I'm thinking about trying to make a digital map board that I can use as a playing area. I currently have Wonderdraft and Dungeondraft which should help in the creation of the maps I want for my campaign, but I'm not sure about how to use them at the table.
Do I need a full Virtual Tabletop setup if we aren't going to be playing online?
Which tools should I be looking at? I don't need something that will crunch numbers for me since we will be rolling on the table. But I do want something that will allow me to control what the players see, as well as handling line of sight as well as the ability to reveal secrets and traps. So, do I need something like Roll20 or Astral for this? I've been looking at MapTool, and it seems like there is a bit of a learning curve, but it seems to do all the stuff I want without requiring me to pay for software or storage.
I guess there are some free ones like Epic Table and maybe some others I haven't even tried yet. Also, forgot to mention that I have Talespire as well, which might be fun, but I don't know how to do fog of war in the game, and it is limited to just the assets you purchase unlike WD and DD where it's fairly easy to add assets.
I can only speak about foundry because that is what I use for online play; I haven't tried any other systems. I've been using it for almost a year.
Foundry is $50, so almost the cost of a new AAA video game. For my circle, it was a bargain because only the DM needs to have a copy, players are web based. It gets regular updates.
You can add any images and sound from a variety of file types, so no need to buy content for maps or tokens. It comes with an SRD package.
It handles line of sight, fog of war, lighting, doors, and spell templates very well. It has some nice wall functions for doors (locked and secret), windows, one way and invisible walls. Everything is highly configurable. I am not sure about trap reveals, but there is likely some functionality or mod for that. You could also use animated spell templates or hidden tokens.
It has a ton of mods that add functionality, many are free, and some are Patreon. I personally chose to subscribe to JB2A's animation pack and pair it with Otigon's automated animations so that my players get a little attack animation and sound effect when they deal damage. It also has a great mod by MrPrimate that updates PCs directly from DDB. Between the mods and the native settings, I'm sure you could find the exact level of automation you want. Personally, I find the digital die rolling and number crunching really speeds up the game.
There is a learning curve, but Encounter Library has posted an excellent YouTube series to walk you through it, here.
My only complaint about it is that the targeting system is a little clunky for the DM (not so bad for the players) because it is easy to select multiple targets/tokens and hard to remember to deselect everything in the heat of battle. This is only a minor annoyance because you can manually override any automated result.
The client works on both Windows and OS. I could imagine an in person game in which the DM runs the show on one computer and puts a client window on a big screen with another. I haven't tried running both the DM and client windows on the same machine at the same time, but it probably works. Players could even use tablets or something for more interaction.
I'm not sure if it is the absolute best choice for what you want, but the first time I used it online I remember thinking, "Wow, this would be awesome to put on the living room TV for an in person game."
If you want to have line of sight and dynamic lighting, you'll need a program that can do that, which is most easily a VTT, though you could do it with other software.
Ultimately, I am looking to streamline the experience as much as possible. Since we won't be gaming online I need to have access to more than one instance of the map, one for me and one for the players. I'm not super interested in the ability to use animated maps, but I know they are out there and usable on Astral and probably some of the other VTT's as well.
I'm still working on lore and maps, I'm just trying to whittle down to the bare minimum number of tools I need to switch between during an encounter to make the job not-overly-complex for me or for the players, while still not automating everything to where it is basically a videogame either....
One of the things I like about MapTool is that I don't have to have my maps stored online, I can just drop them directly from my own storage.
I use Roll20 and Astral personally, but am a player in a game that uses Foundry.
I used Roll20 for an in person game once, but it wasn't absolutely necessary. If it's going to be a regular thing, you might instead want to buy an inexpensive monitor as a second screen. That way, you can split screen the map you want to show your players to that second screen, while keeping your version of the map you want hidden on your laptop or original screen. You wouldn't even need a VTT for this option, simply a program with layers for tokens like Photoshop (expensive) or GIMP (free) or SAI (inexpensive) or the like. Or you could have the VTT screen open on their side and a windows picture viewer one of yours on the other if you don't need it to be interactive. This would still allow you to do everything it sounds like you're looking to do.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
I'm thinking about trying to make a digital map board that I can use as a playing area. I currently have Wonderdraft and Dungeondraft which should help in the creation of the maps I want for my campaign, but I'm not sure about how to use them at the table.
Do I need a full Virtual Tabletop setup if we aren't going to be playing online?
Which tools should I be looking at? I don't need something that will crunch numbers for me since we will be rolling on the table. But I do want something that will allow me to control what the players see, as well as handling line of sight as well as the ability to reveal secrets and traps. So, do I need something like Roll20 or Astral for this? I've been looking at MapTool, and it seems like there is a bit of a learning curve, but it seems to do all the stuff I want without requiring me to pay for software or storage.
What do you guys think?
And thanks!
RPTools MapTool
Astral
Foundry VTT
I guess there are some free ones like Epic Table and maybe some others I haven't even tried yet. Also, forgot to mention that I have Talespire as well, which might be fun, but I don't know how to do fog of war in the game, and it is limited to just the assets you purchase unlike WD and DD where it's fairly easy to add assets.
I can only speak about foundry because that is what I use for online play; I haven't tried any other systems. I've been using it for almost a year.
Foundry is $50, so almost the cost of a new AAA video game. For my circle, it was a bargain because only the DM needs to have a copy, players are web based. It gets regular updates.
You can add any images and sound from a variety of file types, so no need to buy content for maps or tokens. It comes with an SRD package.
It handles line of sight, fog of war, lighting, doors, and spell templates very well. It has some nice wall functions for doors (locked and secret), windows, one way and invisible walls. Everything is highly configurable. I am not sure about trap reveals, but there is likely some functionality or mod for that. You could also use animated spell templates or hidden tokens.
It has a ton of mods that add functionality, many are free, and some are Patreon. I personally chose to subscribe to JB2A's animation pack and pair it with Otigon's automated animations so that my players get a little attack animation and sound effect when they deal damage. It also has a great mod by MrPrimate that updates PCs directly from DDB. Between the mods and the native settings, I'm sure you could find the exact level of automation you want. Personally, I find the digital die rolling and number crunching really speeds up the game.
There is a learning curve, but Encounter Library has posted an excellent YouTube series to walk you through it, here.
My only complaint about it is that the targeting system is a little clunky for the DM (not so bad for the players) because it is easy to select multiple targets/tokens and hard to remember to deselect everything in the heat of battle. This is only a minor annoyance because you can manually override any automated result.
The client works on both Windows and OS. I could imagine an in person game in which the DM runs the show on one computer and puts a client window on a big screen with another. I haven't tried running both the DM and client windows on the same machine at the same time, but it probably works. Players could even use tablets or something for more interaction.
I'm not sure if it is the absolute best choice for what you want, but the first time I used it online I remember thinking, "Wow, this would be awesome to put on the living room TV for an in person game."
Hope that helps.
If you want to have line of sight and dynamic lighting, you'll need a program that can do that, which is most easily a VTT, though you could do it with other software.
Above VTT will give you exactly what you need for free. It is a chrome plugin
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/abovevtt/ipcjcbhpofedihcloggaichibomadlei?hl=en
I use it remotely currently and once we go back to in person sessions I will be putting a tv on its back and using the map board.
I make maps on Inkarnate and then load then to above VTT
Good info guys, thanks!
Ultimately, I am looking to streamline the experience as much as possible. Since we won't be gaming online I need to have access to more than one instance of the map, one for me and one for the players. I'm not super interested in the ability to use animated maps, but I know they are out there and usable on Astral and probably some of the other VTT's as well.
I'm still working on lore and maps, I'm just trying to whittle down to the bare minimum number of tools I need to switch between during an encounter to make the job not-overly-complex for me or for the players, while still not automating everything to where it is basically a videogame either....
One of the things I like about MapTool is that I don't have to have my maps stored online, I can just drop them directly from my own storage.
I use Roll20 and Astral personally, but am a player in a game that uses Foundry.
I used Roll20 for an in person game once, but it wasn't absolutely necessary. If it's going to be a regular thing, you might instead want to buy an inexpensive monitor as a second screen. That way, you can split screen the map you want to show your players to that second screen, while keeping your version of the map you want hidden on your laptop or original screen. You wouldn't even need a VTT for this option, simply a program with layers for tokens like Photoshop (expensive) or GIMP (free) or SAI (inexpensive) or the like. Or you could have the VTT screen open on their side and a windows picture viewer one of yours on the other if you don't need it to be interactive. This would still allow you to do everything it sounds like you're looking to do.