Best Online Tools (like maptools) for Gaming?

[Bodhiwolff]

Years ago, when I first moved to the States, I kept up with my weekly gaming group by using Microsoft Whiteboard and text-chatting with my friends. It worked (barely), and we managed to have a few good sessions.

Years later we revisited RPGs online with voice-comms and dedicated software (Web-RPG, way back when it used to be free) and were blown away at the functionality. We had character sheets that were completely customized with dice-rollers, such that all of the book-keeping and dice-rolling were done for you. In fact, when friends came to visit, we found it tough to play regular PnP games again, because suddenly we had to do actual book-keeping and dice-rolling again!

Fast-forward to this afternoon ...

I just rant a 4E game, and my friends and I are seriously considering starting a campaign. However, I can't help but feel that having an online component might help some of us with tight schedules coordinate a little better. Add in skype or Ventrillo, and we'll be off to the races.

So I'm asking ... what is now the current, best, most amazing state-of-the-art online gaming suite out there?

I took a quick look at "maptools", and while the map function of it seems adequate, the RPG tools weren't impressive (and, dumb as I am, I couldn't even find documentation to walk me through setting up a macro to do a dice-roller in the text-box). So while "Maptools" seems interesting, it isn't exactly a great leap forward from what we were using years and years ago, and in fact is lacking many of the additional functions which the older software had (online character sheets, a system to do "power cards" to tap, etc.)

Is there anything more impressive than Maptools out there?

Or, barring that, is there anything which makes Maptools more functional than the bare-bones documentation I'm finding?

Any pointers for somebody who *really* wants to find the fight online suite of tools?

 

[renatoram]

Check the forums on maptool's website: there's tons of stuff there, from macros to tips not documented.

Also, be sure to use the latest beta of the 1.3 branch, because it has much more stuff goin on.

 

[Harr]

Screencast video tutorials of all the rptools:

http://www.rptoolstutorials.net/

and of Maptool specifically:

http://www.rptoolstutorials.net/maptool.htm

There's one quickstart video, around 12 'basic' tutorials and I think 8 advanced tutorials with more to come. Get through those and you'll be using Maptools like a champ.

And no, I'm not aware of any program out there that can touch Maptools in terms of advancement in features. There are prettier ones, but none that can do even half the stuff it does.