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DM Setup Guide

As the Dungeon Master, you install the Owl20 Owlbear Rodeo extension once and enable it in each room. Your players handle the browser extension side — this guide covers your part, which takes about 3 minutes.

Who Sets Up What

Owl20 has two parts. Understanding which part you're responsible for prevents the most common setup confusion:

🎲 DM (You)

  • Install the Owl20 OBR Extension inside Owlbear Rodeo
  • Enable it per room
  • Optionally also install the browser extension if you're also rolling dice as a player-DM

👤 Each Player

  • Install Beyond20 browser extension
  • Install Owl20 browser extension
  • Configure Beyond20 to recognize Owlbear Rodeo

💡 Send your players to the Player Setup Guide — it walks them through their part step by step.

Step 1: Install the Owl20 OBR Extension

▶️ Watch Video Tutorial

The Owl20 OBR extension lives inside Owlbear Rodeo, not in your browser extension store. It's installed via a manifest URL using Owlbear Rodeo's own extension system.

How to install a custom extension in Owlbear Rodeo

Follow the official Owlbear Rodeo guide: extensions.owlbear.rodeo/guide

When prompted for the extension URL, use this manifest link:

Use This Installation Link: https://owl20.FriendlyMimic.com/manifest.json

Quick step-by-step

  1. Open your Owlbear Rodeo room as the DM/owner
  2. Click the Extensions button in the left toolbar
  3. Click "Add Extension" or the "+" button
  4. Paste the manifest URL above and confirm
  5. Owl20 will appear in your installed extensions list

💡 You only need to install it once. After that, it will be available in all your rooms — you just need to enable it per room (Step 2).

Step 2: Enable Owl20 in Your Room

Installing the extension adds it to your Owlbear Rodeo account, but you need to activate it in each room where you want it to work:

  1. Open your Owlbear Rodeo room
  2. Click the "Extensions" button in the toolbar
  3. Find "Owl20" in your installed extensions
  4. Toggle it ON

✅ The Owl20 dice log window will now appear in the room for all participants once a roll comes through.

⚠️ Important Notes for DMs

  • The extension must be enabled per room. If you create a new room, you'll need to enable Owl20 in it separately.
  • Refresh both pages after setup. After enabling the extension, ask your players to refresh their D&D Beyond and Owlbear Rodeo tabs. This ensures all extensions are fully initialized.
  • Only the DM needs the OBR extension. Players never install anything in Owlbear Rodeo itself.
  • Players still need the browser extensions. If a player's rolls aren't showing up, confirm they've followed the Player Setup Guide — specifically that they've added https://www.owlbear.rodeo/* to Beyond20's custom domains.

Step 3: Verify It's Working

Test the complete integration end-to-end before your session:

  1. Have a player (or yourself, with the browser extensions installed) open a D&D Beyond character sheet
  2. Make a dice roll using the Beyond20 roller
  3. The roll should appear in the Owl20-Owlbear LogoOwl20 window inside Owlbear Rodeo
  4. All participants in the room should see the roll

✅ Player rolls will display for everyone in the room, including players who don't have D&D Beyond open.

DM Verification Checklist

  • Owl20 OBR extension installed via the manifest URL
  • Owl20 toggled ON in this specific room
  • Players have confirmed they have both browser extensions installed
  • Players have added https://www.owlbear.rodeo/* to Beyond20's custom domains
  • All tabs refreshed after setup
  • Test roll appears in Owlbear Rodeo

Running Multiple Campaigns or Rooms

If you run multiple campaigns across different Owlbear Rodeo rooms, here's what to remember:

  • Install once, enable per room. The manifest URL installation is account-wide. Every new room you create will have Owl20 available — you just need to toggle it ON in the Extensions panel for each room.
  • New players always follow the Player Setup Guide. Any new player joining a campaign needs to install both browser extensions and configure Beyond20 themselves.
  • Extension updates are automatic. Owl20 updates are delivered through the Owlbear Rodeo extension system automatically. You won't need to reinstall.

Getting Help

Having trouble getting it set up? These resources cover the most common DM-side issues:

  • Troubleshooting Guide — detailed diagnosis steps for common issues
  • FAQ — includes a section on DM-specific questions
  • GitHub Issues — report bugs or ask technical questions
  • Starry Shores Discord — ask DM UberDragon or DM Sparks directly. We're both active DMs who run this setup every session, so we can diagnose problems quickly.

About This Guide

Written by DM Sparks and DM UberDragon — the developers of Owl20 and active Dungeon Masters in the Starry Shores D&D Community. DM Sparks built the Owlbear Rodeo side of the bridge; DM UberDragon built the browser extension. Both run campaigns using this exact setup every week.

Learn more about the creators →