When your table needs a map more than a video grid
Role is built around video and flexible character sheets for many indie systems. TerrainTale is built around the map: a 3D place with painted-miniature figures, and a turn tracker that stays out of the way.
Side by side
| Topic | TerrainTale | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Tactical 3D battle maps | Video, sheets and many systems |
| The map | A 3D scene from a realistic library | Lighter map tools |
| Video and voice | None built in | Built in on its paid tier |
| Character sheets | None, by design | Sheet builder |
| Measuring | Feet with diagonal rule, waypoints and height | Basic |
| Initiative and HP | Tracker, HP, conditions, round counter | Via sheets |
| Systems | System-agnostic: no rules engine | Many systems via sheets and publishers |
| Pricing | Free plan with one saved scene; Premium $6/month | Free with a paid tier |
Role is a trademark of its owners and is not affiliated with TerrainTale. Feature notes describe the other product in general terms as we understand it at the time of writing; check its site for current details.
A map for any system
No rules engine means nothing ties TerrainTale to D&D. Pathfinder, an OSR game or an indie system on a grid all use the same table, ruler and tracker. The ruler offers three diagonal rules, so a game that counts every diagonal as one square and a game that alternates both measure correctly. Creature sizes take the right number of squares, conditions are badges on the token, and HP is a number with damage and heal buttons, so nothing assumes a D&D stat block. A game without hit points can simply leave that field alone.
Pairs with the call you already use
Keep video and sheets where they are and share a TerrainTale room link for the fight. Players drag their own miniatures, measure and ping. A typical evening: the group talks on its usual video call, sheets stay in Role or on paper, and when combat starts the DM posts the TerrainTale link. Players who joined before come straight back in. They see the same map live, roll from the shared dice tray if they like, and watch the initiative order update as the DM advances turns.
Where Role is still the better pick
Tables that want video, sheets and dice in one window, and games that rarely use a battle map. TerrainTale has no video and no sheets. If your sessions are mostly faces and conversation, with a map once in a while, one window that does all of it may suit you better than two tools.
Moving across
There is no importer. Build your fight locations with the room tool or a starter scene, or import a scene recipe as JSON; token images you own become standees. A starter scene is the fastest route to a first fight: open the tavern or the crypt, move a few props, place the monsters and share it. On the hosted site, uploading your own token images is part of Premium; the library minis cover common creatures on every plan.
Measuring that settles arguments
Pick the diagonal rule once and every measurement follows it. A worked example: four diagonal squares and two straight cost 30 feet when every diagonal is 5 feet, and 40 feet under 5/10/5. Add a waypoint mid-drag to route around a pillar, and the readout includes height, such as 30 ft · 10 ft up for an archer on a wall. In a shared room every ruler is visible to everyone in its owner's colour.
The DM keeps control of the scene
Players at a shared table can drag minis, measure, ping, roll and put conditions on unlocked minis. They cannot edit the scene, change HP, run the tracker or save. The DM can paint fog over unexplored areas, which players see as black and are never sent, and hide single minis until the moment they appear. There is no automatic line of sight; reveals are the DM's decision.
Plans
The free plan has the whole table and keeps one saved scene. Premium is $6 a month or $48 a year; it keeps up to 200 saved scenes and lets you import your own models and token pictures. A self-hosted copy has no billing unless you turn it on, and scenes export as JSON files on every plan.
Questions
Does TerrainTale have video chat?
No. Use your usual call alongside a shared room.
Can I use it for systems other than D&D?
Yes. It is system-agnostic; anything played on a grid works.
Does it have character sheets?
No, by design. Keep sheets in Role, on paper or in the tool your system uses; TerrainTale tracks HP and conditions on the token.
Is there a dice roller?
Yes, there is a dice roller, and the free online one on this site works without signing in.
Does it have fog of war?
Yes. The DM brushes fog on and reveals it, in the editor or mid-game. Players see black there and are not sent what stands in it. There is no automatic line of sight.
Can players join without installing anything?
Yes. They open the share link in a browser, sign in and join when the DM lets them in.
Is it free?
There is a free plan with the whole table that keeps one saved scene. Premium, $6 a month or $48 a year, keeps up to 200 saved scenes and imports your own models.
Do creature sizes take the right number of squares?
Yes. A Medium creature takes one square and a Large creature a 2 by 2 space, and tokens snap to match. The ruler measures from wherever you start the drag, so reach from the edge of a large space is easy to check.
Can an AI assistant build a scene for me?
Yes. Scene recipes are a documented JSON format. Describe the place to an assistant, have it write the recipe using the asset catalogue, and load it with File, Import Scene JSON. The scene builder keeps floors tiled, walls meeting and everything standing on the terrain.
Can I hide a monster from players until it appears?
Yes. Tick Hidden from players on the mini. The DM sees it ghosted with a tag; players do not receive it at all until the DM shows it.
Keep reading
TTRPG Virtual Tabletop for Any System: 3D, Free, No Rules Engine
A virtual tabletop for any tabletop RPG on a grid: D&D, Pathfinder, OSR, Shadowdark, Savage Worlds and more.
Pathfinder Virtual Tabletop in 3D
A 3D virtual tabletop that fits Pathfinder: 5-foot squares, the 5/10/5 diagonal rule, Large and bigger creatures, a ruler with height, and initiative.
Dice roller
A free 3D dice roller for D&D.
Let's Role alternative
A Let's Role alternative for groups who want tactical play on a realistic 3D battle map: miniatures, light, a ruler in feet with height, initiative and HP.
Play D&D with Friends: Start a Group and Run Your First Night
How to get a D&D group going with friends: who runs it, what to buy (almost nothing), a first adventure, a schedule that survives adult life, and a free 3D battle map for the first fight.
From the blog
Line of sight rules in 5e: seeing, targeting and corners on a battle map
How line of sight works in 5e on a battle map: what blocks a target, obscurement versus cover, corners and pillars, the corner method from the DMG, and judging it from a token's eye level.
· 5 min read
Mounted combat rules in 5e: mounts on a grid without the arguments
The 2024 mounted combat rules in 5e on a battle map: the shared space, controlled versus independent mounts, what mounting and dismounting cost, falling off, opportunity attacks and charging.
· 5 min read
Light sources in 5e: torch, lantern and candle radius on the grid
Every 5e light source in squares: torch, hooded and bullseye lantern, candle, lamp, the Light and Daylight spells, bright versus dim light, what darkvision really does, and how to run a night fight.
· 5 min read
All articles on battle maps, grid rules and running the game
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.