One app instead of four
Maps, combat, character sheets and lore under a single roof — Foundry handles the table, but your notes still live in Obsidian and your sheets somewhere else. Here the whole campaign sits in one place, prep to epilogue.
For GMs weighing their options
The Foundry VTT alternative without the self-hosting.
Foundry earned its keep: pay once, own it, mod it forever. But if hosting a server, forwarding ports and maintaining a module stack has started to feel like a second campaign nobody rolled initiative for — this is the other road.
GMs run it on the desktop app; players join your live game free from any phone or browser — no download. They see the battle map, fog of war, their character, and roll in real time.
Where the roads fork
Foundry is good software, and this ledger says so where it’s true. The fork in the road isn’t quality — it’s whether you want to run a server or run a game.
| What we’re comparing | Quill & Compass | Foundry VTT |
|---|---|---|
| Paying for it | Once. No subscription — that principle is non-negotiable. | Once — $50. Credit where due: Foundry got this right first. |
| Hosting | None. The GM’s desktop app is the table; nothing to rent, configure or apologise to. | Self-host or rent hosting — ports, updates and uptime are your problem. |
| Players joining | Free, from any phone or browser — an invite link, no download, no account gymnastics. | Free through the browser — once your server is up and they can reach it. |
| Campaign memory | Built in — a quiet archivist that remembers every session, NPC and promise. | Journal entries, plus whichever modules you bolt on and maintain. |
| Set-up before session one | Install, import, play. | An honest evening (or three) of configuration — some GMs genuinely enjoy it. |
| AI art | Refused. Maps, tokens and illustrations stay human-made. | Foundry’s creator drew a hard line against AI art too — same side of that fight. |
If you love the tinkering — module stacks, custom CSS, a server humming in the cupboard — keep Foundry and go in peace. Quill & Compass is for the GM who wants the power without the ops job.
What you gain at this table
Remembers every session
A quiet archivist keeps every note, NPC and half-forgotten promise — then hands it back the moment you need it. Not a module you install and babysit; it’s load-bearing, and it never forgets a thread.
Your edition, your rules
Run 2014, run 2024, run your heap of homebrew — edition isolation keeps each campaign on the rules it started with. No silent updates rewriting an arc the party has already survived.
Local-first — your world stays yours
Your campaign lives on your device, exportable in full whenever you like. No hosting bill creeping up, no platform deciding to sunset the thing your whole table depends on.
AI does the chores, humans do the magic — and we refuse to use AI for art.
In Quill & Compass, AI only deletes the drudgery — the tracking, the bookkeeping, the prep admin. It never writes your story, never rolls a die, never runs your game. And the art? Maps, tokens and every illustration stay human-made. That line doesn’t move.
Questions a Foundry GM might ask
Is Quill & Compass a good alternative to Foundry VTT?
If the thing driving you off Foundry is the self-hosting — the server, the ports, the module maintenance — then yes, that’s exactly the gap Quill & Compass fills. Same pay-once principle, none of the ops job: you run the desktop app, and players join free from any phone or browser. Different philosophy too: fewer knobs to turn, more of your campaign remembered for you.
Do I need to host a server for my players?
No. There is no server to rent, configure or apologise to. The GM’s desktop app is the table; players join your live game through an invite from any phone or browser — no download, no port forwarding, no praying to the router. They see the battle map, fog of war, and their character, and roll in real time.
What does Foundry honestly do better?
Years of maturity, a deep community module ecosystem, and near-endless customisation for GMs who love to tinker. If configuring a server and stacking modules is part of the joy for you, keep Foundry and go in peace — it’s good software. Quill & Compass trades the tinkering for a table that runs out of the box and remembers itself.
Does Quill & Compass use AI art?
No — refused outright, and Foundry’s creator drew a hard line against AI art too, so on this we’re allies. In Quill & Compass, AI only does the chores: tracking, bookkeeping, prep admin. It never makes art, never writes your story, never rolls a die, never runs the game. Maps, tokens and illustrations stay human-made.
Pull up a chair at the Founding Table
We’re not live yet — we’re sharpening the blade. Leave a raven’s address and you’ll be first through the door, with founder’s pricing and a say in what we build. No spam. No party wipes. Just one email when it matters.