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submitted 3 months ago by iconic_admin@lemmy.world to c/dnd@lemmy.world

I bet this question gets asked a lot. I have been DMing an in person group for a couple months now. My first game back since around 2008 or so and I'm hooked again. The downside is that we're all parents and scheduling is a nightmare (per the norm). We are only meeting once a month or less.

So I want to look into running another game online. I tried roll20 with a one shot that I wrote for the purpose and being that it was my first time using the platform it just kind of got in the way. I want to pick one platform (roll20, Foundry VTT, or whatever) and really do a deep dive to learn it so I can run an online game with a steady group. Setting up the self hosting of Foundry is no problem for me but I've read that players can find it confusing to use. I want players and myself to be able to manipulate the platform as seamlessly as possible.

Before I keep rambling on forever, what in your opinion is the easiest VTT to run and to play? I would like perspective from players and from DMs.

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[-] who@feddit.org 3 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

After using both Roll20 and Fantasy Grounds from both sides of the table, I landed on Foundry VTT and never looked back.

It's not free, but the value for the price is almost unheard of these days. Andrew and his team have a knack for finding a good balance between power, flexibility, ease of use, and beauty. Also, they make themselves accessible to the community, and parts of it are even open-source.

I would only suggest another VTT if the DM and players were all dirt poor, or if the DM had especially weak computer skills.

[-] thirstybear@lemmy.world 3 points 3 months ago

My money is on Foundry VTT. It is robust and still pretty easy to use. The pay model is also superior to most others. Try using it with Molten Hosting if you want an always-on server instead of hosting it on your local machine.

[-] iconic_admin@lemmy.world 2 points 3 months ago

The pay model on Foundry is huge for me too. I love purchasing and owning things over subscriptions.

[-] Coopr8@kbin.earth 2 points 3 months ago

Our party uses Roll20, but mostly due to sunk cost of content, it works fine.

We tried Foundry VTT but from.time to time there were connectivity issues. I'd say be sure your connection is very stable and you understand how to work your network/firewall/proxy settings before hard committing to Foundry. That said, it is a pretty nice system overall.

Now a couple of options you should be aware of are AboveVTT which is an extension that converts D&D Beyond into a full VTT people really like, good if you already rely on D&D Beyond.

Then there is the FOSS option MapTool, which is a full featured self-host VTT akin to Foundry, but totally free. If you like this kind of projected don't mind community built documentation, this is a legitimate contender.

[-] Zoomboingding@lemmy.world 1 points 3 months ago

MapTool

This looks awesome, haven't heard of it. I wonder if I could get my Roll20 group to switch over and host our game independently...

[-] Jeeve65@ttrpg.network 2 points 3 months ago

I use Owlbear Rodeo

It has maps, tokens, fog of war and some small tools like a pointer and a measuring tool for distances — everything I need.

If required you can install extensions but so far I do not really use that.

[-] iconic_admin@lemmy.world 0 points 3 months ago

Good recommendation, I wasn’t even looking at Owlbear. Do you have a sense of the ease of use for the players?

[-] Jeeve65@ttrpg.network 1 points 3 months ago

It's pretty easy for players. You can lock everything and give them access to their own token(s) only. The player can pan and zoom their own view, but when required you can sync all player views with your current view.

I've used Owlbear Rodeo in online sessions with co-workers that had never before played any ttrpgs, and it went great.

[-] iAmTheTot@sh.itjust.works 2 points 3 months ago

Foundry VTT is the best on the market right now for my two cents. If your players find using it confusing then I'm really not sure what other VTT they wouldn't find confusing. The player side of things is pretty straight forward.

[-] iconic_admin@lemmy.world 0 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Foundry sounds like the winner so far. I love that it is a purchase and I have the option to self host if that’s what I want.

[-] felbane@lemmy.world 1 points 3 months ago

Self hosting is super easy too, I just run it via docker alongside an nginx proxy manager container and it's flawless.

Foundry also seems to have the most community support at the moment, tons of creators making compatible content, youtube videos and blog posts explaining advanced techniques, etc etc.

[-] BozeKnoflook@lemmy.world 1 points 3 months ago

If you're playing Pathfinder then Foundry is hands down the best option in my opinion.

If you're running D&D 5e then Foundry with an addon named plutonium followed by the word that may or may not be import is the best option (you may have to dive into Discord to get it downloaded, but I promise it's the best VTT for D&D 5e.. yarrr).

After those, Roll20 is okay. It works, it's alright.

[-] iconic_admin@lemmy.world 1 points 3 months ago

Another point for Foundry.

I have never played Pathfinder. I’m mostly focused on D&D right now while I’m getting back into the hobby but I live to run a Cyberpunk Rd game at some point.

this post was submitted on 31 Aug 2025
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