AnyTaleA Roll20 and Sigil alternative that sets up the fight for you
Play the scene in Cinematic. When it comes to blows, switch to Tactical: the map, the grid and every character in the scene are already in place.
Cinematic is in alpha today. Tactical arrives Dec 2026.
Moving from Sigil before it closes
Sigil, the 3D virtual tabletop in D&D Beyond, closes at the end of October 2026. Wizards of the Coast says content created in Sigil will no longer be accessible after that, so save screenshots and copy your notes out while you still can.
If your group needs a new table, AnyTale runs in the browser with nothing to install. Start your campaign in Cinematic today; Tactical adds grid fights on your own battle maps in December 2026.
Moving a whole campaign is a lot of work. Write to AnyTale support, tell me what you had in Sigil, and I'll help you move it over by hand.
- Your battle maps
- Upload the map images you own and the grid fits itself.
- Your notes and lore
- Paste them into AnyTale Worlds, a wiki the whole table can read.
- Your characters
- Rebuild them in the d100 rule system or go Systemless. AnyTale does not read D&D Beyond character sheets.
- Your 3D scenes
- Stay behind. AnyTale is 2D: the story plays in Cinematic and fights happen on a flat grid.
How a fight starts
Switch to Tactical
The GM presses Tactical in Cinematic mode. Everyone in the scene sees the change in under a second.
The map is ready
The scene's art becomes the board, or you upload a battle map with one button. The grid fits itself; a map without its size in the file name takes two more clicks.
Everyone is on it
Every character in the scene appears as a token. Nobody places anything by hand.
Turns are rolled
Initiative is rolled, or the GM sets the order, and the first turn lights up. One click takes you back to the story with positions saved.
What you won't spend the evening on
A full virtual tabletop like Roll20 can do all of this, and asks you to set it up before the fight. Tactical keeps a fight to a grid, tokens and turns, so it starts in a click and stays part of the story. When you do need walls, light and line of sight, AnyTale VTT is in development.
- Drawing walls
- Placing lights
- Painting fog of war
- Stacking layers
- Writing macros
- Installing modules
One scene, two ways to play it
In Cinematic
Theater of the mind. The GM sets the backdrop and the music, characters talk and roll in the scene, and nobody counts squares.
In Tactical
The same scene on a grid. Tokens, distances and turns for the moments when position matters, then one click back to the story.
At the table
Moves everyone can follow
Others see your token lifted with your name on it, then watch it glide into place. A wrong move can be undone on your turn.
Your turn, announced
The turn bar shows who acts now. You hear when it is your turn, and players away from the table get a notification.
Creatures in seconds
Add six goblins at once and let them act together, or keep a few hidden until the reveal.
Health without spoilers
Players see enemies as Unhurt, Wounded or Badly hurt, as exact numbers, or not at all. The GM picks.
Set up in private
The GM prepares the board where only they can see it, then starts the fight for everyone at once.
Made for phones
Two taps move a token, and the usual gestures pan and zoom the board.
The rest of the campaign lives here too
A fight starts from the scene you were playing, and the story carries on from the same place afterwards.
- Text mode beta
- Live scenes and play-by-post in one place, so the story moves between sessions.
- AnyTale v2 beta
- A d100 rule system with dice rolled in the scene. Or go Systemless and set rules up in a minute.
- AnyTale Worlds alpha
- A wiki for your world that the whole table can read.
- AnyTale Characters alpha
- Talk to your characters between sessions, in their own voice.
Is AnyTale right for your group?
AnyTale suits you if
- Your group is leaving Sigil and needs a table for the next session.
- Your group plays for the story and fights now and then.
- You like Roll20 but spend more time setting up maps than playing on them.
- You want a fight running in a click, not after an evening of prep.
- Players join from phones as often as from laptops.
- You keep the story going by post between sessions.
A full VTT suits you better if
- You want 3D scenes like the ones Sigil had.
- You need dynamic lighting, walls and line of sight today.
- You run published adventures that ship as ready-made VTT modules.
- Your table depends on official character sheets for one specific system.
Questions from Roll20 and Sigil players
Is AnyTale an alternative to Roll20?
Yes, for groups that care more about the story than about map setup. You play scenes in Cinematic and Text modes today, and AnyTale Tactical turns a scene into a grid battle in one click when it arrives in December 2026.
How is AnyTale different from Roll20?
Roll20 is a full virtual tabletop with dynamic lighting, character sheets for many systems and a marketplace of ready-made modules. AnyTale starts from the story: scenes play in Cinematic and Text modes, and Tactical adds a grid, tokens and turns in one click without walls or lighting to prepare.
Is Sigil shutting down?
Yes. In October 2025 Wizards of the Coast announced that Sigil, the 3D virtual tabletop in D&D Beyond, closes at the end of October 2026. Content created in Sigil will no longer be accessible after that, so save screenshots and copy your notes out before it closes.
What is a good alternative to Sigil?
If your group wants to keep playing in the browser without building maps in 3D, AnyTale is one option. You play scenes in Cinematic mode today, and Tactical turns a scene into a grid battle on your own map in one click from December 2026. AnyTale is 2D and uses its own d100 and Systemless rules rather than D&D Beyond character sheets.
Can I bring my Sigil content to AnyTale?
Not automatically, because Sigil content cannot be exported. You can upload the battle map images you own to Tactical, paste your notes and lore into AnyTale Worlds, and rebuild your characters in AnyTale. The creator of AnyTale will also help you move a campaign by hand: write to AnyTale support with what you had in Sigil.
Is AnyTale Tactical a full virtual tabletop?
No, and that is on purpose. Tactical is a battle layer on top of the scene: a grid, tokens and turns, with no walls, lighting or fog of war to set up. A full virtual tabletop, AnyTale VTT, is in development.
Can I use my own battle maps?
Yes. Upload a map with one button and the grid fits itself. If the file name does not say the map's size, fitting the grid takes two more clicks. You can also fight on the scene's own art.
When can I play with Tactical?
AnyTale Tactical arrives in December 2026. Until then you can start your campaign in Cinematic and Text modes, and your scenes will be ready for a fight when it lands.
Does it work on phones?
Yes. AnyTale runs in the browser on phones, tablets and computers with nothing to install. On a phone, two taps move a token and the usual gestures pan and zoom the board.
Is AnyTale free?
You can start for free. Everything you play without AI stays free; paid plans add more room for big tables and Ishihara's AI tools.