If you haven’t heard about it already, SceneGrinder has finally hit Kickstarter. With that I do not have the words for my excitement for this.
Before I get any further you may ask, what is a scene grinder?
It is a Virtual Tabletop Platform similar to Foundry, Roll29 or Roll. The huge difference with this one is that it is a completely 3D based map creator. Where you can create your maps for your TTRPGs, full on with character sheets that can be from DND to homebrew, which will calculate your dice into your custom game system. Full on levels that can be created using preexisting maps loaded into a grid system, from there you can add 3D elements onto it from buildings, NPC, etc. that you can also leave markers of main locations, side NPCs which you can also have it where you can fast travel to them as well instead of making your way through the whole created map.
So side note - If you were ever a fan of RPG Maker 3 for the PS2 which I had dumped many hours into creating all sorts of games. I bring this up because it looks super similar in the map creator mode.
Some additional features from the website -
3D Immersive Environment
3D Maps (2D Maps also supported)
Maps with elevation
3D Sound
Ambient Sound
Lights that set the mood and limit vision
Square and hex grids supported
Browser-Based
No app download or server to run
Runs on Desktop, Tablets, and Phones
Always available
Multiple Camera Angles
First Person View
Overhead and Over-the-Shoulder views
Game System Rules Supported
SceneGrinder will directly support any system that has an SRD or OGL, within the rules provided by those licenses.
The above means that D&D 5e, d20 and others like Fate Core and OpenLegend will be "in the box."
But what about other systems? SceneGrinder can easily be customized to support any system and our community will have a long and shareable list of customizations for those games, and all of this with no programming.
We are constantly working with game publishers to create relationships that allow us to support their games, regardless of their licensing status, in a way that is fair to everyone and protects their intellectual property.
Create And Customize
GM's can add their favorite game systems
Rule Systems can be shared in the marketplace
Game World Automation
Create interactive NPC's that hand out quests
Create shops where players can buy and sell equipment
Let players explore scenes on their own
Here are a few example videos below -
Next is a Q&As if you already had any wondering questions -
Do You Support Hex Grids?
Yes... yes we do... and square grids.
What Do You Mean By “Games Are Available 24/7”?
SceneGrinder is always online, and you can login at any time to view your character and the world around them. This option is very handy when you want to do things like adding notes about what happened in the last gaming session, or reviewing the journal to help you plan for the next game session. Of course, GMs will always have the ability to restrict access in case they are planning a new surprise...
What Exactly Is The Marketplace And Why Is It Important To Me?
With SceneGrinder, pretty much everything can be shared. You can share individual player/NPC/monster models, you can share objects used in scenes such as buildings and tables. You can share scenes, or even entire campaigns. If you want to sell your items in the Marketplace you can do so, or you can let others use it for free - it’s up to you.
I Keep Hearing People Talk About Explore Mode - What’s That?
Put simply, Explore Mode is an optional feature that allows a GM to automate some aspects of their game world. They do this by adding story notes to objects, NPCs and monsters, and by allowing NPCs to buy & sell items from players. The story notes can even be branching quest lines for players to follow. Combining this feature with SceneGrinder being always online, GMs can let players buy/sell items between game sessions, or even create mini-adventures players can do without a GM between game nights. Watch the videos for details on exactly how this works and some examples of what you can do with this feature.
What Are The Minimum Requirements To Run SceneGrinder?
For players, the minimum requirement is the equivalent of an i5 processor with 8 GB RAM, with an HD Graphics 520 card or better. For GMs we recommend at least 12GB of RAM. Players should be able to run SceneGrinder on any phone sold in the last 4 years with at least 4 GB of RAM. It’s important to note that with SceneGrinder we do not restrict the size and complexity of scenes, because we want gamers with more powerful devices to be able to take full advantage of the beautiful 3D options SceneGrinder supports. However, larger, more complex scenes will have higher requirements. To minimize the chance that a GM will create a scene that their players will not be able run, we display estimated minimum requirements when building scenes and also in the Marketplace when downloading scenes. In the world view, we also display the estimated minimum specs of the largest scene in each world the GM hosts.
How Will The Beta Work, And Will I Lose My Data When It’s Done?
Excellent question. People that participate in the beta won’t lose any of their data - either during the beta or when we go live. We’re all gamers here and we know how awful it would be to lose your game notes so we’ll make sure that doesn’t happen. We’ve been running campaigns in SceneGrinder since Oct. 2020 and we’ve never lost data. It is possible we’ll update customizations you’re using and you may need to re-enter some character stats - but you won’t lose your game data.
How Does SceneGrinder Support Sound?
Currently, SceneGrinder supports playing sound tracks that can be uploaded by GMs. These soundtracks can be heard by all players at all times. The stretch goal in the Kickstarter is to add the ability for sound to radiate out from specific NPCs, monsters, objects, and action targets. The volume of these additional sounds will be based on the player proximity. For example, the GM can add the sound of running water to a fountain model, and have the sound radiate up to 40 feet. For players this means at 40 feet they will hear a faint trickle of water, and as they get closer to the fountain the sound will get louder and louder. Another example is to add sound to a monster, and even if the player can’t see the monster they may be able to hear it if they’re close enough.
Personal opinion about future potential -
This new platform I feel like will be not only just another virtual tabletop that individuals can use just for fun or streams. Potentially you can actually build your own board game into this system for people to test play your product or to showcase your product. Soon we will have a new Creators course which introduces the ideas of test playing or showcasing your game product within virtual platforms. Looking at some of the details listed that this virtual tabletop can do, I can really see this happening in the future.
The Kickstarter will be for 30 days, and the plan is starting open beta about 2 months. Which brings a total of a 3 month process to receive the product once released. First 150 lucky individuals will get a chance to purchase their own Lifetime DM License at $90 instead of $100.
I have to say just for the small community growing on their Facebook community, Scene Grinder has the potential of being one of the best virtual tabletops to use. I have already got my pre-registration in, and am greatly looking forward to test playing the Beta. With that said we here at TTRPG HQ are planning to create worlds that have amazingly unique stories for each one thanks to this platform. We are very eager, and plan to do a YouTube series once we get our hands on the beta.
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