Fantasy Grounds

• 1. Introduction

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  Fantasy Grounds carries the largest digital catalog of officially licensed tabletop role-playing content of any virtual tabletop program. That catalog spans more than 50 game systems and over 3,000 products. None of that scale existed when a company called SmiteWorks first released the software in 2004, running the operation out of Espoo, Finland. A change in ownership and a string of licensing deals with major publishers later pushed the program to the front of its category. Meanwhile its own users spent years arguing over whether the software was worth its price of admission. What deals built that catalog? What does a session inside the program actually look like? And why did a company that charged for licenses for two decades decide to give the whole thing away?

• 2. Owners And Licenses

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  In 2009, Doug Davison bought the company outright. Under his ownership, SmiteWorks began purchasing licenses for content tied to specific tabletop role-playing systems. That pattern reached a turning point in April 2015, when SmiteWorks acquired a license from Wizards of the Coast for official Dungeons & Dragons material. SmiteWorks then began releasing products built for the game's 5th edition on Fantasy Grounds. That same month, the software also became available to buy through the Steam digital distribution platform.

  In December 2016, SmiteWorks secured a separate license from Paizo Publishing covering content from the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. That Pathfinder material began appearing on Fantasy Grounds in May 2017. In May 2019, the company ran a Kickstarter campaign that funded Fantasy Grounds Unity, a rebuilt version of the software developed in the Unity engine.

  In June 2024, the virtual tabletop company Roll20 acquired a rival digital toolset maker called Demiplane. That acquisition pushed D&D Beyond founder Adam Bradford to leave Demiplane. Bradford then announced he would join SmiteWorks instead, taking on the newly created role of Chief Development Officer. He stepped into that role a little over a year before the company would upend its entire approach to pricing.

• 3. Running A Session

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  Load a different ruleset into Fantasy Grounds and the interface changes shape, since the program's themes are built around whichever game system a gamemaster selects. That design sets Fantasy Grounds apart from many other virtual tabletop systems, which typically use one fixed layout no matter what game is running. Every session is started by a gamemaster, who can let other players join in remotely and later save the game to continue another time.

  Virtual dice rolling, character sheets and maps with a grid system and line of sight make up the standard toolset. The program automates much of that dice rolling along with other game mechanics. An integrated chat system and a library of reference materials and rulebooks round out what is available inside a session.

  Dungeons & Dragons and Pathfinder sit alongside official support for Savage Worlds, Call of Cthulhu, Traveller, Rolemaster and Castles & Crusades. The Fantasy Grounds community has also built unofficial versions for still more systems on its own. Individual players can go further still, writing fully custom rulesets and extensions that reshape how their own games play. That do-it-yourself layer of custom content is part of what reviewers would weigh when judging the software on its own terms.

• 4. From Premium To Free

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  Reviewers have often praised Fantasy Grounds for its toolsets and the level of customization they hand to players over their own games. Many consider it one of the most reliable virtual tabletop programs available. That reliability came with a long-running complaint: the software was historically criticized for being complex to learn and expensive to buy into.

  In 2023, SmiteWorks reset the Core License to $20 and the Ultimate License to $50. The following year, it rolled out several user interface updates aimed at the same complaints about complexity. Those changes eased, but did not end, the argument over whether Fantasy Grounds asked too much of newcomers.

  In November 2025, SmiteWorks announced it would drop the license requirement entirely, making Fantasy Grounds free for every user. Doug Davison, the company's president, said: "By removing the license barrier, we're making Fantasy Grounds more accessible to the global tabletop gaming community." Davison added that the goal was for "a veteran GM or a first-time player" to experience the software "with zero upfront cost."