📖 About Owl20

Owl20 was born from a real need in the D&D community. As active Dungeon Masters running games in the Starry Shores D&D Community, we found ourselves using D&D Beyond for character management and Owlbear Rodeo as our virtual tabletop. However, there was no easy way to bridge dice rolls from D&D Beyond directly to Owlbear Rodeo. While solutions like the Avrae bot exist, they can be challenging for non-technical players to set up and use.

While Beyond20 excelled at connecting D&D Beyond to other VTTs like Roll20 and Foundry, Owlbear Rodeo support was missing. Rather than switch platforms or accept manual dice rolling, we decided to build the solution ourselves.

Owl20 represents our commitment to the D&D community - a free, open-source tool created by D&D players, for D&D players. We believe that great tools shouldn't have barriers, which is why Owl20 is completely free with no premium features or subscriptions.

👥 Meet the Creators

🐉 DM UberDragon

Role: Browser Extension Developer and Co Creator

DM UberDragon brings more than 25 years of hands on software engineering experience to the Owl20 browser extension. Long before modern VTTs existed, he was building applications, writing custom tools, and even releasing PHP extensions in the early era of the language. His career has spanned multiple generations of web technologies, giving him a deep understanding of how systems communicate, integrate, and stay stable under real world conditions.

Professionally, he has spent decades leading development teams, architecting web based systems, and solving technical challenges across full stack environments. This background shaped the engineering approach behind Owl20.

Owl20 is his first public contribution to the online tabletop ecosystem. Drawing on his long programming history, he designed and built the core bridge that enables Beyond20's dice automation to function seamlessly inside Owlbear Rodeo. The extension focuses on reliability, simplicity, and ease of use.

Expertise:

  • Over 25 years of software engineering and application development
  • Full stack web technologies and systems architecture
  • Browser extension development (Chrome, Edge, Firefox)
  • Manifest V2 and Manifest V3 engineering
  • JavaScript, ES modules, and modern Web APIs
  • Cross-origin communication (postMessage, CustomEvent, MutationObserver, iframe messaging)
  • Debugging, performance optimization, and multi-environment integration
  • Open source collaboration and practical problem solving

Contributions:

Connect: GitHub

✨ DM Sparks

Role: Owlbear Rodeo Extension Developer & Co-Creator

DM Sparks developed the Owl20 Owlbear Rodeo (OBR) extension, which receives and displays dice roll data within Owlbear Rodeo sessions. With deep knowledge of the Owlbear Rodeo extension API and JavaScript development, DM Sparks created the receiving end of the Owl20 bridge, ensuring dice rolls appear reliably for all players in the VTT.

Expertise:

  • Owlbear Rodeo Extension API (OBR)
  • JavaScript & TypeScript development
  • Real-time data synchronization
  • User interface design for VTT extensions

Contributions:

  • Primary developer of Owl20-Owlbear extension
  • Active member of the Starry Shores D&D Community
  • Experienced DM with expertise in online D&D gameplay

Connect: GitHub

🎯 Our Expertise

⚔️ D&D Experience

Both creators are active Dungeon Masters with years of experience running D&D campaigns. We understand the needs of both players and DMs because we are both. This first-hand experience informs every decision in Owl20's development - from the user interface to the technical implementation.

  • Active DMs in the Starry Shores D&D Community
  • Experience with D&D 5e and D&D 5.5e (2024 edition)
  • Regular use of D&D Beyond for character management
  • Extensive use of Owlbear Rodeo as our VTT platform
  • Understanding of the challenges of online D&D gameplay

🌟 The Starry Shores Community

DM Sparks and DM UberDragon met in the Starry Shores D&D Community, an active 18+ D&D community focused on D&D 5e and 5.5e gameplay. It was there that they came together to collaborate on Owl20, combining their expertise to solve a real problem they both faced as active DMs in the community.

Community Features:

  • Regular live D&D sessions
  • Support for D&D 5e and D&D 5.5e (2024 edition)
  • Welcoming environment for players of all skill levels
  • Active Discord community for discussion and support
  • YouTube channel with D&D content and tutorials

Connect with Starry Shores:

💚 Our Commitment

🆓 Free & Open Source

Owl20 is and will always be completely free. There are no premium features, no subscriptions, and no hidden costs. We believe that tools that enhance the D&D experience should be accessible to everyone.

🔒 Privacy First

Owl20 is designed with privacy in mind. The extension:

  • Does not collect or store any personal data
  • Does not track user behavior
  • Transmits dice roll data and any information provided by Beyond20 (dice rolls, character name, feats, abilities, spell casting, etc.) when clicked in the character sheet
  • Operates entirely in your browser
  • Requires minimal permissions

🤝 Community Driven

Owl20 is built for the D&D community, by the D&D community. We welcome feedback, bug reports, and feature requests. The source code is open and available on GitHub, allowing the community to contribute and verify our commitment to privacy and security.

Get Involved: