As we get older (and, let's face it, we're all getting older) our lives get more complicated, we move away from the gaming groups we grew up with, and it becomes more and more difficult to play -- especially play with the people we would most like to play with.
The natural solution for that is some sort of virtual table top (VTT). Wizards promised one for years, contracted with a development firm to build one, and recently pulled the plug. But that VTT solution is still out there, surrounded by a host of others, both simpler and more robust.
No Lack Of Options
So, lets take a look at an incomplete list of some of the major options that are out there.
View attachment 56772
Choosing Your Virtual Table
In the end, with so many options out there, choosing your virtual table top is going to be a matter of flavor, individual taste, and the way you and your group like to play. The important considerations depend on some key factors
1. Preparation vs. Improvisation
There's a lot to be said for a solution that has a lot of tools. In Maptools, for example, there are frameworks that build in the mechanics to handle all kinds of game systems -- elaborate character sheet macros that will allow you to build 4th edition powers so you can select a power and roll your attack and damage with a single click -- and even apply that damage to the target.
All of that's great, but it takes a lot of work. It's going to take a fair amount of time to learn to use the tools, but then every monster, NPC, PC, trap, obstacle -- everything you hope the PCs will interact with in the game becomes a piece of content that must be prepared.
The impact of this can be pretty dramatic, even if you don't mean for it to be. If the DM has invested a great deal of time preparing the individual challenges the PCs will face, those challenges become the path the PCs must take -- it's very difficult to ad lib and go off script if the PCs mess with your expectations. It's difficult, for example, to reskin a creature on the fly -- so many small details would have to be edited to change the presentation to the PCs.
There's also a learning curve for players -- they need to learn to use the tools, so early games will be slow. Also, once you're sitting at a computer interface full of buttons and options as a player, it can be difficult to consider options for which you don't have obvious buttons and choices.
2. Integrated mechanics vs. mechanics-free
This is really another point of preparation. Calling for a skill check, for example, can mean a simple matter of a player selecting a skill in a dropdown and clicking a button.
Some of the more free-form VTT solutions out there don't bother with mechanics, though. And the only reason a player couldn't roll dice manually and report the results through the chat is trust.
Actually -- there's a second advantage. Integrated mechanics can make task resolution -- from attacks to skill checks to anything else -- much faster in game play. There aren't a lot of things that VTTs do better than playing face-to-face, but this sort of speed is one of them. An attack macro, for example, can be set up to roll a half-dozen attack rolls and matching damage rolls at once, which can be quickly applied to targets in the area -- making those big fireballs much faster to adjudicate. No more watching your players count out their totals on their fingers and toes -- let the computer do the math.
3. Text chat vs. Voice Chat vs. Video
Most of the VTT options only offer text chat for communicating with other players. Text chat is vital -- it's the right place to communicate a bunch of different information, but very often having a voice or even video chat option can go a long way towards making the virtual table top feel more like the real table top.
Google plus-based VTTs have advantages here -- which may make up for the way they tend to lack the compexity of more robust solutions like Maptools and Fantasy Grounds.
Skype is one of the obvious choices for adding voice chat to a VTT session, but for a lot of reasons it's not the best tool in the drawer. Google hangouts can be used on top of any of the other VTT options to add audio and video chat with a free tool. Or it's possible to get an audiochat client like Ventrillo or Teamspeak and use that for voice chat. I like the Teamspeak-style option because it provides a voice chat space that's always on -- players can join it early, rejoin without trouble if they get cut off, and because the chat is actually being hosted on a teamspeak server somewhere else, it tends to interfere very little with the data flow necessary for your VTT game. BUT the teamspeak option requires dedicated software, some moderately complex setup, and you might have to pay a few bucks to host a server somewhere.
The Bottom Line
In the end, no one can tell you what the best VTT solution is for your game. Games that rely a lot of minis and battle maps and structured interaction may play better in the more complex, robust systems like Maptools and Fantasy Grounds. Theater-of-the-Mind games might do just fine in a simple google hangout. The more you want to make it up as you go, the less you want a tool that plays best with heavy-duty preparation.
So, don't trust anyone that wants to tell you which tool to use -- spend some time trying out the different options. Most of the options have some sort of community around them with which you can find a one-shot game that you can join as a player as an opportunity to try out the rules. Think about what you need, what you're willing to pay money for, and find the solution that's right for your game.
The natural solution for that is some sort of virtual table top (VTT). Wizards promised one for years, contracted with a development firm to build one, and recently pulled the plug. But that VTT solution is still out there, surrounded by a host of others, both simpler and more robust.
No Lack Of Options
So, lets take a look at an incomplete list of some of the major options that are out there.
- Fantasy Grounds -- Probably the biggest name, fee-based service. FG has been around for quite some time, and has a large community behind it.
- Maptools -- Open source, free, and also supported by a strong community.
- Open RPG -- Also open source, free, and community driven
- RPGTableOnline.com
- Google Plus addons like Roll20
- more…..
View attachment 56772
Choosing Your Virtual Table
In the end, with so many options out there, choosing your virtual table top is going to be a matter of flavor, individual taste, and the way you and your group like to play. The important considerations depend on some key factors
1. Preparation vs. Improvisation
There's a lot to be said for a solution that has a lot of tools. In Maptools, for example, there are frameworks that build in the mechanics to handle all kinds of game systems -- elaborate character sheet macros that will allow you to build 4th edition powers so you can select a power and roll your attack and damage with a single click -- and even apply that damage to the target.
All of that's great, but it takes a lot of work. It's going to take a fair amount of time to learn to use the tools, but then every monster, NPC, PC, trap, obstacle -- everything you hope the PCs will interact with in the game becomes a piece of content that must be prepared.
The impact of this can be pretty dramatic, even if you don't mean for it to be. If the DM has invested a great deal of time preparing the individual challenges the PCs will face, those challenges become the path the PCs must take -- it's very difficult to ad lib and go off script if the PCs mess with your expectations. It's difficult, for example, to reskin a creature on the fly -- so many small details would have to be edited to change the presentation to the PCs.
There's also a learning curve for players -- they need to learn to use the tools, so early games will be slow. Also, once you're sitting at a computer interface full of buttons and options as a player, it can be difficult to consider options for which you don't have obvious buttons and choices.
2. Integrated mechanics vs. mechanics-free
This is really another point of preparation. Calling for a skill check, for example, can mean a simple matter of a player selecting a skill in a dropdown and clicking a button.
Some of the more free-form VTT solutions out there don't bother with mechanics, though. And the only reason a player couldn't roll dice manually and report the results through the chat is trust.
Actually -- there's a second advantage. Integrated mechanics can make task resolution -- from attacks to skill checks to anything else -- much faster in game play. There aren't a lot of things that VTTs do better than playing face-to-face, but this sort of speed is one of them. An attack macro, for example, can be set up to roll a half-dozen attack rolls and matching damage rolls at once, which can be quickly applied to targets in the area -- making those big fireballs much faster to adjudicate. No more watching your players count out their totals on their fingers and toes -- let the computer do the math.
3. Text chat vs. Voice Chat vs. Video
Most of the VTT options only offer text chat for communicating with other players. Text chat is vital -- it's the right place to communicate a bunch of different information, but very often having a voice or even video chat option can go a long way towards making the virtual table top feel more like the real table top.
Google plus-based VTTs have advantages here -- which may make up for the way they tend to lack the compexity of more robust solutions like Maptools and Fantasy Grounds.
Skype is one of the obvious choices for adding voice chat to a VTT session, but for a lot of reasons it's not the best tool in the drawer. Google hangouts can be used on top of any of the other VTT options to add audio and video chat with a free tool. Or it's possible to get an audiochat client like Ventrillo or Teamspeak and use that for voice chat. I like the Teamspeak-style option because it provides a voice chat space that's always on -- players can join it early, rejoin without trouble if they get cut off, and because the chat is actually being hosted on a teamspeak server somewhere else, it tends to interfere very little with the data flow necessary for your VTT game. BUT the teamspeak option requires dedicated software, some moderately complex setup, and you might have to pay a few bucks to host a server somewhere.
The Bottom Line
In the end, no one can tell you what the best VTT solution is for your game. Games that rely a lot of minis and battle maps and structured interaction may play better in the more complex, robust systems like Maptools and Fantasy Grounds. Theater-of-the-Mind games might do just fine in a simple google hangout. The more you want to make it up as you go, the less you want a tool that plays best with heavy-duty preparation.
So, don't trust anyone that wants to tell you which tool to use -- spend some time trying out the different options. Most of the options have some sort of community around them with which you can find a one-shot game that you can join as a player as an opportunity to try out the rules. Think about what you need, what you're willing to pay money for, and find the solution that's right for your game.
