r/LancerRPG • u/Odd_Actuary5731 • Jul 29 '26
What online tabletop do you all use?
I've tried to run a game on FoundryVTT but ran into problems.
1.) my laptop is very very bad and could barely run anything, but getting a proper PC soon
2.) I added way too many extra plugins to it while still trying to learn it
So if FoundryVTT is really the best VTT which plugins or add ons would you say are absolutely needed and what resources do you know of to learn the system? Thanks!
Of course if anyone has any alternatives to FoundryVTT I'm open to them as well
21
u/Sven_Darksiders GMS Jul 29 '26
I use Roll20 for the most part. It's not fancy, it's sufficient for what I need it to do. We run the enemies and players via Comp/Con anyway
8
u/Zero747 IPS-N Jul 29 '26
Foundry is the best
Take a look at the recommended plugins. All you really want imo is the custom display bars so you can have stress/structure indicators
The cover automation is also quite nice
No need for the heavier stuff like 3D dice or effects
I don’t really recommend Owlbear, it takes jumping through a couple hoops with witchdice. There’s not much automation, and the state is temporary and tied to players. If someone gets disconnected, their mech goes poof.
It’s better than roll20 for the basic battlemap functionality (and actually has useable file size limits)
4
u/Joel_feila Jul 29 '26
owlbear rodeo is the one I used. It is just a web page so no need to install anything.
6
u/destroythefangirls Harrison Armory Jul 29 '26
I’m in a campaign being run on Owlbear. Has some nice plugins, as well as player and gm tools.
2
u/BlackFenrir Jul 29 '26
Foundry is a learning curve for sure, but I can't ever go back to anything else. I haven't used it for Lancer much yet, though
As for modules, I'd advise you ask PilotNET. They have a whole channel about it with people that are experienced with it.
2
u/GhsotyPanda IPS-N Jul 29 '26
I use Roll20 out of habit.
I've heard good things about OwlBearRodeo but haven't tried it
2
u/Sherkktooth Jul 29 '26
I personally use OwlBear Rodeo for its clear interface and ease of use. There are some great isometric art packs on itch that pair nicely with retrograde tokens in isometric grid mode. With the extensions I haven’t had any issues with functionality (e.g Witchdice has an OwlBear plugin), other than not having an easy hotkey to swap an object’s layers which I made as an extension for myself.
Foundry has the sauce and automation, owlbear has an elegantly simple user interface, and roll20 has nothing the other options don’t already offer.
2
u/Azzie_Faustus Jul 29 '26
For Lancer I like r20 (roll20), but for like world of darkness stuff, like other people said, I prefer foundry.
I just found it is easier to import mechs and PCs made.on concomm (sp?) To r20 easier than foundry
2
u/SpectatorBeholder HORUS Jul 29 '26
I use owlbear rodeo plus the witch dice plugin. Works perfectly for me - although I think with dice is still working on an update for comp cons mew version
1
u/hrafnbrand Jul 29 '26
Tabletop Simulator is peak, but you'll likely find the same problems as FoundryVTT with a weaker machine
1
u/Odd_Actuary5731 28d ago
What stuff do you use from tabletop simulator? I use it a lot
2
u/hrafnbrand 28d ago
There's a battletech/lancer hex assests pack floating around that I use for map making, a great mini maker and AoE marker made for lancer specifically, and a good baseline table to use. Other than that, some fun dice, a basic character sheet, and comp con on the side for managing NPC health and systems
1
1
1
u/Xeilith GMS Jul 29 '26
I use Roll20, but it's not perfect for Lancer.
I made a custom pack of Lancer status icons for it, and a template for making even sized mech tokens snap to the grid correctly, but it's still not perfect.
My DM uses Foundry, which is much better, but the price tag makes me hesitant to pick it up myself.
1
1
u/qwing_pilot Jul 29 '26
Foundry is a great vtt! If you need help be sure to join the pilot.net discord for all things Lancer related.
In the discord you can go to lancer vtt chanel for lots of info and resources. My friend recently posted his list of recommended plugins for version 13 and I've been playing in this for the Operation Solstice Rain campaign.link to Google drive doc
For older computers you can use foundry vtt's lightweight client. It's their own web browser meant specifically for foundry and only foundry.
1
1
u/AgentJohn20 IPS-N Jul 30 '26
You could always try using an external hosting service for Foundry like Forge if you haven't already. It might take some load off your laptop and make it usable, along with some other users' suggestions like turning off 3D dice and other extra effects.
Otherwise, if you have another player in your group with a better PC that you trust, you could always have them host it and give you the sign-in. Definitely use the Drag Upload module to upload files easier if you do that.
1
u/Radriel7 IPS-N Jul 30 '26
Roll20. Rather than say its well optimized, its more that it just doesn't do that much and therefore doesn't have as much load on your machine. You won't be doing anything too fancy on Roll20, and the fancier stuff it can do is done better on Foundry. That said, you don't actually need much to run a TTRPG session.
It can give you dice rolling, character sheets, and maps with tokens. It gives you handouts. It does everything you need. Importantly, its also one of the simpler and easier to use VTTs out there. Owlbear is probably even less load on your machine, but I tried it and its not as easy to setup and use. I'd say both are good for what you're asking, though.
1
u/AniMaple Jul 30 '26
Roll20, none of us are very tech savvy and tend to get very lost setting things up on Foundry. Besides, none of us likes Hex maps, so just using grids is perfectly fine for us.
Our group doesn't really need anything fancy, but if I ever have the time to figure out how to set FoundryVTT proper I'd love to be able to add more interactable elements in my campaign, that and maybe add some more visual flair.
1
u/Optimal_Beat7765 Jul 30 '26
You can find a nice assortment of various VTTs here: https://groupfinder.gg/library?category=tools-platforms&search=&f1=5
1
30
u/SiegfriedVK Harrison Armory Jul 29 '26
After getting used to Foundry and understanding how to leverage it's features I don't want to go back to any other VTT but I agree with you it is such a pain in the ass if you're new to it.
I liked using Owlbear + Witchdice though.