The best virtual tabletop for Shadowdark
Shadowdark is fast, deadly and dark: real-time torches that burn for an hour, close and near ranges instead of squares, and a dungeon where light is the scarcest resource. The tools that suit it are the ones that stay light and make darkness matter.
What Shadowdark needs from a table
A real-time torch timer, simple sheets, and quick d20 rolls. Ranges are close, near and far, so a grid is optional and many groups play with a rough map or none. Light sources define what the party can see.
Foundry: sheets and torch tracking
Foundry has a community-maintained Shadowdark system, published under the Shadowdark third-party licence, with character sheets and a light-source tracker. If your group wants everything in one tool, it is the most complete option we know of.
Owlbear Rodeo: a light map with no fuss
Owlbear Rodeo is a minimal shared map in the browser. Drop a dungeon image, add tokens, play. Its extension store adds dice and trackers. For a rules-light game that suits it well.
Where TerrainTale fits
Shadowdark is about torchlight, and TerrainTale lights scenes for real: place a torch and the walls around it fall into shadow as the party moves. Build a dungeon from tiles and walls, or start from a built-in scene. You run the torch clock yourself, since there is no real-time timer, and there are no sheets. Fog of war is brushed on and revealed by the GM; it does not follow the torchlight automatically.
- Real 3D lights and shadows
- Ruler set to squares or feet; read close and near by eye
- Initiative tracker optional
A combination that works
Sheets on paper or in Foundry, a phone timer for the torch, and the dungeon in whichever tool shows darkness best for your group.
Questions
Is there an official Shadowdark VTT?
Not as such. There is a community Shadowdark system for Foundry VTT, published under the third-party licence. Most other VTTs work with it as a general map and dice tool.
Does TerrainTale have a torch timer?
No. Use a real timer, which suits Shadowdark's real-time torches anyway. TerrainTale handles the light itself in the scene.
Does Shadowdark need a grid?
No. It uses close, near and far ranges. A map helps players understand the dungeon.
Can TerrainTale hide unexplored rooms?
Yes. Brush fog over the dungeon and reveal rooms as the party reaches them; there is no automatic line of sight.
Is it free?
The free plan has the full table and one saved scene; Premium is $6 a month for 200 scenes and your own models.
Keep reading
3D Lighting and Dynamic Shadows for D&D Maps
Battle maps with real light: a time-of-day slider that moves the sun and every shadow with it, a moon at night, torch lights on lamps and bloom on flames.
3D Dungeon Map Maker: Rooms, Corridors and Torchlight in Minutes
Make a 3D dungeon map in the browser: drag rooms with the Dungeon kit, paint corridors with the tile brush, add doorways, torches, a treasure chest and a skeleton, then play on it.
Best VTT for OSR Games: OSE, B/X and Old-School Play
The best virtual tabletops for OSR games like Old-School Essentials and B/X: Foundry for sheets, Owlbear Rodeo for simple maps, TerrainTale for 3D dungeons.
Owlbear Rodeo alternative
Looking for an Owlbear Rodeo alternative with 3D maps? TerrainTale keeps the simplicity (no rules engine, nothing to install) and adds real miniatures, light and height.
Starter scenes
Sixteen finished battle maps with real screenshots.
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Ready to put a map on the table?
Open the builder and start, no account needed. Sixteen starter scenes are on the welcome screen; sign up free when you want to save one or play it with your group.