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  1. #1

    Can I roll my own dice??

    Hello everyone,

    I am thinking of buying a ultimate license to FG. I have a question i could not find answered anywhere.

    I want a VTT to use with a face to face group I am starting. (DD 4e) My players are going to want to roll their own dice though. Will FG let me input a physical dice roll.

    What I am really looking for in a VTT is, a digital battle map, and a way to send handouts to my players computer. (which will be connected to a TV.

    Can FG do this? It looks like most players are using this for online games. Anyone else using FG for a face to face game??

    Thanks guys

    Blake

  2. #2
    Edit: If the above is not possible in FG any suggestions for a VTT that has the features mentioned would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

  3. #3
    It is possible, generates some inconvenience (did I spelled it right? ), because inputing rolls manually takes additional time, and I think FG won't be able to perform some automatic calculations related to rolls.

    Personally, I see no reason or added value for using FG this way - most things work in that case just like sitting around the kitchen table with battlemap. Maybe if you'd tell us what do you want to achieve by using FG this way, or what do you expect, it'd be easier to address this topic.

  4. #4
    Hey Kane. I want to use a VTT for:

    1. The variety of battle maps. Every battle setting would be different. Instead of rearranging a white board.
    2. The use of a combat tracker to help with some of the number crunching.
    3. The ability to give players handouts. Maps, notes, puzzles, pictures, etc.
    4. And to help me organize my campaign. Plot lines and such.

    Thats about it for now. If anyone knows of a different program that is better suited for face to face gaming feel free to put it in.

    Thanks everyone

  5. #5
    Trenloe's Avatar
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    There are plenty of people who use FG in face-to-face games. Some GMs use it in the same way you suggest Blake, others use it to keep track of information/details, others use it to help in the automation of their games. Automation will be much more difficult if you're rolling physical dice, but it doesn't sound like this is what you want to use FG for? Fantasy Grounds has a lot of functionality outside of any specific ruleset automation, and you'll be able to hook up a player instance of Fantasy Grounds to a TV: start a second instance of Fantasy Grounds on the same PC and connect to the GM instance using a server address of localhost which doesn't require another license and you (the GM) will have access to all of your info etc. in the GM instance and can have the player instance displaying on a TV.

    EDIT: Or, if you have another computer you could let the players control the player instance.
    Last edited by Trenloe; November 20th, 2014 at 14:36.
    Private Messages: My inbox is forever filling up with PMs. Please don't send me PMs unless they are actually private/personal messages. General FG questions should be asked in the forums - don't be afraid, the FG community don't bite and you're giving everyone the chance to respond and learn!

  6. #6
    ddavison's Avatar
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    I use FG in this same capacity for face-to-face games. When using FG in that way, you don't get the automation from players to NPC attacks, however, you can still benefit from the automation on NPC to player attacks as long as you keep accurate data entered for your players. For 4E games, you really only need to track the HP, AC, Fort, Reflex and Will. I also like to keep the stats updated just in case someone gets drained or ability damage or buffs. That part is optional. You may find it easier to just have your players tell you when their AC, Fort, Reflex or Will saves change and make the update to those 4 values. You don't really care how they got their value anymore, just what the total values are for the NPC attack automation to work.

    Player handouts, maps, and campaign management will all work out of the box. I would recommend running two instances of FG on the same computer and connect the player display to your second monitor/TV. I find FG to be a great asset to my usual GM prep, since I can prepare all my NPCs, encounters, etc. in advance. You can also take advantage of the Party inventory system so that you don't have the common problem of one player keeping it and then having that player not show up one day. Instead, you can juts pull up the party inventory that hasn't already been distributed out for each game session.

    For player rolled dice for attacks, this would be the common workflow. Note that it leaves off most of the automation you get if they were connected and rolling through FG, but that isn't a major loss.
    1. Player rolls dice attack vs (DEFENSE)
    2. GM looks on his or her combat tracker for the defense target and says whether or not it hit
    3. If hit, GM tells player to roll damage
    4. GM manually applies any resistances or immunity and applies the result to the NPC's wounds.
    5. The players see the descriptive status of the NPC change in the player view of the combat tracker.

    Rolling initiative is similar, the players all roll and you just enter the values as the GM and then use the Menu option to auto-roll the NPC init values. It will keep them sorted in the combat tracker.

  7. #7
    Just my $0.02 worth: I use it pretty much as you've described Blake, as well as online - depending upon which Gaming Group I'm GMing for.

    The funny thing is, the Face-to-Face Players have started to bring along their laptops, and some of them have even migrated to using the FG-dice - and these guys are diehard (no pun intended) physical die-rollers - I mean, one Player's Die Bag is the size of a soccer ball, I kid you not! (It hurts too, when you get hit by it! It brings a special meaning to the spell (D)Ice Storm.)

    So you never know...

    Hey, its Shameless-Plug(TM) time - have you checked out the fantastic Tutorial Videos on the Wiki - I produced some of them, and people tell me they like them. Anyway, the links in my sig, below.

    Oh, and Welcome! to FG.

    Cheers
    Last edited by dulux-oz; November 20th, 2014 at 14:54.
    Dulux-Oz

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  8. #8

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    I just wanted to second the way Doug told you to resolve the dice rolls for to hit and damage. You don't want to enter anything you don't have to. Do your dice rolls the way you would without FG, using the data in FG as reference.

    Also if you only are going to use this to help you in a face to face game there is no reason to get the Ultimate License, a Full License is fine.

  9. #9
    Just wanted to say thanks to Kane, Trenloe, Davison, Dulux, and Griogre.

    Your input is much appreciated. I'm going to look around a little more, but FG is in the lead.

    Thanks again guys.

  10. #10
    If anyone else is using FG in face to face games please chime in with how you use it and how it helps.

    I would like like to run my first session with FG next weekend so any suggestions would be great.

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