Yes, another custom VTT. But this one does whole multi-floor buildings, true per-player line of sight, and players join from their phone with no account
I know, I know. This sub gets a new homemade VTT every week. I've been building mine for my own table, and I think it does a few things you don't see often, so hear me out.
It's called CartoSmith. The DM runs it on a Windows PC, and there are three ways to play:
- At the table. Pop out the Player Display window onto a TV or second monitor. Players see the map, the DM keeps everything else on their own screen.
- On stream. Share that same Player Display window to Discord or your streaming setup.
- Online. Players join from their phone browser, wherever they are.
Use one, or mix them in the same session.
What I think actually sets it apart:
- Whole buildings, not single maps. Floors are stacked and linked by stairs, and the DM gets a dollhouse view of the whole building showing who is on which floor, friend or foe. My biggest test building has 32 floors. (Pic 1)
- Real line of sight for each player. Every player sees only what their own character can see, through doors, windows, and down hallways, on their own phone too. Two players in the same building see two different maps. (Pic 2)
- DM Prep. Doors and chests are marked as an armed trap (red), locked (yellow), or confirmed safe (green), so you can tell at a glance what is going to bite the party. Players never see any of it. (Pic 3)
- Secrets stay secret. Hidden enemies, traps, and secret doors are never sent to players at all. It's not a layer covering them that someone could peek under. The data just isn't on their device.
- Phone play that works. Players type a six-letter code and a name, the DM approves them, and they're in. No accounts, no installs, no port forwarding. They move with a big on-screen pad, and the DM's PC checks walls, doors, speed, and turn order before anything moves. (Pics 4 and 5)
- A movement lock. One click switches players between free movement, DM approves each move, or locked. Handy when you're streaming or explaining something.
It also imports Dungeondraft and Universal VTT maps with walls, doors, and lights, and plain map pictures from Inkarnate and the like. It finds the grid in the picture for you.
Where it's at: the Windows app is in testing. Online play is in early preview, and it's running with real players on their own phones on different networks, not just everyone on the same Wi-Fi. It's not open to everyone yet, but there's a waitlist at https://cartosmith.app
Happy to answer anything about how it works under the hood. And if you've been burned by a VTT before, tell me what went wrong. That's exactly what I want to avoid.