D&D General My experience with popular D&D VTT tools

[Algorithmancer]

I've been using Virtual Tabletop (VTT) tools for over 3 years (mostly for online games). Most of my sessions are in person now, but I still play online games occasionally and figured I'd share my experience in case anyone is looking to explore these tools which seem to be constantly evolving.

I've been primarily a Roll20 user since I started playing online games, but recently I've tested out what seem to be the other major players over the last few months with various one-shots - Foundry VTT, Fantasy Grounds, and Owlbear Rodeo.

Roll20 - 7/10​

This has been my main platform for online gaming over the past 3+ years of DMing. It's what I learned VTTs on, and would honestly still use it sometimes due to it's ease of setup.

What it does well:

• Super easy to set up. Browser-based with zero setup for players, you just send a link and they're in the game
• Charactermancer is pretty useful sometimes handles character creation and leveling automatically, which is huge for new players who get overwhelmed by sheets
• Dynamic lighting and fog of war work well for dramatic reveals, though I usually have to set them up manually. I'm a huge fan of this feature.
• Large community, Looking for Group system actually works for finding pickup games and one shots
• Marketplace integration means when you buy official content, it connects properly to character sheets and compendiums

The downsides:

• Interface still feels clunky in places, I still constantly forget which layer I'm working on despite the recent improvements
• Performance issues with large maps or complex lighting setups can slow down the browser during important moments
• Drawing tools are frustrating sometimes, especially when I wan to quickly mark spell areas without fighting line thickness and fill options
• Subscription tiers lock (imho) essential features like dynamic lighting behind Pro plans
• Character sheet bugs pop up occasionally, like missing feat options or initiative display glitches

Foundry VTT - 8.5/10​

I've been testing this one recently with a few one-shots and it's been quite impressive, though it requires more upfront investment in learning. However if you're willing to invest the time in it its definitely worth it.

What it does well:

• One-time purchase instead of ongoing subscriptions, which is refreshing from a cost perspective
• Module ecosystem is incredible - you can customize almost anything about the interface and functionality
• D&D Beyond integration module lets me import content I already own instead of repurchasing everything
• Automation is much more sophisticated - spells, attacks, and conditions all handle themselves with minimal DM intervention
• Performance is noticeably better than Roll20, especially with large battle maps. This is probably because it runs in its own app, which feels very optimized.
• Players find it intuitive once it's set up, even if the DM setup is more complex

The downsides:

• Learning curve for DMs is significant, expect to spend considerable time configuring modules and understanding the system
• Self-hosting can be unreliable if your internet isn't stable, and cloud hosting adds monthly costs back in
• The module community moves fast, which means constant decisions about what to install and maintain
• Frequent updates can break popular modules based on what I've read from the community, which could leave you without functionality for weeks or months. I personally haven't run into this issue yet but thought it was worth calling out.

Fantasy Grounds - 6/10​

I've tested this one recently as well. It's all about automation and official content integration, but it comes with some major hurdles.

What it does well:

• Automation is the deepest I've seen - drag and drop a spell and it calculates damage, applies conditions, updates initiative, everything. It's like Foundry but with MUCH more options and customization, it feels like I'm using excel sometimes tbh. This could be a great thing if you're into automation for your VTT - this has the most flexibility of all the tools.
• Official module integration is excellent when you buy content through their store
• Supports multiple game systems properly, not just D&D adaptations

The downsides:

• User interface is genuinely difficult to learn, it feels like software from a different era with confusing right-click menus everywhere. The interface frankly is quite outdated.
• Learning curve is brutal from what I experienced, I spent more time figuring out how to use basic features than I did on actual game prep
• Cost adds up quickly between software, subscriptions, and content purchases. Its a much higher barrier to entry in terms of cost and learning curve.
• Screen real estate management is poor - too many windows and not enough modern UI conventions
• Players struggle with the interface even more than DMs do from my experience

Owlbear Rodeo - 6.5/10​

I've used this for some one-shots and lighter online games. It's refreshingly simple but feels a bit limited in scope. I feel like this has it's place in some games or mostly one-shots.

What it does well:

• Setup is incredibly fast - upload a map, add tokens, share the room code and you're playing
• Mobile responsive so players can join from phones or tablets easily
• Focus on core visual features without overwhelming complexity. It has everything you need to get started, it's core features are quite good.
• Animated map support adds nice atmospheric touches

The downsides:

• Very limited for ongoing campaigns - no character sheets, macros, or automation of any kind
• Map alignment can be tedious compared to other platforms
• You'll need external tools for dice rolling, character tracking, and most campaign management features

Verdict​

Overall, after using Roll20 as my main platform and testing these others recently, my recommendations depend heavily on what you need and how much time you want to invest.

My current overall recommendation would be Foundry VTT which offers the best long-term value and most impressive automation, but requires a decent upfront time investment from the DM. If you enjoy tinkering and want maximum customization, it's worth the learning curve. Its a great balance IMO in terms of complexity/automation/experience.

Roll20 remains solid for groups that want low barrier to entry and don't mind some interface quirks. It's especially good for new players and DMs who want something that works out of the box.

Fantasy Grounds delivers unmatched automation depth but the interface and learning curve are genuinely challenging. Only recommended if you really need that level of mechanical integration.

Owlbear Rodeo is perfect for simple visual needs and one-shots, but won't replace a full VTT for ongoing campaigns for me.

Are they worth it? For online games, absolutely. The visual elements and shared workspace make remote gaming much more engaging than pure theater of the mind over voice chat. Since most of my games are in-person now, I use VTTs less frequently, but they're essential when I need to play remotely.

Has anyone else tried these VTTs or have thoughts on virtual tabletops in general? Would love to hear about others' experiences as well.

Also if anyone's interested I previously made other reviews, and might look into doing more in the future if people are interested:

• Review of D&D session summarizers
• Review of paid D&D tools over 3+ years as a DM

 

[payn]

Agree on Foundry. Id even bump it to 9.5 out of 10.

 

[el-remmen]

I think Owlbear Rodeo is perfect for groups that still prefer playing paper and pencil style but have to use the internet to play because of time or distance.

The two online games I am involved in still use paper character sheets.

 

[Mistwell]

I'd be interested in a review of Maps from DnDBeyond, if anyone has experience with it. I know it's still in Beta but apparently usable already? I guess it will be free to all as of Sept 16. "Starting September 16, in time with the release of Heroes of the Borderlands, all D&D Beyond registered users can run games on the Maps virtual tabletop (VTT) —no subscription required."

 

[UngainlyTitan]

I'd be interested in a review of Maps from DnDBeyond, if anyone has experience with it. I know it's still in Beta but apparently usable already? I guess it will be free to all as of Sept 16. "Starting September 16, in time with the release of Heroes of the Borderlands, all D&D Beyond registered users can run games on the Maps virtual tabletop (VTT) —no subscription required."

I have played in a long campaign and run games using it. Everyone needs to be at least on the free D&DBeyond subscription and next month the DM can use on the same subscription.
You can upload maps, use maps from material you own on D&DBeyond and launch it from within the campaign or for players from their character sheet once a character has been brought into a campaign. Die roll on the character sheet are sent to the maps.
The campaign sections has some very simple note taking capabilities, very similar to a forum post.
You can prebuild encounters or add them on the fly (not all that hard) there is a simple manual fog of war. One can also make tokens visible or invisible on an individual basis.
If you have access to the monster then in the encounter you can set initiative and access the NPC character sheet and make die rolls from that.

It is pretty neet and simple. I have played from a PC and the combination of a small tablet and phone. With the PC character sheet on the phone and the map on a browser tab on the tablet.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

I've been using Virtual Tabletop (VTT) tools for over 3 years (mostly for online games). Most of my sessions are in person now, but I still play online games occasionally and figured I'd share my experience in case anyone is looking to explore these tools which seem to be constantly evolving.

I've been primarily a Roll20 user since I started playing online games, but recently I've tested out what seem to be the other major players over the last few months with various one-shots - Foundry VTT, Fantasy Grounds, and Owlbear Rodeo.

Roll20 - 7/10​

This has been my main platform for online gaming over the past 3+ years of DMing. It's what I learned VTTs on, and would honestly still use it sometimes due to it's ease of setup.

What it does well:

• Super easy to set up. Browser-based with zero setup for players, you just send a link and they're in the game
• Charactermancer is pretty useful sometimes handles character creation and leveling automatically, which is huge for new players who get overwhelmed by sheets
• Dynamic lighting and fog of war work well for dramatic reveals, though I usually have to set them up manually. I'm a huge fan of this feature.
• Large community, Looking for Group system actually works for finding pickup games and one shots
• Marketplace integration means when you buy official content, it connects properly to character sheets and compendiums

The downsides:

• Interface still feels clunky in places, I still constantly forget which layer I'm working on despite the recent improvements
• Performance issues with large maps or complex lighting setups can slow down the browser during important moments
• Drawing tools are frustrating sometimes, especially when I wan to quickly mark spell areas without fighting line thickness and fill options
• Subscription tiers lock (imho) essential features like dynamic lighting behind Pro plans
• Character sheet bugs pop up occasionally, like missing feat options or initiative display glitches

Foundry VTT - 8.5/10​

I've been testing this one recently with a few one-shots and it's been quite impressive, though it requires more upfront investment in learning. However if you're willing to invest the time in it its definitely worth it.

What it does well:

• One-time purchase instead of ongoing subscriptions, which is refreshing from a cost perspective
• Module ecosystem is incredible - you can customize almost anything about the interface and functionality
• D&D Beyond integration module lets me import content I already own instead of repurchasing everything
• Automation is much more sophisticated - spells, attacks, and conditions all handle themselves with minimal DM intervention
• Performance is noticeably better than Roll20, especially with large battle maps. This is probably because it runs in its own app, which feels very optimized.
• Players find it intuitive once it's set up, even if the DM setup is more complex

The downsides:

• Learning curve for DMs is significant, expect to spend considerable time configuring modules and understanding the system
• Self-hosting can be unreliable if your internet isn't stable, and cloud hosting adds monthly costs back in
• The module community moves fast, which means constant decisions about what to install and maintain
• Frequent updates can break popular modules based on what I've read from the community, which could leave you without functionality for weeks or months. I personally haven't run into this issue yet but thought it was worth calling out.

Fantasy Grounds - 6/10​

I've tested this one recently as well. It's all about automation and official content integration, but it comes with some major hurdles.

What it does well:

• Automation is the deepest I've seen - drag and drop a spell and it calculates damage, applies conditions, updates initiative, everything. It's like Foundry but with MUCH more options and customization, it feels like I'm using excel sometimes tbh. This could be a great thing if you're into automation for your VTT - this has the most flexibility of all the tools.
• Official module integration is excellent when you buy content through their store
• Supports multiple game systems properly, not just D&D adaptations

The downsides:

• User interface is genuinely difficult to learn, it feels like software from a different era with confusing right-click menus everywhere. The interface frankly is quite outdated.
• Learning curve is brutal from what I experienced, I spent more time figuring out how to use basic features than I did on actual game prep
• Cost adds up quickly between software, subscriptions, and content purchases. Its a much higher barrier to entry in terms of cost and learning curve.
• Screen real estate management is poor - too many windows and not enough modern UI conventions
• Players struggle with the interface even more than DMs do from my experience

Owlbear Rodeo - 6.5/10​

I've used this for some one-shots and lighter online games. It's refreshingly simple but feels a bit limited in scope. I feel like this has it's place in some games or mostly one-shots.

What it does well:

• Setup is incredibly fast - upload a map, add tokens, share the room code and you're playing
• Mobile responsive so players can join from phones or tablets easily
• Focus on core visual features without overwhelming complexity. It has everything you need to get started, it's core features are quite good.
• Animated map support adds nice atmospheric touches

The downsides:

• Very limited for ongoing campaigns - no character sheets, macros, or automation of any kind
• Map alignment can be tedious compared to other platforms
• You'll need external tools for dice rolling, character tracking, and most campaign management features

Verdict​

Overall, after using Roll20 as my main platform and testing these others recently, my recommendations depend heavily on what you need and how much time you want to invest.

My current overall recommendation would be Foundry VTT which offers the best long-term value and most impressive automation, but requires a decent upfront time investment from the DM. If you enjoy tinkering and want maximum customization, it's worth the learning curve. Its a great balance IMO in terms of complexity/automation/experience.

Roll20 remains solid for groups that want low barrier to entry and don't mind some interface quirks. It's especially good for new players and DMs who want something that works out of the box.

Fantasy Grounds delivers unmatched automation depth but the interface and learning curve are genuinely challenging. Only recommended if you really need that level of mechanical integration.

Owlbear Rodeo is perfect for simple visual needs and one-shots, but won't replace a full VTT for ongoing campaigns for me.

Are they worth it? For online games, absolutely. The visual elements and shared workspace make remote gaming much more engaging than pure theater of the mind over voice chat. Since most of my games are in-person now, I use VTTs less frequently, but they're essential when I need to play remotely.

Has anyone else tried these VTTs or have thoughts on virtual tabletops in general? Would love to hear about others' experiences as well.

Also if anyone's interested I previously made other reviews, and might look into doing more in the future if people are interested:

• Review of D&D session summarizers
• Review of paid D&D tools over 3+ years as a DM

Feels like these are very "patient power user who is happy to spend time learning things" ratings, not at all how they'd be rated for someone taking a more "casual" approach to VTTs.

Highly appreciate the detailed reviews and pros/cons though, regardless of the ratings those are very helpful!

 

[Lazybones]

As a long-time Fantasy Grounds (FG) user, I thought I'd add my notes on that platform. I've only used that and Roll20, so I can't comment on Foundry or Owlbear Rodeo.

I really can't disagree with anything that Algorithmancer said; FG is complex, and it does have a steep learning curve, though I also found Roll20 frustrating at first and ultimately not powerful enough for the things I wanted to do. In terms of cost, while FG does has a subscription option, I purchased a Standard license and then the Ultimate upgrade a year later; that was a total of $145 and I've since played maybe 1,000 hours over the last five years without any additional fee for the basic software. That's for the DM; the players only need the free version of the software if the DM has the Ultimate version. Foundry is definitely cheaper with a $50 license, but note that cloud hosting on FG does not have an additional fee.

You still have to buy the licensed 5e content, of course; I believe the cost for that is standard across all platforms at about 3/5th the price of the hardcover book. However, Smiteworks has sales and bundles that greatly cut down the price for someone who wants to go all-in on a game system; for example I got all of the 5e core books from WotC for $13.50 each and all of the adventure books for $12.50-$15 each. I also got a ton of Pathfinder 2e stuff for FGU from Humble Bundle for something like $30.

I'll also point out that FGU has a very supportive community and devs that provide assistance in both the forums and Discord. I've seen multiple occasions where they will track down a user's issue and even review game logs to help fix a problem. They also have a large set of YouTube videos where they explain how to use the software.

I've also started using FG for my in-person D&D game, using a flat-screen on the tabletop. I don't need all of the bells and whistles for that purpose, but for showing maps and images it's more than capable. I wouldn't have bought it just for that, but since I already had it to run my online games it was a nice bonus.

 

[TheSword]

Very good reviews of the two systems I’ve used extensively (Roll20 and Foundry). I won’t comment on the systems I’ve not used.

I kinda feel that Roll20 is the way in if you play D&D and then Foundry is the system once you familiarize yourself with VTT.

[Unless you play WFRP, in which case just go straight to Foundry because of the support]

 

[Clint_L]

I find it surprising to see Roll20 described as having a low barrier to entry - I’ve twice spent significant time trying to use it and given up in frustration.

 

[Nebulous]

I have used Roll20 for 5 years and love it. It usually works as needed, and the recent Jumpgate upgrade has only improved it. I have Foundry as well and have tried multiple time to teach myself how to use it, but the learning curve is significantly steeper than even Roll20.