I play in three online campaigns:
A 4e campaign with Klooge.werks, (
www.kloogeinc.com);
A 3e campaign with OpenRPG, (
www.openrpg.com);
A Pathfinder campaign with Maptools, (
www.rptools.net).
Both the 4e and Pathfinder games use Ventrilo for voice chat, (
Ventrilo - Surround Sound Voice Communication Software).
OpenRPG and Maptools are free.
As for Klooge, players can download an unlicensed copy for free, and can join a game provided the DM has purchased additional licenses for his or her players. If, however, the DM runs out of available licenses, (has 5 licenses and 6 players show up, for instance), then that 6th player would need to buy his or her own license in order to join the game.
All three apps have a lot of features and terrific PC and Mac support, both from developers and users. But of the three, I like playing with OpenRPG the least--it is highly customizable, which is nice, but I think its overly complicated. Full disclosure: I'm a Mac user and not a tinkerer, computer-wise, so setting it up on my machine was a nightmare, and I don't really take advantage of the included tools. I basically just created a text file for my character with dice rolls and flavor text for everything from ability checks to various weapon attacks and skill checks, etc., and during the game I copy and paste from that file into the chat window, (changing a few words or a modifier on the fly as needed). Not ideal, but it works for me. Also, the game board is hideous, and we've had some crashing problems when trying to use digital minis.
I use the same text-file method with Maptools, which is a terrific app--it looks great, has nice features, and its really easy to use. Its a little buggy--the macros in my copy have all stopped working, (hence the text file)--but its a good looking, solid, and reliable digital game table. You can also download an app to create minis from any image from the RPtools site, which is a bonus if you don't like scouring the net for minis, as well as a couple other tools.
Of the three apps, I think Klooge is the most robust. All three will roll virtual dice for you, but only Klooge will let you target an opponent (or opponents) before you roll you attack, and lower the target's hp accordingly if the attack hits. You can also add status effects and spell effects to any character or NPC, have the appropriate abilities, etc. modified for the duration of the effect, and get a reminder when said effects expire. You can also override or modify anything in the game on the fly, should you wish to. There's a little learning curve involved, but once you get the hang of it, its fantastic. There are various rulesets available, including Hero, d6, d10, and D&D 2, 3.5 and 4e. It also comes with a mini creator.
As for the voice chat software, I've tried a couple different ones, but folks seem to like Ventrilo the best, and I have no complaints about it.
If you need minis, you can find pretty much anything you need online for free, although there are plenty of digital minis for sale as well. I like the mini creators from Klooge and RPtools.net, but they only create images in a round frame, so if you'd rather have something that looks like your favorite metal or plastic figure, you can always find a photo of it online, (or take one yourself), and use Photoshop to cut it out, modify it, scale it down (if necessary) and save in the proper format.
Hope that helps.
