SmiteWorks Hires D&D Beyond Founder as Chief Development Officer of Fantasy Grounds

SmiteWorks, owner of the Fantasy Grounds virtual tabletop, announced today that they hired Adam Bradford as their Chief Development Officer. Bradford was the founder of D&D Beyond, before leaving to join Demiplane, a generic D&D Beyond-style platform aimed at some game systems.

SmiteWorks USA, LLC, the developer behind the leading virtual tabletop software, Fantasy Grounds, is excited to announce the appointment of Adam Bradford as its new Chief Development Officer (CDO). Adam Bradford, a prominent figure in the tabletop gaming industry, brings a wealth of experience and expertise that will be instrumental in driving the company’s growth and innovation.

Adam Bradford is well-known for his pioneering work in the digital gaming space. He founded D&D Beyond, a digital toolset that transformed the way Dungeons & Dragons is played. Under his leadership, D&D Beyond experienced significant growth and was eventually acquired by Hasbro. Following this success, Adam joined Demiplane, another online tabletop roleplaying game company, where he led the development for a digital tools platform for a variety of other games, further cementing his reputation as a visionary in the industry.

In his new role at SmiteWorks, Adam will focus on expanding Fantasy Grounds’ market presence, enhancing user engagement, and user experience. He will oversee strategic initiatives across product development, business development, marketing, community engagement, and user acquisition. Adam’s innovative approach and proven track record make him an ideal fit for SmiteWorks as the company continues to push the boundaries of digital tabletop gaming.

"We are thrilled to welcome Adam Bradford to the SmiteWorks team," said Doug Davison, President of SmiteWorks USA, LLC. "Adam's expertise and vision will be invaluable as we work to grow Fantasy Grounds and provide our users with the best possible tabletop gaming experience. We have a lot of great things in the works for Fantasy Grounds and we believe Adam is the perfect addition to help us achieve our goals."

Adam Bradford expressed his enthusiasm for joining SmiteWorks, stating, "I am incredibly excited to be joining SmiteWorks and to have the opportunity to contribute to the ongoing success of Fantasy Grounds. The virtual tabletop space is evolving rapidly to make playing these games we love more convenient than ever, and I look forward to working with the outstanding team at SmiteWorks to continue driving innovation and growth in the tabletop roleplaying space."[/callout[]

 

[Zaukrie]

I've never tried foundry's 3d but rpg stories 3d is phenomemal but does not have rules.

I have RPG stories 101 maps, because I wanted to test it. It seems to have some good stuff for sure. But I've never convinced myself I want to spend the money to actually use it for a game. I mean, I also was heavily involved with Wildshape, but that guy hasn't updated things in over 2 years I think (too bad, the map making was good).

 

[SpectralForce]

I have RPG stories 101 maps, because I wanted to test it. It seems to have some good stuff for sure. But I've never convinced myself I want to spend the money to actually use it for a game. I mean, I also was heavily involved with Wildshape, but that guy hasn't updated things in over 2 years I think (too bad, the map making was good).

I'm in pretty good with rpgs but they lack rule sets and automation. Also they are not a prority. Imo I think it should have been listed as a world builder and not a vtt.

 

[Myrdin Potter]

I am not interested in 3D. There are a lot more features for a VTT that I care about moe than 3D

 

[SpectralForce]

I am not interested in 3D. There are a lot more features for a VTT that I care about moe than 3D

For me, FGU already does what I need. Theres a few more rulesets I'd like tho.

 

[BigZebra]

FG has one thing none of the other VTT doesn’t. License to sell D&D Classic/AD&D products. Which is amazing. I would love for them to sell 3.5 and even 4e but I guess WotC isn’t interested in that. Too close to 5e perhaps.

 

[Cordwainer Fish]

I'm a top down 2D type of guy but if 2D/2.5D/3D became a player level selection that would be no skin off my nose.

 

[MNblockhead]

I've been playing Foundry in 3d, and 2.5 d. Even 2.5D is a huge improvement. Also, 3d has issues with walls/rocks/etc. being just a bit too close together for players to move their tokens, sigh.

Even in 2D the tokens not fitting through certain areas can be an issue. Someone needs to develop a "squeeze" token mod.

 

[Hussar]

My honest wish for Fantasy Grounds?

Honest to goodness WRITTEN, SEARCHABLE instructions. No, video tutorials are not the answer. I don't want to watch a 15 minute video, complete with Youtube ads, just so I can get an answer that should take one sentence. And, no, the Wiki for Fantasy grounds is not really a good answer either. It's so bloody opaque that it's mostly gibberish to anyone who isn't an experienced programmer.

Good, well written, instructions with written examples, written in actual English would be my number one wish.

 

[NickFrostRPG]

the Wiki for Fantasy grounds is not really a good answer either. It's so bloody opaque that it's mostly gibberish to anyone who isn't an experienced programmer.

The wiki had an overhaul last year; there are more basic guides written in layman terms.

 

[BadEye]

My honest wish for Fantasy Grounds?

Honest to goodness WRITTEN, SEARCHABLE instructions. No, video tutorials are not the answer. I don't want to watch a 15 minute video, complete with Youtube ads, just so I can get an answer that should take one sentence. And, no, the Wiki for Fantasy grounds is not really a good answer either. It's so bloody opaque that it's mostly gibberish to anyone who isn't an experienced programmer.

Good, well written, instructions with written examples, written in actual English would be my number one wish.

Part of increasing ease of use across the board will mean instructional / tutorial content in both written and video formats - data has shown over the years that there's a split more or less down the middle in which is preferred, so doing just one isn't going to satisfy enough fans or be comprehensive enough.

I'll also call out that a bigger part of the ease of use priority for me is reducing the need for dedicated tutorial content in the first place by smoothing the onboarding ramp in other ways, with all the various tools we'll have at our disposal to do that.

There isn't a magic button we can click to do that overnight, but we'll be working to make it happen.