Dev Diary 10: Launch + Markdown Exports!
Foe Foundry, the free D&D monster generator, is officially out of Beta, now with accounts and markdown exports!
Foe Foundry is Out of Beta
After six months of development, Foe Foundry, the free D&D monster generator, is officially out of beta!
Today, we're launching the new account system as well as markdown export features. What started as "let's see if anyone actually wants this" in April has turned into a proper monster generator with 200+ statblocks and people actually using it.
Anyway, here's what's new and what's coming next.
Markdown Export
Export to markdown is now live! You get four formats:
- Simple Markdown - Works in Notion, Obsidian, or wherever
- Homebrewery v3 - Copy-paste right into Homebrewery
- GMBinder - Also copy-paste ready for GMBinder
- Black Flag - If you prefer the simplified Black Flag format
This video shows how simple it is to export a statblock right into Homebrewery.
Accounts Are Live
You can now sign in with Patreon, Google, Discord, or Twitch. If you sign in with an account whose email address matches a pledged Patreon email address, you'll automatically link your account to your Patreon pledge and unlock additional features.
You don't need an account to use the generator or browse monsters. But if you want to export stuff or save your work later, you'll need one.
Login
You can log in with Google, Discord, Patreon, or Twitch.
Free Account
Once you log in, you have a Free Account, which unlocks additional account features. You get a generous 50 free credits per month, as well as the ability to Long Rest and refresh your credits once per month.
Patreon Subscribers
Patreon subscribers who log in either with Patreon, or if their email used for Google, Discord, or Twitch matches their Patreon subscription will automatically have their patreon account linked. This grants them access to premium account features.
Right now, that's unlimited monster generation and exports. In the future, additional premium features like encounter generation and FoundryVTT Export will be added.
Anonymous
Anonymous (non-signed-in) users still have unlimited access to view as many monsters as they'd like, but they have a quota of edits before they will be prompted to create a free account.
What's Changed Since Alpha
The Alpha announcement was in April with a handful of monsters and no ability to edit them. Now there are 200+ statblocks, an interactive, mobile-friendly D&D monster generator and editr, and over 500 powers.
Alpha (April - August):
- Added the core monster families
- Built 500+ powers (this actually took forever)
- Started the newsletter
- Made the random generation algorithm not terrible
Beta (August - October):
- Monster Generator with mobile support
- Monster Codex for browsing
- Smart Search that actually understands "I need a CR 5 fire demon"
Now:
- Accounts enabled
- Markdown Export launched
- 200+ statblocks, CR 0 to CR 24
What's Next
Now that we've officially launched accounts, the focus will be on enabling features like saving and sharing of monsters, as well as the long-requested Foundry VTT support. From there, I want to work on encounter generation.
Short Term
Save Monsters
Working on this now. Save your custom builds, sync them across devices. The database is set up, just need to wire up the UI.
Share Monsters
Share a link to your monster. Works whether someone has an account or not. Should be done around the same time as saving.
FoundryVTT Export
Most requested feature after markdown. Export directly to Foundry format. This one's going to take a bit since Foundry's data structure is incredibly complex.
Long Term
Encounter Generation
Generate entire encounters instead of one monster at a time. Tell it "CR 7 encounter for 4 players in a swamp" and get 2-3 balanced monsters plus tactics. This is a big project.
Chat-Based Search & Generation
"Make this dragon weaker but add a breath weapon" or "I need an orc but make it a wizard." Talk to the generator instead of clicking buttons. Requires AI integration, which means it'll be opt-in and cost credits to run. Don't worry, it won't be AI slop - the underlying generator will still be in charge and the AI will just be used for text parsing.
More Monsters
The Patron polls shape what gets added.
Thank You!
This wouldn't exist without:
- Patrons whose support helps pay for hosting
- Newsletter subscribers who actually read these and send feedback
- Everyone who's used this in their games and told their friends
Thank you all for your support. Go run some games with these monsters!
– Cordialgerm
You can reach me at cordialgerm87@gmail.com with any thoughts or feedback!