Simple virtual tabletop?

[Greywander]

I'm going to be starting a campaign with my sister soon. We don't normally bother with a virtual tabletop, mostly on account of not having put in the effort to learn how to use one, but it looks like I'll be playing a monk with speed for days and she's going to be playing a 1200 foot Eldritch Blast sorlock. With that in mind, I figure something like a battle mat is a bit more important.

Neither of us have any experience with VTTs. We're not looking for anything fancy, just something easy to use. I would actually prefer something with simpler graphics, maybe something stylized like a Gameboy or NES JRPG. We don't need any integrated rules, since we're using a lot of homebrew anyway. Mostly, all I really need is a way to place down map tiles and character tokens, and maybe things like an integrated dice roller.

We both own, but haven't used, Fantasy Ground (non-Unity version) on Steam. I've heard good things about Foundry, but that was a while back. I'm not aware of what's currently available, and those are probably both more powerful than I need them to be. Recommendations?

[Batcathat]

Maybe just something like a Google Drawing? I've never used it for something like that, but it should work pretty well, I think.

[Psyren]

Owlbear Rodeo is pretty simple and no-frills, and it works on anything with a browser, even cellphones and tablets. Have a tutorial (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qB1yvHRweeE)

[KorvinStarmast]

Max Wilson tried owlbear rodeo for our group as a VTT. It was pretty good, no frills. Not too hard to figure out in terms of GUI.

One more vote for Owlbear Rodeo.

[Greywander]

I'm wary of the monthly subscription model, even if a free option is offered. I'd rather download a tool and host everything on my own computer (it would need to support Linux) without any artificially imposed limits trying to strangle me into paying for an upgrade. That said, the free version of Owlbear Rodeo looks to be more than sufficient for my purposes at the moment.

One feature in particular I'd like is the ability to create my own tilesets and draw tile-based maps in the VTT itself (something like RPG Maker, if you will). It seems like most VTTs are designed to take hand-drawn artwork and slap a grid over it to make a map, and most of the mapping tools aren't themselves VTTs and require you to export the map and import it into a VTT. If I have to draw a map ahead of time and import it into a VTT, not only is that more work but it also makes it difficult to improv/freestyle during play.

[KillianHawkeye]

One feature in particular I'd like is the ability to create my own tilesets and draw tile-based maps in the VTT itself (something like RPG Maker, if you will). It seems like most VTTs are designed to take hand-drawn artwork and slap a grid over it to make a map, and most of the mapping tools aren't themselves VTTs and require you to export the map and import it into a VTT. If I have to draw a map ahead of time and import it into a VTT, not only is that more work but it also makes it difficult to improv/freestyle during play.

I haven't tried every option out there by a long shot, but I'm doubtful you're going to find this feature. VTTs are not RPGMaker. You shouldn't really be expecting them to work the same way, IMO.

[Greywander]

Really? I'd be legitimately shocked if there wasn't a VTT that had the ability to draw maps from a tileset. It would be one of the first things I'd expect to come out of a unified VTT and mapping tool.

Well, guess I'll have to do it myself then. How hard can it be?

[animorte]

Owlbear Rodeo is pretty simple and no-frills, and it works on anything with a browser, even cellphones and tablets.

One more vote for Owlbear Rodeo.
Thanks both; I've passively sought this out myself.

[Psyren]

It was apparently popular enough to get specifically called out in the WotC survey alongside Roll20 and Fantasy Grounds, rather than being lumped into the "Other VTT" category.

[Grod_The_Giant]

Really? I'd be legitimately shocked if there wasn't a VTT that had the ability to draw maps from a tileset. It would be one of the first things I'd expect to come out of a unified VTT and mapping tool.

Well, guess I'll have to do it myself then. How hard can it be?
Agreed; one of the main reasons I still use roll20 is that you can draw maps directly in the program.

[KillianHawkeye]

Agreed; one of the main reasons I still use roll20 is that you can draw maps directly in the program.

It's just free-hand drawing, though. Not using a tileset like the OP is looking for.

[PhoenixPhyre]

Foundry VTT allows you to place tiles, but the interface isn't particularly great (too many steps/clicks) for that. It's very configurable via plugins, but has a learning curve.

[stoutstien]

Foundry VTT allows you to place tiles, but the interface isn't particularly great (too many steps/clicks) for that. It's very configurable via plugins, but has a learning curve.

Also not a subscription based platform which is a rarity.

[Greywander]

Yeah, I'm considering looking into if Foundry can be made to do what I want, but my fear is that by the time I have everything configured properly I could have put that same effort into developing my own VTT from scratch and still had it done earlier. I could settle for a less elegant solution, but I'd pay for that later every time I have to navigate a clunky menu to awkwardly place down tiles with a UI that isn't designed for it.

I think for now I might give Owlbear Rodeo a try, just to get a bit more experience working with a VTT (especially one purporting to be simple and easy to use), and then I may actually start developing a VTT of my own. It seems like there's an open niche that hasn't been catered to yet. This could be a great opportunity to address some of the issues I see with VTTs, how they're designed and how they're used. While the gorgeously detailed maps and intricate 3D models are nice, I think they're a red herring that's doing more harm than good. Minimalism that relies on imagination is the way to go, I think. Less prep work, better ability to improvise, and a greater importance placed on DM flavor text.

[Dice Goblin]

Agreed; one of the main reasons I still use roll20 is that you can draw maps directly in the program.

Still using roll20 myself, the features are just crazy but Owl does have its pluses.

[Lord Torath]

Apparently Dungeon Scrawl has been added to Roll20 (https://x.com/roll20app/status/1702376088440082860?s=12&t=0aGaFeLux6wjavDxY7eBiw). I've never used Dungeon Scrawl, so I'm interested to see how it works. It looks vaguely tile-based.

[Kyovastra]

I make maps in Foundry using its tile placement tools and modular art assets like Gabriel Pickard's. For my purposes it works pretty well, especially with a couple modules, but I believe the Foundry devs have said it's not really an intended use case to make maps with it and as such, it's a bit janky and perhaps not the best at doing so, but I do find it better and easier for making maps in than I did with Roll20, and I'm not sure there's any VTT that's better at it than Foundry. I agree with what you said about wanting to make maps in a VTT and share your surprise with how we seem to be the minority to desire such a thing, since to me it seems like one of the most important, obvious things I'd expect from one.

It's worth noting while Foundry may not be a "simple virtual tabletop", that just because it's known for all the fancy things you can do with it doesn't mean you actually have to use any of those fancy things, most of which come from modules. So you can keep the experience relatively simple and just have simple character sheets, rolling dice, and basic maps, which I don't know if it'd be as simple as what you want or not, but if you've seen what it's like and think it looks really complicated, it's easy to overestimate since you don't have to make it so.

It also does fit your requirements of being a one-time purchase and something you can self-host yourself, plus it works great on Linux. From what I recall, if you buy it and it's not for you, you can also contact support and get a refund pretty easily, which a friend of mine did a year or two ago when it wasn't for them.