Pathfinder 1E Virtual Table Tops – Which for Pathfinder (Pros/Cons)?

[Azgulor]

Virtual Table Tops – Which for Pathfinder (Pros/Cons)?

Ok, so with the annoying intrusions of that thing called Real Life, my regular gaming sessions haven’t run for almost 2 months. While face-face will always be preferred, I’m thinking of utilizing a VTT for periods where scheduling is more problematic in order to game more frequently, maintain continuity better, and advance a plotline a bit faster.

Here’s the problem: I’ve never utilized one before. I’ve done some preliminary homework and while some have impressive features, I have no appreciation for how complicated or efficient a given VTT is.

Game System: Pathfinder (of course)

Which VTTs do you recommend & why?

How does GM prep increase/decrease for VTT sessions vs. in-person tabletop sessions?

What nuances/gotchas do you need to watch out for?

 

[Arnix]

I've looked at a few in the past but none of them were trivial to get up and running. I am interested in how they are now. I just don't have the time to do a lot of additional set up for games. The adventure itself is enough work now that I have a job and family.

We have been just using a webcam and skype/google-talk. Point the webcam at the maps and use the voip on speaker. Has worked fairly well in the past.

 

[pedr]

TTopRPG (TTopRPG 2.0 Download Page) is written by a Paizo fan (Pygon, who often hangs out in the unofficial Paizo chatroom). It's a neat, small VTT which supports PFRPG as its primary task. The developer is responsive to feature requests, and keeps making it better. It's not a super-full-featured power tool like MapTool, but I found the learning curve to get it to do what I need (display maps, handle initiative, track PC statuses and hp) was quite shallow.

It works best if you're using a scenario which you can extract the maps from (I use it to play and run PFS and Council of Theives) but it does have a map creation tool - and a lighting/darkness tool if you put the work in (though I don't usually bother with that - the fog of war/occlusion tool is easier, usually).

 

[bouncyhead]

We're currently using D20Pro for our weekly online sessions. No serious complaints, though our DM has some minor issues sometimes with loading creatures during play.

D20Pro will import Herolab files so as long as you have all the appropriate updates at both ends (and haven't customized your HeroLab too much!) you should be able to port PCs straight in. There are all sorts of tools that resolve actions, attacks, track initiative, durations, spells etc..

That said, we don't use any of that stuff. We prefer just to use the battlemat and diceroller and do the admin ourselves.

 

[Stoat]

I use d20 Pro for my 4E games, and I'm quite happy with it. Previously, I've tried Klooge (which was too unstable) and Fantasy Grounds (which was too fiddly).

What I like about d20 Pro is that its easy to add Monsters/NPC's and PC's to the program; it handles most of the math in an intuitive way; and it's stable.

There are few things that might add to your prep time with any VTT.

1. Mapping. D20 Pro will let you open a blank map and sketch on it. However, I like to make my own maps using Campaign Cartographer. Making maps takes time.

2. Data entry. If you use a VTT that does the math for you, the program will need to know that attack bonuses, AC's, saving throws, etc. etc. for any PC or NPC. Inputting this info can take time. It took forever with Klooge. It doesn't take long at all with d20 Pro.

Also, be aware that most VTT's seem to be pretty poorly documented. They are not always designed to be intuitive or user-friendly. Expect to have to spend some time learning how they work.

Finally, the DM will have to host the game. Probably the firewall on your internet connection will try to keep the players from connecting, and you'll need to fix that. If you're comfortable with computers and networking, this won't be a big deal. If you're like me, you'll need to spend some time figuring out how to get everybody connected.

 

[IronWolf]

As far as VTT's go I have had good success with MapTool. It is Java based so will run on a number of platforms. The community is pretty supportive and it has some great mapping tools. You can get support for Pathfinder by using a framework that supports that system.

You can install the framework yourself or use a campaign file that already has it loaded which saves a lot of time. NeoFax, who hangs out here occasionally, has one posted in this thread. You can download that campaign file, open it with MapTool and be up and running with the popular Pathfinder framework.

The VTT can be as easy or as complex as you want it. We've used it in my group for just the reason you have mentioned, sometimes it is just the only way to get some of us together. In those cases I don't rely on the framework as much. I just add my maps, add some tokens for my critters and some tokens to represent the PCs. Then we let everyone keep track of things via paper and roll their dice from where they are at. Our group has enough trust to not think someone is cheating on their dice rolls.

You can go above that though and use the framework to its fullest for doing the dice rolls, keeping track of hit points and all of that. It works pretty well, but it does take a little playing with it to get comfortable.

And if you want more than that, you can add in Fog of War and Vision blocking for even more effect!

GM prep times of course vary depending on just how heavily you use the tool.

Someone else has already mentioned that just using voice or video chat can work in a lot of cases. We do this frequently as well if nearly everyone but one person can make it to the game. We can just fire up Google Video Chat or Skype and play with them while they are remote. It works well for cases where it is the difference between the person playing or not.

 

[IronWolf]

TTopRPG (TTopRPG 2.0 Download Page) is written by a Paizo fan (Pygon, who often hangs out in the unofficial Paizo chatroom). It's a neat, small VTT which supports PFRPG as its primary task. The developer is responsive to feature requests, and keeps making it better. It's not a super-full-featured power tool like MapTool, but I found the learning curve to get it to do what I need (display maps, handle initiative, track PC statuses and hp) was quite shallow.

I've used this one as well. If everyone is running Windows or able to run Windows software this one can be quick to get up and running. It is certainly worth trying both this one and MapTool and see which you like best.

 

[OnlineDM]

I second the suggestion of MapTool. I use it for D&D4e, but I don't use any frameworks with rules or anything like that - I just use it as a tabletop with the ability to draw maps and write macros for die-rolling (it's system agnostic). There's a learning curve involved, yes, but it's worth it. The community is great, too.

And did I mention that it's completely free? Yay MapTool!

 

[Eridanis]

I've played a few VTT sessions with Fantasy Grounds, and it seems OK. I'll be running a VTT game over Thanksgiving weekend, and was hoping to find a free VTT app to try; I'll definitely give TTopRPG a try. (I'm not sure if it will be Pathfinder or AD&D 1e; I would prefer the former, and my players will probably prefer the latter. Considering it's been over 20 years since I've run 1E, it should be interesting. )

 

[luckless]

The group I play with (Now spread coast to coast across Canada) uses Skype for voice, and then the website Invisiblecastle for dice rolls. (If you don't have a browser that supports tabs,... well, your software is likely horribly outdated and you're likely open to major exploits and won't be online much longer.)

Dropping the grid does mean you lose something to the game, but on the other hand all characters gain the Feat "Moves at the speed of Plot". From time to time important images are shared as a web link or something.

Honestly I find the table is infinitely more fun when it is real and you're there in person. 2d VTTs don't interest me nearly as much.