D&D 5E Which Virtual Table Top are you using right now and what do you like best about it?

MostlyHarmless42 said:

I use MapTools because it's free, I've been using it on and off for nearly a decade (obligatorily shakes cane and tells the younger VTT kids to get off his lawn), I'm too cheap to spending any money on a program, and I'm only using really heavily using digital maps because I've no other choice due to the plague.

A less snarky, yet equally cynical explanation: I prefer that MapTools is basically the unspoken hero of VTTs. So long as you know at least the basicas of how to script/code it's basically the best kit out there for modding the game as you want, especially if you don't want to deal with corporate licensing frustrations / asinine subscriptions and pricing schemes, especially if all you want is a dang map with tokens on it.

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I'm in the same boat (and I own paid products I've got a foundry and FG ultimate licences) but in the end I use the free Maptools more often than the other two.
Have a folder with maps, one with object, one with token? Nice add them to maptools library drag what you need, the map is done...it takes a little more time to add vbl though...but if you use simple gm revealed FoW then your map is done.

Also it can import maps made in dungeondraft with vbl already applied.

MostlyHarmless42 said:

A less snarky, yet equally cynical explanation: I prefer that MapTools is basically the unspoken hero of VTTs. So long as you know at least the basicas of how to script/code it's basically the best kit out there for modding the game as you want, especially if you don't want to deal with corporate licensing frustrations / asinine subscriptions and pricing schemes, especially if all you want is a dang map with tokens on it.

Click to expand...

I used MapTool for a game I ran almost 15 years ago... Does it still have its own custom scripting language? I've found Foundry easier to add macros / modules to than I remember MapTool being since Foundry is just regular JS, but that was quite a while back in software time, so I don't know how much MapTool has changed.

M.Weasel said:

I used MapTool for a game I ran almost 15 years ago... Does it still have its own custom scripting language? I've found Foundry easier to add macros / modules to than I remember MapTool being since Foundry is just regular JS, but that was quite a while back in software time, so I don't know how much MapTool has changed.

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Wow 15 years it was still the old pre 1.3 version... Now the 1.8.0 is almost out and there was so many things added. For windows user you don't even need java as it's embedding it's own package for easier install (at the cost of a larger install size ~250Mb)

As for macro programming there's a wiki page here and a forum here where you can find user-made frameworks for different RPG (you don't need to be registered to download them I think)

Edit: but I'm not really into macro/frameworks, in fact I use maptools for the simple fact that I can add any folder I have pictures in to the program library then simple drag and drop to the map (for example I added my whole CC3+ symbol folder and can add them to any map I draw, there's also a bunch of free compilations like the CSUAC) using one of the 4 layers in the map (background, hidden to players, objects, tokens). You can then play the good old way via discord or any other visio system for a fast session.

With a bit more time you can build more elaborate maps with vbl around walls and doors for player to auto-reveal, below is an example of my old Keep on the shadowfell campaign played with my family some time ago

M.Weasel said:

I used MapTool for a game I ran almost 15 years ago... Does it still have its own custom scripting language? I've found Foundry easier to add macros / modules to than I remember MapTool being since Foundry is just regular JS, but that was quite a while back in software time, so I don't know how much MapTool has changed.

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As Zio said, a lot has changed with it, though the core of the program is still the same as it's always been. I do recommend anyone who wishes to try it to seok out the d&d 5e framework someone made for it, as well as looking up how to make a quick damage/healing macro and it's pretty much good to go. There is a well done YouTube tutorial series out for learning how to use it as well.

I'll be the first to admit for actual online network play with others controlling their own tokens and maps it's a bit of a nightmare to get working, but for someone who just wants the digital equivalent to rolling out a mat with minis it is honestly my favorite of them all. We play with myself streaming a player instance of the program over discord while we all connect to a voice channel. It works well enough that I've no need to use anything else at least.

I am actually very new to online gaming. I watch a lot of videos and found FG the cheapest for the DM. It also supports home brew games quite well, allowing me to import maps form various web sites or form Campaign Cartographer. It has extensive fan support for added or modified systems and addition.

I'm currently using FG (used to be on Roll20). I prefer FG just because of a few things:

1. I've bought into the ecosystem. I own LOTS of FG modules, games, etc.
2. I've been using it for many years so I don't have to 'think' when I play in it. FG just sorta fades into the background. Like when I play Civ IV.
3. The community is great.

MostlyHarmless42 said:

I use MapTools because it's free, I've been using it on and off for nearly a decade (obligatorily shakes cane and tells the younger VTT kids to get off his lawn), I'm too cheap to spending any money on a program, and I'm only using really heavily using digital maps because I've no other choice due to the plague.

A less snarky, yet equally cynical explanation: I prefer that MapTools is basically the unspoken hero of VTTs. So long as you know at least the basicas of how to script/code it's basically the best kit out there for modding the game as you want, especially if you don't want to deal with corporate licensing frustrations / asinine subscriptions and pricing schemes, especially if all you want is a dang map with tokens on it.

Click to expand...

MapTool was the first program I used when I had to start running games online. This was more because of work travel and I started before COVID, so I used it for quite some tie.

But I only used it for loading maps, putting on tokens, and manual fog of war. I didn't even bother trying to host it given low bandwidth, I just used two screens and loaded two instances of Map Tool, a GMs instance and player's instance, and shared the players instance via Google Meet.

What I loved, and most miss, is how quickly I could filter through hundreds of maps and and thousands of tokens and throw something up on the fly with fog of war and all the options for manually erasing the fog as the players explored. I never bothered with placing walls and using line of sight or lighting with Map Tool.

But I got tired of lugging around a second, personal laptop when working overseas, so I need to switch to something that could be fully hosted and managed via the Web without having to install anything locally. If it wasn't the need to have a fully online system, I likely would have moved to Fantasy Ground Classic. FGC isn't perfect but I liked the interface and being ablve to have all the official content all properly setup, plus all the automations and quality-of-life features it offers the DM, would have been nice. Fantasy Ground Unity was unusable for me. It was unreliable, sluggish, hung all the time, and was overall a frustrating waste of several months worth of $10/month subscription. FGC, however, always ran well for me as a DM.

I'm currently using Astral Tabletop (after dropping Tabletop Simulator). I like that it's dead simple and integrates with D&D Beyond. Oh, and it's free (you can go premium for more features, but they're really not necessary).

I'm going to switch to Foundry VTT, though. While Foundry is not as simple as Astral, it has much more robust features and still integrates great with D&D Beyond. The only issue with Foundry is that it costs $50 for the DM (players don't have to pay a thing), but there are no recurring costs. This is offset by the fact that if you have multiple DMs in your group, you can share the licence number with them (per the licence agreement) as long as you're not running it simultaneously (so one DM can run on Friday and another on Saturday). If you spread the cost across your group, it shouldn't be a barrier for entry, though. But, I'd suggest watching the tutorials on YouTube to see if it's something up your alley before throwing cash at it. What works for me may not work for others. ¯\(ツ)/¯

Anyone try battlemap.io yet? Looks very interesting.....