REALM ARCHITECT Aims to Make World-Building in a VTT Much Easier
Playing your favorite tabletop RPG (TTRPG) online is a must for some gaming groups. The trick is determining the tools that you’ll use. One of the tools that the vast majority of gamers would agree is necessary is a virtual tabletop (VTT). There are already a few options that are popular like Roll20 and Fantasy Grounds. A new player is coming though called Realm Architect and I think it shows some real promise.
Realm Architect recently launched a Kickstarter which was fully funded within 48 hours. This VTT wants to provide a simple to use and completely customizable (including UI) experience for gamers. At first glance it doesn’t seem to be too special, but there’s one aspect that really has me potentially looking to switch over. The Kickstarter and the accompanying video (included below) talks about how you can build a world in Realm Architect more easily than other VTTs and it looks very sleek. In short, you have your map, but then you can click on some UI elements to essentially zoom in to smaller sections as you go about. It looks so clean and so well implemented.
As for cost, Realm Architect will start with a monthly subscription (the pledges show about $28 for 3 months). However, there are plans to eventually allow users to purchase materials without a subscription necessary. The subscription will just give you access to basically any content on the platform.
I do want to note that at the moment Realm Architect is more designed for Fantasy games (although it is said you can customize it to fit any game out there) like Dungeons & Dragons, but over time other themes are expected and if the Kickstarter campaign reaches the $75000 stretch goal, a Cosmic horror theme will be unlocked. This will add cults for Elder Gods, an insanity system, and more.
If you’re really on the fence, Realm Architect has put out a prototype that you can download and try out via Itch.io. You will need a Windows PC to run it although the $50,000 stretch goal is to expand the available platforms. As this is a prototype, expect bugs, glitches, and missing features. The team does want feedback though and they want you to be brutally honest. What do you think of Realm Architect? Are you interested?