Arcane Tools

Maps

Arcane Atlas

A battle map, image or video, on your LCD table or a TV, with fog of war you control. Prefer minis? Use them. Prefer tokens? Players move their own from a phone or tablet by scanning a QR code. The player-view window pans around and matches the LCD dimensions you enter.

Presenter

Arcane Eye

Snip any part of your screen: a portrait, a statblock, a letter from the duke, whether it's in OneNote, Obsidian, a PDF, or anywhere else. Throw it up on the digital table. The app lives in your system tray behind a global hotkey, so it's fast and lightweight, and you can focus on the hard work of GMing.

Sound

Arcane Audio

Point it at folders of your own MP3s and go, or build a playlist to score a scripted battle scene. Either way, when you rename, move, or reorganize tracks, the playlists follow and repair their own paths, so they never break. Layer two tracks at once for a rain loop under a tavern tune. No browser tab, no subscription, no internet connection required.

Who makes this

Hi, I'm Eric Hernandez, a father and engineer and an educator. I run games in person, at a real table with an LCD laid flat on its back. Every virtual tabletop I tried treated in-person play as an afterthought, or was needlessly complicated, wouldn't run on Linux, or was paywalled. So I built my own. GMing is already hard work with a ton of prep. I wanted tools that let me prep less, not more.

The software is free, forever: open-source, simple, and purpose-built. GPLv3. No paywall, no account, no upsell.

A few things still cost money. Code-signing certificates run about $220 a year: Apple's Developer Program to notarize the macOS builds, and Microsoft Trusted Signing for Windows. Domain names and hosting are another $50. Your support on Patreon helps me cover the cost, and keeps development going. Thank You!

If these are useful to you, you can support the work on Patreon.

Before you install

Your OS will probably warn you — here's why.

These builds aren't code-signed yet, so Microsoft SmartScreen has no reputation for them. The first time you run an installer on Windows you may see a blue “Windows protected your PC” screen — click More info, then Run anyway. On macOS, right-click the app and choose Open the first time to get past Gatekeeper.

Signing certificates are the next thing I'm buying. Until then, every build is compiled in the open on GitHub, so you can read the workflow and the source before you trust it.