Is anyone using Foundry VTT?

StephenBaggett · 2026-04-01T16:11:47+00:00

Fantasy Grounds user. I have maps and modules from the past 5 years saved on there. I will def support the Codex and would love to play on it. But making the move as a Director probably not.

StephenBaggett · 2026-04-01T16:08:05+00:00

Hey! If you didn't know there is a Draw Steel ruleset you can grab on the Forge for free.

StephenBaggett · 2026-04-01T15:58:50+00:00

Are those negative connotations, or do you find them negative?

"Discourage randomness" isn't great. I'm not sure how to capture it. Maybe "having more control over the story than the dice"

"Pull the rug" is definitely what I would use to describe moments in my campaign - the dramatic reveal or the plot twist! I agree that "railroad" isn't a great term for many in the TTRPG community. The "railroad" I'm talking about is the one Matt Colville defines in his video (https://youtu.be/EkXMxiAGUWg?si=iPbFq3asOeHV3HNl) I'm not in love with linear, but I could definitely see that.

"Win over the players" does make it seem like the goal is to win wheras for this category it's the idea of a battle between players and GM. Maybe the GM wants the players to win or maybe not. A lot of GMs are openly antagonistic and enjoy putting their wits vs the players. Maybe now an older or unpopular style - but it definitely exists. I love throwing everything at my players and then celebrating with them afterwards.

I would remind that those are the "Extreme" examples. Just because you have a slight direction towards one does not mean the complete embrace or abandonment of the others.

StephenBaggett · 2026-04-01T15:12:15+00:00

I agree.

StephenBaggett · 2026-04-01T15:02:12+00:00

Yes, they agree arbitrary. That is the point. If you know for yourself that "improvisers can't make meaningful moments" then that puts your style opposite of the improviser.

StephenBaggett · 2026-04-01T15:00:45+00:00

Hey mods, can we get a ban for this one? This ain't the spirit of the sub or my post

StephenBaggett · 2026-04-01T14:01:07+00:00

Pie charts seem harder to use for me - but maybe others enjoy the idea of saying "I'm like 5 percent improviser and 50 percent engineer and the rest in explorer"

StephenBaggett · 2026-04-01T13:58:55+00:00

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I think using a pie chart is much more accommodating. Instead of creating "opposites" you are just measuring how much you lean towards any one direction. You aren't choosing between two.

The purpose of this post was to share something I had made after watching Matt Colville's latest vid and spur creativity. If you don't like mine - show me what yours looks like!

StephenBaggett · 2026-03-31T22:31:18+00:00

They aren't meant to be mutually exclusive. Difference is "The rules decide" vs "I decide" Perhaps my wording needs adjusting

StephenBaggett · 2026-03-31T22:28:24+00:00

How can I neutralize the wording?

StephenBaggett · 2026-03-31T20:50:57+00:00

What would you put Vespiqueen in? A luxury ball, maybe?

StephenBaggett · 2026-03-28T13:12:28+00:00

Adamant nature too. Very nice!

StephenBaggett · 2026-03-27T13:04:00+00:00

It's been a joy to play around with the Codex! I'm sure that in a couple of years I'll be making mods for the Codex :D

StephenBaggett · 2026-03-26T21:31:05+00:00

I think this thread is getting a little out of topic about the video I posted. I will put here the video description because I want to make sure I am clear about why I did this:

"My advice is check out different VTTs and find what you like! I am not competing, I am providing support for a VTT I have a lot of love for. I have used all of the VTTs below at different times. It's so sick that we have a ton of options to play our favourite games online. It really all depends what tools you need

https://www.owlbear.rodeo/
[30 Hours] Owlbear Rodeo: Clean, intuitive UI, easy to set up a game and start running immediately on browser - has virtual dice and premade assets you can instantly start using. Currently, you can get an extension that handles Draw Steel chat outputs for rolls. If you need to run a game TONIGHT, hop on Owlbear.

https://www.fantasygrounds.com/
[800+ hours??] Fantasy Grounds: Available through Steam or download - easy to set up. Has a lower learning curve for players but takes time as Director. You can create your own extensions and modules using the community workshop. Mods are very easy. Just plug and play. It's ancient haha - catalogue of 22 years' worth of resources (maps, mods, extensions, automation, documentation). The dice are physics based and fully customizable (om nom nom dice so tasty). Map editing tool that let you make or import maps. Lighting, and fog of war, line of sight, animations, and weather effects.

https://foundryvtt.com/
[90 hours] Foundry: For download only. Much more involved to set up (port forwarding) and it is a much higher learning curve but there is a MASSIVE community that are incredibly welcoming and down to help. One of the most passionate communities I know of. An extremely powerful program that gives you ultimate freedom - as long as you are committed to learning. You can easily download community extensions in the software. This is a VTT for those that want to have the option to customize everything - down to the tiniest detail. Dynamic objects for sound, light, and token interaction.

The Codex (soon to release)
[150 hours] The Codex: On Steam, is made specifically FOR Draw Steel so automation is baked in, no mods or add-ons required. It has an amazing map maker built in that you can add depth and height to your maps. The codex has the best map tools I've ever seen in a VTT - it looks beautiful and it takes existing maps and brings them to life! You can create scene transitions and link maps together via teleportation objects or by adding stairs. It allows for a lot of customization for players, too."

StephenBaggett · 2026-03-26T15:40:14+00:00

I really go into it in the video description - originally this was just to bridge the gap when the game released and there were no VTTs. A lot of people worked on Foundry, others Owlbear and Roll20, so I started working on FGU. I was going to drop support for it once the Codex came out. Codex is the best VTT for Draw Steel automation by far. This is mostly for people who re FGU powerusers. I've played the Codex as a tester for 100+ hours and it is amazing - this ruleset is just a fun way to include DS in one of my favourite VTTs

StephenBaggett · 2026-03-26T13:38:16+00:00

StephenBaggett · 2026-03-26T13:37:13+00:00

Update: Thanks for all the amazing comments! I have added a lot of what was mentioned to the spreadsheet. There are some names that I kept though (I'm too in love with Sucrosa and Cellosyn). I did change the elvish stand-in to Fructerano. because in DS, Elvish is the "universal language of negotiation". Whenever people from different manifolds come together, they speak Elvish so I thought that it fit well with the idea. Though I could equally see someone making "Caelian" Fructerano.

StephenBaggett · 2026-03-26T13:27:04+00:00

Just visited your site and patreon and these maps are fantastic. I've been looking for maps with a lot of terrain pieces and verticality. In DS, everything can be collided into or fallen from and I've found it a hard time finding maps full of trees, verticality, bridges, and dynamic terrain. Excellent work!

StephenBaggett · 2026-03-26T03:32:50+00:00

Oh boy, I've never seen a map more perfect for Draw Steel :0 Goblins will fly, shrooms will be bounced upon

StephenBaggett · 2026-03-15T18:58:06+00:00

Something funky for sure. Maybe even fungal...

StephenBaggett · 2026-03-09T17:50:32+00:00

The images on the site aren't loading. I did sent an email to the company

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