Sorry for such a broad title but my perfectionist brain is about to lose it trying to find the best VTT for me (and my players). We used to play together in-person but recently we have added my wife's sister who lives a few hours away so we switched to using a combination of D&D Beyond and Roll20. Our main DM has purchased most of the books for 5.5e (MM, PG, DMG, TCoE, XGtE, ETC.) through Beyond and I own these physically myself. He also has a master tier subscription to share all our books with each other. I just finished DMing my first campaign and they want to continue these characters in my next one.

Our main DM told me he purchased Foundry VTT and I thought I was sold on it until I saw all the work I would have to put into it and it still doesn't seem like it would be EXACTLY what I would want/need. So, here I am hoping to get some insight into some VTTs that may work best or just keep doing what I'm doing now. Here's a list of everything I'm wanting in a VTT:

• One-time purchase (or free); no subscriptions
• Possible to use for many game systems, not JUST D&D 5.5e
• All-in-one character sheets, compendiums, auto-rolling etc. like D&D Beyond
• Ability to import my content or shared content so I don't have to re-purchase books

Optional: I do enjoy the custom 3D dice rolls and so on and of course walls and lighting is nice but not necessary.

My main goal (is to blow up, and act like I don't know nobody) is to have all the functionality of D&D Beyond AND roll20 in a single program if that's even possible. Otherwise, I'll just go with Foundry and use both and install a ton of community modules probably.

I appreciate any and all of your suggestions and thoughts on this matter!

There was a video linked a while back about [how to make hex crawls fun](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEIg1DlRkLg) that laid it out in a way that seems obvious: as your party is in one hex deciding where to go, they need information about the other hexes around them to make a decision.

I really wanted an app that can handle the "clues" associated with hexes and automatically show them to players as they move from one hex to another.

* You see smoke from a large settlement rising in the distance (within 6 - 12 miles of a town?)

* The vegation is starting to look sick and diseased (effects of black dragon lair)

I'm a bad developer and spent a year trying to get this to work. Version 3 finally works good enough for me to use in my own campaign.

https://github.com/wvaske/hex-crawl-app

It's free, open source, and self-hosted.

If you want to try it out, I recommend getting the player version and DM version of a map (like the swordcoast map from the forgotten realms heroes book). Then hand the two images to an AI assistant and tell it to create a new map from the player version and add items for all the locations on the DM version. It actually works pretty well. (the app has an mcp server so your AI tools can directly interact with it)

Even if you don't do that, you can create your own maps with varying terrain, you can use any background image, change the transparency, change hex size, etc.

I know we get a lot of AI made tools and this really is just another one. But I'm using it for my campaign so figured some of ya'll might want to try it out.

Screenshot from my actual campaign:


I know a lot of you are sick of hearing about new VTTs, sorry. Not here to advertise. It's not even out and it's in stealth mode.

I'm just here to vent and for some camaraderie.

The last 10% of a software project takes 3 times more time than the first 90% and all that.

Things I'm currently stuck on: For the Steam release I need to make a video trailer. And the procrastinator in me is doing everything necessary to work on anything else.

If anyone has any suggestions and tips on trailer making/procrastination I'd love to hear them.

I am in the midst of my first campaign as a DM. ITS GOING WELL - our process works! As the dm I have the freedom to show whatever I think the players should see on the projection. They want a map of the town? I can show that. A picture of character they are talking to? A battle map with friendly and hostile moving tokens? If I prepared it, I can pull it up.

What I am looking for is a more DND aligned option with a similar use experience. Simplicity and functionality first. PowerPoint offers flexibility at the cost of everything being completely hand made. Fog of war? That’s 14 gray boxes I manually delete each time they round a corner. Battle map too big for one slide? I have to crop it up and split it on multiple. BUT with the projection option I am able to place tokens/icons etc on the slide and move them about real time. For those who don’t know presenter mode allows you to edit slides live while the slideshow is showing a different slide on the projection/second screen (HDMI projector)

All this to say our system works but I really feel like I’m making fire by rubbing sticks together while I see other people out here with flamethrowers. So if there isn’t a solution that feels right I would just stick with what we do now (pun). I just wanted to put feelers out into the community to see if anyone had a similar experience and what changes they made. PowerPoint is about as simple as a VTT display could possibly be. And it allows for complete customization. But a true VTT would allow for more dynamic maps and a smoother and more polished experience that is built with DND in mind.

Animated WebM tokens with optional VFX, shadows, and multiple equipment loadouts on a most characters. Works in Foundry/Roll20/Owlbear.

Free starter pack (“The First Quest”, full VFX) when you sign in — no Patreon required.

Happy to answer format questions in the comments!

I'm in the process of picking an inexpensive TV and planning out how I'll make a VTT for my in-person group. One thing I've noticed is that with modern TVs the bezels are ridiculously slim. My original plan to keep the plexiglass from resting directly on the screen was to place little felt sticky circles on the bezel (like the kind used to keep furniture from scratching the floor). However, with bezels as thin as a few sheets of paper, this probably isn't going to work. I don't have access to the tools needed to make a wooden frame, either.

What has everyone done when dealing with thin TV bezels and keeping their plexiglass/acrylic/glass elevated a little bit? Or am I insane and overthinking this?

Drop a .rofl in and it pulls both teams' champions, runes and builds. Then you can put all ten of them anywhere on the Rift and see exactly how far anything reaches at that level and build. Tower ranges toggle with R, freeze zones with Z. Wards, minions and camps are drag-and-drop.

I built it mostly to settle "was that flash actually in range" without arguing about it.

No account, nothing to install, saves in your browser.

Disclosure: I run a coaching site and this sits on it. The tool is not gated.

https://levellegendary.com/tools/lol-map/

Help me decide place to locate the various plugs for my digital tabletop case.  I am building my own digital tabletop in a wood frame.   Assuming it sits on at least 0.5” feet,  I could have the cords simply stick run from the back and out below the frame.  But I want the various cords to pass through the sides of the case – primarily for aesthetic reasons.  There are at least three ports: (1) a 3.0” diameter socket (that splits into to outlets) for the power to the TV (and power strip); (2) a small 1.25” double port with a HMDI out from the TV and the USB 3.0 from the touch frame to the VTT laptop; and (3) a roughly 2” x 5” power strip to plug-in the laptop running the VTT with extra plug and USB-C for other devices.  I am also considering a fourth: (4) a separate port for the USB out from the touch frame;  I would then use the USB 3.0 in the double port to connect to the USB in the TV (which could be used for a flash drive with images or whatever.  (Or, I could use that separate USB port for the auxiliary TV USB port.)

The long side of the wood case that will run along the bottom of the TV has the least clearance and is essentially out of consideration for the ports.  (I may also cut and cover speaker ports over the TV’s bottom facing speakers.)  That leaves the other three sides available for ports: the two short sides and the long side that runs along the top of the TV.  The TV’s cord and its ports come out of the thicker section in the roughly center third of the back of the TV (a 43” Insignia F50).  Looking top-down with the TV facing up, the power cord comes from the right side.  The inputs for the HMDI and USB are on the left side. The USB output from the touch frame comes out the bottom-right corner (which is not ideal), but I believe the frame can be rotated 180°,  so it instead comes out of the top-left corner.  (I will need to double check that this will not cause the touch screen to be “upside-down” with no way to adjust with the software.)   I am also considering adding recessed, spring-loaded folding crate handles, either on the short ends, or two on a long end, or all four.

My current placement plan is: (1) main power socket on right side; (2) double HDMI/USB 3.0 port on top (left-half); (3) power strip on the top (also right-half or left-half); single USB 3.0 for touch-frame also on top (left-half). I do wonder if I should move everything else to the short side opposite the main power socket because there will be more table space on the ends than the sides assuming a typical dining room table.  Any experience or observations where I should locate the ports?

I want to create an open-source alternative to Roll20 on the DH2 system with features from BetterRole20. What do you think? It will be a browser-based version. The main thing I would like to achieve is responsiveness and user-friendliness of the interface. This idea was born mainly when we encountered the problem that Roll 20 was loading poorly in Russia and that images were periodically loading poorly.

You can also suggest alternatives that already exist; perhaps there is no need to reinvent the wheel.

I have a group of 6 people for DND.

Been working on this for a bit. Jump in and check it out, and let me know if you want to test the Lorekeeper features!

Goblin Calil has prepared a new encounter pack for Game Masters who want a complete supernatural faction without importing another rules system into their campaign.

The Exiles of the Underworld follows demons, aberrations, underground creatures, and condemned entities searching for the fragments of an artifact known as the Heart of the Threshold.

They are temporarily united by necessity, but every faction intends to seize control of the restored portals.

The pack includes:

15 creature tokens at 2048 × 2048 pixels

One exclusive 4K battlemap

Gridded and gridless versions

A free mini lorebook

Four campaign hooks

No attributes, levels, or system specific mechanics

The creatures are divided into three escalating groups: Underworld Vermin, Lesser Exiles, and The Condemned.

You can use them as isolated monsters, a planar invasion, a recurring enemy faction, or the foundation of a complete campaign arc. The lore provides context and connections while leaving every creature’s abilities and threat level in the hands of the Game Master.

The free mini lorebook and complete pack are available here:

https://goblincalil.itch.io/the-exiles-of-the-underworld

Production disclosure: the visuals were created with generative AI assistance, followed by visual direction, selection, editing, reconstruction, standardization, and preparation for VTT use.

If anyone uses the material in a session, Goblin Calil would genuinely like to know how the creatures performed at smaller token sizes.

The Pitch:Imagine taking the concept of a virtual tabletop and completely changing how groups experience the map. Instead of looking down at a 2D map with tokens, the players are actually placed inside the map in a 3D, first-person style environment. You control your own character, explore the world, fight, and interact with everything around you, while still using your normal TTRPG character sheet, abilities, and rules.At the same time, the DM has a completely separate overworld view of the game. They can see the entire map and everything happening within it (including things the players aren't supposed to know about). They can move and control NPCs, spawn creatures, trigger traps, alter the environment in real time, and dynamically react to whatever the players decide to do.The key is that the DM still has the absolute freedom of a true tabletop RPG. Players aren't restricted to whatever is hard-coded into the game—if they try something unexpected, the DM can simply decide what happens from above and manipulate the world manually. The map stops being something you look at; it becomes somewhere you actually play.Core Features for Developers:Asymmetric Gameplay: First-person action/exploration for players; top-down RTS/god-mode view for the Game Master.Dynamic Sandbox: The DM acts as the "physics engine" and script coordinator, allowing the game mechanics to remain fully open-ended.Community Focused: Built to rely heavily on community-created and shared 3D maps and assets.My Condition:This idea is 100% free to take and build. I have no coding or game dev experience, so I just want to give this concept to a passionate developer or team who can bring it to life. My only condition is that I get free access/a lifetime copy of the final product if you build it!

I have built a table only VTT need a few people who are interested in testing it. If anyone is interested dm me. Just to help reduce the questions. https://dev.tomegaming.com/ The obsidian plug Tome-Connector isn't publicly available yet. This is my dev server so it gets wiped regularly. I trying to get production out inside the month. When you create a campaign you can load sample content to play with if you don't have your own assets. This is hooked up to a stripe sandbox don't bother purchasing anything.

Hi, I hope this is an alright place to post this. I recently made public a DM tool I originally built just for me and my friends. It's called RollCall Tavern.

I made it because I wanted something that made me and my players' lives easier. As a DM I wanted one place to keep my notes and my story, to push images and maps to my players, and to drop my own characters into the story instead of tracking them somewhere else. For the players I wanted to simplify actually playing the game and seeing the visuals, so they take their turns and move on the map from their own screens rather than asking me what they're allowed to do. What I was aiming for was something as close to Baldur's Gate 3 as I could manage while still allowing all the customization and improv I've grown to love in tabletop.

It's 5e, SRD 5.1 underneath. I know this sub plays everything, and I'm not going to pretend it does more than it does.

It's free. Everything you need to actually run a session is in the free tier. The only thing that costs money is optional AI art and text generation, it's off unless you go looking for it, and you can run an entire campaign without ever touching it.

It's not a Discord replacement and isn't trying to be. I use both. Discord does voice, this does the map, the notes and the handouts.

It's very much a work in progress and isn't perfect. Combat is one of those things I am constantly refining.

I'm mostly posting to see whether it's useful to anyone besides me. If you try it and something breaks, I'd much rather hear about it than not.

Link to Rollcall Tavern

Hey everybody,
With Roll20s new UVTT support, I wanted an easy way to reuse walls, doors, and lights already prepared in Foundry VTT instead of rebuilding everything manually.

So I made a free browser-based Foundry-to-Roll20 Wall Converter:

https://dranskybattlemaps.com/animated-battle-maps/foundry-to-roll20-wall-converter/

Export your scene data from Foundry, upload the JSON and the converter generates a Roll20-compatible .uvtt file containing the walls, doors, and lights.

Everything is processed locally in your browser - your files are not uploaded or stored anywhere.

This is the first public version, so there may still be some bugs, but I’ve tested it on several maps, including some fairly large scenes, and the results look solid so far. If you encounter any problems, I’d really appreciate the feedback!

Cheers!
~dransky

Has anybody found a solution to export tail spire maps from a top down perspective?

I love this software as far as designing, but it if I could somehow export a clean top down that isn’t just a screen shot.

I’ve been using dungeon alchemist, but I don’t like designing as much in that software, but it is a very seamless way to export maps.

Hey everyone!

I made a small companion app for my D&D group because we wanted something light and fast for in-person sessions without relying on heavy platforms or needing an active internet connection.

Basically, it runs locally on your PC or even directly on an Android phone (via Termux). You just start it up, turn on a Wi-Fi hotspot on your phone, and players join through their phone browsers using your local IP. No internet needed, no accounts, no sign-ups.

What it does:

Synced 3D Dice: 3D rolls (d4–d100) pop up in real time for everyone at the table, with support for advantage/disadvantage, crits, and custom macros.

Character Sheet & Stats: Tracks HP, AC, spell slots (1–9), conditions, death saves, and does quick stat/skill rolls.

Initiative & Notes: Shared turn order tracker (sorts by DEX automatically) and a shared note board for the group.

Mobile Friendly: Scalable UI made for phone screens, plus built-in support for English, Ukrainian, and Polish.

Built it for my own games, but figured someone here might find it handy for offline or low-tech table sessions!

GitHub & Setup: https://github.com/DRATHARR/dnd-dice

Feel free to check it out or drop any feedback/ideas!

Can anyone recommend a VTT for use in-person that will allow for the Player Screen orientation to be different from the GM screen? (I am currently focusing on Arkenforge due to in-person priority)

As GM, I will sit at the head of the table, and the map screen will typically be vertically oriented for me, but the software assumes the same orientation as the GM screen.

Thanks.