By its very nature, Dungeons & Dragons is a group-based game. In recent years, technology has advanced enough that people are flocking to online virtual tabletops to play with others across the world. There are many options available for teams that don't want to use Zoom or Skype, such as Roll20 and Owlbear Rodeo, but finding the right one can be a challenge. However, one system, Foundry Virtual Tabletop, is an incredibly versatile tabletop.
With its versatile yet simple-to-use design, it's hard for other tabletops to stand up compared to Foundry VTT. To make an informed decision, it's necessary to delve into the things that make Foundry great. Only one player needs to purchase a license, and then it can be utilized by the entire group. This purchase fee is only a one-time payment, meaning a player won't need to pay a monthly service fee to continue using the system. What's more, many of the features offered for a subscription service (such as dynamic lighting and API access) come free with Foundry.
While many players use Discord or Zoom to play using theater of the mind, Foundry VTT offers an extensive selection of tools to design maps or upload ones created with other software. It even comes with a small library of assets to make scenes pop. Even if those pre-loaded assets don't match the campaign's tone, it's easy to upload ones that have been saved to the computer. Using Foundry's built-in dynamic lighting system, the DM can also manipulate the fog of war and the vision of players based on their character token's vision. Covering up sections of the map in large unsightly chunks is now a thing of the past.
In Foundry, each campaign created is made as a "World," which allows the organizer to select from one of the 150 unique game systems they want to use (including Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition). Foundry even comes with a few pre-written campaigns for some systems. For 5e, all of the System Reference Document comes pre-programmed into the Worlds, and the built-in character sheet function makes online play simple and smooth.
However, that's not Foundry's greatest asset. Where the software truly shines is in the use of Add-On Modules. Many individuals in Foundry's community are coders, and one of the available perks of owning a license for the system is access to their entire library of Modules. They have massive amounts of customization for games. If a DM is tired of keeping multiple monster character sheets open, the Token Action HUD module allows DMs to select their attacks from their token rather than their sheet. If the game is missing some ambiance, the Adventure Music mod is a massive help. With the expansive library, any number of modifications and variations can be made directly to Foundry to smooth the game, add in additional features, or help with player immersion.
Foundry VTT is also stream friendly, easily able to be recorded for use through any OBS and used cooperatively with Discord without incident. This makes communication with other players easy, and if one is looking to start a stream or podcast, using Foundry VTT can make the transition move more smoothly. What's more, when creating the World, each player has their own login into the game, which can be password protected. If one prefers more character privacy, they can rest easy knowing their sheet is only viewable by them and the Dungeon Master.
Another impressive feature is Foundry VTT's customizable compendium. This incredible function allows Dungeon Masters to create homebrew classes and features for their players that are quickly able to be accessed. This also allows copying and pasting from any digital copies already owned by the players without buying another expensive book as Roll20 requires.
Like many other systems, Foundry features some impressive coding, but it stands out above the rest as a virtual tabletop. The versatility brought by the module library, the customizable compendium, dynamic lighting and one-time payment make it reign king over all others. Try Foundry today, and it'll be obvious just how much better it is than anything else on the market.