Has anyone found a virtual table top that works well for Pathfinder?
RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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Has anyone found a virtual table top that works well for Pathfinder?
MapTool, from RPTools.net. Works for anything, because it doesn't use built-in rules. It has a chat feature (with dice roller) and virtual tabletop. Totally open-ended, so you can use it with pretty much any system you want.
Also TTopRPG.
Anything polished and low-entry-barrier for the Mac yet?
Anything polished and low-entry-barrier for the Mac yet?
The closest to that request is probably D20 Pro.
MapTools is java based and free but definitely NOT low-entry-barrier material.
MapTools is java based and free but definitely NOT low-entry-barrier material.
This I know better than most. :)
Also, they had a late version that left my OSX 10.4 friends out in the cold. Not cool.
I'm actively in the market for something proprietary at this point. School has been way to intense for me to wrangle maptool to my liking. I will check out d20pro and report back.
TToprpg, works very well.
TTopRPG is pretty cool i got one day and was pretty fluent on it the next.
I recall a features list of all the various VTTs. Is there a current one somewhere?
One thing I am not really willing to go without is vision and light. Maptool has spoiled me in that regard.
The maptool community has also created a really cool campaign file for pathfinder here , that one actually automatically allows you to paste in statblocks made in PCGen etc... and it automatically adds them to the token (also works with statblocks from the SRD for monsters). Not 100% foolproof, but it is fairly effective in my pre-game tests (I'm planning on running my first game with it this week). Just note when running the server be sure to grant the players the campaign macros when you import, and everything you set, use the campaign macros buttons when setting up the players tokens.
The maptool community has also created a really cool campaign file for pathfinder here , that one actually automatically allows you to paste in statblocks made in PCGen etc... and it automatically adds them to the token (also works with statblocks from the SRD for monsters). Not 100% foolproof, but it is fairly effective in my pre-game tests (I'm planning on running my first game with it this week). Just note when running the server be sure to grant the players the campaign macros when you import, and everything you set, use the campaign macros buttons when setting up the players tokens.
My experience with Lindsay's Framework has been mixed. It tries to do too many different things rather than really supporting PF, so there's a lot of work involved.
... but it has always been a work in progress. Please post back and let me know how your game goes with it, and maybe based on your feedback I will check it out again.
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I have been using MapTools for about a year, but get really bogged down with inputting monster stats time after time after time. I have come to the conclusion that the focus of my game is on the technology delivering the game, instead of the game itself, so I am looking for a change. I am close to choosing D20 Pro, and would welcome other user’s experience with it, good or bad.
I recall a features list of all the various VTTs. Is there a current one somewhere?
One thing I am not really willing to go without is vision and light. Maptool has spoiled me in that regard.
I use Fantasy Grounds frequently.
I prefer maptools!
In fact Im using maptools for a Kingmaker game and its easy, free and has frameworks especially for Pathfinder.
Okay, I am a long-time and very enthusiastic MapTool user, but right now I am courting the other VTTs.
The main reason is that MapTool no longer supports my friends with old computers. They're my group. New computers are not negotiable.
I want something Mac OS compatible, not through VM ware or other OS installation.
I'm sorely tempted by the features in d20pro, but I have the following issues:
I'm sad, because it looks like other than these two hiccups, d20pro has everything I want.
So what now? I really don't want to get caught up running VMware to host my games, not because I can't handle it, but I can't imagine talking my two luddite players through it (and I don't think their machines can handle it anyhow).
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EL,
I'd really suggest fantasy grounds for it. It does cost but tbh it's some of the best money I've spent.. If you want a demo of the pathfinders players side you can shoot an email to my username at g mail. And I'll set one up for you, I have what's called the Ultimate license with them so anyone can connect as long as they download the software.
What a nightmare.
Two of my friends are running Power-PC Macs.
Looks like an older build of MapTool is my only solution. It's a damn shame, because I pilot-tested d20pro with another group and I was very happy with the experience (leaving aside a few UI design hiccups, to which I am hyper-sensitive).
They're good guys, my two cavemen, just not computer-reliant. It's a little priggish to demand they buy whole new computers to play in my game.
Time to crack open an old version of MapTool with an old version of Lindsay Markus' framework and see if I don't go mad straight away.
Hasten the day that we have a good, browser-running VTT. SceneGrinder looked really promising, but there's no way I'm getting into a subscription service when the maintainer appears to have fallen off the face of the planet.
I'm gonna keep griping here, in case anyone else shares my pain. If you have any ideas, please share!
I just wanted to follow up here in case other people have the same problem:
MapTool 1.3b63 is the most stable build that still runs with Java 1.5 for older macs.
If every other VTT has left you out in the cold (probably because some of your players are Luddites) that's your best bet.
This thread is well timed. My players are leaving town for the holidays, but could get together via a VTT for a session over the break. In addition, one of my players is about to move to the other coast at the end of next month, so I'm using this break to experiment.
Out of curiosity, do any of the VTTs mentioned here have an iPad client (or an iPad-compatible web-client)? That would certainly make one significantly more attractive, even if the GM still needs a computer to host.
There's someone who has hacked together an iPad something or other for MapTool, but I seriously doubt it is easy to pick up (since MapTool alone can be a hassle at times).
I think that may have just sealed my choice (I was leaning towards MapTool already, based on your posts above).
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D20Pro. I wont even try any of the other ugly garbage programs.Its far prom perfect but works much better and easier than most of the other VTT's I have tried.
I have to disagree with this post. While D20 Pro does have some superior features, it has two major drawbacks to other VTT offerings:
1. No dynamic fog of war. MapTools has it, and it is a really helpful feature. D20 Pro has it under development, but it is not available yet.2. Spell system is useless. It is easier to manage spell effects OUTSIDE of D20 pro. This was the decision point for me that kept me away from purchasing D20 pro. Again, they are thinking of revising it, but no commitment on when.
Additionally, simple things like an on-screen pointer are not available in D20 Pro. MapTools has a very simple on screen pointer.
No VTT that I have found is "perfect", but I would hesitate to call MapTools "garbage".
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D20Pro. I wont even try any of the other ugly garbage programs.Its far prom perfect but works much better and easier than most of the other VTT's I have tried.I have to disagree with this post. While D20 Pro does have some superior features, it has two major drawbacks to other VTT offerings:
1. No dynamic fog of war. MapTools has it, and it is a really helpful feature. D20 Pro has it under development, but it is not available yet.
2. Spell system is useless. It is easier to manage spell effects OUTSIDE of D20 pro. This was the decision point for me that kept me away from purchasing D20 pro. Again, they are thinking of revising it, but no commitment on when.Additionally, simple things like an on-screen pointer are not available in D20 Pro. MapTools has a very simple on screen pointer.
No VTT that I have found is "perfect", but I would hesitate to call MapTools "garbage".
I call it garbage solely because it has to be IMO one of the ugliest programs I have ever seen. I have tried it only a few times and found it difficult to use and couple with its ugliness I will not use it. From my understanding on what I have read it is probably the best VTT out there but until it gets a facelift and easier to use I will not give it a chance.
True fact: most programmers are not UI designers.
MapTool: ugly interface, beautiful vision, light and fog of war. Very little PF automation support. Great image importing.
D20pro: okay interface (kinda cheesy and 90s-era-fantasy-CRPG). No vision and light. FoW is extremely primitive and burns my eyes. Great PF automation support, but not perfect. Terrible image importing on the Mac, just horrible.
In the end, if you want rules automation, d20pro is the better product. If you can run without much automation, you just close all the ugly windows and use the heck out of MapTool's vision, light, and FoW. Used in this fashion, MapTool is prettier.
You can use user-created imports to make MapTool more automated, but this tends to exacerbate the ugliness of the interface.
As you can see, I am very torn between the two, since I would love more automation. Unfortunately the decision is made for me; MapTool runs on my player's computers, and d20pro does not.
In short, MapTool is better for exploration heavy games, d20pro is better for combat heavy games. I would even consider using both, divided along those lines, if I had the option.
True fact: most programmers are not UI designers.True. Despite the steep learning curve on MapTools, it is FREE. Given a choice between two things that don't do EXACTLY what I want then to do, I'll take the free one over the costly one.
This is generally my opinion too. On the other hand, there comes a point where the non-free one is just flat-out better that it's worth paying. I recently switched from PCGen to HeroLab for that reason - PCGen still only had moderate support for APG, while HeroLab had the APG, UM, and UC.
On the first hand again, asking my players to pay $10 each for a license, or buying them myself, just so the 7 of us can try out the software, is a non-starter. If the trial version would allow more than 2 guests, I'd have given it a second look, but without that...
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True fact: most programmers are not UI designers.True. Despite the steep learning curve on MapTools, it is FREE. Given a choice between two things that don't do EXACTLY what I want then to do, I'll take the free one over the costly one.This is generally my opinion too. On the other hand, there comes a point where the non-free one is just flat-out better that it's worth paying. I recently switched from PCGen to HeroLab for that reason - PCGen still only had moderate support for APG, while HeroLab had the APG, UM, and UC.
On the first hand again, asking my players to pay $10 each for a license, or buying them myself, just so the 7 of us can try out the software, is a non-starter. If the trial version would allow more than 2 guests, I'd have given it a second look, but without that...
If you are talking about D20Pro you can have unlimited guests as long as they get a trial version as well,so you could have all the players you wanted to try it out for those 30 days or however long it lasts for.
On a side not, you can have all the players you want connect to your Judge licence as well for free as long as the judge has extra guest slots. I have all 6 of my players able to connect for free as I have 12 guest slots.So people who connect to my game in D20Pro never need to pay.
Fantasy Grounds also has the Unlimited License that lets as many users as your connection can handle connect with the free version.
If you are talking about D20Pro you can have unlimited guests as long as they get a trial version as well,so you could have all the players you wanted to try it out for those 30 days or however long it lasts for.
I was - their website didn't make it clear that you could use the trial version to connect to a trial hosting server. What you say makes sense, though, so I'll go back and actually give it a try.
Go to see this : http://www.indiegogo.com/dragonclaw or Dragonclaw.ca