The group I've been DMing has been playing online for a while now, but we've been mostly doing it theatre of the mind. I want to start using maps for some fights. We tried Roll20, which did not work well.
The group wants to keep on using the DndBeyond character sheets and doesn't want to transfer them to another system. Frankly, I agree. It's much easier for all of us to keep the character sheets here. I would also prefer that the DM could spend the money as opposed to everyone having to spend large amounts. Is there a specific online tabletop that could work this way? What is your experience with them?
Foundry VTT is a one-time fee of I think $50. There are 3rd part modules in Foundry and a 3rd party extension for Chrome that will allow you to (1) import the characters into Foundry, and (2) have the players make die rolls from DDB, and they will show up (and even roll again using Dice So Nice animations) in Foundry. (There is no re-rolling -- whatever roll DDB comes up with, Foundry just animates and displays for you.)
Only one of my players does this -- the others prefer to use the in-Foundry characters sheets directly in the VTT. But you can, if you want. No extra charge.
As a DM, you can import all the monsters and other content you have into Foundry, again using a chrome extension, made by the same guy who did the other modules. I believe there may be a Patreon charge involved in doing this. I haven't tried it... I just manually copy any of the monsters that are not already in the SRD in Foundry over when I need them. It's not that much work.
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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.
Or you can use the same Chrome extension to play the monsters straight from Beyond, actually, exactly as players play their characters, no need to transfer.
That being said, all these tricks work with Roll20 as well as with Foundry. It's just that Foundry looks much better overall, but both VTTs (and probably others, I've not tested them) allow playing straight from DDB.
And honestly, the modules to import from DDB to Foundry are very touchy and not that well supported. It's not really their fault, DDB keeps changing things, but for example the character export does not work anymore since DDB removed the json option...
It still works, the program was just taken over by another guy.
Thanks for the responses! I’m not too concerned about modules importing in, but rolling into it would be really nice. (We have one player who can get a little unusually lucky with the dice sometimes, so I like being able to see the rolls). I’ll look into Foundry then. How long do you think it would take to be familiar enough with the controls to DM a good game?
Thanks, everyone! I've done some more research, and I think I'm going with Foundry. It fits the bill, and I'll able to use it for DMing some other campaigns well. I also got to play a quick game using it, and I liked it. We'll see how it goes!
Here are the mods I use that I think are either very helpful or else my players like
Dice so Nice - dice animations, with customization such as die materials (metal, wood, etc) and color.
Dice Tray - puts a visual dice tray above the chat so you don't have to type /roll, you can just click on things
Dice Tooltip 5e - lets you see what will be rolled (e.g., 1d20 + 3) when you hover over items on character sheets.
GM Notes - lets you put notes only the GM can see on things, including PC character sheets
Illandril's 5e token tooltips - super helpful to quickly see the AC, HP, etc. of characters by hovering over.
Tidy5e Sheet - my group's consensus of the best PC sheet for Foundry - we make sure to move the traits to the right side in options ("Move traits below resources" checked). Each player must do it separately.
Turn Marker
VTTA D&D Beyond Integration, Iconizer, and Tokenizer
I use others but those will get you started.
I highly recommend that you do NOT add all these at once. Add them one or two at a time, and see how they change Foundry's behavior. Some you may like some you may not, but if you implement them all at once you will not be sure which one is doing the behavior you like/hate.
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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 don't think anything else actually integrates although there is no reason why you actually need integration between Character tool and Map tool. You could run everything in D&D Beyond and just use a map for Minis (in which case Owlbear Rodeo is awesome).
I don't think anything else actually integrates although there is no reason why you actually need integration between Character tool and Map tool. You could run everything in D&D Beyond and just use a map for Minis (in which case Owlbear Rodeo is awesome).
Some of the above are more than mere "map tools". Those provide additional functionality, such as dice rolling and spell areas/effects, so having the sheet interact directly with the VTT provides a better overall experience.
I am kinda curious though, what issues did you have with Roll20? I hear a lot of complaints about it, but I find it pretty simple to use even as a DM.
Mostly the issues weren't on my side, but my players. Things wouldn't load right, it was excessively slow. I'm also just a little picky, and personally I don't enjoy the interface.
I will just add in here I have switched from Foundry to AboveVTT for our DnD campaign, I still use Foundry for Cyberpunk and Vampire but Above VTT is just far easier to use and integrates seamlessly with DnD Beyond. It doesn't have the fully dynamic lighting etc that foundry has but for me as long as it has the ability to upload a map, add a grid, tokens that can be moved around and fog of war then it does what I need
100% agree works well and does all that I need. AboveVTT isn’t perfect but they are constantly working on it and improving. So it is only going to get better.
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The group I've been DMing has been playing online for a while now, but we've been mostly doing it theatre of the mind. I want to start using maps for some fights. We tried Roll20, which did not work well.
The group wants to keep on using the DndBeyond character sheets and doesn't want to transfer them to another system. Frankly, I agree. It's much easier for all of us to keep the character sheets here. I would also prefer that the DM could spend the money as opposed to everyone having to spend large amounts. Is there a specific online tabletop that could work this way? What is your experience with them?
Foundry VTT is a one-time fee of I think $50. There are 3rd part modules in Foundry and a 3rd party extension for Chrome that will allow you to (1) import the characters into Foundry, and (2) have the players make die rolls from DDB, and they will show up (and even roll again using Dice So Nice animations) in Foundry. (There is no re-rolling -- whatever roll DDB comes up with, Foundry just animates and displays for you.)
Only one of my players does this -- the others prefer to use the in-Foundry characters sheets directly in the VTT. But you can, if you want. No extra charge.
As a DM, you can import all the monsters and other content you have into Foundry, again using a chrome extension, made by the same guy who did the other modules. I believe there may be a Patreon charge involved in doing this. I haven't tried it... I just manually copy any of the monsters that are not already in the SRD in Foundry over when I need them. It's not that much work.
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.
It still works, the program was just taken over by another guy.
Thanks for the responses! I’m not too concerned about modules importing in, but rolling into it would be really nice. (We have one player who can get a little unusually lucky with the dice sometimes, so I like being able to see the rolls). I’ll look into Foundry then. How long do you think it would take to be familiar enough with the controls to DM a good game?
Try Shmeppy.com. It is 100% free and simple, but does not have a roller.
Enjoy my magic items, spells, monsters, my race, and a few feats. And GIVE ME FEEDBACK... or else.
Like what I say?
⬐ Just press this little guy right here.
Thanks, everyone! I've done some more research, and I think I'm going with Foundry. It fits the bill, and I'll able to use it for DMing some other campaigns well. I also got to play a quick game using it, and I liked it. We'll see how it goes!
Definitely get the Dice so Nice mod for it. My players love it.
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.
Ooh, I'll look into that! I just bought it and I'm experimenting with it now. If there are any other mods anyone likes I'd be happy to know.
Here are the mods I use that I think are either very helpful or else my players like
I use others but those will get you started.
I highly recommend that you do NOT add all these at once. Add them one or two at a time, and see how they change Foundry's behavior. Some you may like some you may not, but if you implement them all at once you will not be sure which one is doing the behavior you like/hate.
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.
But make sure that you can run it locally on your PC and that your other players can connect to your PC.
Some ISPs don't allow incoming connections that are required by Foundry.
If your ISP isn't playing nice, then you can host it elsewhere but it will incur a monthly cost.
If you want to use a VTT with D&D Beyond I think the only 7 options are:
1) Foundry VTT (https://foundryvtt.com/)
- with Beyond20 (https://beyond20.here-for-more.info/)
- and D&D Beyond Importer (https://github.com/MrPrimate/ddb-importer)
2) Roll20 (https://roll20.net/)
- with Beyond20 (https://beyond20.here-for-more.info/)
- and Beyond Importer (https://github.com/kjbro/Roll20APIScripts/tree/master/BeyondImporter_5eOGL)
3) AboveVTT (https://www.patreon.com/AboveVTT)
4) Astral VTT (https://www.astraltabletop.com/)
- with Beyond20 (https://beyond20.here-for-more.info/)
5) Digital D20 (http://board.digitald20.com/)
- with beyond digital d20 (https://bit.ly/3ojQhWB)
6) Fantasy Grounds (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/home/home.php)
- with DND Beyond to Fantasy Grounds Character Converter (https://tenthlevelgames.com/conversiontool/)
also hosted at: http://www.beyond2fgconvert.com/
7) Discord
- with Avrae (https://avrae.io/)
I don't think anything else actually integrates although there is no reason why you actually need integration between Character tool and Map tool. You could run everything in D&D Beyond and just use a map for Minis (in which case Owlbear Rodeo is awesome).
Some of the above are more than mere "map tools". Those provide additional functionality, such as dice rolling and spell areas/effects, so having the sheet interact directly with the VTT provides a better overall experience.
I am kinda curious though, what issues did you have with Roll20? I hear a lot of complaints about it, but I find it pretty simple to use even as a DM.
1 shot dungeon master
Huh, surprised to see this thread active again. I ended up with Foundry- it works well for me. I can integrate characters, and monsters (if I pay).
Mostly the issues weren't on my side, but my players. Things wouldn't load right, it was excessively slow. I'm also just a little picky, and personally I don't enjoy the interface.
I will just add in here I have switched from Foundry to AboveVTT for our DnD campaign, I still use Foundry for Cyberpunk and Vampire but Above VTT is just far easier to use and integrates seamlessly with DnD Beyond. It doesn't have the fully dynamic lighting etc that foundry has but for me as long as it has the ability to upload a map, add a grid, tokens that can be moved around and fog of war then it does what I need
100% agree works well and does all that I need. AboveVTT isn’t perfect but they are constantly working on it and improving. So it is only going to get better.