My pen & paper partner of going on 5 years is now on the opposite coast.  We were always theater of the mind so we thought this would be no big deal, and tried to continue RP by texting.  But it's nowhere near the fun experience.  So we're thinking about a VTT but it has to have certain characteristics. 

I have tons of print-and-play cards from drivethru.  I want to be able to import them and use them virtually as well.

We won't be voice connected all the time, so the ability to send in-game texts is a must.

I want to be able to use customized different dice systems and different colored dice.  I want one VTT that will let me play Savage Worlds, 2d20, Fate, and Year Zero Engine.  Actually, I'm not especially (or at all, really) interested in those three systems, I just picked ones that use a variety of mechanics with different colored dice with different meanings, die pools, success levels versus total target numbers, roll high and roll low, etc.

I want the ability to create my own random roll tables.

Although we are Theater of the Mind, it is helpful to sketch out what a scene looks like and I'd like to be able to use both hex or square grids with a way of also using a straight line measurement tool to determine direct distances.

Also like dungeon crawlers and for them I want the ability to start with a blank sheet of gridded paper and draw a map on the fly so as to use various 4 Against Darkness and d100 Dungeon type games.

As a final note, I person I will be playing with has a PC but prefers using a tablet to PC, so the ability for the player to connect in on an Android tablet or a browser based client would be good but not required.

Does such a thing fit this bill?  I see all the fancy fog of war, 3D, dynamically lit beautiful scenes out there.  I don't care about that.  I want to replicate a TTRP theater of the mind session.  I can't seem the find the ability to easily mass import cards, create dice pools containing different colored dice of the same size, and treat each die roll individually for a success number rather than adding them all together for a Difficult Class type thing.

I'm not looking for some piece of software that has all this integrated.  I'm okay with having to add modules.  However "the base system would support this if you wrote your own plugin" is something I'd rather not hear.  I have some basic scripting skills, but not coding.

Fantasy grounds is a really good table top RPG VTT that has a lot of rules that can be purchased that automate dice rolls and take a lot of work of the person running the game.  Plus it has a chat box where messages can be typed.

They have a free demo at http://www.fantasygrounds.com   I would download it and check it out.   I use it for my bi-weekly OSE game and it does a great job.

Any VTT is going to be a compromise given all those requirement.

You might consider just using Zoom or whatever and the GM gets a second webcam, aims it at the table, and uses paper and dice just like you did in person.

As regards dice, not trying to be a dick but just have the players roll physical dice and speak the results with their mouths.  I know, maybe someone would cheat here and there.

But will they?  It doesn't sound like you are playing with strangers. 

If you don't like that, any kind of tabletop simulator lets you do virtually physical dice, but it would probably be separate you want all in one.

If you mostly theater of the mind it, a private discord channel for voice, chat/pics, and a dice-roller bot (I recommend a separate sub-channel for dice rolls) will be sufficient.

Previously I had a lot of doubt myself, now I just play on discord, except on conventions.

Discord (but any chat/videochat program is fine)  give you servers and chat/videochat rooms to emulate your tabletop. For dice, just let your players throw their own and trust the results. Anyway, there are a zillion of dice bots on discord if you actually need it.

For maps, there are few workaround.
You can draw it with a tablet, then cover it black  for fog of war with a notetaking or drawing app (GoodNotes, Onenote ecc). Whenever PCs explore a rooms, you erase the black fog of war with the same app and repost the updated map on discord chat server.

Problems may arise if game resolution is based on non-standard procedure like using ad hoc cards (Everway, Sine Requie) or sorting a token from a bag (Not the end, Follow ecc). In those cases, you have to find some fix, like having one player to make those operations with cards or tokens for everybody.

If you feel that's not enough, sure there are VTTs. For me, VTT are too much work, but your mileage may vary.

Quote from: kidkaos2 on May 24, 2024, 12:18:36 PMMy pen & paper partner of going on 5 years is now on the opposite coast.  We were always theater of the mind so we thought this would be no big deal, and tried to continue RP by texting.  But it's nowhere near the fun experience.  So we're thinking about a VTT but it has to have certain characteristics. 

I have tons of print-and-play cards from drivethru.  I want to be able to import them and use them virtually as well.

We won't be voice connected all the time, so the ability to send in-game texts is a must.

I want to be able to use customized different dice systems and different colored dice.  I want one VTT that will let me play Savage Worlds, 2d20, Fate, and Year Zero Engine.  Actually, I'm not especially (or at all, really) interested in those three systems, I just picked ones that use a variety of mechanics with different colored dice with different meanings, die pools, success levels versus total target numbers, roll high and roll low, etc.

I want the ability to create my own random roll tables.

Although we are Theater of the Mind, it is helpful to sketch out what a scene looks like and I'd like to be able to use both hex or square grids with a way of also using a straight line measurement tool to determine direct distances.

Also like dungeon crawlers and for them I want the ability to start with a blank sheet of gridded paper and draw a map on the fly so as to use various 4 Against Darkness and d100 Dungeon type games.

As a final note, I person I will be playing with has a PC but prefers using a tablet to PC, so the ability for the player to connect in on an Android tablet or a browser based client would be good but not required.

Does such a thing fit this bill?  I see all the fancy fog of war, 3D, dynamically lit beautiful scenes out there.  I don't care about that.  I want to replicate a TTRP theater of the mind session.  I can't seem the find the ability to easily mass import cards, create dice pools containing different colored dice of the same size, and treat each die roll individually for a success number rather than adding them all together for a Difficult Class type thing.

I'm not looking for some piece of software that has all this integrated.  I'm okay with having to add modules.  However "the base system would support this if you wrote your own plugin" is something I'd rather not hear.  I have some basic scripting skills, but not coding.

Check out Fantasy Grounds Unity, its $50 unlimited.  It has D&D, Pathfinder and Savage Worlds as part of it core rules. You'll have to pay for other games if they are avaialble.  Dice can be colored.  You can make your own talbes in the game.  You can use hex or squares on maps. You can draw and add rooms on the fly using their mapping software.  It has a steep learning curve but you can't beat the price.

Kidkaos2, take a look at Battlegrounds VTT.

I recommend watching this video tutorial, which showcases dice macros (best viewed at 1.2x speed). It'll give you insight into how flexible and powerful the software is for letting you play a variety of RPG rule systems with different game mechanics, all with zero scripting/coding.

I believe Battlegrounds VTT fits all your criteria except for "the ability for the player to connect in on an Android tablet or a browser based client".

You might also want to watch a few minutes of this video, which shows how to create custom card decks in the software.

Remember that not everything needs to be in the game. If you would normally hide it behind the GM screen then you can have it on paper next to your keyboard, or in a different window on your PC, and do those things outside the VTT.

Quote from: Ruprecht on November 24, 2024, 09:09:28 AMRemember that not everything needs to be in the game. If you would normally hide it behind the GM screen then you can have it on paper next to your keyboard, or in a different window on your PC, and do those things outside the VTT.

That is how some early VTTs worked.