Ranking of the best role-playing tools
Find the best tools to create, animate and play your online or physical role playing games. Select a category of tools and discover our ranking of the best websites and applications of the year 2023.
Top Virtual Tabletops of 2023
A virtual tabletop (VTT) allows to play online role-playing games on a platform accessible by the players and the game master, it replaces the physical table and generally allows to manage character sheets, battle maps, dice rolls... It is an essential tool for those who wish to play role-playing games remotely.
Character sheet online, is a web application that allows you to create and manage dynamic character sheets, connected in real time with a GM interface and adapted to all role playing games. Their sheets can be used on computer, tablet and phone and they can even be printed. The site also offers a lot of features to animate and manage your games, it is ideal for beginners!
- Custom character sheet creator, ideal for home-made games
- Very easy to handle and very ergonomic
- Compatible with computer, phone and tablet, ideal for online or physical games
- Integrated scenario editor, very useful to follow the story in game
- Integrated soundboard for easy in-game use
- No software to install and players don't need to create an account, they just need the web link of their sheet
- No battlemap management
- No integrated video or voice chat
- Custom game systems are not free of charge
Foundry Virtual Tabletop is a paid software that offers an innovative online role-playing experience. The software supports Windows, Mac and Linux and allows you to host a game server yourself that players connect to for free directly via a web browser.
- Complete software, easy to deploy to non-technophile players
- A lot of features to manage maps, fog of war, shadows management, animated visual effect...
- A growing community and many plugins available
- Open API for developers who want to go further
- Video and voice chat availible
- Expensive price 50$ and no free version available
- Requires software installation
- The platform is not mobile friendly
- Requires developing skills to create its own system
Roll20 is one of the oldest and most popular virtual tables. It is relatively easy to use and has a lot of tools to easily manage most TTRPGs. The site offers a well-stocked marketplace with tokens, maps, scenarios and many other products.
- Big community that can help you if you have questions
- A lot of features to manage maps, fog of war, shadow dynamic, sound effect...
- Over a hundred role-playing games available on the platform
- Well-stocked marketplace
- Video and voice chat availible
- Slightly archaic design that deserves an update
- The platform is not mobile friendly
- No possibility to create your own character sheet for your homebrew games
Alchemy is a platform that brings you and your group an incredibly engaging method to enjoy online D&D and other tabletop role-playing games. Its primary objective is to provide a fully immersive and cinematic experience across all aspects of tabletop gaming, including game sessions, world creation, live streaming, and content exploration.
- A modern and elegant design
- The site is very easy to use. The previews of the games available in the workshop help a lot to get started.
- A quality workshop with game systems and scenarios
- Video and voice chat availible
- No battlemap management
- No calculation or automation possible between the fields of a sheet
- No possibility to create your own character sheet for your homebrew games
Role is a voice and video chat application oriented for role-playing games, entirely online. The platform offers different games for sale with pre-made sheets for ready-to-play games.
- A modern and elegant design
- The site is very easy to use. The previews of the games available in the workshop help a lot to get started.
- A quality workshop with game systems and scenarios
- Video and voice chat availible
- No battlemap management
- No calculation or automation possible between the fields of a sheet
- No intelligent inventory management or database of spells and items. All this manages in a simple textarea field
Owlbear is a very simple tool that allows you to manage your battlemaps in a few clicks without creating an account. Players can access the maps with a simple web link and a code, everything is designed to be as simple as possible.
- Very easy to use
- No software to install, everything is done online without creating an account
- A modern interface
- Only handles maps and dice rolls, the management of character sheets is not available
Tableplop is a simple Virtual TableTop for roleplaying games right in your browser. With support for characters, rolls, initiative tracking and fog of war it has everything you and your group need to visualise the battle together.
- The tool is very well thought out and easy to use. The available demo is a real plus
- Possibility to create your own character sheets
- Modern and simple design
- No calculation or automation possible between the fields of a sheet
- No integrated video or voice chat
Let's Role is a modern web platform created in 2021 allowing you to play online RPGs for free. The platform offers a system builder allowing you to create your own rule system with the help of your wiki.
- Animated maps availible, ideal for a better immersion
- No software to install, everything is done online
- Possibility to create your own role playing system
- A little difficult to get used to
- The website is a bit dull if you don't pay for themes or sheet skins
- The platform is not mobile friendly
Top Character Sheet Custom tools of 2023
If you want to create your own character sheets for your homebrew roleplaying games, here is a list of applications that will allow you to create digital sheets suitable for phones or in PDF format for printing.
Character sheet online, is a web application that allows you to create and manage dynamic character sheets, connected in real time with a GM interface and adapted to all role playing games. Our sheets can be used on computer, tablet and phone and they can even be printed. The site also offers a lot of features to animate and manage your games, it is ideal for beginners!
- Character sheet adapted mobile friendly, very practical for physical games
- Printable sheet with QR code to switch to digital device
- Smart formulas and fields to create automated character sheets
- Very easy to use drag and drop system for the creation of character sheets templates
- The use of custom character sheet templates requires a subscription
Kiln offers a set of easy-to-use tabletop roleplaying tools for all players, even beginners, perfect for playing around the table or online, alone or alongside your favorite battle map tools.
- Very easy to use
- Character sheet adapted mobile friendly, very practical for physical games
- A pleasant design
- No PDF version to print
- Character sheets are not connected to a GM interface
- No calculation or automation possible between the fields of a sheet
Fari is a tool that allows you to create your own character sheets or use existing templates. The tool also offers a space for collaborative drawing.
- Relatively easy to use
- The collaborative drawing space is very simple and convenient
- No PDF version to print
- No calculation or automation possible between the fields of a sheet
- Design a little too simplistic and bland
- No darkmode available
DiceCloud is a tool for managing and creating Dungeons and Dragons 5e character sheets digitally and adapted to the mobile device.
- Printable sheet with QR code to switch to digital device
- Only works for Dungeon and Dragon 5e
- Design a little too simplistic and bland
- The darkmode is paying
Top Campaign editors of 2023
Campaign editors are tools that offer many tools to structure your stories and your universe, in order to have everything at hand during a game.
Kanka is a driven worldbuilding and TTRPG campaign management tool, perfect for world builders and game masters. The tool also features a powerful interactive map editor.
- Very interesting @ mention system that allows to link the different characters and scenario elements together
- The interactive map editor is a real plus to create your own universe
- Very easy to use
- Is not connected to a VTT
World Anvil is a world building and RPG campaign management tool for all storytellers, dungeon masters and fiction writers.
- Many features, map, timeline, family tree (only on the paid version)...
- Well practiced video tutorials
- Is not connected to a VTT
- Intrusive ads on the free offer
- Very expensive paying offers $72/year
Top Map generators of 2023
The map generators allow you to create world, city or battle maps in a few minutes for your role-playing games.
Watabou is a developer who has published 6 totally free generators, allowing you to make different types of maps in a few clicks. With these generators you can generate maps of a dungeon interior, a village, a fortified city or an entire kingdom. Each generator has several options to customize the generated maps according to their shape, design, legend etc...
- Totaly free
- 6 tools allowing the generation of Realms, Cities, Districts, Mansions, Villages and Dungeons
- Very easy to use, generation in 1 click
- Enough customization options to not get lost
- No space to save your work and edit it later
Fantasy-Map-Generator is a project available on Github that allows you to generate automatically maps of the world with the name of each country. The tool offers many options to modify and customize the generated maps to fit your desires and needs.
- Totaly free
- The generation of names of territories, nations, capitals, religions, coats of arms is very useful to quickly create a rich and tangible universe
- Very easy to use, generation in 1 click
- No space to save your work and edit it later
Inkarnate is a website that allows you to draw your own continents and customize them as you see fit, to add stamps of trees, mountains, or rivers, and even some text and change the style of the map too (like elven or dwarvish).
- A large choice of map styles is available: world map, country map, city map or battle map.
- Very limited free offer
Top Character design tools of 2023
These tools allow you to create your characters in 2d or 3d with a large number of customization choices in a modern, cyberpunk or medieval fanatic style.
Heroforge is an online heroic fantasy character creation application with a wide selection of races, equipment, accessories and color schemes. The site even allows users to purchase 3D miniatures of their character for physical role-playing games.
- 3D character to be printed or ordered very practical if you want to play in physical
- Very large choice of customization, armor, weapon, wing, tail, pet, ride...
- No possibility to change the background with the free offer
Character creator is a free website that offers a wide range of options to create characters in a contemporary style ideal for Call of Cthulhu games.
- Many choices of clothing and accessories
- Totally free
- No background available
Customize your own League of Legends avatar with a wardrobe, haircuts, outfits, accessories, backgrounds and more. These avatars can easily fit into a Cyberpunk world.
- Many choices of clothing and accessories
- Totally free
- No possibility to have the whole character, the site proposes only busts
Top Soudboard tools of 2023
Here are some tools that allow you to manage the sound ambiance of your role-playing tables. These tools propose very practical shortcuts to launch sound effects in game.
Tabletop Audio is a website for players and GMs of tabletop (i.e. pen and paper) role-playing games who wish to add an audio dimension to their game sessions. On the main page, you will find dozens of 10-minute, situational audio files called ambiences.
- A very large database of sound ambiance and sound effects
- Ability to create your own playlists
- Totally free
- Design and ergonomics of the site which would deserve an update
Tabletop Audio is a website for players and GMs of tabletop (i.e. pen and paper) role-playing games who wish to add an audio dimension to their game sessions. On the main page, you will find dozens of 10-minute, situational audio files called ambiences.
- A selection of quality sound effects and music
- Very easy to use
- Adapted only to a medieval universe