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As someone who has run a mostly-online 5th Edition D&D campaign for almost five years at this point, I am always on the lookout for fresh and fun tools that can make that experience more engaging for my players and, ideally, my life as the Dungeon Master easier. Initially revealed last year at Gen Con 2024 during the Dungeons & Dragons Live event, Sigil 3D VTT - formerly Project Sigil - now looks to be Wizards of the Coast’s virtual tabletop sandbox tool for players and DMs. During a recent trip to Wizards’ headquarters, I got to sit in on a hands-off demonstration of an updated build of the tool, complete with a new trailer teasing its use for one of the best tabletop RPGs. Visually speaking, I was impressed with how the software is shaping up – being built in Unreal 5.4 – but from a feature standpoint, I was left a bit underwhelmed and unsure of when I would actually use it for my game nights.
However, there is no doubt that D&D Sigil has potential. Seeing as it still has plenty of development ahead, I have put together a list of five features that I would love to see implemented into the software – features that could turn this Sigil skeptic into a Sigil stan.
1. Model imports from similar software (Hero Forge, Dungeon Alchemist, etc.)
As lovely as the existing systems may be, features like character model creation or structure building are things that other applications and services have been doing for quite some time. While I think these are cool features to have built-in, it would be brilliant for Wizards to give players a bridge to import character models from, say, Hero Forge or Titan Forge, or structures from Dungeon Alchemist – tools they may already be comfortable with or have an existing library of assets in. Regardless of how powerful the tool ends up being at launch, Sigil will be entering an environment where these features already exist. It would be great if it rewarded players for their experience with other software rather than forcing them to learn something brand new that serves a similar function.
As a slight deviation from this idea, it would be nice if Sigil allowed players to export any character models they design as STL files so they could be 3D printed, similar to how popular tabletop mini services operate. When I asked about this feature, a team member said that this functionality wasn’t specifically planned but was theoretically possible – so fingers crossed.
2. Some sort of programming elements
As of right now, Sigil is very much a manual experience, meaning that nearly everything – from making enemies visible to party members to character model creation – has to be done by the DM. The issue is that Dungeon Masters already have enough to juggle without also needing to manually toggle every creature they’ve placed to make them visible or trigger every trap their players stumble across.
To make Sigil more appealing, being able to do light programming – setting simple conditional effects or triggers to objects or spots on a map – would be wonderful. In my perfect world, Sigil would become something akin to a Dungeons & Dragons RPG Maker, allowing people to create and share small tabletop-inspired RPG video games. But being realistic, I would be happy with the ability to set simple “If X happens, do Y” conditions. For example:
- If a player walks here, trigger a trap.
- If a box is hit with fire, then it explodes.
Having a library of custom events like these – similar to Final Fantasy XII’s Gambit system – could be the perfect solution.
3. Automatic environment generation
Wizards of the Coast is well aware that actually playing Dungeons & Dragons is more fun than preparing for it – and that includes making maps. Watching the presenter demonstrate map creation and editing was neat, and Sigil looks visually impressive, but one feature I would love to see is a menu that generates layouts and populates generic maps on the fly.
I may not need a super fleshed-out dungeon filled with hand-placed traps or treasure chests, but during a session, when my players decide to follow up on a random offhand comment I made about the basement of a warehouse, I simply won’t have time to build it. If Sigil includes a generator – or even some sort of integration with the popular Donjon random dungeon generator – where I can quickly tweak some toggles and menus to generate a layout ranging in size and complexity, that would be a huge win. Bonus points if it also throws in enemies, chests, and traps for good measure.
4. Sharing creations
In my opinion, the single most important feature that Project SIGIL needs to incorporate at launch – or at least shortly after – is the ability for users to share their custom-created content with one another. Whether it’s custom characters (complete with their character sheets), custom buildings, or even entire environments, the ability to share content would help create a thriving community around the product.
This feature would also go a long way in expediting a Dungeon Master’s preparation. While the team explained how a cool dungeon could be built in about an hour, speaking from experience as a DM, I rarely have an hour to spend on a single map leading up to a session. However, if I could quickly search for and grab a pre-made ruined crypt map or a church that is most definitely not run by a cult and drop my players into it instead – especially for quick one-shots – that would be a huge plus in Project Sigil’s favor. Fingers crossed that something like this makes it in; otherwise, I think the platform will face an uphill battle.
5. Different movement options while playing (area, grid, hexes, etc.)
Managing and navigating movement in a TTRPG is one of the most important aspects of the game, whether it’s reaching enemies with spells or melee attacks, or escaping from danger. In the build of Sigil I saw, movement resembled something more akin to a video game like Baldur’s Gate 3 rather than a traditional tabletop experience. When selecting a miniature, a circular ring appeared to indicate the character’s movement range, which works fine – but if you’re using Sigil, you may be looking for a more traditional tabletop experience rather than a video game-like one.
It would be great if Sigil included toggles to adjust how movement is handled, allowing players to switch between area-based, grid-based, or hex-based movement. Considering I wasn’t the only person to bring up this request during our demo, I think this would be a popular option to include.
Final thoughts
Sigil 3D VTT has now opened its doors to anyone with a registered D&D Beyond account, with Master Tier subscribers gaining additional benefits, but this software is still relatively early in development, with time to refine and add features. This expanded user base that will now have access to the tools will give the team some great feedback and hopefully shape it into something that one day all DMs and players will fall in love with. With the team being so open to feedback and already proving they are willing to pivot the project to align with customer demands, I’m excited to see what will come out of this expanded alpha and how Sigil 3D VTT continues to evolve.
Here’s hoping that some – or ideally, all – of these features make it in by the time of its final release!
If you prefer a more tactile experience, check out the best board games or the best card games.
