Dalang - Campaign Dashboard

Dalang - Campaign Dashboard, formerly just Campaign Dashboard, is a desktop app for prepping and running a D&D campaign: writing the world and house rules, prepping locations and NPCs and jobs, running the actual session with a live battle map, and keeping a permanent record of what happened afterward.

Everything is stored in a local file on your machine, not in the cloud, so your notes and any NPC secrets stay private. It works for async play / Play by Post just as well as sitting at a real table or on a call, the live-session tools like the battle map and the Player Window are built specifically for that in-person side.

Get Dalang on itch.io

Free, pay what you want.

Or see other versions on the Download page.

Screenshots throughout this guide are from a throwaway demo campaign (Guild Founding), not real campaign content.

My Campaigns screen with a couple of campaign cards
My Campaigns, the screen you land on every time you open the app.
Active Campaign hub with the Encounters card and Start button
The Active Campaign hub, ready to start a prepared encounter.

What's new

v1.2.0

New features

  • Print your map for an offline session, no laptop needed at the table. Maps now export at true physical scale, 1 grid square = 1 inch, straight from the calibration you already did. Pick a paper size, position the page overlay, export a ready-to-print PDF. See Setting Up a Map.
    Printing a map at true physical scale.
    A real printed A4 map page held up against the screen, a physical ruler laid across it showing each grid square measures exactly 1 inch
    Not a mockup: an actual A4 print, ruler in hand, 1 grid square really does come out to 1 inch.
  • Share your campaign prep with your players, so they show up ready. The new Player Guide export builds a standalone HTML or PDF file, DM-curated: pick exactly which Story sections, Locations, NPCs, and Quests to include, preview it live, then export one file, no app install needed to read it. See Player Guide.
    Building and exporting a Player Guide.
  • Added 2024 SRD content for Monsters, Spells, Conditions, and Weapon Properties, shown alongside the existing 2014 data with a filter to pick an edition. Equipment, Magic Items, and the rest of the reference are still 2014 only for now. See SRD 2014 vs. 2024.
    Browsing 2024 SRD content in the Compendium.

Improvements & fixes

  • Popups no longer close if you start a text selection inside one and release the mouse outside it.
  • The main window can no longer be resized down to a broken, unusably small size.

v1.1.0

New features

  • Every image field, NPC and Player portraits, Location images, the Campaign card, the DM background, can now Browse to a file on your own computer instead of only pasting a URL. (It's a desktop app. Of course it can read a file off your own disk. Silly me.) See Campaign Prep.
  • Monster portraits can now be fixed directly from the Battle Map mid-encounter, no more detouring through Compendium just to set a picture. See Running a Live Session.

Improvements & fixes

  • Fixed the Player Window's dice roll banner not animating on a fresh roll, and blending into busy map backgrounds.
  • The Player Window now has its own distinct title, fixing tools like OBS showing two identical, indistinguishable windows.
  • Fixed the sidebar's tab list getting clipped on a short window, with no way to scroll to tabs past the bottom.
  • Every native file picker now shows the Dalang icon instead of the generic one.

See the full version history →

Guide

Pick a page below, or use the sidebar to jump straight to a specific feature.

Getting Started

Getting Started
First launch, the My Campaigns screen, and finding your way around the sidebar.

About

Philosophy
The meaning behind the name Dalang and the Antaboga mark.
Background
Why it's built this way: local-first, DM-owned, built for the table.
Legal & Sources
Ownership, licensing, SRD attribution, privacy, and no-warranty terms.

Preparation

Story
Campaign Pitch, World Lore, Factions/Villains, and your own custom sections.
Gameplay
Table logistics, character creation rules, and the Share Gameplay handout.
Campaign Prep
Locations, the backbone the rest of the app hangs off of.
Setting Up a Map
Grid calibration and Fog of War, before you're at the table.
NPC
The NPC roster, portraits, and linking a Compendium monster for combat stats.
Job Board / Quest
Quests as a card grid, tagged to locations and quest givers.
Players
The party roster, and importing a character from D&D Beyond.

Running a Session

Running a Live Session
Starting a run, combat, map tools, Focus Mode, and ending a run.
The Player Window
A second window for players, with a live turn order panel.
Event Log
The permanent record of what happened, filterable by location.

Reference

Compendium
The built-in SRD reference, plus your own homebrew content.
Dice Roller
A global dice tray: pool, formula, Advantage/Disadvantage, Player Window broadcast.

Settings

Campaign Settings
Rename, export, save to Library, and delete a campaign.
Player Guide
Export a standalone HTML or PDF guide for your players, DM-curated.
Library
Reusable adventures, your own or imported from another DM.

Get the App

Download
Free, pay what you want, plus the full version history.