It seems that there isn’t much debate about what people prefer when it comes to playing TTRPG’s on a Virtual Tabletop or around the table with friends, pen and paper in hand. Most seem to prefer the “old-school” method of rolling dice around the table in real time and who can disagree? Playing around the table, with real dice clattering loudly as you throw them has an undeniable charm. But what if your gaming group is scattered across cities or continents? That’s where Virtual Tabletops or VTT’s enter, allowing us to play anywhere, anytime!
And when it comes to playing Cyberpunk Red, a VTT add another layer of immersion if anything! One of the major themes of the genre is the rampant addiction to technology of all kinds, to a point where people use it to replace their own flesh and blood! So, what better way to immerse yourself in the tech-infused dark future of Cyberpunk than using a VTT?
Jokes aside, VTT’s have proven to be an invaluable tool. They break down the geographical barriers that constrain us and save us a lot of time. VTT’s also automate a lot of the math and crunch inherent to most TTRPG’s, allowing us to focus on more crucial aspects of our game. With easy access to handouts, dynamic battle maps, and built-in jukeboxes, players can plunge deeper into the immersion of the game. The seamless integration of these features enriches the gaming experience, ensuring that the magic of TTRPGs flourishes, even in a virtual setting.
But with the sheer amount of VTT options available, it can be challenging to find the best one for your game. And while there is no single “best” VTT, I’m going to outline your choices and help you choose the best one to play Cyberpunk Red!
The Contenders
Roll20 is the largest (in terms of users) and most widely recognised VTT platform, while Foundry has emerged as its largest competitor. Shout out to Fantasy Grounds, Tabletop Simulator and Owlbear, which are all great VTT’s in their own right, but simply don’t have the user base to contend with the big two above.
So, let’s dive deeper into the general pros and cons of each platform before we focus on what’s best to use for the neon-chrome future!
Roll20
Pros
1. Accessibility: By being web-based, you can access it immediately from any browser, with no downloads of any kind required. Thousands of public games are open to hop into from the get-go and thanks to its straight-forward features, you can set up your own game in less than an hour even as a newcomer. It is also cross-platform compatible, accessible from PC, Mac, tablets or even from your phone. Useful when you don’t want to miss a game even when travelling!
2. Free Tier: Helping its accessibility is the fact that anyone can hop in Roll20 for free and try it out! The free tier allows you to explore the VTT’s basic features before committing to anything and still offers enough to run a satisfying game or two!
3. Community Content: With the largest community of users of any VTT, Roll20 has a vast library of user-generated content, from character sheets to tokens and even original adventure modules. It is a vibrant hub where you can discover and share fresh, new resources of all kinds.
4. Integrated Features: Roll20’s features are easy and intuitive to use, with simple dice rolling mechanics and character management systems, everything you need to manage your game is neatly packaged. The video and voice chat functions consolidate everything you might need in one place.
Cons
1. Performance Issues: Lags and slow performance are not common, but they are totally out of your control as you rely on centralized servers. These can also be exacerbated with certain browser extensions or when dealing with particularly complex battle maps. Certain features like dynamic lighting and the jukebox remain finicky and might need players or GM’s to refresh the page, which is not ideal in the middle of a game.
2. Limited Customization: Ultimately, Roll20’s accessibility also means its “bells and whistles” are less developed than Foundry’s. While there is lots of pre-made content available, there are less customization options than other VTT’s, with the more advanced options locked behind a higher subscription cost. And while Roll20 has expanded its options over time thanks to an increase in direct communication with the community, it does so incredibly slowly.
3. Subscription Costs: As above, the more advanced features of a VTT like dynamic lighting, shared table features, and custom character sheets require a more expensive subscription. This means that you do have to take into account your frequency of gameplay before diving into the Plus or Pro tiers. This is by far the biggest con for Roll20, as a one and done payment will always be preferable!
Foundry Virtual Tabletop
Pros
1. Customization: Arguably Foundry’s biggest selling point is its extensive customization options, even compared to Roll20’s Pro subscription. Everything can be tailored to suit your needs, from character sheets to day night cycles and even special effects to mimic the blasting of spells. Once everything is set-up, the extensive automation, combined with macros and scripts, offer everything you need and usually more!
2. Self-Hosted: Coupled with its high customization is the fact that Foundry is self-hosted. Since it allows you to host your own games, you can use it offline or with a local network, no longer at the whims of fate! If you know what you're doing, performance issues should be rare if not non-existent.
3. Active Community: While the Foundry community might not be as large as Roll20’s, it is still an engaged one, contributing a steady stream of modules, assets and support for users, with an active marketplace that offers plentiful content that can be easily integrated into any game.
4. One-Time Purchase: Once you buy the Foundry software it's yours forever, with all features and future patches included. Now that’s a bargain!
Cons
1. Self-Hosting Requirements: Now if you’re not tech-savvy, setting up a server does require a little bit of technical know-how. There are plenty of easily accessible tutorials out there, but it's still additional work you’ll have to put in. Plus, if things go wrong, it's going to be solely your fault!
2. Learning Curve: With great customization comes great complexity. Unlike Roll20, you are not going to be able to hop and quickly set up a game. New users have to familiarize themselves first with the multitude of features first. Now you could try to ignore most features for a quicker game, but at that point, why the need for expanded customization in the first place? And since there is no “free sample” available, you’re going to have to buy full price and dive straight-in!
3. Device Limitations: Foundry is best suited for desktop use, as most other devices like mobile or tablet can’t really handle it. Running it on anything but Google Chrome will more than likely have you run in a few performance issues.
What About Red?
Now that we’ve established the baseline of each VTT, how does each interact with Cyberpunk Red?
Roll20 offers official support, as you can buy it for 39.99$ to have access to the core rulebook, character sheets, digital play aids (Map, 10 pre-generated characters and more than a hundred rollable tables incorporated into macros) and 200+ tokens with official artwork. And of course, you can try before you buy, with access to a character sheet, a “easy mode” that offers the basic rules and a free starter adventure. The official expansion Cyberpunk: Edgrunners is also available on Roll20. While the system is well supported and updated, none of it is downloadable off-site, which while understandable, is a little bit frustrating for those who bought the core rulebook separately!
Once again, this makes Roll20 the easiest to use, buy the module and everything is set-up for you, jump right in! This also means that any future expansions will also be available on Roll20, making it easier to stay updated. And not only is it officially supported, but the community is alive and well, with battle maps and token bundles galore.
Meanwhile, Foundry only offers community content. And while said content is of high quality, again, you will have to do some of your own research to know what modules are best to play Cyberpunk Red and you’ll then have to install them, familiarizing yourself with it all. There are large battle map bundles, but specific cyberpunk modules are admittedly few in numbers. This does not mean you could not customize your own (which is relatively simple once you get the hang of it), but the lack of official support is felt.
The Final Winner
Ultimately, the choice boils down to personal preference, but that’s a rather lazy answer that doesn’t help anyone. So, the correct answer (my opinion), is that when it comes to playing Cyberpunk Red, Roll20 is ultimately the go-to VTT. Don’t worry, I’m not so bold as to not justify what is clearly the objective truth!
The number one reason why Roll20 is more suitable is that I want to play the game, the faster, the better. I always assume that I’ll be playing with people who have little to no experience with Cyberpunk or even VTT’s, so having something easy to use is paramount to get someone into the game. Nothing sucks the excitement out of a game than having to explain everything in detail up front and considering I already have to get players excited for the actual game, I don’t want to waste more time than is needed on the tools (in this case VTT), needed to play said game. With Roll20’s official support, I can just hop right into the game!
Furthermore, Cyberpunk is ultimately not the crunchiest of TTRPG’s (Roll a D10 and roll high) and relies more on the correct vibe than anything else. Thematic music and a simple yet evocative background (scene or battle map will do) is really all that’s needed to bring the back alleys and nightclubs of Night City to life.
So, while I’m not the biggest fan of a subscription model, the free version of Roll20 is enough to get started, while its accessibility and straightforward features allow you to jump right into the dark future. In that sense, I’m like an edgerunner, I want to get in here and get the job done!
RollingDeadly, Best Ork GM There Is!
