D&D 5E Most User-Friendly VTT? (Dice Games In The Time of Covid)

[Nebulous]

At this point I'm down to Fantasy Grounds Unity and d20pro, I would just run a players instance via localhost and screen-share it on Google Meet. That does mean that I have to move all the tokens but I'm fine with that until I can to a better network situation. I'm looking for a tool I can use long term and am having trouble deciding between FGU and d20pro.

Because I had the money and time, I ended up purchasing Fantasy Grounds Unity and Roll20 Pro. I have tinkered with both quite a lot. One advantage is that two of my players already had extensive Roll20 experience and could help me do some basic stuff. Without their help I don't know if I could have overcome some of the hurdles. Since then I have pushed forward with the software and used it in ways they never did. I wish the maps were not based on the Roll20 server and dependent on their speed.

I have personally found Fantasy Grounds cumbersome and very difficult to understand. I've been a player in a FG CoC game and that worked out well, so I am going to doing that learning the system. In the meantime I am running official D&D modules in Roll20. I would love to run Pulp Cthulhu myself eventually in FGU though.

 

[Nebulous]

I considered buying some stuff (Dungeon Tiles Reincarnated for example) but I don't know how much I'm going to use this. Hopefully in a couple of months we'll be back to playing in person. I guess I can always relearn Campaign Cartographer and make maps in there.

There are countless maps online for free that artists have made available to the public. They don't have dynamic lighting embedded, but I am stunned by the beautiful artwork many of them feature.

 

[Nebulous]

My group had the exact opposite experience. We tried Fantasy Grounds and just could not get everyone to connect, then moved to Roll20 and it worked pretty well. The thing that really hooked us was that we use D&D Beyond and there is a plug in called Beyond 20, which makes the whole process of rolling dice super easy.

Also to note, we used Discord for audio, not the Roll20 integrated audio.

Yep, the Beyond20 app is a nice perk and works very smoothly.

 

[Oofta]

There are countless maps online for free that artists have made available to the public. They don't have dynamic lighting embedded, but I am stunned by the beautiful artwork many of them feature.

Yeah, problem I'm hitting is finding the right set of maps. Too many options!

 

[Nebulous]

Yeah, problem I'm hitting is finding the right set of maps. Too many options!

Yes, it takes a lot of personal time on the DM's back end just to find what you need. Your Google-fu must be strong!

Edit: I'm running modules, so most of my map needs are already taken care of. I do add a few ones, such as tavern in Curse of Strahd and a creepy forest map for a wolf attack.

 

[Retreater]

Throwing in my two coppers. Fantasy Grounds was too complex for me. I bought an Ultimate License, and despite struggling for a year to learn it, never grasped it. Not to mention half my players can't even use it due to system incompatibilities with their computers.
I didn't want to use Roll20 due to their pricing structure, but it ended up being the simpler option. I can run games with it seamlessly, all of my players can use it on their devices. Between those two, Roll20 gets my support (begrudgingly).

 

[DND_Reborn]

For our group we do a lot of theater of mind, so a simple whiteboard to sketch out a map is all we need. Add in group video chat and it would be ideal. I have been surprised I have not found anything that fits those simple criteria yet.

 

[Nebulous]

Throwing in my two coppers. Fantasy Grounds was too complex for me. I bought an Ultimate License, and despite struggling for a year to learn it, never grasped it. Not to mention half my players can't even use it due to system incompatibilities with their computers.
I didn't want to use Roll20 due to their pricing structure, but it ended up being the simpler option. I can run games with it seamlessly, all of my players can use it on their devices. Between those two, Roll20 gets my support (begrudgingly).

I hate to say it but I also find FG too complex. Something about it just doesn't click with me, and it is hard to pinpoint.

 

[LordEntrails]

And the map already has all the dynamic lighting type stuff worked out? The building example is a feature I really want because fairly blank maps (a grassy field, or cobblestone streets with undefined buildings, etc) with assents that can be set into place and just work, would make actually constructing environments very user friendly while still allowing decent depth.

If that’s an unreasonable standard, it may just be that I’m best off not using a vtt as a DM.

FGC does not have dynamic LOS, but FGU does. There are starting to be some mapping assets taht have LOS build into them that you can use for map creation via tiles and brushes. But only a few of them are setup this way so far. More will come.

I hate to say it but I also find FG too complex. Something about it just doesn't click with me, and it is hard to pinpoint.

Tried a free class at www.fantasygroundscollege.net?

 

[Nebulous]

FGC does not have dynamic LOS, but FGU does. There are starting to be some mapping assets taht have LOS build into them that you can use for map creation via tiles and brushes. But only a few of them are setup this way so far. More will come.

Tried a free class at www.fantasygroundscollege.net?

I did! It helped some. What a great resource. I think when FGU gets all the dynamic lighting finalized it will be very impressive.