Roll20 and AboveVTT are both fairly easy to use and set up.
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As a note there are also flashier ones out there like modded or vanilla talespire, its pretty easy to learn and a lot of people have made prefabs if you want to make combat maps and cities for settings, the downside is everything mechanic you would have to outsource to D&D beyond or some other service like demiplane. Alternatively you can find everything eventually on tabletop simulator which both lets you cobble together maps and have sheets on the same instance of table, its just more time intensive not to mention both are a bit more resource intensive than both your previous options.
I have used Roll20 and Foundry extensively, and while I'm a huge Foundry fan, I would say for a new DM: Roll20. First of all it requires no setup and there is no upfront cost like Foundry. Second of all you and your players can setup free accounts and play for free. While there are some bells and whistles that are paid features, you can absolutely run games on a free account. The biggest issue for that is managing storage in the allotted free account space, but I've done free and paid games on Roll20. Lastly, it has the simpler learning curve of the two.
Foundry has a $50 up front cost, and takes a little bit of initial setup (or paid hosting). That said, it is a far better platform than Roll20 in my opinion, with far more features. There is more of a learning curve however, and again, you can easily run games on Roll20. Also, if you decide to switch from Roll20 to Foundry later on, a good bit of the Roll20 knowledge will carry over to Foundry.
Finally, if you're not familiar with it already, there is a browser extension called Beyond20 that you can use to automatically port your party's rolls into either Roll20 or Foundry from DDB. I've not used AboveVTT, but I've heard enough people rave about it that it might be worth checking out as well.
Everyone would need it if they want to control their mini or own perspective but reasonably you could also just stream it (if possible) on discord and control the minis yourself. I know Gamemaster Engine has the advantage of no one needing to buy besides the GM. I just like Talespire mainly due to the ease of map creation and having a small dedicated mod community, Tabletop sim is the same way but it has a workshop file for literally almost anything, its just a bit laggy if you host or add too many things on older computers.
I have no opinion on Owlbear Rodeo because my group all have already committed to TS and TTS.
Roll20 has all the features you will ever need, but there is a learning curve. Roll20 is free, but there are certain features that are locked behind a subscription.
If you're committed though, I hear FoundryVTT is better, but that one costs $50 up front to buy the software. It could be cheaper in the long run though since there are no ongoing subscription costs. I played on it once and felt it had too much lag, but that might have been an isolated problem.
For easier to use VTTs, Owlbear Rodeo is very popular, but I preferred AboveVTT. These VTTs are easier to get up and running right away, but they don't have as many advanced features.
For my regular online campaign, I use Roll20, but I run an in-person game for kids. One of them got COVID, so I will be suggesting using Owlbear Rodeo this weekend so that the kids don't need to create their own Roll20 accounts and using it will require less explaining.
So the question is which what is good and easy to learn for a noob dm ? roll20, Foundry, fantasy grounds unity
I thank you all for any answer
I would recommend playing in-person to start with, but if that isn't possible, I would say Roll20. Mainly just because I haven't used any other VTTs.
It can have a bit of a learning curve, but it's not bad once you get the hang of it.
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Roll20 and AboveVTT are both fairly easy to use and set up.
Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond.
Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ this FAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
As a note there are also flashier ones out there like modded or vanilla talespire, its pretty easy to learn and a lot of people have made prefabs if you want to make combat maps and cities for settings, the downside is everything mechanic you would have to outsource to D&D beyond or some other service like demiplane.
Alternatively you can find everything eventually on tabletop simulator which both lets you cobble together maps and have sheets on the same instance of table, its just more time intensive not to mention both are a bit more resource intensive than both your previous options.
I have used Roll20 and Foundry extensively, and while I'm a huge Foundry fan, I would say for a new DM: Roll20. First of all it requires no setup and there is no upfront cost like Foundry. Second of all you and your players can setup free accounts and play for free. While there are some bells and whistles that are paid features, you can absolutely run games on a free account. The biggest issue for that is managing storage in the allotted free account space, but I've done free and paid games on Roll20. Lastly, it has the simpler learning curve of the two.
Foundry has a $50 up front cost, and takes a little bit of initial setup (or paid hosting). That said, it is a far better platform than Roll20 in my opinion, with far more features. There is more of a learning curve however, and again, you can easily run games on Roll20. Also, if you decide to switch from Roll20 to Foundry later on, a good bit of the Roll20 knowledge will carry over to Foundry.
Finally, if you're not familiar with it already, there is a browser extension called Beyond20 that you can use to automatically port your party's rolls into either Roll20 or Foundry from DDB. I've not used AboveVTT, but I've heard enough people rave about it that it might be worth checking out as well.
do others that wanna join need to buy talespire too ? , or can they just jump in and join ?`
Another vote for owlbear. Free, learning curve is not steep, handled completely in the browser, so no one has to download an app.
Trying to Decide if DDB is for you? A few helpful threads: A Buyer's Guide to DDB; What I/We Bought and Why; How some DMs use DDB; A Newer Thread on Using DDB to Play
Helpful threads on other topics: Homebrew FAQ by IamSposta; Accessing Content by ConalTheGreat;
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Everyone would need it if they want to control their mini or own perspective but reasonably you could also just stream it (if possible) on discord and control the minis yourself. I know Gamemaster Engine has the advantage of no one needing to buy besides the GM. I just like Talespire mainly due to the ease of map creation and having a small dedicated mod community, Tabletop sim is the same way but it has a workshop file for literally almost anything, its just a bit laggy if you host or add too many things on older computers.
I have no opinion on Owlbear Rodeo because my group all have already committed to TS and TTS.
Owlbear.rodeo. Free, easy to use, and mobile friendly (so players can move their own tokens).
Roll20 has all the features you will ever need, but there is a learning curve. Roll20 is free, but there are certain features that are locked behind a subscription.
If you're committed though, I hear FoundryVTT is better, but that one costs $50 up front to buy the software. It could be cheaper in the long run though since there are no ongoing subscription costs. I played on it once and felt it had too much lag, but that might have been an isolated problem.
For easier to use VTTs, Owlbear Rodeo is very popular, but I preferred AboveVTT. These VTTs are easier to get up and running right away, but they don't have as many advanced features.
For my regular online campaign, I use Roll20, but I run an in-person game for kids. One of them got COVID, so I will be suggesting using Owlbear Rodeo this weekend so that the kids don't need to create their own Roll20 accounts and using it will require less explaining.
Roll 20 is great cause you can create a character sheet there for those that don't have access to all the books. Plus abovevtt integrated with that.
Steep learning curve though.
For just simple maps and icons that can be uploaded I've used owlbear rodeo.
I switched from my own written vtt to owlbear. It's just easier on players.