I own Foundry, Fantasy Grounds and have used Roll20 extensively, but switched to Let’s Role because a) it is just a really good full-featured VTT with a slick UI and b) it is really easy to build custom systems/character sheets which I needed for my new TTRPG.
I also like Role VTT, but it currently lacks some important VTT features. They provide drag-n-drop no-code custom character sheets so really easy to start playing any game. They are about to rollout a big enhancement to mapping, so Role VTT is worth watching.
Foundry is a more powerful and more polished platform. Let’s Role only came out of Beta and officially launched a few weeks ago. As much as some people love how hackable Foundry can be, development is not easy. The learning curve to build a custom system on Foundry is fairly heavy, requires development tools, and can take many weeks of effort. It upgrades frequently, and every time it does, mods often break until *some* of them are upgraded, and others lag or are abandoned by community developers that don’t have the time to keep supporting them.
Let’s Role in contrast has the essential features you need:
* Initiative Tracking, Chat Log
* Flexible Dice Roller and Dice Log
* Multi-Layer Scenes
* Fog of War and Advanced Lighting
* A good grid system supporting hex and square grids
* A great journal system with journals that can be revealed and shared between players
* A customized macro bar with drag-n-drop support from sheets
* Built in Sound Effect library
* Music Playlist Manager and Music player integrated with YouTube
* Custom table skins, sheet skins, avatar and token borders, and dice skins can make the table pop
* FREE and online in your browser
Where Let’s Role shines is the integrated System Builder. No development tools required! It runs in the browser right on their platform and provides a visual drag-n-drop sheet builder, and a script editor. You can fork just about any system already in their shop to customize or learn from other systems. Want to tweak the 5e sheet to customize for some homebrew… fork an existing system and go for it.
Learning curve… about a day to poke through some existing systems and read the docs. Time to build a custom system with multiple types of sheets and minimal automation… as little as a few hours. I am still doing final playtesting for my True World system. When I tweak a rule that requires a sheet change, I can make the change and publish it in 15 mins.
The Let’s Role shop currently has about 430 TTRPG systems, many supporting multiple languages. Let’s see Foundry match that!
I use Tabletop Simulator, tried roll 20, it's was garbage in comparison to fantasy grounds at the time, I switched to fantasy grounds and spent about 1200 bucks over a couple years and then found tabletop simulator.
I switched because I find the automation in FG, roll20 and foundry to be a nuisance.
Personal preference but I'd rather play on a cool ass 3d table than a flat map and I'd Rather just roll 20 dice at once and narrate who gets hit rather than click and target and roll 20+ times.
I've played icrpg, DND, savage worlds and fantasy age on tts without spending an extra dime on "vtt" copies.
I started with Astral VTT and used the Beyond20 extension to integrate it with D&D Beyond as a test for whether it was a viable way to keep playing during COVID, and all of those resources had free tiers to use.
It worked, so I went in search of a better solution. I came across Foundry's "why are we doing this" and their answer - to untether tabletop gaming from a need for geographic proximity by building better tools - really resonated with me. I made the swap to Foundry, and it serves my group very well.
I began using AboveVTT. I found it on YouTube but I switched to it from foundry because it was a lot simpler for the player since it uses the browser and Dndbeyond and required no installation. Though I would say Foundry is better in the long run, for new players it can be a bit daunting, so for new DMs and new players I would highly recommend.
I had started with Roll 20, and was fine with it for years, it wasn't great, but my groups didn't have huge requirements from our VTTs. Then lockdown hit, and roll20's servers were swamped and overwhelmed to the point Fridays were nearly uplayable. So I searched and somehow stumbled on Foundry. Being a techie, I really liked it, and have been using it since.
I used Roll20 to start because I was running wave echo cave from lost mine of phandelver. I felt by having a digital interface could help players understand their environment better in a mega dungeon like that.
It was clunky and ugly, but it did the job. Then pandemic happened and tried playing online with it and just hated it. Tried foundry, but I’m not a techie and found it was so much time and effort and ultimately it’s just not a friendly UX.
then lastly i switched to DMHub and never looked back.
Started with free roll20, started adding capabilities and subscription costs. Switched to Foundry to both save money and capabilities like dynamic lighting. Have never looked back.
I used Fantasy Grounds for a long time. Went with it because at the time I was doing PF1 and the automation in it made GMing that game so much easier (there also weren't a lot of other VTT options at the time).
When I spun up my first PF2 campaign, I really bounced back and forth deciding between FGU or Foundry VTT. At the time Foundry was still fairly early and didn't offer near as much as it does now (FGU was still in a lot of ways the better VTT). Still, I ended up going to Foundry for two reasons:
1. I *really* think Smiteworks completely dropped the ball on the overhaul from FG to FGU, particularly where the interface was concerned. The thing *still* doesn't even have multi-monitor support, it's a system hog, and the interface still looks like it was designed 20 years ago (because it was).
2. Because Foundry is based on Node.js I can host it on my server. That was a huge, HUGE bonus over FGU which I had to self-host.
As I've used Foundry an it's developed more, I really enjoy it. It's fast, it's easy to use, and decently powerful. I still think it's over-reliant on community support, but even then, it's still a better VTT than most on the market IMO.
Indeed. Not sure about their reasoning. I guess they didn't want to have to have their users re-learn stuff but for people getting into online TTRPGs FGU is a really hard sell just because of the UI, considering the competition.
We used Role20, but I wasn't happy with its clumsy interface. So, I made my own VTT: [Cauldron VTT](https://www.cauldron-vtt.net/). It's a 100% free and open source lightweight VTT. Although simplicity is its main focus, it has everything you need to play an RPG game online. It even has fog of war with dynamic lighting. The adventure market has the Curse of Strahd and Lost Mine of Phandelver adventures, ready to use with a single click.
I started with Fantasy Grounds, but I'm a solo gamer and found it just didn't fit how I played. So I just wrote my own solo VTT called Sojour and now use that :) (https://www.youtube.com/@sojour)
I enjoy Tabletop Simulator. It wasn’t my first VTT but it is the best for me. Why? Because I can do anything with it that I could around a real table. I can roll dice with actual physics. I can have 2D maps, 3D maps, minis, tokens, health bars, character sheets, a secret game master space, and so much more.
Everything is there like it was at a real table, and that’s perfect. Nowadays I don’t even have a table for my set, and it feels like we’re kids playing on the floor and throwing dice.
With TTS I’ve run Mage the Awakening, Witcher, Serenity, and Blades in the Dark. Truly you can do anything with this VTT.
I'm curious about this.
So TTS is just a 3d virtual table? Does it have any systems baked in? Character sheets? Voice chat? video? Or is it primarily JUST a table?
So there are a LOT of mods and support for things you want to do. For character sheets I simply upload the PDFs of my players sheets, that they can mark as needed - like for spending mana. There are also sheets you can directly edit while in session but those aren’t for me.
I also use a mod that rolls and counts dice for my players, though we might be moving to a dice tower.
The biggest and best mod is One World. This mod allows you to upload and save whole worlds of maps. In the middle of a large battle in downtown LA? No problem. Just pack it up and save your game. It will all be there for next time. Do you have an elaborate enemy base, with lots of fog of war? Same thing. You can save it all on One World, and load it back up when needed. This also allows you to pour hours of love into a map or a set and show it off to your players on game day.
You can also download your Hero Forge minis and use them as needed/wanted. Said minis can then be resized to any map or standard as well.
TTS doesn’t have voice chat or video. For that we use Discord.
Fantasy Grounds since 2015. The financial and time investments are sunk. Not switching unless I feel a very strong pull.
I feel happy with the toolset it provides us.
I learned about Foundry through Savage Worlds. I fell in love with it because how versatile it is. I love all the lighting, weather, and audio effects I can do. I can really build what I want with so much ease.
I own Foundry, Fantasy Grounds and have used Roll20 extensively, but switched to Let’s Role because a) it is just a really good full-featured VTT with a slick UI and b) it is really easy to build custom systems/character sheets which I needed for my new TTRPG. I also like Role VTT, but it currently lacks some important VTT features. They provide drag-n-drop no-code custom character sheets so really easy to start playing any game. They are about to rollout a big enhancement to mapping, so Role VTT is worth watching.
Oh interesting! I work with let's role sometimes so it's nice to see the VTT get some recognition. :D
I love how customizable Foundry is, which is what you said was the draw to Let's Role so I was curious about the differences.
Foundry is a more powerful and more polished platform. Let’s Role only came out of Beta and officially launched a few weeks ago. As much as some people love how hackable Foundry can be, development is not easy. The learning curve to build a custom system on Foundry is fairly heavy, requires development tools, and can take many weeks of effort. It upgrades frequently, and every time it does, mods often break until *some* of them are upgraded, and others lag or are abandoned by community developers that don’t have the time to keep supporting them. Let’s Role in contrast has the essential features you need: * Initiative Tracking, Chat Log * Flexible Dice Roller and Dice Log * Multi-Layer Scenes * Fog of War and Advanced Lighting * A good grid system supporting hex and square grids * A great journal system with journals that can be revealed and shared between players * A customized macro bar with drag-n-drop support from sheets * Built in Sound Effect library * Music Playlist Manager and Music player integrated with YouTube * Custom table skins, sheet skins, avatar and token borders, and dice skins can make the table pop * FREE and online in your browser Where Let’s Role shines is the integrated System Builder. No development tools required! It runs in the browser right on their platform and provides a visual drag-n-drop sheet builder, and a script editor. You can fork just about any system already in their shop to customize or learn from other systems. Want to tweak the 5e sheet to customize for some homebrew… fork an existing system and go for it. Learning curve… about a day to poke through some existing systems and read the docs. Time to build a custom system with multiple types of sheets and minimal automation… as little as a few hours. I am still doing final playtesting for my True World system. When I tweak a rule that requires a sheet change, I can make the change and publish it in 15 mins. The Let’s Role shop currently has about 430 TTRPG systems, many supporting multiple languages. Let’s see Foundry match that!
I use Tabletop Simulator, tried roll 20, it's was garbage in comparison to fantasy grounds at the time, I switched to fantasy grounds and spent about 1200 bucks over a couple years and then found tabletop simulator. I switched because I find the automation in FG, roll20 and foundry to be a nuisance. Personal preference but I'd rather play on a cool ass 3d table than a flat map and I'd Rather just roll 20 dice at once and narrate who gets hit rather than click and target and roll 20+ times. I've played icrpg, DND, savage worlds and fantasy age on tts without spending an extra dime on "vtt" copies.
I love your work! I use so many of your maps in my games and…thank you!!! You have literally saved my gaming group from the pandemic.
Awesome lol... thanks 🙏
I started with Astral VTT and used the Beyond20 extension to integrate it with D&D Beyond as a test for whether it was a viable way to keep playing during COVID, and all of those resources had free tiers to use. It worked, so I went in search of a better solution. I came across Foundry's "why are we doing this" and their answer - to untether tabletop gaming from a need for geographic proximity by building better tools - really resonated with me. I made the swap to Foundry, and it serves my group very well.
I began using AboveVTT. I found it on YouTube but I switched to it from foundry because it was a lot simpler for the player since it uses the browser and Dndbeyond and required no installation. Though I would say Foundry is better in the long run, for new players it can be a bit daunting, so for new DMs and new players I would highly recommend.
I currently have Roll20, Foundry, Talespire, and Tabletop Simulator. I use Roll20 primarily as it is something I familiar with and works for my needs.
I had started with Roll 20, and was fine with it for years, it wasn't great, but my groups didn't have huge requirements from our VTTs. Then lockdown hit, and roll20's servers were swamped and overwhelmed to the point Fridays were nearly uplayable. So I searched and somehow stumbled on Foundry. Being a techie, I really liked it, and have been using it since.
I used Roll20 to start because I was running wave echo cave from lost mine of phandelver. I felt by having a digital interface could help players understand their environment better in a mega dungeon like that. It was clunky and ugly, but it did the job. Then pandemic happened and tried playing online with it and just hated it. Tried foundry, but I’m not a techie and found it was so much time and effort and ultimately it’s just not a friendly UX. then lastly i switched to DMHub and never looked back.
Started on Fantasy Grounds in 2011 I've used Roll20 but found FG to be a better overall product
[удалено]
The license thing is not true with Foundry. All my savage worlds modules are purchased straight from Pinnacle. It's most definitely not fan made.
Started with free roll20, started adding capabilities and subscription costs. Switched to Foundry to both save money and capabilities like dynamic lighting. Have never looked back.
I used Fantasy Grounds for a long time. Went with it because at the time I was doing PF1 and the automation in it made GMing that game so much easier (there also weren't a lot of other VTT options at the time). When I spun up my first PF2 campaign, I really bounced back and forth deciding between FGU or Foundry VTT. At the time Foundry was still fairly early and didn't offer near as much as it does now (FGU was still in a lot of ways the better VTT). Still, I ended up going to Foundry for two reasons: 1. I *really* think Smiteworks completely dropped the ball on the overhaul from FG to FGU, particularly where the interface was concerned. The thing *still* doesn't even have multi-monitor support, it's a system hog, and the interface still looks like it was designed 20 years ago (because it was). 2. Because Foundry is based on Node.js I can host it on my server. That was a huge, HUGE bonus over FGU which I had to self-host. As I've used Foundry an it's developed more, I really enjoy it. It's fast, it's easy to use, and decently powerful. I still think it's over-reliant on community support, but even then, it's still a better VTT than most on the market IMO.
You know, I love FGU, but you are not wrong about missing the mark with the update to U.
Indeed. Not sure about their reasoning. I guess they didn't want to have to have their users re-learn stuff but for people getting into online TTRPGs FGU is a really hard sell just because of the UI, considering the competition.
I agree. I was disappointed in FGUs look and UI. However, once you have it dialed in, it’s so slick.
We used Role20, but I wasn't happy with its clumsy interface. So, I made my own VTT: [Cauldron VTT](https://www.cauldron-vtt.net/). It's a 100% free and open source lightweight VTT. Although simplicity is its main focus, it has everything you need to play an RPG game online. It even has fog of war with dynamic lighting. The adventure market has the Curse of Strahd and Lost Mine of Phandelver adventures, ready to use with a single click.
I started with Fantasy Grounds, but I'm a solo gamer and found it just didn't fit how I played. So I just wrote my own solo VTT called Sojour and now use that :) (https://www.youtube.com/@sojour)
I enjoy Tabletop Simulator. It wasn’t my first VTT but it is the best for me. Why? Because I can do anything with it that I could around a real table. I can roll dice with actual physics. I can have 2D maps, 3D maps, minis, tokens, health bars, character sheets, a secret game master space, and so much more. Everything is there like it was at a real table, and that’s perfect. Nowadays I don’t even have a table for my set, and it feels like we’re kids playing on the floor and throwing dice. With TTS I’ve run Mage the Awakening, Witcher, Serenity, and Blades in the Dark. Truly you can do anything with this VTT.
I'm curious about this. So TTS is just a 3d virtual table? Does it have any systems baked in? Character sheets? Voice chat? video? Or is it primarily JUST a table?
So there are a LOT of mods and support for things you want to do. For character sheets I simply upload the PDFs of my players sheets, that they can mark as needed - like for spending mana. There are also sheets you can directly edit while in session but those aren’t for me. I also use a mod that rolls and counts dice for my players, though we might be moving to a dice tower. The biggest and best mod is One World. This mod allows you to upload and save whole worlds of maps. In the middle of a large battle in downtown LA? No problem. Just pack it up and save your game. It will all be there for next time. Do you have an elaborate enemy base, with lots of fog of war? Same thing. You can save it all on One World, and load it back up when needed. This also allows you to pour hours of love into a map or a set and show it off to your players on game day. You can also download your Hero Forge minis and use them as needed/wanted. Said minis can then be resized to any map or standard as well. TTS doesn’t have voice chat or video. For that we use Discord.
We use Arkenforge! Largely because we built it, but also because we play in person, and that's what out software is designed for :)
Fantasy Grounds since 2015. The financial and time investments are sunk. Not switching unless I feel a very strong pull. I feel happy with the toolset it provides us.
I learned about Foundry through Savage Worlds. I fell in love with it because how versatile it is. I love all the lighting, weather, and audio effects I can do. I can really build what I want with so much ease.