(As told by a Wise-but-Tired Dungeon Master who has definitely made every hosting mistake you’re about to avoid)
Gather ‘round, brave Game Masters. Pull up a chair, pour yourself a mug of something warm, and let me tell you a tale older than… well, June 2020. That’s when I bought my first Foundry VTT license and—like many fledgling wizards dabbling in digital sorcery—I attempted to host it myself.
I did what any optimistic beginner would do:
I put my PC directly in the DMZ.
Yes. The DMZ.
As in: “Let’s open a portal from my home network to the entire internet and see what wanders in.”
It worked… for a few sessions. Until my modem restarted, my IP changed, and suddenly my players were attempting to connect to a different plane of existence entirely.
It was a dark age of endless port forwarding, NAT demons, and the unholy obligation of leaving my computer on 24/7 so that players across time zones could log in.
If you’re reading this guide, I suspect you may be standing at the beginning of a similar quest. Fear not, traveler. You’ll walk away from this scroll knowing exactly how to host Foundry VTT—simply, safely, and without accidentally inviting all of Faerûn into your network.
Let’s begin your journey.
What Hosting Foundry VTT Actually Means (Beginner-Friendly Version)
Hosting Foundry VTT is not unlike summoning and maintaining a magical pocket dimension. Except instead of ley lines and mana flows, you’re working with CPU, RAM, storage, and uptime.
And here’s the part new GMs often misunderstand:
More power doesn’t automatically make your world better.
Just like giving a level 1 wizard a staff of power doesn’t make them less squishy.
Most new Foundry instances run perfectly well with modest resources. Truly.
If you’re hosting your very first campaign for 4–5 friends, exploring a simple world, and not running 38 modules that promise “Ultra Immersive Weather Simulations,” then you don’t need a mythical engine beneath your server.
In fact…
The Honest Beginner Specs: What You Actually Need
Let me give you the numbers upfront, without any mysterious arcane runes:
A brand-new GM can comfortably start with:
- 0.25 CPU
- 1 GB RAM
- A few gigabytes of storage
That’s it.
These specs—like those on our MOVE-BASIC plan—are enough for an early-level world, a few maps, and a handful of modules. Nothing fancy. No flames shooting from the monitor. No portals tearing your reality asunder.
Just… Foundry.
You can grow into more later.
Because you will grow into more later—every GM eventually does.
Adventures sprawl. Maps expand. Player inventories get cluttered. You know how it goes.
But for now? Start small. Start simple. Start playing.
The Most Common Beginner Mistake (I Have Committed This Sin Also)
Let me guess: you’ve spent hours—no, days—picking modules, configuring settings, reading forum posts, perfecting your folder structure, and debating whether to preload assets.
Stop.
Please, for your own sanity: just start playing.
You’ll figure out what you need as you go.
Foundry isn’t a puzzle box. You don’t need a complete build before you invite people to your table. It’s not Baldur’s Gate 3. You can add features as your campaign breathes and expands.
I wish someone had told me this when I started.
CPU, RAM & Other Creatures Lurking in the Server Realm
Let’s explain these beasts in human language.
CPU
This is how quickly your server can think.
Low CPU = slow world load times.
High CPU = snappier maps, faster boot, happier players.
RAM
This is how much your server can hold in its brain at once.
If your world refuses to load and crashes instead, RAM is often the culprit.
Storage
Your lair for maps, modules, art assets, and that one folder where you keep 97 variants of “forest clearing night fog wet.”
Storage is cheap.
Storage is expandable.
You don’t need to overthink it.
Guaranteed CPU Explained (Without Summoning a Demon)
You’ll see this term a lot if you’re comparing hosting providers.
Here’s the simplest explanation possible:
Guaranteed CPU means your server always has enough resources to run smoothly, and gets a boost whenever extra power is available.
Link this to your “What Does Guaranteed CPU Mean?” page once published, and you’ve got a powerful internal SEO loop.
Self-Hosting vs Managed Hosting: A Tired DM’s Perspective
Let’s get real.
Self-hosting is free… in the same way building your own ship is free.
You can do it.
It might float.
It might also sink, catch fire, or attract sea serpents.
You’re responsible for:
- firewalls
- router settings
- public IPs
- uptime
- security
- backups
- storage
- keeping your PC alive, awake, and connected at all times
It’s a noble quest, but not for the faint of heart.
Managed hosting gives you:
- automatic setup
- stable performance
- uptime handled by someone else
- no firewall issues
- no port forwarding
- access for your players even when you’re offline
But beware the Big Cloud.
Why We Avoid Big Cloud Providers (The AWS Outage Story)
Picture this:
A normal workday. We can’t access our customer project because AWS has an outage. We think, “Fine, let’s play some D&D instead.”
Except… our Foundry server is also down.
Because it was hosted on—
You guessed it.
AWS.
When the big platforms go dark… everything tied to them goes with it.
That was a defining moment for us.
A great “Nope. Never again.” energy swept through the room.
So MyVirtualTabletop is built on infrastructure that isn’t dependent on those giants.
It’s our way of avoiding the cascading collapse that can take entire campaigns down.
When You’ll Know It’s Time to Upgrade
Think of upgrades like leveling up your character.
You don’t need to rush it—your GM will tell you when the moment comes.
You need more power when:
- Load times start dragging → CPU is pleading for help
- Your world crashes on load → RAM is waving a white flag
- Your maps or assets balloon in size → storage is crying quietly in a corner
Your campaign will tell you when it's ready for better gear. Trust the signs.
Modules That Hurt Performance (A Secret Truth)
Everyone expects a list of “worst offenders,” but here's the truth:
There’s no universal villain.
A module that crushes one GM’s server might run perfectly fine for another.
It depends on the world, the maps, the number of players, and how your system is configured.
As a beginner, just avoid installing every module that looks shiny.
Your players won’t notice the missing bells and whistles—but they will notice lag.
What Beginner GMs Are Really Afraid Of (And Why They Don’t Need to Be)
Most first-time hosts fear:
- breaking something
- choosing the wrong plan
- paying too much
- paying too little
- lag
- downtime
- having to explain to their group why “something… happened… again”
This is why hosting exists—to take that fear away.
Your only job should be to build worlds your players fall in love with.
Leave the infrastructure to someone who has already fought the DMZ Monster and lived to tell the tale.
The One Rule for Choosing a Hosting Provider
Let me pass down this final piece of ancient wisdom:
Pick the provider that gives you the most bang for your buck.
If two hosts cost the same but one gives you more… choose the one that gives you more.
Simple. Practical. Efficient.
The kind of wisdom a weary DM shares by the campfire.
Your Quest Begins Now
If you take nothing else from this guide, let it be this:
Just start playing.
Whether you self-host, use us, or try another provider entirely—don’t let setup anxiety stop you from running the campaign you’ve been dreaming of.
Foundry VTT is one of the most liberating tools for GMs today.
Your players don’t care how many cores you have.
They care about the stories you tell.
So gather your party.
Pick a world.
Choose a hosting path that fits your style and budget.
And begin your adventure.
The multiverse awaits.
