Online Play & VTTs
New Player's Guide to Foundry VTT (It's Easier Than Its Reputation)
Foundry VTT's fearsome reputation belongs entirely to GMs. As a player, you buy nothing, install nothing, and join by clicking a link and picking your name from a dropdown. That's the whole onboarding. Foundry is actually the plushest VTT to be a player on, because all the automation your GM sweated over runs in your favor: click an attack, and the math, the target's armor, and the damage all just happen. Here's your fifteen-minute orientation.
Joining: the part that surprises people
No account. Foundry doesn't have player accounts at all; your GM's server has a login screen listing character names, you pick yours (password if the GM set one), and you're in. The invite is just a URL.
Which means your entire pre-session checklist is: use a computer with Chrome or Firefox, sort out Discord for voice (Foundry tables talk over Discord like everyone else), and show up. The GM already built your character sheet or will walk you through it live.
The five controls that matter
- Move your token: click, drag, done. Arrow keys work too. Foundry animates vision in real time, so dark rooms reveal themselves as you walk; it's the prettiest fog of war in the business.
- Open your sheet by double-clicking your token. Everything on the sheet is a button; click a skill to roll it, click a weapon to attack.
- Target before you attack: hover an enemy and press T (or double-click their token). Targeting is the habit that unlocks Foundry's automation, because the system then checks hit and applies damage for you.
- Chat commands cover bare rolls:
/r 1d20+5does what it says. Whisper the GM with/w gmfollowed by your scheming. - End your turn with the button on the combat tracker. If you can't find something, press Escape first; half of Foundry confusion is an accidentally opened tool layer.
That's genuinely the curriculum. Everything else (journals, map pings, the music) you'll absorb by session two.
Why Foundry feels different from Roll20
Foundry is self-hosted and endlessly moddable, so every table is customized: your GM picked modules for automation, lighting, even weather. The upside is combat that runs itself and maps that look like video games. The mild downside is that no two Foundry tables are identical, so ask your GM "how automated are we?" rather than assuming. (Compare Roll20's more uniform experience, or the full VTT comparison if you're choosing.)
One genuinely useful thing to know: if the screen ever looks frozen, it's usually your browser tab, not the server. Refresh. Foundry restores you mid-scene, nothing is lost, and no one will even finish their joke about it before you're back.
Etiquette on a modded table
Same table manners as anywhere, plus two Foundry specials: don't drag other people's tokens (the GM sees everything), and if a module misbehaves, report rather than experiment; your GM spent a weekend configuring that stack, and "I clicked things until it stopped" is a Keeper-grade horror story.
Beyond that? Enjoy being spoiled. Players who learn D&D on a well-built Foundry table are routinely shocked to discover other groups do damage math by hand.
Frequently asked questions
Do players have to pay for Foundry VTT?
No. The GM buys one license (about $50) and hosts; players connect free through a browser. If someone tells you players need licenses, they're thinking of a different store page.
Do I need to install anything to play Foundry?
Nothing. It runs entirely in a modern browser on a computer. Tablets limp along; phones aren't a real option. Discord handles voice separately, same as with every VTT.
How do I join my GM's Foundry game?
Click the URL they send, pick your character from the login dropdown, enter the password if one exists. There's no account creation step; the GM's server is the account.
Why does my attack automatically hit or miss in Foundry?
Your table runs automation modules: with a target selected, Foundry compares your roll to their defenses and applies results. It's a feature. Target first (hover and press T) and the machine does the bookkeeping.
Is Foundry better than Roll20 for players?
Usually plusher, thanks to automation and lighting, and slightly less predictable because every table's module stack differs. Players don't really choose, though; you play on what your GM runs, and both are easy seats.