Notes, worlds and RPG
How it compares
The table puts Verso beside the tools people who keep notes and people who run tabletop games tend to use, with what each one does and does not do.
Where Verso is ahead: the notes are Markdown files you own, which Obsidian opens too; the server is yours; several people edit the same note, the same board and the same base live; and there is no paid plan. Obsidian keeps files but does not edit live without a third-party plugin; Notion and LegendKeeper edit live but keep the notes in their own service.
Where it is behind: Verso is still in testing, with no public download. It has no game master’s secret inside a note, no maps with pins and layers, no timelines, no family trees and no ready-made RPG templates; it has no plugins; on a phone it works only in the browser and only online. For a world ready to use today, World Anvil, Kanka and LegendKeeper go further; to play at a virtual table, Foundry VTT. And Chronicler, which like Verso keeps Markdown on disk, already has infoboxes, page templates and maps with pins and layers (in Pro, in alpha) — but it is for one person, with no server and no phone.
Part of what is missing — the game master’s secret inside a note, maps with pins, the phone offline — is on the roadmap to V1. It is a plan, with no dates.
Three common problems, and what Verso does about them
- The game master’s dilemma. Today Verso shares per folder: the players’ folder read-only, yours yours alone, in the same vault, with no duplicated notes. A secret inside a note — a paragraph only the game master sees — does not exist yet; World Anvil, Kanka, LegendKeeper and Foundry VTT have it.
- Tied to a service. The notes are
.mdfiles in a folder of yours, and the server is a machine of yours. Leaving Verso is closing the app: the folder still opens in Obsidian or any editor. - Keeping devices in step. With a UniVerso, the folder stays in step across Mac, Windows and Linux and opens in a browser and on a phone, with no sync subscription. But someone has to keep the server running, and on a phone it is online only.
Shortcuts
Tools
Capabilities
Hides the rows where every chosen tool has the same mark (✓, partial or ✗).
The table scrolls sideways; the capability column and Verso’s stay put.
| Notes and writing | Worlds and RPG | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capability | Verso in testing; no public download | Obsidian Markdown notes | Logseq outliner; new version in beta | Notion cloud workspace | BookStack self-hosted wiki | Scrivener long-form writing | Chronicler local worldbuilding wiki, in alpha | World Anvil cloud worldbuilding | Kanka cloud campaigns | LegendKeeper worldbuilding with maps | Campfire writing and worlds | Fantasia Archive local worldbuilding | Foundry VTT virtual tabletop | PUM Companion solo play with oracles |
| Files and data | ||||||||||||||
| Files you own on disk | yes: folders of .md, .canvas and .base | yes: folders of .md | partial the new version keeps SQLite; the old one, .md | no: in their cloud; exports Markdown | no: in the server’s database; exports .md | partial on disk, in its own package (RTF) | yes: folders of .md; opens Obsidian vaults | no: in their cloud; exports PDF, and JSON on a paid plan | no: in their cloud; exports JSON and Markdown | no: in their cloud; exports HTML and JSON | no: in their cloud; exports DOCX, PDF and EPUB | partial on the computer, in the app’s format | partial on your server, in the world’s database | partial a save file per game, in the app’s format; exports .md |
| Markdown | yes: native, in Obsidian’s dialect | yes: native | partial native in the old one; export only in the new | partial shortcuts, import and export | partial optional Markdown editor | partial on export only | yes: native, with wikilinks and frontmatter | no: BBCode and a visual editor | partial on export only | partial imports Markdown | no: no | the site does not say | partial Markdown pages, kept in its database | partial exports the story as Markdown |
| Database views | yes: bases: table, kanban, list, calendar | yes: Bases: table, cards, list, kanban | yes: in the new version | yes: yes | no: no | no: no | no: planned | partial interactive tables (paid plan) | the site does not say | the site does not say | the site does not say | partial structured fields | no: no | the site does not say |
| Graph and backlinks | yes: graph, backlinks and search | yes: yes | yes: yes | partial backlinks, no graph | partial references, no graph | no: no | partial backlinks; no graph announced | partial family trees and relation webs (paid plan) | partial mentions; the relations explorer is paid | partial auto-linking, no graph | the site does not say | the site does not say | partial links between documents, no graph | the site does not say |
| Collaboration and permissions | ||||||||||||||
| Your own server | yes: UniVerso: Docker, .deb, .rpm | no: no; Sync and Publish are theirs | partial the new version’s sync server (alpha) | no: no | yes: PHP and MySQL | no: no | no: no | no: no | no: source available; hosting not supported | no: no | no: no | a local app, no server | yes: a Node.js server or the app itself | no: no; optional backup to Google Drive |
| Live co-editing | yes: notes, boards, bases and text, with cursors | no: Sync merges later; live only with a third-party plugin | partial in the new version: paid, by invitation, alpha | yes: yes | no: edit warnings, not live | no: no | no: no | no: co-authors on a paid plan, one at a time | partial whiteboards only | yes: yes, with cursors | collaborators edit; live not confirmed | no: no | yes: several people on one page | no: no; solo play |
| Sharing with permissions | yes: per folder or subfolder: read or write | partial the whole vault, through Sync (paid) | partial the whole graph | yes: per page; per-row rules in databases | yes: per shelf, book, chapter and page | no: no | no: no; single user | yes: world, article, subscribers (the fine grain is paid) | yes: per entry, role and person | yes: per project and per page | yes: view, comment or edit | no: no | yes: per person, on each journal and page | no: exports the game or the story as a file |
| GM secrets inside a note | no: not yet; today, split by folder | no: no | no: no | no: no per-block permission | no: per page only | no: no | partial ||spoilers|| hidden until clicked; they are in the file | yes: secrets in the text (paid plan) | yes: private elements and properties | yes: /secret blocks | the site does not say | no: no | yes: Secret blocks the GM reveals | does not apply: the oracle plays the GM |
| RPG and worlds | ||||||||||||||
| Ready-made RPG templates | partial typed notes you define; no RPG packs | no: not built in | no: no | partial community templates | no: generic page templates | no: writing templates | yes: templates, infoboxes and statblock inserts | yes: dozens of templates and statblocks | yes: RPG entry types and property kits | partial page templates | partial worldbuilding modules, not RPG | yes: worldbuilding document types | yes: through game systems | yes: 50+ oracles, custom tables, dice |
| Interactive maps | no: an image on a board, no pins or layers | partial geographic map in bases; fantasy maps by plugin | no: no | partial geographic map in databases | no: no | no: no | yes: pins, regions and layers (Pro, in alpha) | yes: pins; layers and secrets on a paid plan | yes: layers, and pins with visibility | yes: hideable pins, regions, paths | yes: pins, zones and layers | no: no | yes: scenes with map notes | no: imported images, no interactive map |
| Boards (free canvas) | yes: JSON Canvas drawn with Excalidraw | yes: Canvas (JSON Canvas) | partial whiteboards in the old version | no: no free canvas | no: draw.io diagrams only | partial a corkboard of cards | yes: a canvas in the JSON Canvas format | yes: whiteboard (paid plan) | yes: live whiteboards | yes: whiteboards | the site does not say | the site does not say | partial drawing on scenes | the site does not say |
| Platforms and extensions | ||||||||||||||
| Offline on the desktop | yes: the folder is local | yes: yes | yes: yes | partial in the app, on pages marked for it | no: through the server only | yes: yes | yes: yes, no account | no: online only | no: online only | partial the browser keeps edits, sends them later | yes: Mac and Windows app with an offline mode | yes: a local app | yes: a desktop app | yes: local and offline |
| Plugins | no: none; Obsidian’s do not run | yes: community plugins | yes: yes | partial integrations and an API | partial themes and hooks | no: no | the site does not say | no: no; an API on a paid plan | yes: plugin library (paid plan) | no: no; an API on a paid plan | no: no | no: no | yes: modules and systems | no: no; paid extras |
| Phone | partial in the browser, through a UniVerso; online only | yes: iOS and Android apps, offline | yes: apps; the new version’s in testing | yes: apps, with offline | partial responsive site | partial iOS; no Android | no: no; desktop only | partial in the browser; no app | partial in the browser; no app | partial in the browser; no app | partial an app with fewer modules, online | no: no | no: phones not supported | yes: iOS and Android apps (bought separately) |
| AI | ||||||||||||||
| AI agents (MCP) | yes: local MCP server, read-only | partial official CLI; MCP from the community only | yes: MCP server in the new version | yes: official MCP, on their cloud | no: no; there is an API | no: no | no: no | no: no official one | no: no official one | no: no; a new API, paid | no: no | no: no | no: no official one | no: no; an optional paid AI assistant |
| Licence and cost | ||||||||||||||
| Licence and code | MPL-2.0; the repository is still private | proprietary, closed source | AGPL-3.0, open source | proprietary | MIT, open source | proprietary | PolyForm Shield 1.0.0: source available, not open source | proprietary | source available with Commons Clause; not open source | proprietary | proprietary | GPL-3.0, open source | proprietary | proprietary; no licence published |
| Cost | free; you run the server | free with paid add-ons (Sync, Publish) | free with a paid plan (sync) | free with paid plans | free | paid, one-time licence | free with a paid plan (Pro, one-time licence) | free with paid plans; a free world is public | free with paid plans | free with a paid plan; making projects is paid | free with paid modules | free; v1 stopped in 2025, a rewrite is under way | paid, one licence for the GM | paid: pay what you want above a minimum, per platform; PUM Lite is free |
✓ does it · partial does part of it, or with limits · ✗ does not · no mark: only what the cell says, or what the product’s site does not say. No prices: they change, and each site gives its own.
Checked in October 2026; the other products change — see their sites.