MapTool

What MapTool is

MapTool is a virtual tabletop: a program for running tabletop roleplaying games online or around a shared screen. It is developed by RPTools and has been in use for well over a decade. The Windows build is an installer with a bundled Java runtime, so a session does not depend on what happens to be installed on the machine, and the same release is available for macOS and Linux.

The model is peer-to-peer rather than a hosted service. One player starts a server from their own copy, and the others connect by address or through the built-in server list. Maps, tokens and campaign data live on the host's disk as campaign files, which means no subscription and no third party holding your material.

Running a session

Preparation starts with a map image, imported at a chosen grid size, followed by tokens for player characters, monsters and props. Tokens carry properties such as hit points, armour class and notes, and the vision and light settings on a map determine what each player can see. Fog of war hides unexplored areas, and vision blocking makes walls and doors genuinely obstruct sight rather than merely looking solid.

The initiative panel tracks turn order, and the chat window handles dice rolls with an expression syntax that most tabletop players pick up quickly: typing a roll expression produces a visible result that everyone at the table can see, and macros allow complex checks to be saved as buttons. Macro scripting is the deep end of MapTool, and it can automate attacks, conditions and resource tracking for a whole party.

The interface is dense and older in style, with toolbars around a central canvas and many dockable panels. Players see only the map, while the game master sees the whole board and can switch views. Tables, handouts and a token library round out the toolkit.

Setup, hosting and limits

Hosting a game requires a reachable port on the host machine, so a home connection may need port forwarding, and the project documents alternatives for players who cannot open one. Campaign files can be saved, copied and backed up freely, and players' client-side preferences cover rendering quality, font sizes and performance settings.

The limits are worth being honest about. MapTool automates what you script; it does not ship ready-made rulesets for popular systems, so a group either adopts a community framework or writes its own macros. The bundled Java runtime and Swing interface use more memory than a modern web-based tabletop, and very large maps with many tokens can slow on modest hardware. There is no official marketplace for licensed adventure content.

Dynamic lighting and vision are strong, but configuring them well takes practice, and the documentation lives on a wiki that is comprehensive rather than beginner-friendly.

Who should choose something else

If your group wants a hosted, browser-based tabletop with official adventure modules and built-in rules for a specific system, a commercial platform will be less work. If you only need shared maps and voice chat, simpler tools may be enough. MapTool earns its place with groups who want to own their data, run a game offline on a local network, and automate rules through macros instead of buying them.