Here are my needs: Simple to use, without a huge learning curve or need to understand "programming" to get certain functions to work. Have an ability to either upload maps from Beyond for integration with a token system or be able to quickly lay out a copy in the program. Basically, easy to use and incorporate a token system for players and enemies that I can manipulate from my laptop.
About me: I host an in person D&D session once per week. I started DM'ing a new campaign, which is my first to be 100% digital on Beyond. I use a 55" TV at the end of the table to display images, maps, etc. However, at this point, one of the biggest requests I keep getting is to find a system to upload tokens of sorts so players can more easily track their characters as we move through taverns, dungeons and encounters. I, personally, don't care how basic this is so long as we have a good representation of the area and I don't have to spend forever on it as I spend a lot of time in prep as it is. Could I spend more time? Who couldn't. But, slaving over map features doesn't rank amongst my list of sounding like fun time activities. Might get more into it, but for now, I just need something that works and will assist my players in interacting with the game more dynamically as we are trying to leave the table maps behind us.
Therefore, the most highly recommended and discussed programs I've seen on here and around the web include ArkenForge, DungeonFog and FoundryVTT. As an admitted technological newb...What are the differences between these options, what else should I consider, and most importantly...what would truly be best for my particular needs considering I have no plans to ever take my gaming online? Apparently, I'm lucky to live in a community where D&D is reasonably popular and there is no shortage of groups and people clamoring to meet up in person.
I'd recommend maptool. It's free, and has just about every feature you could want. They have free item and token packs that you can import as well. If you search maptool on youtube there are a bunch of instructional videos that show it's functionality. As with any map system, it ranges from very easy to use (basic map/tokens) to complicated (line of sight/fog or war).
The Dynamic Dungeons Editor can run any kind of map you find so if you have a source of maps you like it does not take much work to get them up and running using these tools.
It has FOW, you can scale the maps for your TV, add square or hex grids, etc. It's great and worth every penny.
Good luck with your search and hope this info helps!
From what I've tried, the system of Roll20 is just infuriating. I use a laptop and I think this is my biggest drawback of most systems. For Roll20 I can only zoom in and out and cannot access various portions of a map, so actually creating something never gets anywhere. Loading premade maps is a disaster for this reason as well. If it's unaccessible, it's unusable and we might as well stick to theatre of the mind during combat, etc with a real map of where we are displayed on the TV.
Spent 5 hours running FoundryVTT since I posted yesterday and....after downloading the program, the various modules it needs to run, etc. I still am having tremendous difficulty figuring out how to do anything with it. That said, 5 hours in and no results pretty much tells me I need to cut my losses before wasting more time with this one. May just wait and try again when they get to a finished product that actually works.
Switched over to DungeonFog. Nice system and able to get going right away. The only issue I've had is that using a laptop, all furniture and everything orients one direction, so it's weird to have, but...not a huge deal in the end game. However, the moment I leave the page, all my work disappears and I can't find any way to successfully save something so I can go back and actually use it for a play session. Maybe it requires a paid version to get something out of it, but with other options out there, it's daunting to be asked to spend $50 or more on a renewing subscription for a useable system with no real try out period.
ArkenForge has reached out to me showing me what their system is capable of, so may check them out.
However, at this point, I will go ahead and try out MapTool and Dynamic Dungeons first. Definitely liking how you guys described both options a lot.
Hey, I know I'm really late to the game here and things have obviously shifted around and changed a bit since. I am curious what your challenges with the FoundryVTT were. Cause I've been using it for about a year and have had minimal issues or challenges given how capable and flexible it is. But I suppose it depends on what your goal was/is for these apps. Foundry VTT is obviously so much more than mapmaking, but if all you want is a good tool to make maps with, I usually recommend DungeonDraft and have recently been looking into ArkenForge as well.
If you do want any more capability, automation, or game management elements to use with your maps, then I couldn't recommend Foundry VTT more. And if you don't want to host it yourself, then you can always use The Forge to host it and all your assets there. Obviously, it's a monthly expense for them to host it, but especially if you compare it to Roll20's premium cost, you've got far more features, flexibility, and overall bigger bang for your buck with Foundry on The Forge. You can even use a module to roll right from your DnD Beyond character sheet. And having been using DundenDraft for maps thus far, I can just import the full map data right into Foundry with all of the walls and lighting established automatically from DundeonDraft, and I'm pretty sure ArkenForge should be able to export to Foundry like that too.
I know I sound like a sales pitch a bit much, but having sifted through a lot of options while running/supporting 3 different campaigns which are sometimes streamed, I can't give this combo higher praise. Between me and a friend of mine that helps with maps, we're able to make several maps before the session with how easy it is, and we never have to worry about setup after they're made, it just works.
I imagine by now you've probably settled on what you like and that's fine. But if you ever think you'd want to try it out again, I love showing people just what the Foundry VTT is capable of on my Sandbox campaign, so feel free to send me a DM if you'd want to try stuff out and see how it'd work for your campaign.
The #1 problem with Foundry is all the mods that have to be installed, maintained, updated, and checked for incompatibility with each other. I don't mind that but it is not a "plug and play" option.
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WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
I use a desktop computer so my experience might be different to yours.
Personally using FoundryVTT and I'm having an absolute blast with it. One thing I would recommend is using another 3rd party resource for map making, otherwise there a lot of collisions and it just makes it hell to making anything truly intricate but that might just be the materials I'm working with.
A mate of mine showed me DungeonDraft and I'm using that right now to make maps with and it's very easy to use. One complaint is that the palette it comes with and the artwork is too 'bright' as a buddy of mine puts it.
Well, I guess for context, I use a ton of assets from Forgotten Adventures and they make all of their assets into prepacked DungeonDraft assets packs, so there are a ton of assets that I use that aren't even built-in, and the system makes it really easy to design with from there. I know another artist that's making stuff for DungeonDraft is Caeora, though they've only just started converting their assets into DungeonDraft packs. But there are a ton of artists on Patreon that make DungeonDraft compatible map assets to use in DungeonDraft.
I have seen some cool addons that add dndbeyond character sheets and dice for rolling on foundryvtt that im excited to try once i feel comfortable with the basics.
I've been having trouble getting maps to fit on the screen. Is there a way to make the map automatically resize when you upload a map so you can tweak but tweak from seeing the whole map?
Well, I usually use DungeonDraft to make maps, and when you use the map importer for that, it resizes, maps everything, and set's lighting and walls automatically. But when you go to the scene settings, you can add a background which I use for fully made maps and that should ask to resize to fit that background. But otherwise, you'll want to set the scene size to match the image size of the map if you really want to import it for your background that way. Feel free to PM me if you want to see on my Sandbox server how I normally do it and/or want to try stuff out.
Another Foundry recommendation from me. It's not the most intuitive - definitely not plug and play. But if you spend the time to figure it out and customize it to your needs, it's an incredibly powerful tool. In particular, I'll call out the lighting and wall tools - they're both top notch. And if you're a frequent DM, the compendiums are a great way to store and organize your creations.
I use Dungeondraft to actually create dungeons, then import them into Foundry.
I'm a huge fan of https://gamescape.app/ Its very basic and simple, but its perfect my use- which sounds similar to yours. Its just mapping and token tracking. You didn't mention tablet/phone support, but it works great on both. Players can bring up their own copy and the maps are in sync real time.
I use it in GM mode on my laptop and have the player view on a full sized tablet. The only difference between the two is fog of war.
I'm a huge fan of https://gamescape.app/ Its very basic and simple, but its perfect my use- which sounds similar to yours. Its just mapping and token tracking. You didn't mention tablet/phone support, but it works great on both. Players can bring up their own copy and the maps are in sync real time.
I use it in GM mode on my laptop and have the player view on a full sized tablet. The only difference between the two is fog of war.
There is almost nothing that annoys me more than garbage websites who forces the Sign up button on the first page, hiding everything else, before you can do anything.
I agree in principal, maybe he should have a demo map for people without an account.
Its one dude who put together the site- an account is going to be needed to be useful, and he didn't spend the time and effort to a demo version that doesn't require it. Hes got some youtube videos from a few months ago, but there have been some features added since then.
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Here are my needs: Simple to use, without a huge learning curve or need to understand "programming" to get certain functions to work. Have an ability to either upload maps from Beyond for integration with a token system or be able to quickly lay out a copy in the program. Basically, easy to use and incorporate a token system for players and enemies that I can manipulate from my laptop.
About me: I host an in person D&D session once per week. I started DM'ing a new campaign, which is my first to be 100% digital on Beyond. I use a 55" TV at the end of the table to display images, maps, etc. However, at this point, one of the biggest requests I keep getting is to find a system to upload tokens of sorts so players can more easily track their characters as we move through taverns, dungeons and encounters. I, personally, don't care how basic this is so long as we have a good representation of the area and I don't have to spend forever on it as I spend a lot of time in prep as it is. Could I spend more time? Who couldn't. But, slaving over map features doesn't rank amongst my list of sounding like fun time activities. Might get more into it, but for now, I just need something that works and will assist my players in interacting with the game more dynamically as we are trying to leave the table maps behind us.
Therefore, the most highly recommended and discussed programs I've seen on here and around the web include ArkenForge, DungeonFog and FoundryVTT. As an admitted technological newb...What are the differences between these options, what else should I consider, and most importantly...what would truly be best for my particular needs considering I have no plans to ever take my gaming online? Apparently, I'm lucky to live in a community where D&D is reasonably popular and there is no shortage of groups and people clamoring to meet up in person.
I'd recommend maptool. It's free, and has just about every feature you could want. They have free item and token packs that you can import as well. If you search maptool on youtube there are a bunch of instructional videos that show it's functionality. As with any map system, it ranges from very easy to use (basic map/tokens) to complicated (line of sight/fog or war).
I use Dynamic Dungeons maps and his Editor/Player. His maps are awesome and the player is pretty simple to use. Here's a link to his Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/dynamicdungeons/posts
I also use maps by Animated Dungeon Maps his Patreon is found here:
https://www.patreon.com/animatedmaps/posts
The Dynamic Dungeons Editor can run any kind of map you find so if you have a source of maps you like it does not take much work to get them up and running using these tools.
It has FOW, you can scale the maps for your TV, add square or hex grids, etc. It's great and worth every penny.
Good luck with your search and hope this info helps!
Thanks for the input Sigvard and FuryK.
From what I've tried, the system of Roll20 is just infuriating. I use a laptop and I think this is my biggest drawback of most systems. For Roll20 I can only zoom in and out and cannot access various portions of a map, so actually creating something never gets anywhere. Loading premade maps is a disaster for this reason as well. If it's unaccessible, it's unusable and we might as well stick to theatre of the mind during combat, etc with a real map of where we are displayed on the TV.
Spent 5 hours running FoundryVTT since I posted yesterday and....after downloading the program, the various modules it needs to run, etc. I still am having tremendous difficulty figuring out how to do anything with it. That said, 5 hours in and no results pretty much tells me I need to cut my losses before wasting more time with this one. May just wait and try again when they get to a finished product that actually works.
Switched over to DungeonFog. Nice system and able to get going right away. The only issue I've had is that using a laptop, all furniture and everything orients one direction, so it's weird to have, but...not a huge deal in the end game. However, the moment I leave the page, all my work disappears and I can't find any way to successfully save something so I can go back and actually use it for a play session. Maybe it requires a paid version to get something out of it, but with other options out there, it's daunting to be asked to spend $50 or more on a renewing subscription for a useable system with no real try out period.
ArkenForge has reached out to me showing me what their system is capable of, so may check them out.
However, at this point, I will go ahead and try out MapTool and Dynamic Dungeons first. Definitely liking how you guys described both options a lot.
I enjoy arkenforge of all of them. Tried them all and it works the best for me, but it's not without its own set of unintuitive headaches.
I’ve been using Arkenforge, and it’s the best to me. The fog of war and dynamic lighting are great.
Hey, I know I'm really late to the game here and things have obviously shifted around and changed a bit since. I am curious what your challenges with the FoundryVTT were. Cause I've been using it for about a year and have had minimal issues or challenges given how capable and flexible it is. But I suppose it depends on what your goal was/is for these apps. Foundry VTT is obviously so much more than mapmaking, but if all you want is a good tool to make maps with, I usually recommend DungeonDraft and have recently been looking into ArkenForge as well.
If you do want any more capability, automation, or game management elements to use with your maps, then I couldn't recommend Foundry VTT more. And if you don't want to host it yourself, then you can always use The Forge to host it and all your assets there. Obviously, it's a monthly expense for them to host it, but especially if you compare it to Roll20's premium cost, you've got far more features, flexibility, and overall bigger bang for your buck with Foundry on The Forge. You can even use a module to roll right from your DnD Beyond character sheet. And having been using DundenDraft for maps thus far, I can just import the full map data right into Foundry with all of the walls and lighting established automatically from DundeonDraft, and I'm pretty sure ArkenForge should be able to export to Foundry like that too.
I know I sound like a sales pitch a bit much, but having sifted through a lot of options while running/supporting 3 different campaigns which are sometimes streamed, I can't give this combo higher praise. Between me and a friend of mine that helps with maps, we're able to make several maps before the session with how easy it is, and we never have to worry about setup after they're made, it just works.
I imagine by now you've probably settled on what you like and that's fine. But if you ever think you'd want to try it out again, I love showing people just what the Foundry VTT is capable of on my Sandbox campaign, so feel free to send me a DM if you'd want to try stuff out and see how it'd work for your campaign.
I used Roll20 for a long time but I recently switched to Owlbear Rodeo and have been pleased with it so far.
The #1 problem with Foundry is all the mods that have to be installed, maintained, updated, and checked for incompatibility with each other. I don't mind that but it is not a "plug and play" option.
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
I use a desktop computer so my experience might be different to yours.
Personally using FoundryVTT and I'm having an absolute blast with it. One thing I would recommend is using another 3rd party resource for map making, otherwise there a lot of collisions and it just makes it hell to making anything truly intricate but that might just be the materials I'm working with.
A mate of mine showed me DungeonDraft and I'm using that right now to make maps with and it's very easy to use. One complaint is that the palette it comes with and the artwork is too 'bright' as a buddy of mine puts it.
DungeonDraft's palette is not as broad as I would like but it is super user friendly, at least to me.
But yeah, I make maps in other things and import them into Foundry.
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
Well, I guess for context, I use a ton of assets from Forgotten Adventures and they make all of their assets into prepacked DungeonDraft assets packs, so there are a ton of assets that I use that aren't even built-in, and the system makes it really easy to design with from there. I know another artist that's making stuff for DungeonDraft is Caeora, though they've only just started converting their assets into DungeonDraft packs. But there are a ton of artists on Patreon that make DungeonDraft compatible map assets to use in DungeonDraft.
https://www.patreon.com/forgottenadventures
https://www.patreon.com/caeora
Try this guy's videos for the basic foundry vtt functioning. https://youtube.com/c/EncounterLibrary
I admit I'm still learning but I've found them incredibly helpful.
I have seen some cool addons that add dndbeyond character sheets and dice for rolling on foundryvtt that im excited to try once i feel comfortable with the basics.
I've been having trouble getting maps to fit on the screen. Is there a way to make the map automatically resize when you upload a map so you can tweak but tweak from seeing the whole map?
Well, I usually use DungeonDraft to make maps, and when you use the map importer for that, it resizes, maps everything, and set's lighting and walls automatically. But when you go to the scene settings, you can add a background which I use for fully made maps and that should ask to resize to fit that background. But otherwise, you'll want to set the scene size to match the image size of the map if you really want to import it for your background that way. Feel free to PM me if you want to see on my Sandbox server how I normally do it and/or want to try stuff out.
You can import your DDB characters into Foundry, if you don't mind giving up your DDB credentials via a cookie to a patreon kid which is a nice plus.
I think Foundry is the one that is the best investment of time, plus its cheap.
Another Foundry recommendation from me. It's not the most intuitive - definitely not plug and play. But if you spend the time to figure it out and customize it to your needs, it's an incredibly powerful tool. In particular, I'll call out the lighting and wall tools - they're both top notch. And if you're a frequent DM, the compendiums are a great way to store and organize your creations.
I use Dungeondraft to actually create dungeons, then import them into Foundry.
I'm a huge fan of https://gamescape.app/ Its very basic and simple, but its perfect my use- which sounds similar to yours. Its just mapping and token tracking. You didn't mention tablet/phone support, but it works great on both. Players can bring up their own copy and the maps are in sync real time.
I use it in GM mode on my laptop and have the player view on a full sized tablet. The only difference between the two is fog of war.
There is almost nothing that annoys me more than garbage websites who forces the Sign up button on the first page, hiding everything else, before you can do anything.
Smacks of scammers.
I agree in principal, maybe he should have a demo map for people without an account.
Its one dude who put together the site- an account is going to be needed to be useful, and he didn't spend the time and effort to a demo version that doesn't require it. Hes got some youtube videos from a few months ago, but there have been some features added since then.