vttanswers
What Does VTT Stand For?
VTT stands for virtual tabletop. It is the software a roleplaying group uses to share a map, roll dice, and track characters when they are not in the same room.
Blog
Updates, guides, and behind the build
Release notes, game mastering guides, and dispatches from building bespoke virtual tabletops for the games worth running.
stars-without-numberanswers
Stars Without Number vs Starfinder: Which Sci-Fi RPG Fits Your Table?
Stars Without Number vs Starfinder is a choice between a GM toolkit for sandbox play and a tactical game with published adventure paths. Here is how they differ in prep, crunch, and what a session feels like.
old-school-essentialsosranswers
Is Old-School Essentials Good?
Old-School Essentials is good if you want the 1981 rules presented so clearly you can find any of them mid-session. It is not trying to modernise the design, and that is the whole point.
old-school-essentialsosranswers
Old-School Essentials vs Basic Fantasy: Which Retroclone Should You Run?
Old-School Essentials vs Basic Fantasy is a choice between exact fidelity to the 1981 rules and a quietly modernised version that is free to download. Both run the same adventures.
cyberpunk-redanswers
Cyberpunk Red vs Cyberpunk 2020: What Changed?
Cyberpunk Red vs Cyberpunk 2020: a later timeline, a lighter rules set, and a netrunner who now acts in the same rounds as everyone else instead of disappearing into a separate scene.
stars-without-numbervttanswers
The Best Free VTTs for Stars Without Number in 2026
The best free VTTs for Stars Without Number in 2026, with what each one actually costs you in prep. Includes the option we make, and the two cases where you should pick something else.
stars-without-numbervttanswers
What Reddit Uses to Run Stars Without Number Online
Reddit does have a consensus stack for running Stars Without Number online, and it has a consistent set of gaps too. Here is what recurs in the threads, and what people are still building by hand.
stars-without-numbervttanswers
What Is the Best VTT for Stars Without Number?
The best VTT for Stars Without Number comes down to three realistic options: Foundry with community modules, Roll20 with a hand built sheet, or a purpose built SWN tabletop. Here is what each one costs you in prep time.
old-school-essentialsosrvttanswers
What Is the Best VTT for Old-School Essentials?
The best VTT for Old-School Essentials is the one that tracks the resource clocks automatically: torches, rations, encumbrance, and the dungeon turn, instead of leaving them on your notepad.
vttanswers
What Is the Best Free Virtual Tabletop?
The best free virtual tabletop is not the one that is free today, it is the one still free once your table has ten sessions of content in it. Most free tiers are trials with the clock hidden.
vttanswers
What Is the Best Roll20 Alternative?
The best Roll20 alternative depends on which Roll20 problem you are trying to leave behind: the storage limits, the automation ceiling, or the fact that it does not know your game system.
vttanswers
Is Foundry VTT Worth It?
Foundry VTT is a one time purchase made by the GM, after which players join free. It is worth it if you will run many campaigns and are willing to maintain modules. It is not if you want to open a browser and play.
stars-without-numberanswers
What Is Stars Without Number?
Stars Without Number is an old school science fiction tabletop RPG by Kevin Crawford, built for sandbox campaigns where the group picks a direction and the sector reacts.
stars-without-numberanswers
Stars Without Number vs Worlds Without Number: What Is the Difference?
Same designer, same design lineage, different genres. Stars Without Number is science fiction with sectors and starships. Worlds Without Number is fantasy with dungeons and magic traditions.
stars-without-numberanswers
What System Does Stars Without Number Use?
Stars Without Number uses its own old school ruleset descended from classic d20 fantasy, with six attributes, classes, backgrounds, and foci, rather than a licensed system like d20 Modern or Powered by the Apocalypse.
old-school-essentialsosranswers
What Is Old-School Essentials?
Old-School Essentials is Necrotic Gnome's restatement of the 1981 Basic and Expert edition of the world's first fantasy RPG: the same rules, reorganised so you can actually find them at the table.
old-school-essentialsosranswers
Does Old-School Essentials Use THAC0?
Yes. Old-School Essentials uses descending armour class with THAC0, matching the 1981 rules it restates, and it also includes an ascending armour class option if your table prefers that.
old-school-essentialsosranswers
Old-School Essentials vs Shadowdark: Which Should You Play?
Both are modern old school dungeon crawlers. Old-School Essentials restates the 1981 rules faithfully. Shadowdark rebuilds that feel on modern d20 conventions with real time torches.
cyberpunk-redanswers
How Does Netrunning Work in Cyberpunk Red?
Netrunning in Cyberpunk Red happens inside the normal combat round, not in a separate scene. The netrunner climbs a NET Architecture floor by floor while the rest of the crew is still shooting.
stars-without-numbercyberpunk-redderelictupdate
Lots of updates!
Sorry for the lack of communication lately. I've been heads down working on a lot of items across all of the VTTs. Thanks for bearing with me. I was overo…
derelictupdate
Derelict - Latest Update
Big update this week. You can now see and hear your crew right in the game, no separate Discord tab needed. Party video calls. Click any portrait to switc…
streamingupdate
Coming Soon - Go Live: A Full Stream Overlay
I've got two VTTs coming very soon: one is called Derelict, a custom sci-fi horror survival VTT that can handle those types of games (but it's primarily aimed…
communityupdate
Sunday: Twitch Livestream of VTT Prototype
This Sunday, the 12th, at 7:30 pm Mountain time, the OSRP (OneShot RP) group will be running a live action role-playing game that will be using one of our…
derelictstars-without-numbercyberpunk-redupdate
What are we working on
I've been extremely busy lately trying to figure out how to provide the VTTs while navigating the licenses for various TTRPG products. I've finally landed…
cyberpunk-redupdate
Cyberpunk Updates
The sprawl runs on screens, and now so does your table. Every character gets a pocket handset that slides in from the edge of the screen: text, call, look…
cyberpunk-redderelictupdate
Cyberpunk & Derelict
Cyberpunk was a big stretch. The city just got an in-fiction messaging device and a zoomable city map on which you can build districts. The Derelict side …
community
Tell Us — Your Direct Line to Me
If you've been using any of the ShawnsVTTs tools, you may have already noticed the 💬 Tell Us button sitting in the header. I want to take a minute to exp…
cyberpunk-redupdate
Big Week in the Sprawl: Drugs, Vehicles, and NPCs That Fight Back
We are going to try to have early access to our Cyberpunk Red VTT next week, provided we complete all testing. This week, a dense sprint landed across the…
update
Today's Updates
Cyberpunk VTT: It's coming! The GM Library authoring side has been in place for a while — you can create your own Roles, Skills, Cyberware, Equipment, Pro…
old-school-fantasyupdate
Old School Fantasy VTT (OSF) Is Now Live!
A new VTT built specifically for Old-School Essentials and B/X-style play is now live at osf.shawnsvtts.com. You can jump into the demo right now with our…
stars-without-numberold-school-fantasygrimdelveupdate
Latest Changes
Personal Update — headed on an international trip. Here's what shipped this week across all three VTTs.
old-school-fantasyupdate
Old School Fantasy VTT: Early Access Is Now Live
Old School Fantasy VTT is now in early access. Build your party, track HP and spell slots, and run sessions for B/X-style games.
old-school-fantasystars-without-numberupdate
Latest Update
Quick update on what shipped this week — OSF character sheets, SWN faction fixes, and GrimDelve light tracker improvements.
stars-without-numberguideanswers
How Does Hacking Work in Stars Without Number?
Hacking resolves as skill checks against a target system, with countermeasures that trace, lock out, or raise an alarm. Here is the flow, and how to run it so four other players are not waiting.
stars-without-numberguide
Faction Turns in Stars Without Number
How to run faction turns in the Stars Without Number VTT — creating factions, assigning assets, resolving turn actions, and the reasons most tables quietly drop the subsystem after three sessions.
grimdelveupdate
GrimDelve Is Now Live!
GrimDelve — our VTT for the Shadowdark RPG — is now live. Here's everything that's in the launch build.
grimdelvecommunity
We Got It Wrong — Here's How We're Fixing It
We made a mistake in how we approached the GrimDelve branding and we're being transparent about what happened and how we're fixing it.
stars-without-numberupdate
Codex of the Black Sun is now in-app... with Kevin Crawford's blessing
Kevin Crawford gave his blessing to include the Codex of the Black Sun in the SWN VTT GM Library. Here's what's now available.
stars-without-numberupdate
Encounter Builder — Stage Combats Like a Set Designer
The Encounter Builder is live — design combat encounters with drag-and-drop monster placement, terrain notes, and CR estimation.
grimdelvecommunity
Update on GrimDelve
A quick update on GrimDelve's status, the name change, and what's coming this week.
grimdelveupdate
GrimDelve's GM Library Is Now Open!
GrimDelve's GM Library is live — Shadowdark rules reference, monster stats, spell lists, and encounter tables, all inside the VTT.
stars-without-numberupdate
GM Library Added — News on Codex of the Black Sun!
The SWN VTT GM Library is live with rules reference, faction tables, and sector generation tools — plus exciting news about Codex of the Black Sun.
stars-without-numbergrimdelveupdate
The Latest Updates On Our VTTs
Weekly update covering improvements to the comms system, GrimDelve light tracker, and the encounter builder preview.
stars-without-numberupdate
Comms Gets Filters, FTL Range, and a Cleaner Hacking Tab
The Comms System gets message filters, FTL range overlays, and a dedicated Hacking tab in this update.
getting-startedvirtual-tabletopanswers
How to Try a Virtual Tabletop Free, and Actually Evaluate It
A feature tour tells you almost nothing about a virtual tabletop. One real session tells you almost everything. Here is what to test, in what order, and how to do it without paying.
stars-without-numberguideanswers
How Do Ship Comms Work in Stars Without Number?
Direct, broadcast and encrypted traffic, who can intercept what, and how communication range limits it. Plus the part that matters more: using transmissions to set a scene before anyone speaks.
stars-without-numberupdate
Tour the Demo, Tell Us What You Think
The demo is live. Take a tour of the Stars Without Number VTT and tell us what you think via the in-app feedback channel.
community
Questions & Feedback Channel Now Open
The in-app Tell Us feedback channel is now open. Here's how to use it and what to send.
stars-without-numberupdate
Starship Combat Comes to the Bridge
Starship combat is live in the SWN VTT. Run bridge crew actions, track hull and system damage, and resolve combat turn by turn.
stars-without-numberguideanswers
How to Run a Stars Without Number Sandbox Without Losing Your Prep
The reason sandbox prep evaporates is that it gets organised around the session you planned rather than the world the party can reach. Putting hooks on the world fixes it, and costs nothing extra.
grimdelveupdate
GrimDelve: A Big Drop — Crawls, Mishaps, Level-Up, and Random Tables
A major GrimDelve update: crawl turn tracker, mishap table roller, level-up flow, and expanded random encounter tables.
stars-without-numberguide
Stars Without Number: Starship Combat
How starship combat works in the Stars Without Number VTT — crew roles, distance bands, system damage, and why the subsystem asks something different of your players than a normal fight.
grimdelveupdate
GrimDelve Levels Up — Chat, Light, and Tokens That Talk
GrimDelve gets in-session chat, an improved light tracker, and character tokens that display current light source status.
grimdelveupdate
Torches Tick Down — and GrimDelve Catches Up
GrimDelve update — torch countdown timer is live, and GrimDelve is catching up to Stars Without Number feature parity on core session tools.
grimdelveupdate
GrimDelve Nears! One Sign-In Across All VTTs, and Our Dice Engine(s)
GrimDelve beta is approaching, single sign-on is live across all VTTs, and a deep dive into how the dice engine works.
stars-without-numberguideanswers
Stars Without Number Sector Generator: Rolling a Sector and Using It
What a generated sector actually gives you, how much of it to develop before session one, and how to roll a new world live when the party goes somewhere you did not plan.
stars-without-numberupdate
A Free Trial, A Real Front Door, and a Public Homepage
The ShawnsVTTs marketing site is live, the free trial is open, and here's what changed on the product front door.
stars-without-numberupdate
Patreon Sign-In, Player Invites, and Multi-Game, Done Right
Patreon OAuth sign-in is live, player invites now work via shareable link, and the multi-game architecture is explained.
stars-without-numberupdate
Latest Updates
Progress update — faction turns are working, NPC ship AI is wired, and GrimDelve character sheets are started.
virtual-tabletopdesignanswers
Generic VTT vs Purpose-Built VTT: Which One Fits Your Table?
A generic VTT can never assume anything about your game, so specifics become configuration. A purpose-built one assumes everything and supports far fewer games. Which trade is right depends on one question about your table.
stars-without-numberupdate
Today's Update - Progress
First week progress update — what's been built, what's in review, and what's coming next.
introductionvirtual-tabletop
Shawn's Virtual Table Tops
Introduction to ShawnsVTTs — why I'm building bespoke virtual tabletops for individual game systems instead of a generic platform.