[Bach_The_Fox]

Hello everyone. I'm trying to compile a list of useful resources for running Shadowrun, and am looking for community input on Virtual Tabletops. I'm trying to identify what programs hit the sweet spot of intersecting price, ease of use, and options.

If you could stick to the following format, it would make it easier for others to parse this thread; however, your opinions are welcomed regardless.

1. What virtual tabletop programs have you used?
(from simple solutions like Skype + a die roller up to a paid VTT like Battlegrounds)

2. Free or paid?

3. How easy were they to use?
(Did it have a steep learning curve? Was it quick and easy to have an actual session? Was it easy to set up as a GM? Did you run into technical issues like program crashes or server drops due to the program?)

4. What kind of options does it have?
(Did it have a pretty interface? Lots of map tools? Ability to integrate character stats and automate rolls? Basically, what does it do that make it worth using?)

5. Do you recommend it?

EDIT
6. How well is it adapted to Shadowrun 5e?
(does it handle 5e dice mechanics out of the box? If not, are there already user-created mods that do so?)

[Agonar]

1. What virtual tabletop programs have you used?
I have used Roll20.net and the VT At RPGTableOnline.com

2. Free or Paid? 
Both are free with optional purchases

3. How easy were they to use?
Both are fairly easy to use.  Roll20 seemed to give us a little more trouble, but that could have been because we had been using RPGTO for several years now

4. What kind of options does it have?
Roll20 is more open ended, and can be used for various games.  It seems to offer better access to importing images and resizing on the fly to use as maps or handouts.  I recall it allowing for custom dice rolling macros.  One of the things I do like about it is that you can type out a command like /roll10d6>5  and it will count the number of dice that turn up as 5 or 6.  It also colors the high/low value differently, so 6's are Blue and 1's are Red I think.. easy to pick out for Glitches/Rule of 6 in Shadowrun.

RPGTO, however, is formatted primarily for D&D 4e at the moment (but this can be ignored or worked around).  It has a built-in voice client for voice chat (though sometimes we mute it and use Skype), it offers sound effects, optional storage space to save maps and character info if you pay a little to unlock it.  It offers a selection of free tiles and tokens that can be used, with the option to purchase more.  They are currently themed for Fantasy games, but I have used a few in my Shadowrun game.  "Power" cards that can be used to enter details like weapon stats and dice pools, or spells and casting dice pools, etc.  Despite the formatting, I have been using it successfully to run an Online Shadowrun game.

5. Do you recommend it?
Of course I recommend RPGTO.  My support for that table was cause for me to chosen as a Forum Moderator there (not that our RPG community really needs moderation), and I want to see more users gather and use the tool.  And, if we get an influx of Shadowrun gamers interested and using the table, it might help get some Shadowrun formatting completed on the table all that much sooner (dice mechanics that total Hits, Formatted SR character sheets, more Modern/urban tiles to use in the sprawls, etc.)  It can be used totally freely, and only requires out of pocket cash if you want to add more of the extra add-ons.  I know someone who has run a D&D campaign for 3+ years now, and never spent a dime on extras.

I recommend using Roll20 too, but for different reasons.  The more people that use (any) online tools, the more acceptance online tools will gain in general.  If people see Virtual game membership growing, then competition spurs advancement in technologies and options.  No one wants to sit by while "the other guy" has a better table and risk losing their base to the other guy.

[Bach_The_Fox]

Thanks Agonar.

I think I was a bit vague; I am specifically looking for a program that can do Shadowrun (5e). Worried that many of them (like your recommendation for RPGTO) are D&D, or d20, focused. I respect your promotional urges, though.

Adding another question to main post.

[Michael Chandra]

Roll20 will be used by the Catalyst GMs on Aethercon, by the way. Looking forward to it.

[Belker]

Roll 20 works fairly well for Shadowrun. I've used it myself for a 4E game. It's had some stability issues, but the team is in the midst of a major development push to address these. The built-in roller can handle Shadowrun-style dice pools really easily. The basic learning curve is the lowest of any VTT I've dealt with. The ease with which a GM can slap together some NPC icons for an impromptu encounter is a big plus. Ditto for finding and importing maps or other graphics.

I've also used Maptool in the past, though not for SR. Maptool felt, to me, much clunkier, and had similar stability issues at the time. Those may be resolved now. The macro engine for dice seemed pretty powerful and I'm sure you could handle SR dice pools with it.

The other platform I've used a lot is the commercial product Fantasy Grounds II. Stability was great and it had (for-fee) plug in support for the game system I was playing (Castles & Crusades) which included integrated character sheets. Performance could be an issue, mainly in loading certain map images. FG now offers a for-free player version, but someone needs the paid-for GM version. While it's a nice program and decently supported, I didn't see it any more capable the current free offerings.

[Agonar]

Like I said, I've used the RPGTO to run SR games.  The table is very stable, uses Java, has a voice client that works fine for most people (but we do have 1 player that has issues with it, so when he plays, we use Skype).  For rolling dice, you can either use the dice roller to click up how many dice you want to roll, or you can type in "/roll xd6"  and it does so.  This is the way it looks in the chat window

So, it's fairly quick to go across the line once to count up the Hits, and then once more for the 1's to see if you Glitch.  We enter our dice pools as a macro that needs one click, and in the case of -2 dice for range, or -4 for Recoil, our Table standard rule is the last X number of dice are ignored for the roll...

So the last roll in that image is 5 Hits, but if he was at -4 for Recoil, then those last 2 Hits are ignored, for a total of 3 Hits.

Here is an example of how one of the players has his spellcasting macros set up... though I notice he has the Force limit on the wrong line, but eh..


And here is an image of what the table in general looks like, along with one of my NPCs and how I have some of his info statted out.


If a certain NPC might be an often-used template, you can enter more of the required data onto it.  My security were grunts, so I was manually typing out the macros for defense and damage resistance, but if they had been around a few Turns longer, I would probably have edited that data into the actual NPC listing.

While I like RPGTO, and want to get more users there, I am definitely for more people using VTs in general.  No one should have to go without a game because they happen to live out in the Barrens and nowhere near other players.  I mean, I am in Nevada, I have players in FL, CT, NY, Eastern Canada, and one that switches between the UK and Cyprus.  The game with these players is only possible because of a Virtual Table.  So my advice is to look into the paid options, but try all the free options, and then if the free ones don't work for you, then ask around and see if you can't get into one of the paid ones to try it out.