GM Forge vs Roll20

Struggling to choose between GM Forge and Roll20? Both products offer unique advantages, making it a tough decision.

GM Forge is a Games solution with tags like rpg, board-games, card-games, game-design.

It boasts features such as Drag-and-drop interface for building games, Tools for creating cards, boards, tokens, characters, etc, Dice, random number generators, and other mechanics, Multiplayer support, Publishing and sharing games, Customizable themes and assets, Code integration for advanced logic, Import/export to common formats like JSON and pros including Free and easy to use, No coding required, Active community support, Frequent updates, Allows rapid prototyping.

On the other hand, Roll20 is a Games product tagged with virtual-tabletop, roleplaying-games, dice-rolling, digital-character-sheets, maps, tokens, rpg.

Its standout features include Virtual dice rolling, Digital character sheets, Shared maps and tokens, Text/voice chat, Fog of war, Customizable macros, Integrations with D&D Beyond and other services, and it shines with pros like Easy to use interface, Works on any device with a browser, Large library of free assets, Active community support, Allows playing tabletop RPGs remotely.

To help you make an informed decision, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison of these two products, delving into their features, pros, cons, pricing, and more. Get ready to explore the nuances that set them apart and determine which one is the perfect fit for your requirements.

GM Forge

GM Forge

GM Forge is a free, online tool for creating digital tabletop games such as RPGs, board games, and card games. It provides an easy drag-and-drop interface to build games without coding.

Categories:
rpg board-games card-games game-design

GM Forge Features

  1. Drag-and-drop interface for building games
  2. Tools for creating cards, boards, tokens, characters, etc
  3. Dice, random number generators, and other mechanics
  4. Multiplayer support
  5. Publishing and sharing games
  6. Customizable themes and assets
  7. Code integration for advanced logic
  8. Import/export to common formats like JSON

Pricing

  • Free
  • Open Source

Pros

Free and easy to use

No coding required

Active community support

Frequent updates

Allows rapid prototyping

Cons

Limited compared to full game engines

Less control over final product

Must publish games publicly

Limited customization options

Can be slow at times


Roll20

Roll20

Roll20 is a popular virtual tabletop platform for playing tabletop roleplaying games online. It provides digital character sheets, dice rolling, maps, tokens, and tools to run RPGs virtually with friends across the internet.

Categories:
virtual-tabletop roleplaying-games dice-rolling digital-character-sheets maps tokens rpg

Roll20 Features

  1. Virtual dice rolling
  2. Digital character sheets
  3. Shared maps and tokens
  4. Text/voice chat
  5. Fog of war
  6. Customizable macros
  7. Integrations with D&D Beyond and other services

Pricing

  • Freemium
  • Subscription-Based

Pros

Easy to use interface

Works on any device with a browser

Large library of free assets

Active community support

Allows playing tabletop RPGs remotely

Cons

Can be laggy with large maps/lots of tokens

Voice chat quality not as good as Discord

Subscription required for some features

Set-up can be time consuming