What's the bare minimum for a VTT?

[TaranTheWanderer]

I love dice. I have hundreds, probably over a thousand.

But I click on a weapon on my character sheet, it rolls the attack then automatically rolls damage including any damage from a critical hit. For advantage/disadvantage, it simply chooses the better/worse roll. That's faster than I can do it in person.

Except when it doesn’t work. Which in my experience is often

 

[numtini]

Except when it doesn’t work. Which in my experience is often

Having it work should probably be added to my requirements.

 

[Cordwainer Fish]

Having it work should probably be added to my requirements.

There's no pleasing some people.

 

[Lanefan]

Another big required feature, that I don't think anyone's mentioned yet, is that it the bandwidth and tech required to use it be very minimal. Not everyone has the latest tech and-or a fibre-optic internet connection.

 

[Cergorach]

You need 3D dice rolling, but don't need 3D minis?

Immersion. 3D dice rolling for me is a necessity for a VTT, as just random number showing up totally disconnects me from the pnp RPG experience we're trying to recreate online. 3D dice tend to be very low impact on the computer hardware, 3D minis tend to be very high impact on the computer hardware, not to mention that camera view controls often absolutely suck! Then there's the incredible amount of additional work 3D environments and minis take. And for many players it's crossing the line between a pnp RPG and a computer RPG.

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For me flexibility is extremely important to a VTT, the ability to just use a map, tokens, and some dice to fully automating things, doing weird things with animations, tiles, tokens, etc. Depending on my needs. For me Foundry VTT is hitting all those spots, especially because I can be in control of not only the software, but also the content I make and/or bought.

If we have tools like these, why discuss what we'll accept as the absolute minimum?

 

[TheSword]

You need 3D dice rolling, but don't need 3D minis?

Yes, i need to see those ivories dancing. Without it, doesn’t feel like an RPG

 

[LordEntrails]

maps, tokens, character management, npc management, combat tracking (damage, effects), dice, notes/text.
Basically everything you would find in a simple adventure module. If I have to pick up a physical book, or pull up another app with text, then it's not really a full VTT is it? It's just part of the solution for a virtual table top experience.

 

[SteveC]

Yes, i need to see those ivories dancing. Without it, doesn’t feel like an RPG

There is a reason that Dice So Nice is the most popular Foundry module ever. I don't know that I could play without my custom black and silver Corwin of Amber dice. That's a very different feeling from 3D terrain and minis, which are really hard to execute well.

 

[Kannik]

As others have mentioned above, Owlbear Rodeo fits the bill for my minimum viable VTT, especially with a number of the extensions available for it (that can add value tracking to tokens, movement counting, auras, conditions, etc).

The things that would really make Owlbear sing for me would be:

Values that can transfer/update between scenes (whether on a specific token or in a text box)
An easy way to handle handouts and similar reveals to the players (images, notes, items, etc)
Ability to add a customizable frame around the edges of the map window

 

[aramis erak]

For some all you need is maps. Some want at least maps and minis. Some want maps, minis, and dice. Some want things up to and including full mechanics, rules, and system integration along with full automation so all you have to do is click a button and the computer will spit out the results.

Keep in mind the question: what is the bare minimum for a VTT?

Where do you fall on this spectrum?

Supported on Mac, Win, Android, iOS.
Map and tokens.
Supports square grid, hex grid, ungridded, and isomorphic (long axis horizonal diamond/lozenge grid)
supports 15° rotation increments
supports both metric and English Traditional Measure; Japanese traditional measures a bonus.

Ideally, the method of grid setting being like the one in GTove, at least as an option. (It's set a pin in one vertice, set a second in a vertice down and right. Since GTove is free, you can check it out at gTove. This system allows it to easily adapt to not-quite even hexgrids and squaregrids easily.

As for dice, I don't like them on the surface, but love having them in chat. Also, support for user defined dice such as those in 2d20system and FFG NDS games.

I don't care about minis as long as token support is robust, and allows multi-grid figures in non-square as well as square/round.