I have a continuing need for a lightweight VTT that enables some custom sheet design, integrated video, and a pleasant interface. Essentially, this is for games I want to run where Foundry VTT does not have a system. I have fiddled around with the Foundry Custom System Builder module, and although I can make something work, the sheets look ugly, and will continue to be so, beyond my CSS skills. This VTT requirement has been ably taken up by Role, but with the loss of webcams and audio I have decided to look elsewhere, at least for now.
If I want an integrated audio visual interface with simple to add custom sheets, then I think there is only one other game in town at the moment, and that looks to be Alchemy VTT. So, for an afternoon, I have been playing with it to see if it could fill the gap. So far, it seems to be a tentative ‘yes’. Here’s me on the webcam bar with the beginnings of a custom game of Heroic Fantasy 2e using the Bloodwood adventure.
Although I am less than certain about some of the Alchemy UI decisions, I can get a game up and running, attractively, in a few of hours. The user experience is all integrated in the one place and I think it could be fun. The free version comes with a relatively modest allowance for assets, so the jump to a year’s subscription, for unlimited, could be a few steps away. This decision has been confounded and encouraged by a currently running Humble Bundle, chock full of map assets and a bundled 6 months of Alchemy thrown in for less than £20. Timing, temptation.
I have enough to start loading Bloodwood into Alchemy for some actual play, which will garner me some player opinions. I expect it will play just fine, with my only uncertainty being the robustness of the audio and webcams. We shall just have to see…