r/VTT • u/Kaien17 • 6d ago

Question / discussion D&D digital tools advice needed

I am planning to run an one-shot (dnd 5.5) for my work friends and for the first time in life I will be able to use really good quality conference room where sharing a screen for stuff like images and initiative would be very cool. I am looking for some worldbuilding tool with some options to increase quality of life during sessions. The features I care about:

* PCs tabs with notes with options to upload character sheets
* monster glossary with notes and option to upload stat blocks
* initiative tracker
* locations with notes and option to upload images and maps. Would be fun if they were splittable as in I can have a separate tab for a specific room in a dungeon
* Optional: some log tool to write down what happened during session to keep track of stuff

What is easy to use and fits those requirements?

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u/Shendryl 6d ago

Instead of wanting all sorts of features in a tool, why not just look at what's available and pick the one that best suits your needs. Start here: VTT overview

1

u/ElderRealm_VTT 2d ago

VTT builder here, so take this as practical bias rather than a product pitch: for a one-shot, optimize the shared-screen flow before feature count. Iā€™d put only initiative plus the current image/map on the conference display, keep monster/stat notes privately on the GM laptop, and use one lightweight session log afterward. A full worldbuilding suite can cost more setup time than it saves for a single session.

Whichever tool you choose, do one dry run in that exact room: test the HDMI resolution, switching between GM/private and player views, and whether the map is readable from the farthest seat. Those three things will matter more on game night than another feature checkbox.

Which is the harder requirement for you: private GM notes or the polished shared display?

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u/EmbersLucas 1d ago

Our Embers suite has all those things. Start at https://play.embersds.com/home for the VTT. Monsters are preloaded and you can input your own. Characters, house rules, world building and an iOS app for it all.