So, you want to play or run Pathfinder Second Edition, but you’re not sure what the best Virtual Tabletop option is. There are a lot of different options available for playing, and some of it comes down to personal preferences, and the needs and technical capabilities of the players. Let’s run over the most common options available today, and discuss the pros and pitfalls of each.
Before we even get into the individual VTTs, we should discuss the basics of Pathfinder 2e, to figure out what qualities we’re looking for in a given VTT.
What Makes Pathfinder 2e Unique?
Pathfinder 2e is an arithmetically-heavy game, with a heavy emphasis on tactical positioning in combat. This shouldn’t be mistaken for being overly complicated, or being oriented around “winning” exclusively. Rather, it just means that there’s a lot of information to track and notice in Pathfinder 2e. There are many bonuses and penalties to add up and account for with every roll, and there’s a lot happening on the gridspace during combat.
One of the nice things about Pathfinder 2e is that the game’s designer & publisher, Paizo, has made all of the mechanical text and information in the game publicly available, and it can be used for distribution under their Community Use License and Pathfinder Second Edition Compatibility License. This means that the information can be collated and used by a variety of software, including VTTs, to streamline a lot of information gathering.
All this being said, Pathfinder 2e is still a tabletop roleplaying game. What makes it shine over the prototypical wargame is the flexibility of the Game Master to adapt and change the rules as they see fit, and the continued focus on narrative storytelling to drive forward and give meaning to the game. Some amount of flexibility is therefore required to make the game really shine.
These three factors combined means that the typical, ideal Virtual Tabletop for Pathfinder 2e would be one that offers a lot of automation of mundane information, allows the full integration of Paizo’s massive compendium, and still offers flexibility for manual input. With all this in mind, let’s look at the options:
Foundry VTT - Powerful And Officially Integrated
Foundry VTT is generally offered up as the ideal choice of VTT for Pathfinder 2e — and for good reason! Foundry’s Pathfinder 2e system is programmed and integrated as part of an official partnership with Paizo. The dedicated volunteers implementing the integration, as well as companion modules like PF2e Toolbelt and PF2e Workbench, have created a very holistic, very automated system for processing a lot of the more mundane aspects of Pathfinder. Foundry VTT makes use of the entire Pathfinder Second Edition compendium. All monsters, player options, and items, in every officially published documentation, can be easily dragged-and-dropped into the game.
Foundry VTT’s highly modular nature allows GMs to implement even further presentation and automation with modules like Quick Insert and Token Magic FX. This allows GMs to customize how much of the automation actually occurs, though you’ll probably quickly find yourself integrating much of it. This also makes Foundry a helpful tool for learning how to run and play Pathfinder Second Edition to its fullest extent, since the system remembers many things the GM may forget, and it (mostly) walks players through the character building process.
Paizo also officially publishes premium (paid) modules of all of its Adventure Paths, complete with fully-integrated and multimedia maps, actors, and fun macros for extra pizazz. They also offer premium modules with full tokens for the compendium bestiary and character portraits. With these powerful tools, a GM can often feel comfortable just dropping in and starting the session, with little prep. Conversely, GMs can also use Foundry’s full suite to prepare as many fancy features as they want, even creating 3D maps with enough time investment.
While Foundry VTT is the default choice for Pathfinder Second Edition, it does have a few downsides. You need to purchase a license to run it in the first place, and then need to choose if you will self-host games, or pay for an external server to keep your game running. For professional Game Masters, like those here at StartPlaying, this is just a normal business cost. But for home games, you may find this model to be clunky or pricey.
Foundry VTT can also be very resource intensive for the players’ and GM’s computers. While this can be ameliorated somewhat by changing around settings, or downloading third-party clients like Foundry Light Client, it’s not uncommon for crashes and graphical errors to occur. This is especially the case when the GM adds more and more modules.
Lastly, Foundry VTT does have a bit of a learning curve to use. The automation is very handy in most circumstances, but if a GM wants to change and homebrew an item to work within the system, they may find themselves delving into the niche coding of items. This is something that can be learned, but it does require quite a bit of time investment to fully understand.
For these reasons, you may decide Foundry VTT is not your ideal choice. In this case, there are many other choices.
Fantasy Ground Unity - Reliably Run On Your PC
Fantasy Grounds Unity operates on a similar system to Foundry VTT, with similar pricing. Unlike Foundry, which can be played in-browser, FGU requires that all players download the FGU software onto their computers. Otherwise, it presents a similar experience as Foundry VTT.
Fantasy Grounds Unity enjoys a more consistent performance than Foundry VTT, as it relies less on community support. This means a GM doesn’t need to be cautious about implementing the next update and seeing half their modules lose functionality. This also means it can run more reliably on players’ computers.
Unfortunately, Fantasy Grounds Unity does not offer the same free access to the Pathfinder Second Edition compendium as Foundry. Meaning, the GM will need to purchase the Corebook in Fantasy Grounds to gain access to all the drag-and-drop information. Otherwise, they will need to manually input all the entries, which becomes particularly tedious when it comes to player character options. This also applies to any information contained within Paizo’s modules. That is all to say, a GM who wants easy access to the entire Pathfinder 2e Compendium will quickly find their wallet running dry.
The lack of integrated community support and fundamental modularity also means Fantasy Grounds Unity is generally less customizable than Foundry VTT. You can think of it as getting a fancy, pre-built PC, instead of building your own.
Roll20 - Easy To Use But Lacks Automation
Roll20 can be a nice, free alternative when it comes to choosing a Virtual Tabletop. This more lightweight, in-browser experience trades off much of the automation of Foundry and FGU for a simple presentation. A monthly, paid subscription to Roll20 can offer GMs access to greater functionality, like dynamic lighting and Roll20’s API system. But, overall, Roll20 offers fewer functions than its competitors.
Game Masters do have access to the basic Pathfinder 2e compendium, but will need to purchase additional modules to fully expand the available options. As well, there is no charactermancer integration in Roll20, meaning players will have to manually build their characters. Those familiar with the process will know how daunting of a task this can be. For all these reasons, it can be difficult to argue for the subscription version of Roll20 to expand features, when Foundry VTT and FGU can be one-time purchases.
Roll20 can be janky to use, for lack of a better word, but for GMs interested in a straightforward client, it can be handy. That being said, there is an even more lightweight Virtual Tabletop option.
Owlbear Rodeo - Just A Map And Tokens
Owlbear Rodeo has a similar payment structure to Roll20, but embraces its lightweight nature. In its completely free form, it offers not much more than a map, a grid, some tokens, and some dice— perfect for those seeking the tranquility of simple roleplay or old-fashioned bean counting. Sheets will need to be held and tracked separately, either through PDFs or an online tool like Demiplane.
Higher payment structures let Owlbear Rodeo store more graphically-heavy maps and tokens, and the Extensions system of community support allows for greater customization of the game. While this does put much more load on the Game Master and players to track everything, the end result is a good, old-fashioned tabletop game.
So, which do you choose?
Leave It To The Professionals
Can’t decide which Virtual Tabletop to choose for Pathfinder Second Edition? Maybe you deserve to treat yourself by being a player instead. Check out the many listings here at StartPlaying, where professional Game Masters can offer you many different Pathfinder 2e games, across the whole gamut of virtual tabletops available.
Keep on rolling!
Salman Corbette is StartPlaying's resident improv expert, offering weekly games and workshops to true roleplay connoisseurs.
