If you run a hybrid game, you already know the screen-juggling problem. You’ve got the map open, your notes in another tab, maybe a rules reference on standby, and somewhere in there you’re also trying to make sure your in-person players can actually see the battle grid without crowding round your laptop like it’s a campfire. Foundry VTT’s Version 14 finally does something about that, and it could be a genuine game changer for hybrid tables, and for groups who’ve never been able to play together at all.
The headline feature: windows that pop out onto their own screen
V14 introduced native support for detaching application windows from the main browser tab and popping them out into their own separate window, so they can live on a second monitor, TV, or projector instead of fighting for space in one tab. Detaching is a manual, per-window action, and windows can be reattached later if you change your mind. It only works with windows built on Foundry’s newer ApplicationV2 framework, so if an older module’s sheet refuses to pop out, that’s worth checking on your module list.
Full disclosure: I’m not new to this idea. I’ve been running two-screen games since Foundry v10, back when the community module PopOut! was the only way to do it. My setup has always split the same way: one screen is “the table”, with the map and the minis on it, and the other is my GM screen, with notes, rules reminders, and NPC sheets, much like how a real table works, just with the GM screen made digital. PopOut! could be a bit clunky and didn’t work with everything, but I found my rhythm with it years ago. Having tried V14’s built-in version, it’s smoother and more reliable than PopOut! ever was, but I’ll be honest, it hasn’t actually changed how I run my games. It’s done the same job I already had a workaround for, just with fewer rough edges.
Where I do think this matters more is for GMs who haven’t set up a second screen before. For reference, I split my ‘GM screen’ : just over half runs a web browser window with my session notes in one tab, my video meeting in a second tab, rules references in a third, and a random name generator in a fourth (because I know my players, lol); the rest of my screen space will have NPC sheets popped out, and the last quarter is left free for whatever I need to keep an eye on in the moment, a skill challenge outcome, say, or a specific rule I know is about to come up. Keeping that layout consistent every session has always been a bit of manual setup on my end. There’s a small companion module called Default Detach that lets you set specific windows to auto-detach to the same spot every time they’re opened, and I’ll admit I hadn’t come across it before researching this post. It looks like exactly the kind of thing that could turn my quarter-by-quarter layout into something that just appears, ready to go, every session. I’m planning to give it a proper try.
The bigger picture: bringing hybrid groups together
Where I think this really lands, though, is bigger than any one GM’s screen layout. Once people get used to detachable windows, setting up a second monitor or a projector should become a lot faster and less intimidating, and that lowers the barrier for groups who currently feel like they have to choose between playing online or playing in person. A shared map projected onto a table for the people in the room, with that exact same map available to someone joining through their browser from somewhere else entirely, could mean a group doesn’t need everyone in the same city, or even the same country, to sit down at the same table together.
I’ll admit my own games are still all online at the moment. The closest thing I have to a hybrid setup is using my own physical dice with Dice Link, so my players can see my rolls happening on screen in real time, which is a small taste of bringing something physical into an online space. A proper hybrid table, with a shared screen or projector, is still on my wish list for when I’ve got the space and the budget for a dedicated TTRPG setup. When that day comes, I’m planning to keep my current two-screen habits largely as they are, just with the map portion of my “table” screen projected onto the actual table in front of me, rather than staying inside a monitor.
What I actually want next
If I’m picking a wishlist for what I’d want permanently detached, it’s maps and compendiums, no contest. The map is obvious: my dream setup, not possible yet, would let players place their miniatures directly on a projected table and have that mirror back onto everyone’s screen, remote players included, so nobody’s experience of “where is everyone standing” is second-hand.
The compendium is the more everyday want. I run a fair bit of roleplayed travel in my games, and if the dice don’t favour my players on a travel check, that’s often when a random encounter shows up. Having my compendium permanently detached and sat to one side, rather than needing to leave the chat to go dig for it, would mean I can quickly look up whatever unlucky creature the dice have decided to throw at my party, drag it onto the map, and carry straight on, without breaking the flow of the scene for everyone else at the table.
None of this is flashy in the way a new monster manual or a full VTT relaunch would be, but it’s exactly the kind of unglamorous plumbing that hybrid and in-person-plus-online groups have been waiting for. And going by my own two screens, it’s already worth setting up, even before the rest of the pieces fall into place.
If you have something to add to this, come along and join the conversation over on Discord.
