Fantasy Grounds Unity

Overview

Fantasy Grounds Unity is a high-power virtual tabletop originally released in 2004 and completely rebuilt on the Unity engine in 2020. Developed by SmiteWorks, it is the industry pioneer of "automated play," where the software handles complex rules, modifiers, and combat math natively. In a massive industry shift in late 2025, the platform moved to a completely free-to-play model, removing the traditional $50 license fee to compete directly with modern browser-based rivals. Description Fantasy Grounds is often described as a "Digital Dungeon Master’s Assistant." It is a standalone application (not a browser site) that provides the most stable and deep automation available. While it has a more traditional, window-based interface that can feel daunting to new users, it rewards the "Power GM" with unparalleled control over combat and data. Since becoming free in late 2025, it has positioned itself as the premier "zero-cost" entry point for groups who want professional-grade automation without a subscription. System Overview & Key Features
Native Ruleset Automation Unlike other VTTs that rely on community plug-ins, Fantasy Grounds features "Hard-Coded" automation for its primary systems. When a player drags an attack onto a target, the software automatically checks for cover, calculates the hit against Armor Class, applies damage, and tracks temporary hit points or resistances without any manual input.
V5.1 Visual Intelligence The 2026 update introduced "Aggregated Notifications." Instead of scrolling through a wall of text in a chat box, combat results like damage, saving throws, and status effects now appear as elegant visual icons and pop-ups directly over the tokens on the map.
2.5D Tactical Mapping While it supports traditional 2D top-down maps, FGU includes a unique 2.5D camera mode. This provides a sense of depth and perspective to battlemaps, making the digital table feel more like a physical diorama with "placeable" 3D-like objects like trees and furniture.
Total Offline Capability Because it is a localized application, you can prepare your entire campaign, build NPCs, and write story entries without an internet connection. Your data is stored on your hard drive, giving you total ownership of your campaign files.
The Fantasy Grounds Forge FGU features an integrated marketplace and community portal called "The Forge." This allows GMs to browse and auto-install thousands of community-made extensions and themes that update automatically whenever the main software is launched.
Cross-Platform Unity Engine Built on the Unity 6 engine (as of 2026), the software offers smooth performance on Windows, macOS, and Linux. It uses hardware acceleration to handle complex dynamic lighting, weather effects, and large-scale vision blocking for massive dungeon crawls.
Additional links fantasygrounds.com https://fantasygrounds.com : Official Fantasy Grounds website fantasygroundsacademy.com https://fantasygroundsacademy.com : Community-led training and free classes forge.fantasygrounds.com https://forge.fantasygrounds.com : Official community content and extension portal

Other entries

Hand on the Door
Actual Play & Podcasts

Hand on the Door

English
Actual Play
Delta Green
Hand on the Door is an actual play Delta Green podcast of four best friends laughing into the void and kicking against the pricks. Sam leads Jimmy (FP), Mazie (Fruman) and Aubrey (Thaddeus) through a surrealist nightmare in New Mexico, an original campaign inspired by coffee black as midnight on a moonless night, children of Old Leech, and the writings of Sutter Cane. New episodes of HotD will be released every other week! Links youtube.com - Youtube channel spotify.com - Spotify feed podcasts.apple.com - Apple Podcasts feed

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Lodestar
Tools & Platforms

Lodestar

Virtual tabletop (VTT)
English
Free
A local-first battlemap display tool for game masters. Cast a map with fog of war to a second "player" screen while you control everything from a private GM panel. Lodestar runs entirely in the browser with no build step and no dependencies. It runs entirely in your browser. No install, no account, nothing to download if you don't want to. You open it, load a map, click "Open player display," and drag that window over to your second screen. You control everything from your own DM panel, and your players only see what you choose to reveal. /images/general-media/1780915788_spLeMCfy.pngLodestar is completely free and open source, so you can use it, fork it, or tear it apart however you like. Maps — load high-resolution map images from local disk; pan and zoom freely. Player display — open a second window, drag it to another screen, and cast the map to your players. The player window can go fullscreen. Fog of war - Trace polygon areas and click them in reveal mode to show/hide on the player display. - Name polygon areas with a GM-only label. - Paint or erase fog with a round or square brush of adjustable size. - GM sees fog as an adjustable tint/opacity; players see solid black. Multi-floor — build multi-level locations; each floor has its own map, fog, tokens, and stairs. Navigate with the on-screen floor widget. Stairs — place GM-only staircase markers that link floors; they scale with the grid and zoom and are invisible to players. Tokens — drop, drag, label, color, and size them in grid cells; they snap to the grid and appear on both displays. Grid — toggle and adjust size, offset, color, opacity, and token snapping. Ping — Alt+click draws an animated marker on both displays. Measure — reports distance in grid cells and feet. Splash / blackout — show a splash image or a plain black screen on the player display instead of the map. Library — save full setups (image, grid, fog, tokens, floors, views) to a local IndexedDB library; export/import the whole library as JSON for backups or moving machines. When you save a map, it's stored locally in your own browser, not on a server somewhere. Nothing gets uploaded, so your maps stay on your machine. The catch is that the saved library is tied to the browser and device you saved it on, so it won't follow you to another computer or survive clearing your browser data. If you make maps you want to keep, use the Export button to save your whole library to a file. That file is your real backup, and you can import it on any device. Links uncleplants.github.io - Lodestar web app(no download) github.com - Source code

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Stawl
Tools & Platforms

Stawl

Free
Toolkit
Draw Steel
Stawl is an independent, community-developed web application and digital toolkit designed specifically for Draw Steel, the cinematic fantasy tabletop role-playing game published by MCDM Productions. Developed by an independent creator known as JonStodle, the platform was launched during Draw Steel's early access and playtest period. It functions as a cloud-based companion application intended to assist both Directors and players in managing game mechanics, combat encounters, and character data. Description Stawl serves as a digital command center for preparing and running Draw Steel campaigns. Unlike some alternative community tools that store data locally within a user's web browser, Stawl requires an account and utilizes cloud storage. This architecture allows users to prepare game materials on one device, such as a desktop computer, and seamlessly access them during gameplay on another device, such as a laptop or tablet. While it requires a degree of manual data entry, its comprehensive suite of encounter-tracking tools and its ability to share live information with players have made it a prominent utility within the Draw Steel community. System Overview & Key Features Active Encounter Builder The primary feature of Stawl is its encounter management system. Directors can select monsters and calculate Encounter Values to balance combat difficulty based on the player characters' levels. Once an encounter is initiated, the application provides an active dashboard that tracks initiative groups, monster stamina, villain power, and temporary status conditions. Cross-Device Cloud Syncing Because Stawl utilizes user accounts and cloud servers, all created content—including custom encounters, homebrew data, and digital character sheets—is persistent across devices. This prevents data loss associated with clearing browser caches and allows for remote campaign preparation. Monster Database and Homebrew Creation The application features a fully searchable database of officially published Draw Steel monsters, allowing Directors to filter by type, level, or encounter value. Recent updates have introduced homebrew functionality, enabling users to input and save custom monster stat blocks directly into the tool's ecosystem. Player View and Digital Sheets During an active encounter, Directors can generate a "Player View" link. This shared screen allows players to view the live initiative order and track their Heroic Resources in real time. Additionally, Stawl provides fillable digital character sheets that mimic the layout of the official paper sheets, allowing players to store their character data online. Stawl Supplement Index To support the game's third-party creator community, Stawl hosts a Supplement Index. This is a curated, searchable directory of community-made and third-party content, including custom classes, kits, monsters, and adventures designed for the Draw Steel system. Disdiar Discord Integration In addition to the web application, the developer maintains "Disdiar," a companion bot for the Discord communication platform. The bot is programmed with Draw Steel mechanics, allowing online groups to execute specific power rolls, calculate test results, and quickly query monster statistics or game abilities via chat commands. Additional links stawl.app - Official application portal patreon.com/jonstodle - Developer's official Patreon for patch notes and support

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