Importing characters: D&D Beyond, HexSheet, Roll20 and Roliando

How to bring a character from D&D Beyond, HexSheet, Roll20 or Roliando as a sheet, what is resolved against the compendium and its limits.

If you already have a character made somewhere else, you do not need to redo it: it is imported as a Roliando sheet. There are four origins: a public D&D Beyond character, a HexSheet file, a Roll20 character file and one you already made in Roliando. What is imported becomes a normal sheet, which you can change and take to a campaign.

Where it is

In My sheets, with Import (next to New character), or in New character, in the Import entry (Roll20, D&D Beyond, HexSheet or Roliando). You can also drop the character file straight onto that screen: if it is from HexSheet, the origin picks itself. See Your sheets: the list, creating, importing and the trash.

Requirements and permissions

An account that plays. The D&D Beyond character must be public. Importing does not use campaign space: the sheet is born loose and you link it afterwards, with whatever approval the table asks for (Sheet permissions: playing, editing and approval).

Step by step

At the top choose the Where the character comes from: Roll20 or Roliando, D&D Beyond or HexSheet.

D&D Beyond. Paste the character's link or number (Character link or number) and press Read character. Its structure and numbers are read (class, level, abilities, gear, spells) and looked up in your compendium by name; no D&D Beyond text is copied. What does not match is shown apart.
HexSheet. Drop the .json exported from HexSheet (Drop the exported HexSheet .json here). Whatever is its own (hand-made actions) is kept as the sheet's own content.
Roll20 or Roliando. Drop the .json (Drop your character's file here), pick it or paste its link with or paste its link: and Fetch. If the file holds several characters, you choose which. Then you choose the 2 · Target system: a custom system of yours, where each attribute is assigned to a field, or the native D&D 5e sheet (D&D 5e — native sheet), with the 2024 or 2014 edition.
Check the summary. In D&D it shows the level and edition and what was resolved against the compendium; what did not match is flagged ("Nothing matched your compendium.") and you can Choose another.
Confirm and the sheet is created and opens as soon as it is ready.

What comes in and what does not

What the character is comes in: values, gear, spells and notes. The effects of a feature or spell are resolved with Roliando's engine, not copied; if something is not recognised in the compendium, it stays as a note or as own content. For your own system, a Roll20 sheet is traced with the code mode (Code mode (Roll20 style)).

Known limits

D&D Beyond only goes into the native D&D 5e sheet; so does HexSheet.
Roll20 has several generations of D&D sheet: if yours uses other names, the code-mode guide explains how to add them.
"Could not be resolved against your compendium": the content is not in your compendium. Turn on the missing book or module in the campaign or import it (Importing books and homebrew: file, text and Homebrewery).

Frequent problems

"D&D Beyond does not read my character." Check that it is public and that the link or number belong to that character.

"Spells or items are missing." They stay unresolved when the book they come from is not in your compendium.

"It won't let me drop the file." It must be a .json.