With 2020 firmly dominated by the Lets Role Virtual Tabletop (VTT), I am looking at a more mixed experience during 2021. Lets Role provides a great simple VTT for tactical maps and tokens. It lacks player Audio Video (webcams), which is a must for me, so it is always going to be competing with other offerings. I’m backing the Lets Role Kickstarter, partly as a “thank you” for all the good times, and to continue to use it as it develops further throughout 2021. I really must get proficient at the system builder as I could then make the sheets I really want for it. In reality that’s unlikely, so that will again limit its usage.
Role VTT arrived last year and has now embedded itself as a default for gaming. It lacks many tactical map features and focuses on the audio/visual experience for the players. This platform is, for me, the most exciting, as it gives point and click building tools, great AV built in, and a lovely community. This one is not going to have deep integration with game systems, but will provide a light and attactive platform to play personable games. I will be using it a lot.
I don’t run D&D5e, so some of the appeal of Roll20 and other Beyond options just isn’t there. I’m not much of a fan of Roll20, much to the bemusement of some fo my gaming chums. I’m happy to play on it, especially as I have persuaded our group to switch on the V bit of AV. I really do like to see everyone integrated intot he VTT experience. A new 28″ 4K monitor means that I can run Diescord video in a stripe next to a VTT as a makeshift solution, which is useful for Lets Role.
For the deep and heavy integration with more complex systems I’m looking at Foundry. There’s an upfront investment of money and then a follow-up investment in time to master the fiddliness of it. It’s sophisticated and has some very clever integration, but it is pretty much community driven and I am iunlikely to get to grips with the coding to make me self sufficient. It’s a balance and I am teetering towards getting it. One module lets you take a Paizo purchased Advemnture Path PDF and import it direct into Foundry as a series of assets. That in itself is a massive timesaver for me. I blanche thinging about the amount of time I’ve spent creating assets for our Pathfinder 2e game. On top of this is the capacity to import chatrcaters from the Pathbuilder2 Android app. Blimey!
Despite all the capabilities it is still a teeter, a waver, and probably a wibble on the way. I like clean, elegant, and simple. My two above have that, Foundry has at least two of them. Still, if I’m to run deep systems then Foundry could prove to be the right tool. It also has some community work underway on D&D 4e. I might endup using Foundry for my regular Pathfinder game and leave it at that. If I start to master it then I may migrate more to it.
As it falls right now, I think Role will prove to be my default, as I can create sheets with it. There will then be options for me to weave in more features through Lets Role, or go full on VTT with Foundry. I’m off next week so will lok at Foudry, possibly acquire, and start to build in my Pathfinder game for a start in mid March.
Exciting to have such great tools available. My online gaming is set to continue strongly throughout 2021 and beyond.