Interested in purchasing

**Erythrocytes** · August 3rd, 2009, 22:05

I'm just curious about how many people use this program to play games on a regular basis and the level of fun in actually using it ro run/play games is. I've played around with the demo, but many of the features are not shown. What sort of tokens are available? Are there character and monster tokens? Voice chat supported? How customizable is the campaign/session creation tools? Can one copy of the program be run on two different computers? (Not at the same time of course) Is 4th edition Dungeons & Dragons supported? Are there plenty of tokens to fill the needs of Call of Cthulhu and D&D? Feedback would be amazing and very helpful in making the decision to invest in Fantasy Grounds or...not.

**Griogre** · August 4th, 2009, 09:44

Look at the posts in the Guild Hall and see how many you would have been interested in. Go back a few weeks and that should give you an idea of how many people are interested in playing which games.

The only built in tokens are the letter ones in the demo. However it is easy to add more you just drop the graphics into the tokens folder. Players can use whatever graphics they want as portraits. They add them on their computer and the portrait is transfered to the server. You can use their portriats as tokens as FG will convert them to token size.

Audio chat is not supported by FG. Most people who use voice use outside servers. Ventrillo, Teamspeak, Skype, and GSC are some used.

I'm not sure what exactly you mean by campaign/session creation tools? If you input things in FG you use it's interface. Or you can input things directly into XML. Most grahic files like maps are just dropped into the images folder.

You should glance through the FAQ, that question is answered here: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forum...#faq_license_1

The is a very nice fan made 4E ruleset at FUM.

All of Wizard's book images are online at their site so it's easy to make tokens out of them or their minatures gallery if you wish.

If you have not already done so check out the online manual and FAQ.

User Guide: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/userguide/
FAQ: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/faq.php

**Lithl** · August 5th, 2009, 01:12

I'll try to answer your questions

What sort of tokens are available? Are there character and monster tokens?
Tokens are just images. Four Ugly Monsters has many available for free, some rulesets come with tokens, and you can just make your own.

Voice chat supported?
No. I believe some people opt to use Skype, Ventrillo, or similar programs for voice chat alongside FG, but it doesn't come with the program.

How customizable is the campaign/session creation tools?
Extremely. It takes some knowledge to customize a ruleset or create your own (XML and Lua script), but the people on this forum are very helpful.

Can one copy of the program be run on two different computers? (Not at the same time of course)
Yes. You can't connect multiple instances of the program using the same license to the same session (except if connecting on localhost, for testing rulesets), but you can use the same license on multiple installs. Basically, when you try to connect to a game session, the program checks if one of the people in the session is using the same license as you are. If so, then you're not allowed into the game. So you can play from different computers, but you can't give the same license to all your firneds to get a whole gaming group for the price of one license.

Is 4th edition Dungeons & Dragons supported?
Yes. The 4E_JPG ruleset is available here

Are there plenty of tokens to fill the needs of Call of Cthulhu and D&D?
As before, tokens are just images. There's no imposed limit on tokens, but the more tokens you have, the longer it takes to load the program. (Or if the tokens are "shared" from the game host, longer to connect to the game)

**Spyke** · August 5th, 2009, 11:25

I'll answer the bit that's been missed so far.

Level of Fun

Stratospheric.

...

More seriously, it's a different sort of fun to sitting around in a room and playing face to face, but a lot of fun nonetheless. You can get just as immersed in the story-telling, role-playing and the excitement of stealthy movement and combat.

Spyke

**Griogre** · August 5th, 2009, 17:59

Another advantage because the program similates the tabletop during an RPG it is very easy for players to learn to use. The only thing players need to learn is how to throw dice and make hotkeys.

**Erythrocytes** · August 5th, 2009, 21:41

I appreciate the feedback. I'll be purchasing on Friday. We will probably be gathering a group for D&D 4th edition, so keep an eye out for some experienced gamer D&D on the recruitment forum.

**Griogre** · August 6th, 2009, 00:00

If you are planning on ever running you should make sure you get the full version because normally there is not an upgrade from lite to full. Also if you are going to run I would suggest you get the demo and make sure you can configure your router and firewalls. For people who have not set up servers before this can be a lengthly and frustrating process. The networking is the same between the demo and full versions. If you are only getting the lite version then you don't have to worry.

**Tenian** · August 6th, 2009, 00:09

If you do get a full version and are planning on hosting, you should probably find a DM over in the guild hall who is running whatever system you're interested in, and ask if you can sit in and observe for a session or two

As long as you're respectful, most GM's will let you observe and will give you tips/pointers/etc. Observing tends to be more helpful than reading manuals/readme's/posts

**Erythrocytes** · August 9th, 2009, 15:56

[09.08.2009 01:50] Script Error: [string "scripts/manager_desktop.lua"]:78: attempt to index global 'table' (a nil value)

Pops up everytime I try to start a new campaign under the 4th edition ruleset 4E_JPG. Any suggestions?

**Spyke** · August 9th, 2009, 16:02

It sounds like you're trying to use a version of Fantasy Grounds released before the update at the beginning of this year which made the desktop items more dynamic. Have you updated to the current version?

EDIT: just read earlier stuff... sorry... if you've just purchased FG2 then that won't be the issue. Can you create campaigns OK with the Foundation ruleset and 3.5 extension? If so, perhaps you've not installed the 4e_jpg one correctly?

Spyke

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