Corporate jockeying, game development, and the future of my preferred play system aside, I'm pretty committed to Foundry as a VTT. I love the way it grows and evolves via user input and the module system. Today I was procrastinating from a little last-minute game prep and drifted into thinking about how my DMing process works with and sometimes against Foundry, and how I can better align the two.

An example first: I'm a two-monitor user, and prior to Foundry, used a cool spreadsheet with 5e passive stats, character info, and more on it, as well as sections for Stealth tracking, Combat, and even would sometimes run combat in the spreadsheet. Now, of course - I don't need that, but I find myself missing the easily available passive info I use a lot. In Foundry, I've added a module that lets you see multiple passives when you click on an icon, called Token Info Icons. Generally, this is pretty useful, especially as players move on a current map and into position for exploration and encounters. But, with the way I DM using Foundry, there's a gap. I can't easily see the passives of everyone when we're not using a map, and focusing on a map not in use is a bit jarring for me as a DM, because I'm often visualizing in my head as I describe things to the players, making sure I describe as much as possible.

In a way, this post is just me working out how I want to change either MY process as DM OR my use of Foundry. I could default to a Landing page and click on tokens there to check passives, or I could even have a DMing page just for me that has a ton of information written out on it that I use for Theatre of the Mind moments. OR, I could look for a different module, or even talk to people who make modules and ask someone if they think one with a DM HUD and perma-displayed passives is possible/easy.

It all made me think about the process though - some DMs have a process they don't change, and just find tools that support it, and some DMs change their process regularly to adapt to the tools they like. I'm in the latter. I don't think either is a better approach - certainly, not everyone should do it my way. So I'm in a situation now of "how best can I adapt to what Foundry offers as my play environment" and how can I make that better? I plan to use Foundry for in-person games in the future as well (via laptop and a flat screen)

All of this is a way to invite conversation with DMs here, about how they use Foundry, its many modules, and so on, and how it has changed your process for the better, tools you wish you had, modules you think are underrated, and so on.