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.
If you’re an experienced DM then you could get away with just Table Top Simulator, perhaps? At its simplest it’s just a virtual battle map but you can expand it.
Let players roll IRL if you trust them to not fudge. Or roll in the app but there’s something a bit less fun about that.
I’ve only ever been player though, so can’t speak to setup issues.
Another option maybe not considered is you could just use OBS, use 2 webcams and switch between your face and the physical map in front of you. You just use the obs output instead of your webcam directly. OBS is free too
I definitely want to try a VTT over just a map. Honestly, I wish there was a DM software that was like a VTT that I could use to organize my in person games and export sessions to a printable format.