For dice rolling and general play, you can use the Discord bot Avrae (https://avrae.io/). Now for the virtual tabletop, there are not a lot of free options, but you can always just use theater of the mind, post pictures on a shared forum (such as Discord), or screen share.
On the topic of Fantasy grounds, it works similar to DNDbeyond, in that if the dungeon master has a “master” subscription, players can join their game by only using the free demo without paying anything themselves. Keeps everyone from having to purchase it. There’s the outright 1 time cost for the subscription which can be hefty but you then own it for life with no extra costs, or you can pay about $10 a month. While not free, It’s not a bad option.
I switched to MapTool after the Roll20 drama, and from my perspective I like it a lot better. People say it's big and scary and not super user friendly, but honestly it's not much worse than learning just about any other software. I think once you figure out what you're doing, it's better than Roll20, and not really that much less user friendly. I have some minor gripes involving the way different maps are organized within a campaign (pro-tip: number them and use 0's to make sure Map 09 comes before Map 10), but for the most part it's what I've been looking for all along. It took me maybe an hour of tinkering around with it before I knew how to make it do what I needed.
All of that being said, I use MapTool for projecting maps on a TV in my home game. I have not used it to play online. However, using dual screens is very similar in MT as it is in R20, so you do have to be able to create a game and join from another instance of the program, so I have a pretty good idea how online would work. But that also means I don't have to align the grids at all, which could be more difficult.
As my group's DM, I've chosen to foot the bill for the various tools my group uses (including DDB) in exchange for them bringing snacks and stuff. That works for our group, YMMV.
I think Fantasy Grounds is the most complete platform for playing online and well worth the money. I've used it for over a decade and haven't had to spend a dime on the license for it since ~2007. I've tried Roll20 also and was pretty disappointed in it overall, though that was a long time ago.
Not at all trying to convince you to spend money...! :)
However, we're super lucky that there are so many great tools out there, almost all of them with some kind of free (and still usable) tier. I've been playing around with these relatively new options that may suit you and your group: Astral TableTop (already mentioned) Beyond Tabletop Dungeonfog (I have not tried their viewer app yet, so not sure if it's usable across the web, or meant for local play only... I just watched a video demoing this and it's done thru thru the web.)
They all have their own strengths and weaknesses, and varying feature sets. I'm mostly watching them to see how development goes, time will tell, but there's some really promising stuff out there!
You can try MapTool or check out the list of best free and paid Roll20 alternatives. Hope it will help you.
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Hi, I am Ram Thakur, Founder at SolutionSuggest - A tech website where you can find alternatives to popular software, games, and websites you already know or use and want to replace. Enjoying the gaming world :D
After the whole drama around Roll20 none of my players want to use Roll 20. And they also don't want to pay for things like Fantasy Grounds.
All I really need is a thing I can make maps on and a live dice roller.
So any suggestions?
What was the drama around Roll20?
From what I’ve gathered: Basically just bashing the majority of their user base saying they don’t need or particularly want more white men in their system.
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After the whole drama around Roll20 none of my players want to use Roll 20. And they also don't want to pay for things like Fantasy Grounds.
All I really need is a thing I can make maps on and a live dice roller.
So any suggestions?
Good luck, in the virtual space those things cost money. Have you tried graph paper?
Lol. Yhea that won't be helpful for people trying to play despite being in 5 different states.
I'm not familiar with any free alternatives. My group got the Tabletop Simulator bundle on Steam for pretty cheap though.
I have not tried it in a real campaign but Astral Tabletop is in beta.
And I cast Heroism on the community.
For dice rolling and general play, you can use the Discord bot Avrae (https://avrae.io/). Now for the virtual tabletop, there are not a lot of free options, but you can always just use theater of the mind, post pictures on a shared forum (such as Discord), or screen share.
I use a dice roller bot in Discord. No battle maps there, but it's fine for world maps and the like.
On the topic of Fantasy grounds, it works similar to DNDbeyond, in that if the dungeon master has a “master” subscription, players can join their game by only using the free demo without paying anything themselves. Keeps everyone from having to purchase it. There’s the outright 1 time cost for the subscription which can be hefty but you then own it for life with no extra costs, or you can pay about $10 a month. While not free, It’s not a bad option.
I switched to MapTool after the Roll20 drama, and from my perspective I like it a lot better. People say it's big and scary and not super user friendly, but honestly it's not much worse than learning just about any other software. I think once you figure out what you're doing, it's better than Roll20, and not really that much less user friendly. I have some minor gripes involving the way different maps are organized within a campaign (pro-tip: number them and use 0's to make sure Map 09 comes before Map 10), but for the most part it's what I've been looking for all along. It took me maybe an hour of tinkering around with it before I knew how to make it do what I needed.
All of that being said, I use MapTool for projecting maps on a TV in my home game. I have not used it to play online. However, using dual screens is very similar in MT as it is in R20, so you do have to be able to create a game and join from another instance of the program, so I have a pretty good idea how online would work. But that also means I don't have to align the grids at all, which could be more difficult.
As my group's DM, I've chosen to foot the bill for the various tools my group uses (including DDB) in exchange for them bringing snacks and stuff. That works for our group, YMMV.
I think Fantasy Grounds is the most complete platform for playing online and well worth the money. I've used it for over a decade and haven't had to spend a dime on the license for it since ~2007. I've tried Roll20 also and was pretty disappointed in it overall, though that was a long time ago.
Not at all trying to convince you to spend money...! :)
However, we're super lucky that there are so many great tools out there, almost all of them with some kind of free (and still usable) tier. I've been playing around with these relatively new options that may suit you and your group:
Astral TableTop (already mentioned)
Beyond Tabletop
Dungeonfog (
I have not tried their viewer app yet, so not sure if it's usable across the web, or meant for local play only...I just watched a video demoing this and it's done thru thru the web.)They all have their own strengths and weaknesses, and varying feature sets. I'm mostly watching them to see how development goes, time will tell, but there's some really promising stuff out there!
What was the drama around Roll20?
You can try MapTool or check out the list of best free and paid Roll20 alternatives. Hope it will help you.
Hi, I am Ram Thakur, Founder at SolutionSuggest - A tech website where you can find alternatives to popular software, games, and websites you already know or use and want to replace. Enjoying the gaming world :D
...group in 5 states sits down at their screens to start playing a D&D session.
DM in Ohio, "Hi everyone, man, supporting this group costs money"
Rogue in Washington as he chomps on a bag of chips, "Don't worry, I brought snacks".
heehheehee
Guide to the Five Factions (PWYW)
A rather comprehensive list of free WotC D&D resources
Deck of Decks
From what I’ve gathered: Basically just bashing the majority of their user base saying they don’t need or particularly want more white men in their system.