Getting Started
Welcome to Realm VTT! This guide is designed to assist you in launching your first campaign.
To begin, you must create an account.
On the login page, select the "Sign up" button to initiate the account creation process.
Start by entering your preferred email address, which will serve as your login credential. Ensure that this is a valid email address to which you have access.
Next, create a password that is at least 8 characters long. You will also be required to provide a Display Name. The Display Name is mandatory and should be distinct from your login credentials.
Please review and agree to the Terms of Service by selecting the corresponding checkbox, then click "Sign up."
Upon completing the registration form, a confirmation link will be sent to your email. Once you receive the email, click the link to verify your account, and log in using the password you provided. Your account is now active!
Recommended System Requirements
To ensure the best experience with Realm VTT, we recommend meeting the following system requirements:
Device: A laptop or desktop computer equipped with a mouse and keyboard.
Note: While support for tablets and mobile devices is planned for the future, we currently recommend using a display with a minimum resolution of 720p along with a mouse and keyboard to fully utilize all features of Realm VTT.Browser: Google Chrome (recommended).
Realm VTT is optimized for Chrome as the primary browser. While the application may work on Firefox, Safari, or Edge, optimal performance is guaranteed only on Chrome.Internet Connection: A stable internet connection is required.
Important: Realm VTT is an online-only platform. We do not offer an offline or self-hosted version of the software.Graphics:
Recommended: A discrete graphics card for optimal performance, especially when using features like Fog of War.
Minimum: Integrated graphics are supported but may require adjustments such as disabling Fog of War or lowering the framerate to maintain smooth performance.
By meeting these requirements, you’ll enjoy the full capabilities of Realm VTT for an immersive and seamless tabletop experience.
Create or Join Your First Campaign
Upon logging in you will able to create your first campaign. Campaigns are where you run your games. You should consider a new campaign for each game you are running as a Game Master. If you are a Player, you will need the Invite Code from your Game Master to enter their campaign.
Campaigns Screen
At the campaigns screen you will see the list of campaigns you have created or have joined. When you first create your account, this list will be empty.
Joining a Campaign
From the Campaigns screen, click the “Join Camapaign” button
In the Join Campaign modal, enter the Invite Code provided to you by your GM
The page should refresh and load the Campaign
Creating a Campaign
Click the “Create Campaign” button
Enter the desired name for your Campaign (this will be shown to Players) and select the Ruleset for the campaign
As of writing this Wiki, we currently support D&D 5e (2024) and our own “Realm VTT Basic” which can be used to run any RPG without any specific automation for the rules
Configure your Settings
After initially logging in or creating a Campaign, you may wish to configure your specific Settings, such as your Avatar, Display Color, and Graphics Settings. By default, Realm VTT turns Graphics Settings to Low and turns off Fog of War for better performance on older machines. From the settings panel, you can change these configurations.
To get to you settings, click on the User Menu in the top right, then click Settings.
User Menu
Settings Modal
From the Settings Dialog you can configure the following:
Change Email
Click the Change Email button to change the email you use for your login. You will need to re-verify your login information after doing so.
Change Password
Click the Change Password button to change your password. You must type it in twice, and it must be at least 8 characters long.
Enable 2FA
Click the Enable 2FA button to enable Two Factor Authentication using the Google Authenticator app on your mobile device. Follow the directions on the modal. From the settings modal, this button will change to Disable 2FA after it has been enabled, which will allow you to disable it later.
Display Name
This is the name you will appear by to other users on the platform when you join their campaigns.
Avatar
Click the Avatar on the right to upload an image to use for your Avatar. If one was set by Gravatar, this is what your account will default to upon logging in. You can upload your own Avatar to the platform using this setting.
Display Color
Click Set Display color to change the color of your cursor in-game (viewed by other players) as well as the color used by templates you place and drawings you create.
Set Dice Color
This will set the color of your dice that you roll within your campaigns.
Set Dice Font Color
This sets the color of the font used on the dice faces when you roll dice.
Dice Roll Volume
Use this slider to adjust how loud the dice rolls. Set it all the way to the left to mute them.
Manual Rolls
Note: This option only shows up if you are in a Campaign and only applies to YOUR user.
This allows you to make any roll manually, for instance, if you want to use Physical Dice.
If enabled, when clicking a button to roll dice, it will prompt a window to enter the results. You would then roll your physical dice, and enter the results shown in this window.
Storage Usage
This will display how much of your allowed Storage your account is using. By default, Free accounts get 200 MB of storage. Any time an asset is uploaded to the platform, this will go up, so it is suggested too keep your image and audio sizes low for this reason, as well as for performance reasons. If you think there is an error in how many assets you are using, click the “Recalculate Storage” button to force the server to recalculate your total usage.
Subscription
This will display the status of your current Subscription. The button below will take you to the page to edit your subscription.
Graphics Quality
The Graphics Quality controls which shaders Realm VTT uses. All users will always have Dynamic Lighting and Line of Sight enabled. The options here do the following:
Low Quality - No blur effect is used on Line of Sight shadows. No additional effects added.
Medium Quality - A grayscale effect is added to Characters with Darkvision senses on unlit or lowlit maps.
High Quality - The grayscale effect above is used, as well as a blur effect applied to Line of Sight shadows and Fog of War (if enabled)
Force Framerate
By Default, Realm VTT’s game engine and Dice Roller will aim for the best FPS it can render at. If this causes performance issues on your machine, you can force it down to a lower framerate.
Fog of War
Fog of War refers to the blurred out drawing of areas that players have already been to, but no longer have line of sight on. This allows them to see on the map where they have previously explored.
Fog of War is rendered when this is enabled, and is re-calculated every time the player moves, keeping track of where their token has been.
Fog of War can be cleared per token in a Campaign’s Scene by the GM. Deleting tokens from a Scene also deletes the Fog of War Data.
Because Fog of War can be very demanding on some machines, it is disabled by default.
Theme
Here you can toggle between the default (Dark) theme of Realm VTT and the Light Theme.
Campaign Settings
When you access the Settings dialog from within a Campaign, the following additional settings will be displayed:
Use Narrative Dice
This option modifies the Dice Tray in the Chat Panel to utilize Narrative Dice, similar to the Genesys system for playing games with that ruleset. This change will apply to all Players in your campaign.
Alternating Diagonal Movement
This setting alters the calculation of diagonal movement for all Players in your campaign. When enabled, each alternating diagonal movement is counted as an additional unit of movement, providing a more accurate representation of orthogonal distances.
Additional Settings
If the ruleset currently in use for your campaign defines additional settings, and you are the Game Master (GM) of the campaign, you will find additional settings listed here that pertain to the functions and automation of that ruleset.