D&D 5E Virtual Tabletop at the physical tabletop

[Bupp]

My old desktop has finally died. Not that it was used much anymore, we've since switched to using Chromebooks.


I do have a pretty nice monitor, that I want to continue to use at the table.


So I'm looking for a Virtual Tabletop, to use at the physical tabletop.


I could use either my Chromebook or Android phone to run things.


Preferably using a Chromecast, though I could use cables. Cables would be sub-optimal though.


I would like to be able to upload my own maps and tokens.


Fog of War is a must.


Any suggestions?

 

[Gilladian]

I'd look at roll20 first, since it is free at base level.

 

[MNblockhead]

The only example I've seen for VTT to be used AT TABLE is Fantasy Grounds.

I tried using Roll20 for an at table game but didn't like it. Too much prep time.

I think I would only use a VTT if I were running an AP that I could by for the VTT. For example, you can buy all the content for many of the APs for Fantasy Grounds. It would be worth the learning curve if I'm going to be playing the AP for 6-10 months.

 

[LordEntrails]

I' a fan of FG, but don't think it will run on a Chromebook. I don't know what will run on that platform, but you'll want to checkout, Roll20, d20Pro, Battlegrounds RPG, Maptools. There are also smaller ones that you may find in the app store for your platform.

 

[Baumi]

I have no experience with Chromebooks, but on regular PC's you can send everything on Chrome to Chromecast. So Roll20 should work fine.

 

[Uller]

I use roll20 at the table top. It's easy to add a map and fog of war is easy. I don't use it for anything other than showing my players the portions of the map they have explored so that they can enjoy the wonderful player maps the artists commissioned by WotC produce an tracking current party location.

For battles if we want gridded combat we just use a battlemat and for tracking hp or whatever I use a Google sheet

Sent from my SCH-I535 using EN World mobile app

 

[cooperjer]

I run my game as you are indicating. All the players and the DM are in the same room. The dungeon map and avatars are on the TV screen. I purchased the ability to use dynamic lighting in Roll20 after messing with fog of war. I like the dynamic lighting because then I don't have to worry about line of sight. This method allows for some tactical decisions by the players if they so choose.

I recently saw that Roll20 will have the entire MM available for purchase. This will cut down on your prep time if you use the NPC character sheets in Roll20.

My players to complain that Roll20 does not work well with their Microsoft Surface. Roll20 doesn't seem to work well with the touch interface. I use the mouse to point and click and do not run into any problems.

Good luck.

 

[Bupp]

Thanks for the feedback!

I'll dig further into Roll20, that seems to be the way to go. I've played with it a little bit before.