Wow, I did a playtesting for them when they were just getting started... looking at it, my account is apparently still on some free deal
I don't even have the option to set up a paid plan when I'm logged in 
D&D General My experience with paid D&D tools after 3+ years as a DM/Player
- Thread starter Algorithmancer
- Start date
I don't even have the option to set up a paid plan when I'm logged in
Yeah I guess I'm in some playtester account setup... whoops :'D I haven't used it in a while (it worked fine but I just never kept up with reviewing the session summaries so like many new shiny things, it fell by the wayside for my ADHD arse).
MNblockhead
A Title Much Cooler Than Anything on the Old Site
Testing, configuring, and generally messing around with TTRPG digital tools is almost a second hobby for me. Recently I've cut back and try to stick to the basics and keep my time focused on prepping my games with the tools I have.
For World Building, my favorite was RealmWorks, which I really only used as a DM prep and in-game tool. The killer feature was the auto-linking features, so you didn't need to create cross links manually. It also has "Fog of World" feature with multi-layered maps. It wasn't a VTT, you don't drop token, you just reveal the map manually as the players explore. I liked its integration with Hero Lab, which I used for combat tracking. Unfortunately, the developer stopped development on it. I continued to use it anyway, until I moved and had to run games online. I would run it along with Google Meet for audio and screen sharing, but I eventually made the moves to full VTTs.
I tried to use World Anvil, which is a well designed, hosted world building and campaign management tool. Cross linking is/was manual but not too difficult. It was just too much data entry for me, especially went most of my content was in a VTT and I started to run published adventures instead of home brew. But I still recommend it to those who want a full featured world-building tool.
No I just use Foundry Journals. With the QuickInsert or Spotlight Omnisearch mods, it is trivially simple to cross link to other articles, sections of articles, actors, items, maps, etc. I don't need/want the extra complexity of advanced structured data types. I don't need graphic relationship and plot maps. Foundry Journal Articles more that meet my world building and campaign management needs.
I've tried incorporating music into my games many times over the years.
But when I'm running games I just find adding "DJ" to my GM duties to be too much. And my players just don't care much either way so I prefer to spend my time one what they do enjoy. If I were to be running in-person games again, I would try to bring some background music and ambient sounds back into my game, but I'm done with using it for online games for the most part.
As for VTTs, I've posted at length in other VTT-specific threads on EN World about my VTT journey. I've been using Foundry for years now as a DM, but still joing games as a players using other VTTs, mostly Roll20, sometimes Fantasy Grounds. I have not loyalty to any VTT. Foundry works the best for my needs for now, despite some things I don't like about it. I choose what VTT to use based on the game I'm running. Looking forward, I'm most interested in system-specific VTTs. I've backed Foundry's Kickstarter for Ember, a world and compaign designed by the Foundry team, specifically for Foundry and while it will support 5e, I'm most excited about playing it with Foundry's in-house Crucible system.
I'm also following MCDM's work on a VTT designed specifically for Draw Steel.
For World Building, my favorite was RealmWorks, which I really only used as a DM prep and in-game tool. The killer feature was the auto-linking features, so you didn't need to create cross links manually. It also has "Fog of World" feature with multi-layered maps. It wasn't a VTT, you don't drop token, you just reveal the map manually as the players explore. I liked its integration with Hero Lab, which I used for combat tracking. Unfortunately, the developer stopped development on it. I continued to use it anyway, until I moved and had to run games online. I would run it along with Google Meet for audio and screen sharing, but I eventually made the moves to full VTTs.
I tried to use World Anvil, which is a well designed, hosted world building and campaign management tool. Cross linking is/was manual but not too difficult. It was just too much data entry for me, especially went most of my content was in a VTT and I started to run published adventures instead of home brew. But I still recommend it to those who want a full featured world-building tool.
No I just use Foundry Journals. With the QuickInsert or Spotlight Omnisearch mods, it is trivially simple to cross link to other articles, sections of articles, actors, items, maps, etc. I don't need/want the extra complexity of advanced structured data types. I don't need graphic relationship and plot maps. Foundry Journal Articles more that meet my world building and campaign management needs.
I've tried incorporating music into my games many times over the years.
- YouTube/Spotify/Apple Music playlists and a bluetooth speaker for in-perhaps games.
- Plugins/mods for Foundry or Discord to link and control Spotify or YouTube playlists (most recently the YouTube Player Widget for Foundry
- Syrinscape and Battle Bards (if I'm remember the second one's name correctly), using RealmWorks and Foundry Integrations or running the software/webpages separately.
- Using Foundry's native playlists
- Using Foundry modules like Moulinette with subscriptions to various sound and music artists
But when I'm running games I just find adding "DJ" to my GM duties to be too much. And my players just don't care much either way so I prefer to spend my time one what they do enjoy. If I were to be running in-person games again, I would try to bring some background music and ambient sounds back into my game, but I'm done with using it for online games for the most part.
As for VTTs, I've posted at length in other VTT-specific threads on EN World about my VTT journey. I've been using Foundry for years now as a DM, but still joing games as a players using other VTTs, mostly Roll20, sometimes Fantasy Grounds. I have not loyalty to any VTT. Foundry works the best for my needs for now, despite some things I don't like about it. I choose what VTT to use based on the game I'm running. Looking forward, I'm most interested in system-specific VTTs. I've backed Foundry's Kickstarter for Ember, a world and compaign designed by the Foundry team, specifically for Foundry and while it will support 5e, I'm most excited about playing it with Foundry's in-house Crucible system.
I'm also following MCDM's work on a VTT designed specifically for Draw Steel.
I have a few players that turn off the music entirely, and a few that request it- there's no middleground, it seems. I mainly have it for me... mostly nostalgic stuff, like Baldurs Gate 1+2 music for combats and Icewind Dale music for exploration etc etc.
Algorithmancer
Commoner
Thanks for the detailed breakdown, really interesting to hear about your journey with all these tools, especially the RealmWorks to Foundry evolution. The auto-linking feature in RealmWorks sounds like it was ahead of its time.
Your point about music/sound management hits home - I've been using Syrinscape but you're right that it adds another layer of complexity to running games. The "DJ" duties on top of everything else can be a lot, though I haven't gotten as deep into automation as you have with the Stream Deck setup.
Since you mentioned backing Ember, what made you decide to jump into that early when you seem pretty settled with your current Foundry setup?
I used Roll20 heavily from about 3/2020 to late last year. But I've always had a love/hate relationship with it. It works, but there just always seem to be issues.
But now, since we've been sticking to 5e, I've been using a combination of Zoom and Maps (from DnD Beyond). Zoom has just been much more stable than Roll20 or even Roll20 coupled with Discord.
And Maps just keeps getting better and better. It's started as a basic VTT but the functionality is increasing exponentially. And since I have so much 5e content through Beyond anyway, my work is half done for me, much of the time.
But now, since we've been sticking to 5e, I've been using a combination of Zoom and Maps (from DnD Beyond). Zoom has just been much more stable than Roll20 or even Roll20 coupled with Discord.
And Maps just keeps getting better and better. It's started as a basic VTT but the functionality is increasing exponentially. And since I have so much 5e content through Beyond anyway, my work is half done for me, much of the time.
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Clint_L
Legend
I'm a bit embarrassed by how heavily I rely on various Google tools (Meet, Docs, Sheets, NotebookLM), but we use it so much for work (teacher; Google Classroom is foundational) that it is just automatic and simple/lazy for me, even though some of these bespoke tools are probably much better. So my tools are basically DDB+Google stuff.
Algorithmancer
Commoner
That's a good point about stability, I haven't had major issues with Roll20 but it does feel a bit clunky sometimes. I can see how Zoom would be more reliable for the core video/audio stuff
Algorithmancer
Commoner
No shame in using what works! If you're already deep in the Google ecosystem for work it makes total sense to stick with what you know. Sometimes the best tool is the one you'll actually use consistently
How's NotebookLM working out for campaign prep? I've heard some interesting things about it but haven't tried it for any TTRPG stuff yet
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