Unpopular opinions go here

[CleverNickName]

I've played a handful of long-term campaigns on different VTT platforms. (My gaming groups moved to virtual format during the pandemic, and we've been there ever since.) So I've got plenty of opinions about them, but they're not exactly "unpopular." They seem to line up with most of the buzz on Reddit and elsewhere on the 'net. Maybe they're unpopular for a handful of people? But anyway...in my experience:

For most generic RPGs and OSR games:
Owlbear Rodeo > Foundry = Roll20 > FantasyGrounds

For 5th Edition D&D specifically:
Roll20 > Foundry > Owlbear Rodeo > FantasyGrounds

For older editions of D&D (especially TSR-era):
Foundry > Owlbear Rodeo > Roll20 > FantasyGrounds

For Call of Cthulhu specifically:
Roll20 > Owlbear Rodeo > FantasyGrounds > Foundry

 

[Old Fezziwig]

Totally disagree! I was out hunting in the woods a few weeks back and shot an Oxford comma. Mounted that sucker over the mantle.

It's against the law to shoot endangered species, Max.

 

[Pedantic]

This one continues to baffle me in game design, but is clearly unpopular given the prevalence of things like Commander: symmetrical multiplayer free-for-all combat games are just bad. They devolve into unpleasant, predictable play loops, don't produce interesting board states, and mostly lead to enmity between the players. People are so enamored of the idea of playing together with all their friends that they're routinely willing to forget the actual misery of that act of play.

 

[Reynard]

I've played a handful of long-term campaigns on different VTT platforms. (My gaming groups moved to virtual format during the pandemic, and we've been there ever since.) So I've got plenty of opinions about them, but they're not exactly "unpopular." They seem to line up with most of the buzz on Reddit and elsewhere on the 'net. Maybe they're unpopular for a handful of people? But anyway...in my experience:

For most generic RPGs and OSR games:
Owlbear Rodeo > Foundry = Roll20 > FantasyGrounds

For 5th Edition D&D specifically:
Roll20 > Foundry > Owlbear Rodeo > FantasyGrounds

For older editions of D&D (especially TSR-era):
Foundry > Owlbear Rodeo > Roll20 > FantasyGrounds

For Call of Cthulhu specifically:
Roll20 > Owlbear Rodeo > FantasyGrounds > Foundry

I think most people rate FG low primarily because it isn't browser based. It is far superior to Roll20.

 

[billd91]

I think most people rate FG low primarily because it isn't browser based. It is far superior to Roll20.

Superior... at what? It certainly isn't superior at only requiring the casual players to have a browser.

Superiority is always contextual. One reason I prefer Roll20 because I don't need my players to install a client app, which makes it more convenient, particularly when I was running for a virtual con during the lockdown.

 

[CleverNickName]

I think most people rate FG low primarily because it isn't browser based. It is far superior to Roll20.

I ranked it so low because of compatibility issues. Everyone had to purchase their own copy (which took some persuasion, and a couple of gift purchases, but we managed) and then install it on their computers--and not everyone could. One person was using a Chromebook, another was using a Macbook, etc., and we had a really hard time with emulators and configuration settings.

But to be fair, that was back in 2020. Surely they've improved since then.

 

[aramis erak]

I write and edit for a living and I kind of agree with both of you.

It mostly depends on context. If we're talking about the general internet, no, it doesn't really matter. If we're talking about context where effective communication matters, like say in professional writing of any kind, then it absolutely does really matter.

Things like the Oxford comma are style choices, not rules of grammar. I agree that the Oxford comma adds clarity, but it generally doesn't hinder clarity if absent. The few examples floating around are designed to push one side over the other, they're not the kind of thing you see in the wild.

In the last 24 hours, I've made four posts involving lists delimited by commas; the Oxford comma was needed for clarity in three of them. The fourth didn't need it because it was a list of titles, and I could have relied on the italic underlined text to delimit the final two, both of which included ampersands, but it was still more clear to include that final comma.

Fundamentally, programming always uses the oxford comma in C, C+, C++, C#, Javascript, Java, Python, QBasic, QB64... and others, but they don't come to mind as readily. Always put a delimiter between members of the array. For most of those, it's usually in function definitions and calls. Maximum clarity is needed for programming languages.

 

[Reynard]

Superior... at what? It certainly isn't superior at only requiring the casual players to have a browser.

Superiority is always contextual. One reason I prefer Roll20 because I don't need my players to install a client app, which makes it more convenient, particularly when I was running for a virtual con during the lockdown.

I ranked it so low because of compatibility issues. Everyone had to purchase their own copy (which took some persuasion, and a couple of gift purchases, but we managed) and then install it on their computers--and not everyone could. One person was using a Chromebook, another was using a Macbook, etc., and we had a really hard time with emulators and configuration settings.

But to be fair, that was back in 2020. Surely they've improved since then.

Right. neither of you are actually evaluating it as a VTT. Which is fair; people have to be able to get it to work. And FG is certainly expensive. But it is also robust and versatile and tons of coding from fans really fills out a lot of its base capabilities. And if we are going to rate these thinsg on their accessibility, Foundry is the least accessible one I have ever attempted. Roll20 might be hot garbage, but at least you can get a game up and running in 10 minutes of encountering it.

 

[Gradine]

In-and-Out Burger (and its secret menu) is vastly overrated.

The secret menu? Yeah, totally. The bog-standard burger & fries? Sublime

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

The worst thing coming out of the indie game movement is the proliferation of badwrongfun-ism and loaded terms aimed at prior or mainstream RPGs.

Every scene does that. The White Wolf groups on usenet were full of it. The indie scene isn't any worse than any other group of gatekeepers -- it's gatekeepers in general that are the problem.