Frequently Asked Questions | Foundry Virtual Tabletop

Updated July 3, 2022

General Information

What is Foundry Virtual Tabletop?

Foundry Virtual Tabletop (Foundry VTT or "FVTT" for short) is an application built specifically for experiencing multiplayer tabletop role-playing games with your friends and party members over the internet. Foundry VTT works using modern web technologies where one player (the host) runs an application which hosts the game server and other players can connect using a web browser. As a "virtual tabletop", the software provides a set of digital tools which are designed to imitate and expand upon the experience of playing a game in-person with your friends. Support for character sheets, rolling dice, exploring battle maps, and moving heroic tokens are just a few of the many features which enable this experience. Foundry Virtual Tabletop goes well beyond the basic feature set, however, with rich dynamic lighting, fog of war, audio playlists, video chat using webcams, and way more. Foundry VTT gives you everything you need (and then some) to forge thrilling and memorable moments with your gaming group!

When did Foundry Virtual Tabletop release? What is the history of the project?

Foundry Virtual Tabletop officially released on Friday, May 22. Development of the software began in August, 2018 and software was in pre-alpha development from August 2018 through November 2018 with closed Alpha testing until February 2019. From February 2019 until May 2020 the software was in closed Beta testing with a large and dedicated community actively working together to get the software ready for release. The beta testing process is now over and the software is available for purchase.

Why are you creating this software?

I love tabletop gaming, and I am a believer in the power of digital tools to expand and improve roleplaying. I love how software can break down geographic barriers to allow you to play games with friends all over the world, and I love how technology can create memorable and tactical experiences with the incorporation of beautiful artwork, music, and effects which are not possible at a physical table.

Despite my love for this space, I was feeling let down by existing tools. I either didn't like their feature set, or their business model, or their user experience - it seemed to me like there should be something better. Modern web technologies have allowed for me to create a software which I believe is more flexible, feature-rich, and offers a very high quality of user experience. This project has been a passion of mine for the past 2 years and I feel very fulfilled in how it has grown, the progress it has made, and the incredible growth of the community which has rallied behind it.

My primary investment in this project is not as a business venture but rather as a fan of the tabletop gaming genre and a dungeon master who loves creating rich experiences for players. I believe the tabletop RPG community deserves better from its software and I want to contribute towards that by creating technology that I would love to use and I think there's a lot of opportunity for my work to benefit the gaming community.

What are the differences in the versions of Foundry Virtual Tabletop?

Foundry VTT categorizes releases according to different phases of development, some of which are stable and recommended for public use while others are more experimental as ways for us to introduce and test new features. You can read all about our Versioning and Releases in the linked article. You can find a listing of all of our historical and available releases on the Releases page.

Purchasing Questions

What does this cost? What is your business model?

Individual licenses for Foundry Virtual Tabletop are sold for $50 USD. Each license allows for hosting a single Foundry Virtual Tabletop game server for an unlimited number of players (who do not need to purchase the software). There is only one type of license, which includes all of the Foundry Virtual Tabletop core features - there are no premium tiers, special editions, or season passes. Future updates to the core software will be made available (for free) to all license owners.

In addition to the sale of licenses, I have a Patreon page (https://www.patreon.com/foundryvtt) for community members who wish to show additional support after launch. Patreon is not required to access any software features, it merely offers some minor additional perks like access to private Discord channels, bonus content that can be imported into Foundry VTT, and collaboration projects with other tabletop RPG artists and creators.

Why am I being charged sales tax to purchase Foundry Virtual Tabletop?

Foundry Gaming LLC is a limited liability corporation registered in the State of Washington and is required to collect sales tax on software sold to customers in the State of Washington or in other US states where the number of Foundry Virtual Tabletop license sales exceed an minimum threshold to require sales tax collection.

We also collect sales tax (VAT) in the European Union, the United Kingdom, and Norway.

If you believe you are being charged an incorrect amount of sales tax please reach out to admin@foundryvtt.com with your concerns and I will do my best to address them.

How do I buy Foundry Virtual Tabletop?

To purchase the software, follow these steps:

Register a user account on this website. You can (optionally) link your account with Patreon at the time of registration.
Go to the Purchase page. Foundry Virtual Tabletop individual licenses cost $50 (plus tax). If you have access to a Discount Code (if you were a Patreon supporter during Beta) you should apply it before purchasing. More details on that below.
Agree to the terms and conditions and provide your payment information. Payment is handled by Stripe which is a trusted platform for secure online payments. They accept all manner of credit and bank cards including most foreign cards. Unfortunately no other payment methods are supported at this time.
Once you purchase, after waiting a few seconds you will be redirected to your User Profile page where your newly issued software license will be available to use along with download links to the software.

Can I buy Foundry VTT as a gift for someone else?

We are always happy to transfer a purchased license to another user's account. All it takes takes to do so is a few quick steps:

The person who you are gifting FVTT must register an account on our website.
Then, as the purchaser, follow the steps in the question above to purchase FVTT as if you are buying it for yourself.
Once your purchase is successful, use the License Transfer form to submit a license transfer request and have it processed automatically.

Assuming the license is eligible for transfer and that the account information for the recipient is accurate, it will be transferred immediately after completing the license transfer form.

What is your refund policy if the software does not work for me?

My hope is that Foundry Virtual Tabletop will work for everyone - however I acknowledge that there is some risk in purchasing a software that has specific hardware and networking requirements.

Should the software not work out for you and your players, you have the ability to request a refund up to 30 days from the date of purchase. Refunds are offered in cases where the technical limitations of the software result in an unsatisfactory experience for the purchaser. If your purchase is refunded, your license key will be revoked and you must immediately discontinue use and uninstall all copies of the software.

If you need to request a refund for your Foundry Virtual Tabletop purchase, you can find details of your purchased licenses and submit a refund request on the Purchased Licenses page of your user profile.

Please note that the refund policy is intended for cases where the customer is unable to use the software or dissatisfied with the features that it offers. Occasionally the software will be temporarily offered at a discounted sale price. Temporary changes in pricing do not constitute valid grounds for a refund request, otherwise it would be infeasible for me to offer such temporary discounts.

Can I use any other payment methods to purchase Foundry VTT?

Foundry Virtual Tabletop now supports the following additional payment methods for the EU: Bancontact, EPS, giropay, iDeal, and Przelewy24. These payment processing methods should provide a faster rate of transaction than SEPA Direct Debit, and the expected processing time is similar to that of credit card transactions. When using any of these methods you should receive your license within a few minutes.

I paid using a SEPA Direct Debit transaction, why didn't I receive a license immediately?

Payments processed via SEPA Direct Debit can take extra time to process.

Foundry Virtual Tabletop now supports SEPA Direct Debit transactions as methods of payment. However, due to the time it takes banks to communicate this information to one another, payments can take up to 7 business days to process.

There are two steps to the SEPA Debit workflow, in the first step Stripe submits a mandate to your bank which enacts the debit request. In the second phase the bank reports back to Stripe once the debit request has cleared. As a result, the charge may appear on your bank account 1-3 days before the purchase is fully completed. Please remain patient and you will receive an email containing your issued license key information as soon as the successful charge is reported back to the Stripe platform.

I heard something about a discount for people who have supported the Foundry Virtual Tabletop project on Patreon?

I never would have made it to this point without the devoted support of the Patreon community giving me encouragement, reinforcement, and constructive feedback. My supporters have contributed not only their money but their time towards making Foundry Virtual Tabletop possible, and I am happy to provide a one-time-use Patreon discount to current and past Patrons based on your lifetime amount of support.

If you are a current or former Patreon supporter, you are eligible for a Patreon Supporter Discount which may be applied towards a purchase of a single license.

The Patreon discount amount each supporter receives is equal to two-thirds of your lifetime total support, rounded down to the nearest $5 interval, in other words - if you have supported the project for $15 on Patreon, you would receive a discount of $10 on the purchase price. If your lifetime support on Patreon meets or exceeds $75, you will be able to redeem a copy of the Foundry Virtual Tabletop software for free by using the discount code.

To unlock your supporter discount you must take the following steps.

Create and activate an account on the Foundry Virtual Tabletop website.
Link your Foundry Virtual Tabletop website account with your Patreon account which has supported the Foundry VTT project, either during the registration process or by editing your user profile.
[Optional] If you had already registered on the Foundry VTT website and have contributed additional Patreon support since first linking your account, be sure to click "Refresh Account" on your user profile so that your updated lifetime support level is recorded.
Enter the promotion code PATREON in the Discount Code field below and click Apply.

Each Patreon account is eligible for a supporter discount (once only) if you have contributed $10 or more in lifetime support to the Foundry Virtual Tabletop project.

How do I activate and install premium purchased content?

Premium Content will come with an accompanying content activation key. Using this key, go to your User Profile on the Foundry Virtual Tabletop website by logging in and clicking your name in the top-right corner. On your user profile, click the Premium Content button to go to the content management and activation page. On this page you can enter your purchased content key in the form at the top of the page. Content that you have successfully activated will be displayed below.

Once content is activated, you will be able to install it from within the Foundry Virtual Tabletop application using the System, Module, or World Installation tools in your Setup and Configuration menu.

License Questions

How do I apply a purchased Foundry Virtual Tabletop software License?

Normally, when you start the Foundry Virtual Tabletop software for the first time, it will prompt you to enter your license key. Once you have entered your License key, you will be prompted to sign the End User License Agreement (EULA) which connects with the Foundry license server to verify your license key.

Performing this License verification requires you to be connected to the internet and on a network which allows connections to external sites. If you are having trouble with the EULA agreement, make sure you are not on a VPN or other special network which blocks Foundry from communicating with the license server.

If you previously had access to the software through Patreon, but have since purchased a full License, you will need to remove your existing Beta license file so that the software will prompt you to enter a new license key. To delete your existing license file, navigate to your user data directory and delete the file {userData}/Config/license.json. The next time you start Foundry Virtual Tabletop it will prompt you to enter a new license key.

Am I allowed to run multiple Foundry Virtual Tabletop servers with a single license key?

This is one of the most frequent licensing questions we receive. The EULA requires that a license may be only actively used in one location (meaning one server), however, there is some nuance in what is meant by "actively in use".

It is acceptable to run two (or more) instances of Foundry Virtual Tabletop using a single license if only one of those is accessible for player use by clients who are not the software license owner. This allows you to, for example, host a dedicated server that you use for your weekly game session while also running a separate personal-only test server where you do world-building, testing, module development, or other activities. As long as other users cannot connect past the login screen of that second server this usage is acceptable.

Example 1 (Permitted): You have a live campaign server which your players connect to and you use for your weekly game. You also have a private development server where you create new worlds or do module development. This usage is allowed with a single Foundry Virtual Tabletop license key.
Example 2 (Permitted): Your gaming group plays two ongoing campaigns. You are the game-master for one campaign which meets on Wednesdays; for that campaign you host the Foundry Virtual Tabletop server which is accessible to everyone during the game session. On Saturdays your friend is the game-master and they host the Foundry Virtual Tabletop server using the same (shared) license key. Only one Foundry Virtual Tabletop game server is accessible at any given time. This usage is allowed with a single Foundry Virtual Tabletop license key.
Example 3 (Permitted): You run multiple instances of Foundry Virtual Tabletop on the same computer. One of them is used by your game group; users access the server throughout the week to update their character sheets. Another instance on the same server is for your personal testing only, it is not accessible because the player accounts on that instance have access keys that only you know. This usage is allowed with a single Foundry Virtual Tabletop license key.
Example 4 (Not Permitted): You self-host a game server that you and other users access for one of your ongoing campaigns. You use the same license key to also run a dedicated server through one of our partnered hosting service providers. Both servers are accessible at the same time. This usage is not allowed and would require two Foundry Virtual Tabletop license keys.
Example 5 (Not Permitted): You run multiple instances of Foundry Virtual Tabletop on the same computer where different instances are accessible for different ongoing campaigns. Players in these campaigns can access the server for their respective campaigns at any time. This usage is not allowed and would instead require each instance to have a unique license key.

About the Software

What are the hardware requirements to use Foundry VTT?

For information and general guidance about hardware requirements for Foundry Virtual Tabletop including both minimum requirements and recommendations, please see Minimum Requirements. Note that hardware requirements are approximately the same for both players and for the server host.

Can I use an iPad or other mobile device?

At this time Foundry VTT does not support mobile devices as part of the core software. Though we have plans to add support for it at a later time, the development focus is on providing the best possible experience for the majority of users. There are some add-on modules which add support for android-based devices.

With regard to iOS devices specifically, due to limitations in the Safari browser and the fact that Apple requires other browsers on iPad to use the Safari webkit, Foundry VTT will not work via iPad at this time.

Does Foundry Virtual Tabletop rely on an external service or an active internet connection?

Foundry VTT does not normally require an active internet connection or rely upon an external service. There are two situations in which an internet connection and a call to an external service are required.

When your license key is entered and signed, the key is validated against the main Foundry server which signs the license and allows you to proceed.
When you request software updates, a request is dispatched to the main web server to learn if a website is available and obtain the permission to download it.

Additionally, there are a few situations in which Foundry VTT will use an external service to provide some additional functionality

When you search for Modules/Systems in the browser, those results are returned from the main web server. If it were unavailable the Module browser would be empty. You can still install modules/systems directly by providing their manifest link.
An external IP address identification service to learn the public-facing IP address of the server hosting the game. This is needed in order to generate the invitation links. If this service is unavailable Foundry would still work, but the invitation links would not be generated properly.

Overall, the software is designed to not have a reliance on external servers. There are some features of the software, as described above, which use calls to external services. Aside from the initial license activation, nothing would block you from moving forward if the main Foundry web server was offline.

Can I use this software to run in-person games with one view for the Gamemaster and another shared view for players?

Yes, Foundry Virtual Tabletop works great for this use case. Running the application or the Node.js server allows you to host the game from the Gamemaster perspective, and you can simply use a web browser to connect to your own game to broadcast a player view for your table.

I have created a Module or System that I would like to share. How can I have it added to this list?

Currently the on-boarding process for Modules and Systems requires a manual review and approval. If you are interested in having your work featured here please submit the Package Submission Form.