Mod/API friendly, User Compendium, Animated background
Self-Host
$50 + DnDBeyond membership/books. (if linking Foundry VTT with DnDBeyond?) Other: Only support SRD? What if I want to run other module ex: Tomb of Annihilation.
Fantasy Grounds Unity
Build upon 5e
Compendium include token/maps/modules ready to go
Self-Host?
One-Time $150 or monthly Other: I heard its hard learning curve
I have Roll20, I don't like how messy it can be but I love how easy it is to run a game. Need to be web-based some of my friends has old crappy laptops. Or else we usually play on Virtual Table Top.
I have not tried Unity. I found the older version of FG incredibly non-intuitive and user-unfriendly. Foundry I found very easy to use, and the mods have added a huge amount of value to it. I think running it unmodded might not be all that much better than FG, but there'd be no reason to forego mods if you want them.
I do wish they would enter into a deal with WOTC so that I could buy the sourcebooks there and have everything in it like you can with R20 or FG... but since I am mostly doing homebrew, it's not all that big of a deal right now.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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.
Realize this is an older post, but adding this as informative.
Some more for Foundry (some apply to Roll20 as well):
* Clients can use Chrome, Firefox or Edge and don't have to install anything.
* Can easily be hosted on a Linux or Windows web server if desired.
* Integration with D&D Beyond via Virtual Tabletop Assets - pulls in D&D Beyond character information directly into Foundry.
* Integration with D&D Beyond via Beyond20 - allows use of all these fancy dice sets D&D Beyond is making in Foundry. Install the browser extension as well for this to work. You go to D&D Beyond, and you click to roll the on-screen dice. The results post to Foundry or Roll20 automatically.
* Licensing is DM-based when using the web client [FG is licensed per user unless DM springs for Ultimate]
* Good integration with quite a few third party editors, etc. via community modules.
Cons:
* Updates frequently, and many of those updates are breaking backwards compatibility in modules.
* D&D Beyond integration is unofficial and so it can break when there are major updates to the site.
* I think the mechanism to switch from one world to another (e.g. "We're doing Shadowrun today") is a bit wonky. It works, to be clear.
* Alot of the UX could be improved (but Foundry is largely a work-alike to Roll20)
i think the one time cost of FGU is better over all than paying $50 for foundry then $6 a month for DND Beyond so over 2 years that is $144 + $5 a month for the Patreon DND Beyond integration so over 2 years $120 so without even buying the books you have paid around $314 for two years. FGU is still $130 or so dollars over that same time.
I love how easy Foundry looks and has great features...ease of use ....everything is nice. There are some things I wish were different.
I only bring this up since i have yet to see anyone else state the full costs at all.
i think the one time cost of FGU is better over all than paying $50 for foundry then $6 a month for DND Beyond so over 2 years that is $144 + $5 a month for the Patreon DND Beyond integration so over 2 years $120 so without even buying the books you have paid around $314 for two years. FGU is still $130 or so dollars over that same time.
I love how easy Foundry looks and has great features...ease of use ....everything is nice. There are some things I wish were different.
I only bring this up since i have yet to see anyone else state the full costs at all.
But the DM and all players need to buy a copy of FGU, whereas they don't for the other VTTs.
Also, all players need to install a copy of FGU on their PC, whereas some of the others allow players to just use their browsers. This has an implication for any players who are using a work laptop which is locked down.
Update by poster: We actually played last night on Foundry and I received a bit more information from the DM on this product and the mates. I explored this more this evening as well. Apologies, my previous statements were incorrect and based on our group's initial excitement for a change in VTT.
Foundry is a flat rate of $50.00. It is supported by a community of independent developers. Some have created great materials. However, in order to incorporate D&DBeyond, there is a monthly on this particular supports. Biowizard is 100% correct that the add-on features (called a module) to Foundry are only as good as the freelance developers choose to maintain and update their products. If the add-on features are not maintained in a timely manner or the developer decides not to support the product, it becomes obsolete and actually causes Foundry to have issues. Owners can easily uninstall them, but it doesn't necessarily mean a new or updated module exists to replace the one you've been depending on.
Furthermore, some of the developers do not allow full functionality for their add-on (again, called a module in Foundry) unless you become a monthly subscriber directly to that particular developer. By paying into a tiered subscription base, the users will unlock more features or benefits of the add-on. So far, both add-ons that allow the maximum benefit for integration into D&DBeyond required a monthly payment plan. From what I just saw, some of the full subscriptions will surpass the monthly subscription rate of both Roll20 and FGU. I guess this is more and more becoming a trend by the devs. If this is the case, at some point the user's costs will add up. The user would still need to pay the cost for the virtual books in D&DBeyond.
Part of my original satement:
(Foundry allows you to ONLY purchase the D&DBeyond books and the Foundry system doesn't require you to buy their own digital versions)
Foundry allows you to ONLY purchase the D&DBeyond books and the Foundry system doesn't require you to buy their own digital versions.
Just to be clear... Foundry is agnostic about this -- it neither allows nor disallows it. Officially, all Foundry supports is the SRD, the open-source resources in the 5e D&D system module. The importers for DDB are done by Foundry users, and are not officially supported by Fandom (the owners of DDB). It is not only possible but probable at some point that these importers will not function correctly, and already there have been a number of hiccups when changes to the DDB data structure or permissions have caused the importer to utterly break. So far the modders have fixed this quickly, but there is no guarantee this will continue.
I use Foundry and love it. And I use the importer to import the PCs for my campaign over to Foundry. But don't use the fact that you can import all your DDB stuff "easily" to Foundry as the key selling point, because it is not officially supported and there is no guarantee it will continue to work.
Use Foundry over others because of the robust modding community, or because of the fast and effective dev cycle they have, or the fact that their UI is so much better than everyone else's. Those things are long-lasting, if not permanent, features of the application. DDB beyond import is a mod run by someone who took it over from someone else, and is kludgey at best (due to DDB issues, NOT the modders, mind!), and is not guaranteed to continue to work through future iterations of the DDB website.
Just a word to the wise.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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.
FG Unity has lighting. It has dynamic vision for characters that have darkvision or devilssight or true seeing. there is just so much that it can do. The automation of creating the treasure packets and adding pics.... there is just so much you can do.
I like that FGU is not dependent on the always on internet. Some days I just want to write things or add my maps or whatever and not have to be online to do it. There are pros and cons to all the VTT's. I prefer FGU and Foundry over all the others for different reasons.
We've actually decided to switch back to FGU after we did a couple of few runs through Foundry. Foundry wasn't bad, but the pricing model has put him/us off. There are additional costs that no-one seems to discuss that are needed in order to make Foundry somewhat comparable to FGU/FG. After discussion, we moved back to FGU because it feels more finished and FGU's features also receive continuous support.
And I use the importer to import the PCs for my campaign over to Foundry.
Regarding the importer. Just a side note that the importer is not necessary for basic (SRD-based) character maintenance provided they have access to do so by the DM, whether face to face local games, or via Foundry hosted in the cloud. This is my understanding of the capabilities as I look at the Foundry settings within the interface here on my home network.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Husband, Father, Veteran, Gamer, DM, Player, and Friend | Author of the "World of Eirador" | http://world-guild.com "The secret we should never let the gamemasters know is that they don't need any rules." ~Gary Gygax
The Importer module for Foundry just copies content from D&D Beyond to Foundry. The pay-wall (monthly subscription) is needed for specific content (Monsters, Classes, Races and Feats). Everything else is free. And I am posting to point out that once you make a copy to Foundry, you don't need to continue to subscribe to the Patreon.
In other words, subscribe for 1 month, copy everything to Foundry and you're financially done. You'll only ever need to re-subscribe if something new comes out and you absolutely are too lazy to make it in Foundry yourself.
Foundry license: 50$ 1 month patreon subscription to be able to copy content: $5? Self host: free (You can pay monthly to host online)
Technically if you want to "copy everything from DDB" even on a one-time basis, you're going to need to buy it here as well.
This is why my number feature wish is a dndbeyond VTT integration. I can understand why dndbeyond may not have delved deeply toward vtt integration from the outset, but I'd think they'd be looking at the past year and trying not to trip over themselves to do it now. This is definitely a "build it and they will come" situation. Give people a reason to remain within your walled garden, and never need/want to look outside those walls.
I don't think D&D Beyond should move towards making a full fledged VTT anymore. They seem too busy just integrating new content from WoTC to do anything substantial.
I think they should finish the tools they started that will allow a DM playing at a physical table to have an easier time, ie:
Keep iterating on the Encounter Builder.
Make the Combat Tracker usable by having it persist, then keep iterating on it.
The Combat Log is nice, but if only the DM is interacting with the website while the rest of the players are rolling dice at the table, it's not very useful. But as a PbP DM, I see a lot of potential for it, so keep iterating on that too.
THEN, make an (the) API publicly available to subscribers. That would allow D&D Beyond to be the source of content for any existing VTT, so a user can choose to keep D&D Beyond as the digital store for 5e content for any VTT with an API.
Which one is better?
Other: Notes
Foundry VTT
Other: Only support SRD? What if I want to run other module ex: Tomb of Annihilation.
Fantasy Grounds Unity
Other: I heard its hard learning curve
I have Roll20, I don't like how messy it can be but I love how easy it is to run a game.
Need to be web-based some of my friends has old crappy laptops. Or else we usually play on Virtual Table Top.
I have not tried Unity. I found the older version of FG incredibly non-intuitive and user-unfriendly. Foundry I found very easy to use, and the mods have added a huge amount of value to it. I think running it unmodded might not be all that much better than FG, but there'd be no reason to forego mods if you want them.
I do wish they would enter into a deal with WOTC so that I could buy the sourcebooks there and have everything in it like you can with R20 or FG... but since I am mostly doing homebrew, it's not all that big of a deal right now.
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.
You also have d20pro which has some of the wotc source books
Realize this is an older post, but adding this as informative.
Some more for Foundry (some apply to Roll20 as well):
* Clients can use Chrome, Firefox or Edge and don't have to install anything.
* Can easily be hosted on a Linux or Windows web server if desired.
* Integration with D&D Beyond via Virtual Tabletop Assets - pulls in D&D Beyond character information directly into Foundry.
* Integration with D&D Beyond via Beyond20 - allows use of all these fancy dice sets D&D Beyond is making in Foundry. Install the browser extension as well for this to work. You go to D&D Beyond, and you click to roll the on-screen dice. The results post to Foundry or Roll20 automatically.
* Licensing is DM-based when using the web client [FG is licensed per user unless DM springs for Ultimate]
* Good integration with quite a few third party editors, etc. via community modules.
Cons:
* Updates frequently, and many of those updates are breaking backwards compatibility in modules.
* D&D Beyond integration is unofficial and so it can break when there are major updates to the site.
* I think the mechanism to switch from one world to another (e.g. "We're doing Shadowrun today") is a bit wonky. It works, to be clear.
* Alot of the UX could be improved (but Foundry is largely a work-alike to Roll20)
i think the one time cost of FGU is better over all than paying $50 for foundry then $6 a month for DND Beyond so over 2 years that is $144 + $5 a month for the Patreon DND Beyond integration so over 2 years $120 so without even buying the books you have paid around $314 for two years. FGU is still $130 or so dollars over that same time.
I love how easy Foundry looks and has great features...ease of use ....everything is nice. There are some things I wish were different.
I only bring this up since i have yet to see anyone else state the full costs at all.
But the DM and all players need to buy a copy of FGU, whereas they don't for the other VTTs.
Also, all players need to install a copy of FGU on their PC, whereas some of the others allow players to just use their browsers. This has an implication for any players who are using a work laptop which is locked down.
Update by poster: We actually played last night on Foundry and I received a bit more information from the DM on this product and the mates. I explored this more this evening as well. Apologies, my previous statements were incorrect and based on our group's initial excitement for a change in VTT.
Foundry is a flat rate of $50.00. It is supported by a community of independent developers. Some have created great materials. However, in order to incorporate D&DBeyond, there is a monthly on this particular supports. Biowizard is 100% correct that the add-on features (called a module) to Foundry are only as good as the freelance developers choose to maintain and update their products. If the add-on features are not maintained in a timely manner or the developer decides not to support the product, it becomes obsolete and actually causes Foundry to have issues. Owners can easily uninstall them, but it doesn't necessarily mean a new or updated module exists to replace the one you've been depending on.
Furthermore, some of the developers do not allow full functionality for their add-on (again, called a module in Foundry) unless you become a monthly subscriber directly to that particular developer. By paying into a tiered subscription base, the users will unlock more features or benefits of the add-on. So far, both add-ons that allow the maximum benefit for integration into D&DBeyond required a monthly payment plan. From what I just saw, some of the full subscriptions will surpass the monthly subscription rate of both Roll20 and FGU. I guess this is more and more becoming a trend by the devs. If this is the case, at some point the user's costs will add up. The user would still need to pay the cost for the virtual books in D&DBeyond.
Part of my original satement:
(Foundry allows you to ONLY purchase the D&DBeyond books and the Foundry system doesn't require you to buy their own digital versions)
Just to be clear... Foundry is agnostic about this -- it neither allows nor disallows it. Officially, all Foundry supports is the SRD, the open-source resources in the 5e D&D system module. The importers for DDB are done by Foundry users, and are not officially supported by Fandom (the owners of DDB). It is not only possible but probable at some point that these importers will not function correctly, and already there have been a number of hiccups when changes to the DDB data structure or permissions have caused the importer to utterly break. So far the modders have fixed this quickly, but there is no guarantee this will continue.
I use Foundry and love it. And I use the importer to import the PCs for my campaign over to Foundry. But don't use the fact that you can import all your DDB stuff "easily" to Foundry as the key selling point, because it is not officially supported and there is no guarantee it will continue to work.
Use Foundry over others because of the robust modding community, or because of the fast and effective dev cycle they have, or the fact that their UI is so much better than everyone else's. Those things are long-lasting, if not permanent, features of the application. DDB beyond import is a mod run by someone who took it over from someone else, and is kludgey at best (due to DDB issues, NOT the modders, mind!), and is not guaranteed to continue to work through future iterations of the DDB website.
Just a word to the wise.
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.
Only the dm needs to purchase FG. The players can use the demo version.
The advantage of FG is that everything is locally hosted, the amount of automation is crazy, and there is an option for one time purchase.
The cons relative to roll20 and foundry are its application based rather than web, no dynamic lighting (yet), and the interface is vintage 1990s.
Additionally, they have major sales on the program and content whenever steam has a sale.
Doesn't the DM need to pay EVEN MORE to purchase FG so that their players can join in with the demo version?
The lack of lighting was the deal breaker for me with FG. (The "none yet" has been around for a long time, and still no lighting.)
Nope, the 130 covers the cost for the program and the players can all use the demo version.
I hear you about the lighting and get everybody has different priorities for a vtt. For me, local hosting was the deal breaker.
FG Unity has lighting. It has dynamic vision for characters that have darkvision or devilssight or true seeing. there is just so much that it can do. The automation of creating the treasure packets and adding pics.... there is just so much you can do.
I like that FGU is not dependent on the always on internet. Some days I just want to write things or add my maps or whatever and not have to be online to do it. There are pros and cons to all the VTT's. I prefer FGU and Foundry over all the others for different reasons.
Getting foundry solved all my DM needs. My group loves it. I would recommend Foundry without thinking.
Your neighboorhood neutral good divine soul gish
We've actually decided to switch back to FGU after we did a couple of few runs through Foundry. Foundry wasn't bad, but the pricing model has put him/us off. There are additional costs that no-one seems to discuss that are needed in order to make Foundry somewhat comparable to FGU/FG. After discussion, we moved back to FGU because it feels more finished and FGU's features also receive continuous support.
Regarding the importer. Just a side note that the importer is not necessary for basic (SRD-based) character maintenance provided they have access to do so by the DM, whether face to face local games, or via Foundry hosted in the cloud. This is my understanding of the capabilities as I look at the Foundry settings within the interface here on my home network.
Husband, Father, Veteran, Gamer, DM, Player, and Friend | Author of the "World of Eirador" | http://world-guild.com
"The secret we should never let the gamemasters know is that they don't need any rules." ~Gary Gygax
The Importer module for Foundry just copies content from D&D Beyond to Foundry. The pay-wall (monthly subscription) is needed for specific content (Monsters, Classes, Races and Feats). Everything else is free. And I am posting to point out that once you make a copy to Foundry, you don't need to continue to subscribe to the Patreon.
In other words, subscribe for 1 month, copy everything to Foundry and you're financially done. You'll only ever need to re-subscribe if something new comes out and you absolutely are too lazy to make it in Foundry yourself.
Foundry license: 50$
1 month patreon subscription to be able to copy content: $5?
Self host: free (You can pay monthly to host online)
That's it.
Technically if you want to "copy everything from DDB" even on a one-time basis, you're going to need to buy it here as well.
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.
This is why my number feature wish is a dndbeyond VTT integration. I can understand why dndbeyond may not have delved deeply toward vtt integration from the outset, but I'd think they'd be looking at the past year and trying not to trip over themselves to do it now. This is definitely a "build it and they will come" situation. Give people a reason to remain within your walled garden, and never need/want to look outside those walls.
I don't think D&D Beyond should move towards making a full fledged VTT anymore. They seem too busy just integrating new content from WoTC to do anything substantial.
I think they should finish the tools they started that will allow a DM playing at a physical table to have an easier time, ie:
THEN, make an (the) API publicly available to subscribers. That would allow D&D Beyond to be the source of content for any existing VTT, so a user can choose to keep D&D Beyond as the digital store for 5e content for any VTT with an API.
False, the DM buys an ultimate license and the players only need a free demo license.