Show HN: Roll20, a new virtual tabletop for playing RPGs online

This is a project that I have been working on in my spare time for a while now. It's a new virtual tabletop for playing pen and paper role playing games online, but it takes an entirely different approach than anything out there right now. Rather than trying to turn pen and paper games into video games, with features centered around one-click damage calculations and detailed stats tracking, Roll20 focuses on storytelling. It has completely new features like background music, player journals, and an expansive art library with a built-in web search.

The entire system runs on NodeJS, Padrino, Backbone JS, Raphael, ShareJS, and a few dozen other "HTML5" technologies. OpenTok/TokBox powers the built-in video chat.

We're trying to raise some money on Kickstarter to fund further development and get us to the finish line. If you enjoy playing pen and paper games and think this is a good idea, we'd love your support -- help us spread the word!

Show HN: Roll20, a new virtual tabletop for playing RPGs online
kickstarter.com

Very original, I hope this gets funded. 5k isn't much either!

I love tabletop RPGs, and I wish there were better options for playing with friends online. I chipped in -- hope you get funded!

OK, Backed. I like tools like this. I think too often they get cluttered down trying to implement the rules system in the game.

I don't want that, I don't need that. That's what the GM is for, and trying to implement the rules themselves mean I need to program, in order to run my game.

I just want an extension of my minis map, on the web. I'd like to click-and-drag to move figures around, scribble on stuff, and maybe import some PNGs if I feel motivated.

Or not. My scribbles are good enough, since you have VIDEO of me, right there, describing it.

Again, this is where people get lost.

Things don't need to stand alone, like they would in Diablo, or Baulder's gate. I don't want to spend a long time mapping out a dungeon before we play, I want to fire up a game, and wing it as we all play together.

That's what I love about Tabletop games. As a GM, I can just use my marker, and my voice, and GO!

Make that easy, and I'll get all my friends to get their friends to sign up ;)

We've posted to /r/rpg and /r/dnd, but linked directly to the site (http://roll20.net) instead...just as a sort of mini A/B test to see if it made a difference :-). If you know of any other subreddits feel free to spread the word!