Application Website

Environment

Stand-alone application Stand-alone application Java 6+ (including Java Web Start) Python

Java 6

Windows PC

OS support

Mac OS X (except Lion) and Windows (some user have also reported that BRPG will run in Linux under WINE, or using Virtualbox) Windows with DirectX 9.0 or better (some users are running on Mac and Linux using Parallels, Crossover and WINE) All that support a Java GUI (Windows, OSX, Linux, other?) Win32/*nix/OSX.

Windows, Mac, Linux

Windows 2000 or better Windows 98 onward

RPG Systems

Any, since no game rules are enforced. Also suitable for playing many boardgames and wargames D&D 3.5E and 4E rulesets included; licensed game systems available for purchase; some unlicensed game systems available as community projects Any, since no game rules are enforced. Also potentially suitable for playing boardgames and wargames, using community-developed add-ons and custom rulesets Any Optimized for d20-based games No RPG rules built-in Any

Cost

GM Client: $39; Player Client: $19; Floating Licenses (these allow players to use just the free demo): $19; bundle discounts available Full License $40, Lite License $24, Ultimate $150, bundle discounts apply. GM: Free

Player: Free

Free $30 £17.50 (approx $28) $35 DL, $40 CD
Players Mod is Free

If commercial app, is a Demo available?

Yes Yes NA - Yes Yes 60 Days, No feature limits

Demo limitations

Full-featured, with the following exceptions: session times out after 45 minutes; only up to twelve tokens can be deployed on a map; can't export media asset bundles. On occasion, a "Free Use" promo is held that removes all these limitations for a week or two No new campaigns or rulesets can be created; characters created in the local character preparation mode are Not saved; the demo is not compatible with the retail version of Fantasy Grounds NA - 30 days, No feature limits No networking or import / export No feature limits

Chat

Yes, in a resizable floating window; supports private and group messaging, in-character and out-of-character dialogue, chat aliases, and a Narrator voice; Text Macros for frequently used text snippets or pre-written "read-aloud" text; Chat log can be exported; bell chime to get player's attention Supports normal, emote, OOC, and story chat modes; adventure dialogue and text can be prepared in advance using campaign story records; all chat activity (including dicerolls) is saved to a chat log; voting polls are supported; chat frames available in some game system definitions for speech bubbles and descriptive text frames Yes, in a resizable floating window; supports in-character and out-of-character dialogue, chat aliases ("impersonation"), and HTML 3.2 & CSS controls for formatting, fonts, and color; text macros for frequently used text snippets or pre-written "boxed text"; chat log automatically autosaved using a timestamp filename; bell chime and icon to denote new entries; supports URL links; size limited only by available memory HTML based allowing links and images to be sent via chat.
Supports many chat types, whisper, emotes, Out of Character, and Group Whispers
Moderation capabilities
Public chat room, private chat room for each player and for secret GM-Player communication Yes Yes

Help feature

Yes, basic instructions are provided on a popup screen, and a "Learning Mode" feature helps you learn the program gradually; ToolTips for many UI controls Tutorials available on the web in the Downloads section Tooltips in-program; extensive screencast tutorials available from the main web site; fantastic community support via RPTools forum; community-maintained wiki for macro scripting with extensive tutorials Command List as well as Wiki & Forum Yes Yes Yes

User manual available

Yes, a 169-page illustrated User Manual in PDF format which can be opened from within the app; covers up through BRPG v1.7; hyperlinked Table of Contents; An Addendum is available for download that covers up through v1.7d Online manual included for both users and developers here Not currently (work-in-progress that will cover 1.3 Final) -

Yes, here

Help is embedded and web based Yes

VT

Battlegrounds:
RPG Edition

Fantasy
Grounds

Rptools (Maptool)

OpenRPG+

d20Pro

ViewingDale

GRiP

Maps

Served by GM, or loaded from a URL, or pre-distributed in a media asset bundle with optional password protection; maps can be dynamically and proportionally resized to match the grid scale; supports huge bitmaps up to 4000 x 4000 pixels Served by GM; can use any image file, or create hand-drawn maps on the fly; supports grid overlay; map links to campaign data and per-user pointer objects (lines, squares, circles, cones) Served by any client (GM or Player); built inside MapTool or via external application; unlimited size and scale; multiple maps can be distributed as a "campaign" file From web Yes Yes Yes

Map file format

JPEG, BMP, PICT or PNG (supports transparency) JPG, GIF, PNG, BMP, TIFF, (transparency layer applicable if format supports) and lots of other more exotic image formats JPG, GIF, PNG (some Java installations include other raster formats such as TIFF); supports transparency JPG, GIF, PNG, BMP JPG, GIF, PNG JPG, BMP, PNG JPG, GIF, BMP

Map Zoom feature available

Yes, ranges from 20% to 200%. Zoom level can be set with hotkeys, with a popup menu, or using the mouse wheel; the GM can force the players' zoom level and view of the map Images zooming using the mouse wheel or by keeping the control key depressed while using the scroller gizmo and dragging up and down Yes; unlimited scale; keyboard and mousewheel control; GM can force the players' zoom level and view of the map Yes Yes Yes, infinite Yes

Map measurement

Yes, with user-definable measurement units and optional snap-to-grid Yes Yes; user-defined grid size and movement units; optional snap-to-grid Yes Yes " Ruler Mode" allows active player to check distance for spells or movement Via icons Yes

Map fog

Dynamic reveals based on user-definable light sources and vision types, plus manual reveals/conceals using a variety of drawing tools. "Persistent" Fog of War is optional. A map or custom image may be used as the Fog mask Yes; GM sees a semi-transparent overlay over the parts of the image that are not shown to the players Dynamic reveals based on user-definable light sources and vision types, plus manual reveals/conceals using a variety of drawing tools. "Persistent" Fog of War is optional. Fog can optionally be "per token" so the player sees only what his PC could see, not the area shared by all PCs. A map or custom image may be used as the Fog mask Yes; GM sees a semitransparent overlay over the parts of the image that are not shown to the players Yes; "Fog of War" controlled by GM Yes Yes

Supports making maps from component tiles (rooms, hallways, etc.)

Yes, and the tiles are shown under the grid, and are locked down to prevent accidentally moving them. An optional commercial artpack is available for this Tokens can be utilized to create map elements Yes; tiles are below the grid when on the Background layer and above the grid when on the Object layer Yes, and the tiles can be locked down to prevent accidentally moving them Yes Yes Tile sets

Hexgrid support

Yes Yes Yes (although snap-to-grid is broken in v1.3, but will be fixed soon) Yes No Yes Yes

Internal drawing tools

Rectangle, Circle, Polygon, and Freehand tools; hollow or filled shapes; many line widths and colors to choose from. Also includes a highly customizable dynamic text-label tool Yes, also support for pressure sensitive drawing tablets on drawing controls Rectangle, Circle, Polygon, and Freehand tools; hollow or filled shapes; many line widths, colors, and textures to choose from. Also includes a text-label tool. Yes, Freehand with many line sizes and any color. Polydraw, and Text labels Yes Icon based Pencil tool

Miniature Graphics

Served by GM; supports high-resolution pog-style, portrait-style, front-view, and top-down tokens. Tokens may have multiple poses (e.g., mounted, dismounted, prone, etc.) Any image file can be used to create tokens; individual/global token scaling Yes; images dropped on the map by any client are sent to all other clients; portrait-style and top-down supported; can have facing (affects conic light and vision) Yes, from web Images in any supported format can be used as miniatures Yes Yes

Comes with tokens

Yes (primarily fantasy-themed). More free tokens and token artpacks are available for download from the website and forums Yes Yes (primarily fantasy-themed). More free tokens and token artpacks are available for download from the website and forums - Yes Comes with miniatures, extra miniatures and tokens are downloadable Yes

Mini Rotation/Facing

Yes, controlled by hotkeys or the mouse wheel. Diagonal facing is also supported Tokens can be rotated (by mouse wheel or menu option) to display facing Yes, controlled by hotkeys or the mouse wheel; facing angles depend on the grid type (facing angles include vertices and sides) Face/Move arrows No Yes No

VT

Battlegrounds:
RPG Edition

Fantasy
Grounds

Rptools (Maptool)

OpenRPG+

d20Pro

ViewingDale

GRiP

Mini status Notes (Dead, Incap, etc)

Yes, stackable and customizable text labels, and minis can have mouseover Notes Combat tracker includes all status information including general status, wound levels and ongoing effects. The GM combat tracker contains additional combatant information that can be customized on a per-combatant basis Yes; token name, GM label, and player label; mouseover popup window for token stats and additional notes Yes, can change label to whatever you want Yes, with graphics that display icon status Yes Yes

Miniature Autonumbering

Yes; autonumbering can optionally be masked from players, so they can't tell how many opponents there are Yes Yes; includes random numbering so players can't tell how many opponents there are Yes

Yes, can be toggled on/off

No Yes

Mini movement

Via drag-and-drop, or hotkeys; on remote screens, moved minis "animate" by sliding into place, so that moves aren't jarring to other players
If tokens are locked, players can designate an intended movement, which the Gamemaster can either accept or reject. If tokens are unlocked, anyone can move minis Via drag-and-drop, or hotkeys; minis move simultaneously on all clients, even if multiple players are moving their minis; supports waypoints (no movement blocking in v1.3) Click source & destination Yes Yes Yes

Miniature permissions

Yes; players can only move minis assigned to them; GM can also choose to assign ownership of a token to everyone. Miniature movement can be allowed or disallowed; client movement locking; token visibility control Yes; selection allowed to all players (useful for targeting macros); movement allowed to owner only; option for visible-to-owner only (q.v. Invisibility) Yes Yes, GM can allow or disallow any actions Yes Movement can be locked

Mini snap-to-grid

Yes. The GM can force snap-to-grid, disallow snap-to-grid, or leave the choice up to each player Yes Yes; default is configurable via preferences, but not enforced on players Yes Yes Yes -

Suitable for offline use (with a projector, TV, or second display)

Yes, Battlegrounds was largely designed with face-to-face use in mind. Includes Full-screen feature Yes, best setup benefits from a second (Lite) license. Yes; usable either with monitor mirroring or with separate windows with separate contents; full-screen mode; dockable panels have an "auto-hide" feature Yes, the Map can be undocked and moved to the projector while the rest of the App remain on the main computer screen

Yes

Yes No

Audio support

Yes. Music or sound effects can be sent or played locally at any volume level, with looping optional. Audio may also be attached to tokens. Comes with some audio clips. Die rolls can be heard (optional), as can card shuffling, dealing, etc. Limited: Gamemaster can bell a sound to wake up players No Yes, will play most audio formats. GM's or players can send sound that will be auto played on all clients(Sound file must be accessible over the Internet). GM's are allowed to send looping sound for persistent background ambiance Yes; sounds can be used for many different alerts and indicators; players usually use Skype for game voice communication Yes Yes

File transfer support

Automatic peer-to-peer transfers. Media Asset Bundles (with optional password-protection) can be used to pre-distribute maps, tokens, audio clips, etc. to the players prior to the start of the game session Yes; any campaign data shared by the GM (maps, images, tokens, campaign records) will be sent to the correct players Limited; images are transferred automatically among GM and players, but no support for general file transfer; maps can retrieve images from the server or from a properly configured location (URL or directory) Yes, can send any node, Map, or Miniature to any player Yes. Maps, creatures and items can be imported / exported between clients Yes Yes

Animation support

Yes; supports animated Flash files, and also includes some built-in animations (e.g., flickering campfire, light glows) No No - No Yes No

Area of Effect support

Yes, several styles available (geometric shapes, grid-conforming shapes, light and dark transparent overlays). Also supports D&D 4E AOEs (Blast, Burst, & Wall) Yes. Cone, square, and circular areas of effect also highlight the affected map squares if grid is enabled. Also unique possibly semi-transparent tokens can be used to denote areas of effect Yes; cone, square and circular AOEs highlight the affected grid cells; unique (possibly semi-transparent) tokens can be used to denote AOEs (useful with targeting macros); templates support variable opacity; template outline can be different from fill - Yes, with the ability to place permanent and temporary templates Yes No

Character Sheets

Can display bitmaps of character sheets for easy reference Yes Yes; no char sheet built-in, but sophisticated HTML-based 3E and 4E sheets have been created via macros by the user community Via custom nodes

Yes. Players cannot currently edit their sheets in game but can view full info, cast spells, and use skills and items. The GM can edit on the fly at any time. d20pro has now integrated with Hero Lab character creation software, allowing the player or GM to create a PC or NPC in Hero Lab and import it easily into d20pro

Yes GRiP's strength lies in it's character sheets, which are fully programmable to handle skill checks, combat and chat responses

Supports multiple characters per player

Yes Yes Yes, any player can be assigned as owner of any token, PC or NPC Yes Yes Yes Yes, sheets can be designed for this feature

Character Sheet Autocalc

No Yes Yes (but see "Character Sheets", above) Only for included, non-customizable sheets (see below) Yes No Fully

Character pre-saved rolls

Custom Dice Macros can be globally available, or attached to individual tokens on the map
All character rolls can be made directly from the character sheet or the character mini sheet Yes; simple macros can roll dice, complex macros add conditional statements, variables, and true programming support Yes Yes, user created No Yes

Rolls can extract character info

No; instead, dice macros are created to reflect character info Yes Yes; "properties" attached to minis can record all stats; properties can be added/changed/removed on the fly (most convenient when used with macros); global properties can be stored in tables (read-only) or shared tokens (read-write) Yes Yes No Fully

Character HP tracking

Color-coded graphical indicator on map/token, and the Turn Sequencer can track any attribute with numeric or text data Yes Yes (see previous item); health bars to visualize statistics (user-defined images, gradations, scale) Yes, via included plugins Yes No Yes, and Spell/Power

Automated combat

No, but uses graphical attacker/target labels, and die rolls can affect character attributes (e.g., a damage roll can automatically lower the target's HP) Yes (optional) No; macros can be used to automate combat (many community-contributed macros do this) No Yes No Yes

VT

Battlegrounds:
RPG Edition

Fantasy
Grounds

Rptools (Maptool)

OpenRPG+

d20Pro

ViewingDale

GRiP

Initiative Manager

A powerful and customizable Turn Sequencer features automatic initiative sorting and even supports games with turn phases and tick-based sequencing mechanics Yes Initialized from InitiativeTool (another free RPTools app); has basic initiative tracker built-in Yes Yes, with the ability of the GM to modify initiative order to manage ready, delay or other interrupt events No No

Init Manager autorolls

Yes Yes Yes, via InitiativeTool or via macro Yes, can be saved by the GM Yes No No

Programmable encounters

Encounters may be saved/loaded Encounter groups can be managed as campaign records; create encounters by dragging and dropping creatures into encounter group Yes; individual maps can be exported/imported so that encounters can be setup previously and used on the fly in multiple different campaigns; macros could also create random encounters as-needed No, but can use miniature loader to set up locations of minis to be loaded

Yes, maps can be created and saved with creature and item tokens in desired encounter positions

Pre-saved encounter setup Yes

Extendable (plugins)

Supports free and commercial artpacks. Flash "mini-apps" (e.g. a 3D dice roller, a calculator, etc.) may also be placed in the map window Game systems can be customized using extensions; game data, maps, images and tokens can be placed into modules, which can be loaded and unloaded as needed. Licensed modules for adventures, tokens, and maps are available for purchase Artpacks available from inside the application; macros can automate much of the operation Yes

Custom classes, feats and skills can be added by editing the appropriate file in a text editor

No No

Extendable (scripts)

BRPG users never need to do any scripting or XML editing Yes; interface is completely customizable using XML, LUA scripting, and custominages; customizations can be modularized into optional extensions for each game system Yes; custom MapToolScript language No

Custom classes, feats and skills can be added by editing the appropriate file in a text editor

No No

Embedded (automated) game documentation

None included, but charts & tables may be added by GM and easily referenced in-game. Chat log can be exported None included; licensed game systems contain in-game documentation; in-game documentation can be created for unlicensed game systems None included; MapTool is gamesystem-agnostic, so no game-specific information is built-in, but community-contributed resources are plentiful Some - premade char sheet has mundane weapon lists, skills have descriptions, etc. Yes, a full record of the game is stored as HTML in the logs directory.
This includes all dice rolls, attacks, kills, skills, effects, boxed text, and in-character dialog
Yes GM, Player Jounals

Other

Easy to learn and use; "hidden-until-you-need-it" interface; suitable for roleplaying in any genre; features a unique and powerful graphical dice roller (photos of real dice, with many colors to choose from) that supports most common die rolling mechanics (e.g. open-ended rolls, tallying successes, criticals, table-lookups, dice pools, etc.) without ANY scripting involved; browsable dice roll history; GM can choose to "fudge" die rolls; supports playing with card decks, including user-created decks; customizable Auto-Save feature; export screenshot feature; Views feature allows you to bookmark and jump to map locations; Lobby feature for finding games. Ideal for use with a projector or HDTV at face-to-face game sessions. Comes with a decent "Starter Set" of maps, tokens, and sound effects. Additional maps, tokens, sample adventures, artpacks, and even games are available for free download. Additional artpacks, and games are available for purchase. Development is strongly driven by user feedback. New features are added regularly in free updates In Fantasy Grounds, each feature of traditional role playing is converted to the software in a way that retains the feel of pen & paper. Fantasy Grounds is the gaming table that gives you the opportunity to really immerse into a roleplaying game without a significant need to adjust the way you and your friends are used to playing, including realistic 3D dice; rules automation is optional, and is controlled by the GM Pathing, layers, macros, GM vs player token Notes, unbounded maps, supports multiple simultaneous maps, fullscreen mode, token halos, token states to represent conditions, unique environment interacting fog of war system based on vision areas, auras (useful for AOEs that move with tokens), unlimited number of HTML frames for displaying text/image data, built-in table support, pre-made "campaign frameworks" by the user community for many RPG systems Dockable interface to allow the player and GM to optimize the client to their own needs Auto update abilities to stay current with the latest bug fixes and features

Spell effect tracking, ruler feature, spell templates, persistent burst effects, tracks initiative across multiple maps, tracks daily spell allotment and spells remaining, allows adding custom character classes, GM client tracks hidden and invisible creatures, automated spell casting and saving throws

Please click here for more information on what d20Pro can do for your game sessions

Map browser is of No fixed scale,
has No bounds or complexity limits.
Networked dice roller has selectable visibility,
3D dice with physics,
an expression parser and expression macros
Tree-Node adventure editor, Campaign journals, File/pic/sound sharing, whisper w/dicerolls, full dice suite, card deck

Info last updated on...

Sept 21, 2012 March 13, 2011 March 12, 2011 Unknown Unknown March 13, 2011 Unknown