D&D Beyond has made a place for itself in the tabletop roleplaying game community since its initial launch in 2017. This online resource for Dungeons and Dragons even became so popular among players that Wizards of the Coast, the publisher behind D&D, acquired it.
Many fans canceled their D&D Beyond subscriptions in light of the Open Gaming License controversy. However, gamers may have various reasons to seek an alternative to D&D Beyond. They might not want to spend extra money on integral tools and information, including any content from additional sourcebooks. Some players might want to use the same digital resources for all their campaigns, regardless of which game system they’re playing.
10 Roll20 Can Do Almost Everything
If a gaming table needs an online resource for their campaign, Roll20 has them covered. Roll20 is compatible with not only Dungeons and Dragons material but dozens of other tabletop games. It allows players and Game Masters to enter character sheets, maps, items, and more into the interface for their online campaigns and assists with online combat through the platform’s different cursor tools.
Players can indicate specific areas, measure the distance between two points, and move icons around the game board that the Game Master grants them access to.
Though it has fewer active-play tools than other resources, World Anvil is the ultimate online world-building resource for tabletop roleplaying games. World Anvil lets Game Masters, writers, and other creatives compile all their setting and story information in one place.
World Anvil has tools for maps, timelines, organizational charts, and even random tables for Game Masters to roll on to determine outcomes in their games. With this tool, pages upon pages of disorganized notes can become an arranged, concise resource on the setting the creator has made.
8 Foundry Provides Access And Support
Though some digital tabletop spaces include TTRPGs as one of many possibilities, Foundry Virtual Tabletop intentionally integrates them into its foundation. Foundry boasts support for over 200 tabletop roleplaying games with nearly 2,000 modules, many of which have content provided directly by the games’ publishers.
Though Foundry does not have a free version, a software demo is available online. Once purchased, the software includes all the compatible game content and the Foundry Knowledge Base to support users in learning the software.
7 Tabletop Simulator Bridges The Tabletop To Video Game Gap
Tabletop Simulator creates a digital space as adaptable and customizable as any physical table. It boasts asset creation support through the Steam Workshop and modeling software in addition to all the included resources in the RPG Kit.
Up to ten people can play at the same table simultaneously with voice and text chat channels, and every object can move realistically, including being thrown or bumped into by other pieces. Players can share music and videos through the tablet item, which is also an ideal function for accessing character sheets.
6 Adventurer’s Codex Sticks To The Same System
Though many other alternatives expand beyond Dungeons and Dragons, some gamers searching for alternative online sources may miss the system-specificity that D&D Beyond used to provide. Adventurer’s Codex is an online tool specifically intended for use when playing D&D Fifth Edition.
Adventurer’s Codex is an entirely online resource that doesn’t require users to download any material and is free to use. The Codex has tools for everyone at the table, including character sheets for players, maps and custom items for Dungeon Masters, and overall party so everyone can be on the same page.
Gamers seeking alternatives to D&D Beyond may be looking for something more community-centered. Dicecloud was created by, funded by, and provided directly to the tabletop gaming community. Dicecloud was crowdfunded via Patreon, and its software is open-source, available through a General Public License.
Dicecloud keeps the digital and physical play styles compatible through printable character sheets and compatibility with Discord. It’s also very accessible, with a drag-and-drop item inventory, automated action selections that make the relevant rolls, and real-time dice rolls that automatically add a player’s relevant modifiers.
4 TaleSpire Creates A Stunning Three-Dimensional Environment
TaleSpire faithfully replicates an actual, physical gaming table in a three-dimensional environment through advancement in video game graphics. Though TaleSpire is still in Early Access on Steam and the development team is continuing to work on the finished product and make changes and improvements, players are already lauding it for its atmospheric experience.
According to the game’s website FAQ, their future goals include in-game chat functions, availability outside of Steam, the ability to invite players that don’t own TaleSpire, and integration of a game-agnostic system for processing and tracking rules.
3 Beyond Tabletop Streamlines And Simplifies
Digital versions of traditionally pen-and-paper TTRPG elements can sometimes be more complicated to adapt to than the analog system they’re attempting to emulate. Beyond Tabletop uses real-time technology through Google’s Firebase to keep every player and Game Master’s information organized and easily accessible.
It includes maps, character sheets, notes, and other files that gamers can share with each other via links. Beyond Tabletop strives to streamline and simplify the processes that keep TTRPGs moving so players can focus less on the logistics and more on the actual gameplay interactions.
2 MasterScreen Is Made By And For Game Masters
MasterScreen is a free tool for Game Masters to use when running tables online and in person. All content that Game Masters use within MasterScreen can be downloaded directly to their device, assuring ownership of their data.
After the first use, MasterScreen is accessible completely offline, even though it doesn’t require installation. MasterScreen provides interactive maps, a detailed combat manager, simulated dice rolls, templates for creating any game element, and a search function that helps the Game Master find any of their existing documents at a moment’s notice.
1 Fantasy Grounds Is Vast
One of the oldest digital adaptations of TTRPGs, Fantasy Grounds, features an abundance of officially licensed content for a variety of popular TTRPGs, including Dungeons and Dragons, Pathfinder, and Vampire the Masquerade. Multiple versions of Fantasy Grounds are available, including Standard, Ultimate, and Classic, which run on the prior software rather than the updated version on the Unity engine.
Many aspects of Fantasy Grounds are automated for the user’s selected ruleset, streamlining processes like filling in character sheets and running combat encounters.
#Alternatives
