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  1. #11
    viviolay's Avatar
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    What ruleset/games are you playing?

    I just started playing PF2E on FG recently (also play 5e) and I cant imagine playing it on a different platform tbh. There is just way more of the products + the ruleset is well supported.

    The other big thing is I use FG offline on a TV table. I can do this in person regardless of the status of the internet and thanks to the map scaling extension Trenloe made. That was another big selling point for me. I know we won’t be playing in person for a while but if you ever want that functionality it’s there.


    Note I use FGC. I have an FGU license but I’m waiting for stable final release.

  2. #12
    Valarian's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GerPronouncedGrr View Post
    I'm currently running two games over on Roll20, and have come up against some things that are terrible headaches.
    • Aligning maps to the grid is a nightmare
    • Character sheets are complicated for players to set up correctly
    • Most character sheets are broken in some way even when set up correctly
    • Uploading and organizing my custom content is a hassle
    1) Aligning grids can be a problem if the grid on the map image doesn't have consistently sized grid lines. When setting the grid, you drag a rectangle to highlight one of the grid squares. If the grid on the map image is inconsistent, the grid will go out of alignment.
    2) Character sheets are already set up as part of the ruleset and (hopefully) tested by the developer. There is nothing for the player, or GM, to set up other than to fill in the character information.
    3) See the above comment about developer testing.
    4) There's nothing to upload, you organise your content in the campaign folder on your computer. You copy the images you want to use to the images folder. You create story, item, NPC, and encounter entries in Fantasy Grounds. You can export these as an adventure module for use in other campaigns, so it's an idea to have a "preparation" campaign where you create material and a "game" campaign for running it with your players. You don't have to create all the material, it depends on your GM style.

    Quote Originally Posted by GerPronouncedGrr View Post
    Does FG Classic or FG Unity do better in any regard?
    I'm still using FG Classic for my games. FG Unity is still in beta, and a lot of the community rulesets don't yet run on Unity.

    Quote Originally Posted by GerPronouncedGrr View Post
    If I own either version, can I host games for people who don't own any version of FG?
    The Ultimate license allows non-licensed players to connect to your games. They will still need to download and install the software. For FG Unity, they will need to create a forum account.

    Quote Originally Posted by GerPronouncedGrr View Post
    If so, can those people view the content of my library (rules, lore entries, etc.) for the things I own?
    When connected to you, the players can see any library material that is:
    a) player visible - so they can't go viewing the monster manual or GM guide (or equivalent).
    b) shared with the player - as GM you can block libraries you don't want the players to see.

    Quote Originally Posted by GerPronouncedGrr View Post
    If you've used Roll20 before, tell me your favourite thing about FG versus Roll20.
    I was a backer of one of the projects that merged with Roll20 and I've had an account for years. I can count on one hand the number of games I've run in Roll20 over Fantasy Grounds. The biggest difference, for me, is the focus on the map rather than the character sheet. Fantasy Grounds is story and character focused. The map, in FG Classic, is just another image. FG Unity adds some map features, which is nice for those that want them.

    Roll20 may have got better in recent years, with the release of the character sheets. However, I got fed up with having to create each campaign from scratch each time - including all the functionality I wanted for the "tokens". With Fantasy Grounds, I select the ruleset I want to run the campaign with and I'm ready to go. All the setup work has been done for me already, and I can concentrate on setting up the game for my players.

    Download it, take it for a spin. You can try it with a single player connection in demo mode for a read-only campaign.
    For FG Classic, you need to open port 1802 as a game port and make sure your router is directing traffic to your computer.
    For FG Unity, there's a cloud broker that does the routing for you.
    Last edited by Valarian; May 23rd, 2020 at 08:23.
    Using Ultimate license - that means anyone can play.
    Valarian's Fantasy Grounds Rulesets

  3. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by Valarian View Post
    Roll20 may have got better in recent years, with the release of the character sheets. However, I got fed up with having to create each campaign from scratch each time - including all the functionality I wanted for the "tokens". With Fantasy Ground, I select the ruleset I want to run the campaign with and I'm ready to go. All the setup work has been done for me already, and I can concentrate on setting up the game for my players.
    With Foundry and the VTTA plugin you just need DnDBeyond and can import all and everything. Modules to come soon as well, so no prep effort and all players can administrate their chars on DnDBeyond, even roll on DnDBeyond. But I guess I‘m getting too off-topic, now.

  4. #14
    Valarian's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Targas View Post
    With Foundry and the VTTA plugin you just need DnDBeyond and can import all and everything. Modules to come soon as well, so no prep effort and all players can administrate their chars on DnDBeyond, even roll on DnDBeyond. But I guess I‘m getting too off-topic, now.
    I rarely play D&D, and don't have a D&DBeyond account.
    Using Ultimate license - that means anyone can play.
    Valarian's Fantasy Grounds Rulesets

  5. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by Targas View Post
    With Foundry and the VTTA plugin you just need DnDBeyond and can import all and everything. Modules to come soon as well, so no prep effort and all players can administrate their chars on DnDBeyond, even roll on DnDBeyond. But I guess I‘m getting too off-topic, now.
    No that is completely on topic because it is about what works on Roll20, and thank you for sharing, it might help the OP make their decision.

    I found it a bit weird though that to get it to work in Roll20 you had to buy the content on Beyond instead of on Roll20. I did love the User Interface but I found limits from a functional standpoint. For example, it no longer has the warforged subraces from Wayfinders Guide to Eberron, it only has the newer single race warforged from Rising from the Last War. It also only works reliably in Chrome, both games I've played using it had trouble with firefox. Adding homebrew and managing it was difficult and frustrating, though people make the same complaint about Fantasy Grounds, so it may just be that I've only tried it twice and need to get used to it. Are you aware of a way to get homebrew into it easier? Have you tried?

    God I wish FG's user interface was as intuitive and nice as theirs though. I love how it uses both vertical and horizontal tabs in the character sheet for sorting, and how the mechanics were all integrated visually. For example, Alchemist Infusions had a counter that showed how many you have left available, and which item was infused and whether it was in your inventory or a teammate's. A very simple one at that. Unfortunately, there are three published versions of Alchemists, and it only lets you use the new one from Eberron, not the Artificer from the UA, unless you manually create it as homebrew, or unless I was doing it wrong. What was your favorite part of the Roll20/Beyond linkup?

    As I said in my earlier post, my favorite thing about the Roll20/Beyond integration is how you can share content even while offline. In FG you need to give your players a module to do that. But the better part is they can look at that stuff and use it in multiple campaigns, not just the one you shared it in. Or even use it to DM their own game with your homebrew content. To my knowledge, Beyond doesn't let you DM with my content, it only lets me give you access to my content when you are my player and I'm DMing.

  6. #16
    Well, I might need to explain abit more I guess. Foundry VTT is a brand new 1 day old VTT. It is a mix between Roll20 and Fantasy Grounds.
    One user created an AddOn Module called Beyond20 for Roll20, which lets you use DnDBeyond material you own. The same exists for FoundryVTT.
    However there is alot more available like VTTA doing almost the same and even more. The GUI for Foundry is much better than for Roll20, usage and performance wise, giving you the freedom to either host a (rented) server, or run a game locally, one time license purchase only, etc.
    Of course you rely on DnDBeyond to use the sources. Foundry can be run with Safari, Crome or Firefox only for the players. I‘ve alread had half a dozen sessions with players using Chrome and Firefox. Together with e.g. Dungeondraft you can create maps in some minutes, use the import to directly add walls & lighting in a second, so no prep time at all.
    True DnDBeyond is sharing your content only. You‘d need a VTT like Foundry to run the GM part.
    Last edited by Targas; May 23rd, 2020 at 19:57.

  7. #17
    It's a great system. Fantasy Grounds is amazing. Just as long as no one in your group uses Apple.
    Last edited by BlackMagic0; May 23rd, 2020 at 20:39.

  8. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by Targas View Post
    One user created an AddOn Module called Beyond20 for Roll20, which lets you use DnDBeyond material you own. The same exists for FoundryVTT.
    Since I do not play 5e that is for me personally not important, but I wonder whether such an extension is in sense of the ToS of all sites (and WotC), especially for Roll20 where you can purchase (some of) the modules, too I would be always cautious about custom user extensions adding the ability to use purchased modules in other programmes for which they were not intended to be used
    Last edited by Kelrugem; May 23rd, 2020 at 22:58.

  9. #19
    LordEntrails's Avatar
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    I will add, one thing that is important for me is longevity. To me it is very important that I learn one system, create content in that system, and be able to use that data for decades to come. It's one reason hosted solutions like Roll20 are a major detractor for me. I like that their are new VTTs like Astral, Foundry, Tableplop, etc. But out of the dozen or so VTTs announced in the last year, I will be surprised if more than 1 of them is still being actively developed in 3 years.

    Everything I create in FG is saved on my computer in a simple xml format. Its portable and there it is very reasonable to expect FG to have a high chance of still being supported over the coming decades. (I see it as a much better chance than any other VTT.)

    Problems? See; How to Report Issues, Bugs & Problems
    On Licensing & Distributing Community Content
    Community Contributions: Gemstones, 5E Quick Ref Decal, Adventure Module Creation, Dungeon Trinkets, Balance Disturbed, Dungeon Room Descriptions
    Note, I am not a SmiteWorks employee or representative, I'm just a user like you.

  10. #20
    Thank you to everyone for the great comments. I don't have anything to add, but am reading everything and appreciate it all.

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