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Jack Green
Jack Green

Posted on Originally published at ttrpg.jackgreen.top

I Built a Free D&D Character Sheet Generator (Because D&D Beyond Charges $19 for PDF Export)

#javascript #webdev #productivity #opensource

I Built a Free D&D Character Sheet Generator (Because D&D Beyond Charges $19 for PDF Export)

Last session I was helping a friend print out character sheets for our campaign. She'd spent 20 minutes on D&D Beyond, built her tiefling warlock, and hit "Export to PDF" — only to be greeted with a paywall. $19 one-time. For a PDF she could've made in Google Docs for free.

I closed the tab. Opened a text editor. Built something better that night.

The Problem

D&D Beyond is a great tool — for managing your character online. But the moment you want to print a clean, professional character sheet, you hit a wall. $19. One payment. But still a payment for something that should be free.

And it's not just D&D Beyond. Almost every TTRPG tool follows the same playbook:

  1. Let you build your character for free (engaging, addictive)
  2. Make you create an account (data capture)
  3. Put a paywall on PDF export (frustration)
  4. Hope you forget and never come back

It's a subscription trap disguised as a productivity tool. And it preys on people at their most vulnerable — gamers who need a character sheet right now for Saturday session.

What I Built

TTRPG Character Sheet Generator — a completely free, zero-signup, browser-based character sheet builder.

  • No account. Open the page, start typing.
  • No paywall. Download a clean PDF instantly.
  • No payment. Ever. Not a "freemium" model, not a trial, just free.
  • No data collection. Everything runs in your browser. Your character never touches a server.
  • Works offline. Once loaded, you don't even need internet. Perfect for campgrounds and basements.

I used pdf-lib for PDF generation and built a clean, print-ready character sheet layout with ability scores, skills (with proficiency calculation), equipment, and notes sections.

Why It Matters

TTRPGs are about creativity and community. Tools that gate basic functionality behind paywalls feel like they're taking advantage of that community. A character sheet generator shouldn't be a cash grab. It should be a utility — like a dice tray or a battle map.

The fact that this exists at all is kind of wild. You can download a professional PDF character sheet, no strings attached, for zero dollars. No upsell. No "upgrade to premium." Just... done.

The Tech

  • Frontend: Vanilla HTML/CSS/JS — no framework needed for this
  • PDF engine: pdf-lib (runs in-browser, no server required)
  • Hosting: Static files on nginx, Python simple HTTP server for local dev
  • Deploy: One rsync, done

The whole thing is under 400 lines of code. That's it.

Open Source

It's all on GitHub — fork it, improve it, run it yourself. If you're a developer who's ever been frustrated by paywalled TTRPG tools, go build something better. It's faster than you think.

Try it: ttrpg.jackgreen.top

Built because someone should have done this already. Now it exists.

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