core rulebooks, but the ability to quickly filter and search is what makes it so helpful. It's also worth noting that if your subscription expires, you still get to keep all of your downloaded magazines and tools with full functionality, so even a 1-month subscription would grant access to a lot of content.