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Fantasy Grounds

fantasygrounds.com

From $3.99/mo Free plan WebWindowsmacOSLinux
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Spec score 9.2 #2 of 28 in Virtual Tabletop Software

What it is

Fantasy Grounds is a virtual tabletop for creating and playing tabletop roleplaying-game campaigns online or in person. Its tools include dice rolling, character sheets, campaign notes, handouts, images, tokens, and maps. Rulesets automate gameplay tasks while keeping detailed rules information available in the background. The full application is free to download and includes Game Master and player functionality, cloud connectivity, free rulesets, and unlimited campaigns, with no recurring costs listed for the Free to Play plan. Automatic NAT traversal is intended to avoid networking hassles. Dynamic line of sight, lighting, and vision features include darkvision support. Users can export custom adventure modules and create extensions or rulesets with XML and Lua. The Fantasy Grounds Forge lets creators share content for free or sell it, while users can purchase or subscribe to content. A browser-based Online Reader provides access to purchased modules from any device. Fantasy Grounds is listed for Linux, macOS, web, and Windows. SmiteWorks says it does not store credit-card data; support excludes product training, phone support, and languages other than English.

Spec sheet

What it does
Fantasy Grounds is a virtual tabletop for playing tabletop role-playing games online with a Game Master and players, handling dice, character sheets, notes, handouts, images, tokens and maps.Read 15 Oct 2026 · fantasygrounds.com
Platforms
The official installation page provides downloads for Windows, Mac, Linux and Steam.Read 15 Oct 2026 · fantasygrounds.com
Headquarters
Melbourne, Florida, United StatesRead 28 Sep 2026 · fantasygrounds.com
Founded
2004Read 28 Sep 2026 · fantasygrounds.com
3D dice
The product includes physics-based realistic 3D dice, which the maker describes as a long-standing differentiator.Read 15 Oct 2026 · fantasygrounds.com
Automation
Official rulesets automate game mechanics and can expose features such as combat calculations, initiative handling and chained spell actions.Read 15 Oct 2026 · fantasygrounds.com
Community marketplace
Fantasy Grounds Forge distributes free and paid community rulesets, extensions, adventures, maps and utilities separately from official maintained content.Read 15 Oct 2026 · fantasygrounds.com
Company identity
LinkedIn identifies the maker as SmiteWorks USA, LLC, a privately held entertainment provider headquartered in Melbourne, Florida.Read 15 Oct 2026 · linkedin.com
Company reach
LinkedIn says Fantasy Grounds is the flagship product and reports a worldwide community of more than 500,000 players.Read 15 Oct 2026 · linkedin.com
Company size and founding
LinkedIn lists SmiteWorks USA, LLC as founded in 2004 with 11–50 employees.Read 15 Oct 2026 · linkedin.com
Core tabletop tools
It supports dice rolling, character sheets, campaign notes, handouts, images, tokens and maps.Read 1 Oct 2026 · fantasygrounds.com
Creator marketplace
The Fantasy Grounds Forge lets creators share content for free or sell it, while users can purchase or subscribe to that content.Read 1 Oct 2026 · fantasygrounds.com
Current software price
The October 2026 announcement says the complete Fantasy Grounds VTT software is free for Game Masters and players, removing the former software-license cost.Read 15 Oct 2026 · fantasygrounds.com
Custom exports
Game Masters can export NPCs, monsters, items, maps, stories and other creations as reusable custom modules.Read 15 Oct 2026 · fantasygrounds.com
Customization
Users can build unlimited campaigns, export custom adventure modules and create extensions or rulesets with XML and Lua.Read 1 Oct 2026 · fantasygrounds.com
Developer extensibility
Custom rulesets and extensions use XML and Lua scripting, and the developer guide documents XML and script entities.Read 15 Oct 2026 · fantasygrounds.com
Developer tooling
Ruleset development requires only a text editor, with XML editors and Lua syntax-highlighting editors suggested as optional aids.Read 15 Oct 2026 · fantasygrounds.com
Documentation
The official quick-start page links installation, basic guides, ruleset guides, a user manual and developer guides in an actively updated wiki.Read 15 Oct 2026 · fantasygrounds.com
Free access
The full application is free to download and includes full Game Master and player functionality.Read 1 Oct 2026 · fantasygrounds.com
Integration roadmap
The acquisition announcement says direct Fantasy Grounds–Eldritch Foundry connection through an API is planned for a later phase; current workflows use manual character and asset exports.Read 15 Oct 2026 · fantasygrounds.com
Licence status
The maker presents Fantasy Grounds as copyrighted software with all rights reserved and requires a full license for ruleset customization, so it is not open source.Read 15 Oct 2026 · fantasygrounds.com
Limit: connectivity complexity
A negative Metacritic user review complained that hosting required extensive port-opening troubleshooting before players could connect.Read 15 Oct 2026 · metacritic.com
Limit: game discovery
Another Metacritic user review said finding games was difficult outside D&D 5E and criticized the cost and community experience.Read 15 Oct 2026 · metacritic.com
Limit: learning curve
PC Gamer reported that even players needed hours to learn the interface and that programming knowledge is needed for custom rules and character sheets.Read 15 Oct 2026 · pcgamer.com
Limit: missing collaboration features
PC Gamer noted that Fantasy Grounds lacked an in-game Looking for Group tool and built-in webcam support.Read 15 Oct 2026 · pcgamer.com
Limit: usability
The Trustpilot reviewer described both the website and application as having horrible usability.Read 15 Oct 2026 · trustpilot.com
Maps
Maps support fog-of-war masking, areas of effect, distance measurement and movement paths, and users can drag image files into the application.Read 15 Oct 2026 · fantasygrounds.com
Networking
The platform provides cloud connectivity with automatic NAT traversal to avoid networking hassles.Read 1 Oct 2026 · fantasygrounds.com
Notable news: Eldritch Foundry acquisition
On October 1, 2026, SmiteWorks announced an asset purchase of substantially all Eldritch Foundry business assets to expand Fantasy Grounds' 3D character and tabletop capabilities.Read 15 Oct 2026 · fantasygrounds.com
Notable news: October 2026 update
Version 5.1.14, released October 6, 2026, added directional lighting, a reworked line-of-sight system, a map-tool overhaul and additional ruleset automation.Read 15 Oct 2026 · fantasygrounds.com
Official content
Converted publisher products can contain linked reference text, searchable records, encounters, parcels, maps, tokens, pins, lighting and line-of-sight data.Read 15 Oct 2026 · fantasygrounds.com
Online Reader
The browser-based Fantasy Grounds Online Reader lets users access purchased modules from any device.Read 1 Oct 2026 · fantasygroundsunity.atlassian.net
Payment data
SmiteWorks says it does not store credit-card data, which is required only for the duration of a billing transaction.Read 1 Oct 2026 · fantasygroundsunity.atlassian.net
Player access
Players can install the free application and join a Game Master without buying the Game Master's books; sharing depends on what loaded modules permit.Read 15 Oct 2026 · fantasygrounds.com
Praise: licensed content
PC Gamer highlighted authentic campaigns with licensed modules and said official systems can be used with little preparation.Read 15 Oct 2026 · pcgamer.com
Praise: value and breadth
The sole Trustpilot reviewer called it good value for money, praised its broad role-playing-system support and said helpdesk and forum support were good.Read 15 Oct 2026 · trustpilot.com
Privacy and security
The privacy policy says access to personal information uses industry-standard authentication and sensitive information such as credit-card data is transferred using SSL encryption.Read 1 Oct 2026 · fantasygroundsunity.atlassian.net
Publishers and systems
Fantasy Grounds collaborates with more than 150 community developers and numerous licensed RPG publishers.Read 1 Oct 2026 · fantasygroundsunity.atlassian.net
Random tables
The CoreRPG ruleset provides random-table generation for uses such as names, encounters, planets and weather.Read 15 Oct 2026 · fantasygrounds.com
Rating on Metacritic
7.1 out of 10 from 7 user ratingsRead 15 Oct 2026 · metacritic.com
Rating on Steam
Very Positive, 80% positive from 1,084 reviewsRead 15 Oct 2026 · store.steampowered.com
Rating on Trustpilot
3.6 out of 5 from 1 reviewRead 15 Oct 2026 · trustpilot.com
Security architecture
The system requirements documentation describes Fantasy Grounds as peer-to-peer between Game Masters and players rather than using a central cloud game server.Read 15 Oct 2026 · fantasygroundsunity.atlassian.net
Support channels
Official support includes forums, Discord, the Fantasy Grounds Academy and the Forge; the quick-start page says the forums have more than 150,000 community users.Read 15 Oct 2026 · fantasygrounds.com
Support limits
Support excludes product training, beta/test/dev versions unless specifically requested, languages other than English and phone support.Read 1 Oct 2026 · fantasygroundsunity.atlassian.net
Support response
SmiteWorks says it will respond to support requests within no more than two business days, or 48 hours.Read 1 Oct 2026 · fantasygroundsunity.atlassian.net
Supported systems
The free comparison page lists included rulesets or free data for D&D, Pathfinder, Starfinder, Daggerheart, Fallout 2d20, Star Trek Adventures, Cosmere RPG, Fate Core and Old-School Essentials.Read 15 Oct 2026 · fantasygrounds.com
Tokens
GM and Ultimate licenses include hundreds of built-in tokens, while JPG, GIF and PNG files can be added from token folders.Read 15 Oct 2026 · fantasygrounds.com
Visual features
It includes dynamic line of sight, lighting and vision features, including darkvision support.Read 1 Oct 2026 · fantasygrounds.com

Plans and prices

Free/Demo Free one demo player · limited hosting · no custom rulesets or extensions Read 15 Oct 2026 · fantasygrounds.com
Free to Play Free full Game Master and player functionality · Windows, MacOS and Linux · unlimited campaigns · cloud connectivity · free rulesets · no recurring costs Read 1 Oct 2026 · fantasygrounds.com
GM/Player $3.99 a month monthly full player and GM tools · unlimited campaigns · custom modules · ruleset extensions Read 15 Oct 2026 · fantasygrounds.com
Ultimate $9.99 a month monthly one license covers all players · unlimited free players · full GM tools Read 15 Oct 2026 · fantasygrounds.com
GM/Player $39, paid once one-time full player and GM tools · unlimited campaigns · custom modules · ruleset extensions Read 15 Oct 2026 · fantasygrounds.com
Ultimate $149, paid once one-time one license covers all players · unlimited free players · full GM tools Read 15 Oct 2026 · fantasygrounds.com

Every Fantasy Grounds plan and price →

Strong points and limits

Strong points

  • Full Game Master and player functionality is free.
  • Unlimited campaigns and cloud connectivity are included.
  • Supports Linux, macOS, web, and Windows.
  • Users can build extensions and rulesets with XML and Lua.
  • Online Reader opens purchased modules from any device.

Limits

  • Support excludes phone assistance.
  • Support excludes languages other than English.
  • Product training is outside support.

Who it suits

It suits Game Masters and players who want campaign tools, automated rulesets, and cloud connectivity. Creators can also use its XML and Lua customization options and share or sell content through the Forge.

Verdict

Fantasy Grounds provides a broad campaign toolkit in a free application, with customization and creator-content options. Readers should note its stated support exclusions, particularly for training and phone help.

Where Specifiction places it

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