Swarmkeeper
Hero
Foundry does this easily, too.
D&D 5E How many players would use a service like this
- Thread starter Thomas Rainsborough
- Start date
If I didn't have so much money already invested in Fantasy Grounds, I would give Foundry a try. But I am not buying 5E AGAIN for a different VTT. Maybe someday when I run something new I don't already own for FG I will try it.
Swarmkeeper
Hero
yeah, it was hard for us to make the switch from Roll20 to Foundry but the one-time $50 license to run it on your own server was a low enough bar for our group to give it a trial run. As it turned out, we've been so happy with the features that we haven't thought about going back.
In Foundry you have automatic access to the SRD. Also, since a couple of us have bought most of the books in D&D Beyond, we have access to import all that material into Foundry as well as needed. No need to re-buy.
I don't even want to tally what I have spent on FG versions of D&D books.
Swarmkeeper
Hero
Maybe I should clarify a bit - the entire books don't get imported from DDB to Foundry but monsters, spells, maps, items, etc can be...
Oh, I know, but for Fantasy Grounds you buy a FG version of the book in order to get the data for the VTT, so if I changed VTTs I would have to buy everything again, even if it was via D&D Beyond. That's why i said I might try Foundry whenever I decide to run something new that I haven't already purchased by way of FG.
Hussar
Legend
I'm thinking that when the re-release of 5e comes around, I'm going to be looking pretty hard at switching from Fantasy Grounds to be honest. Just had very little luck with teh program, and frankly, I just can't recommend it to others based on what my experience has been. So, yeah, if and when I decide to make the switch, I'm thinking that my Fantasy Grounds experience is likely going to come to an end.
Here's hoping WotC actually brings out a D&D Beyond VTT where both are a single subscription. I would definitely pay for that. I don't play any other RPG's, so, I have zero use for a VTT that is game agnostic. I want my D&D specific Game Table please.
Here's hoping WotC actually brings out a D&D Beyond VTT where both are a single subscription. I would definitely pay for that. I don't play any other RPG's, so, I have zero use for a VTT that is game agnostic. I want my D&D specific Game Table please.
TaranTheWanderer
Legend
If you want to move virtual Pennies on a grid and have a drawing tool, tabletop simulator is very good. It’s literally a table. It comes with poker chips and you can add a grid to the table and have assets snap. It has a good drawing tool and even has some D&D minis. But everyone has to pay 20$. But with that, you get a multitude of free board games with it.
If you want good dynamic lighting with features like having auto hit point calculation and what-not, foundry is cheapest as it’s only 50$. I’ve found that you can have connection issues because the owner has to run it as a server. Also, if anyone else wants to work on characters, the owner has to make sure it’s running on their computer so you sometimes might not have access to it.
Roll20 has easy features for free and lots of assets. You need to pay subscription for dynamic lighting which is useful even if your just using it to block line of sight.
If you want good dynamic lighting with features like having auto hit point calculation and what-not, foundry is cheapest as it’s only 50$. I’ve found that you can have connection issues because the owner has to run it as a server. Also, if anyone else wants to work on characters, the owner has to make sure it’s running on their computer so you sometimes might not have access to it.
Roll20 has easy features for free and lots of assets. You need to pay subscription for dynamic lighting which is useful even if your just using it to block line of sight.
It's weird -- if I am playing anything other than D&D I don't expect much automation and don't mind that it is not there. In those cases I just use Roll20 as a white board and virtual dice without worrying about anything else. Half arsed automation is far worse than none, after all.
But somehow I got myself trained with D&D that I need automation. I don't know how it happened.
jmartkdr2
Hero
2 things: One, I'm willing to bet most other games you play have a lot less math than DnD. Maybe Pathfinder has more but all the other super-crunchy games I can think of are old and pretty uncommon these days. Especially if we limit the list to games that are crunchy at the table rather than just have complicated character building (the latter being things like GURPs or Hero System.)
Two: you're used to it now so the expectation is there. You could be playing with automation so not having it is a loss. A lack of full/good automation in your Genesys game doesn't feel like a lack because you don't know it's available.
I was inspired by this thread to get together with a couple of other pro DMs and do a podcast episode devoted to answering questions about Pro DMing. I drew (anonymously) on this thread as well as listener-submitted questions for topic discussions.
We cover scheduling, vetting, logistics, philosophy, safety tools, resources, fair rates, and whether we’re ruining the game for ourselves, for everyone else, or for nobody. We also cover this month’s D&D news: Satine Phoenix and Jamison Stone, Roll20/Dungeon Master’s Guild partnership, and more.
It's in the podcast feed everywhere for PodCast Party: Descent into Avernus, or right here: Power Word TALk: June 2022
We cover scheduling, vetting, logistics, philosophy, safety tools, resources, fair rates, and whether we’re ruining the game for ourselves, for everyone else, or for nobody. We also cover this month’s D&D news: Satine Phoenix and Jamison Stone, Roll20/Dungeon Master’s Guild partnership, and more.
It's in the podcast feed everywhere for PodCast Party: Descent into Avernus, or right here: Power Word TALk: June 2022
