Advanced Fantasy Grounds Usage - 5E Ruleset Edition

[TASagent]

So, you've got the basics down, played a game or two, and now want to know what's next. What else can Fantasy Grounds do?

I wanted to assemble a list of some of the features and controls that people may not know about, for easy reference. If you have any to add, let me know and I'll stick it in the list. I've tried to avoid adding anything that's too obvious. This isn't necessarily meant to be "Baby's First Fantasy Grounds", but I haven't necessarily stuck to that consistently. Mostly it's for tracking features that some people might not be aware of.

Text Editing

• Control+ a number 1 through 6 can be used to change the formatting of the current paragraph, in data elements that support it (story, for instance).
• Control+j will merge the current paragraph with the next one. If you just pasted a bunch of text full of newlines you want to get rid of, this is probably what you want.
• By default, holding control while hovering the mouse over a number field will let you use the mousewheel to adjust the value. This modifier key can be adjusted in the options.

Options

• Read through them. Seriously, just do it.

Images/Maps

• Hold Control to see map pins when you're not in Pin mode.
• Hold Control when dropping a link onto an image to leave it as a pin if you're not in Pin mode.
• At least most data elements can be left as pins on a map or image, if not all.
• Control + mouse click and drag to resize the windows from anywhere within it. This works on all windows, but is particularly helpful when opening large images.
• When setting a grid for a map, middle mouse click and drag will let you draw test boxes, allowing you to easily test the sizes of different regions. Try encircling a 10x10 grid area and dividing the resulting gridsize by 10 to get the closest possible grid.
• Don't forget you can nudge your grid with the buttons at the top. Sometimes you just can't get a perfect grid on a map (infuriating, I know). Just nudging the map as your players move through it will often get you close enough!
• All players can draw arrows on the map in their color by pressing and holding both mouse buttons. Modify it with Shift, Control, or Alt for Squares, Circles, and Cones.
• With tokens locked (from context menu) DM can approve requested movement by middle-mouse clicking on the token.
• DM can create an NPC movement request by holding control when attempting to move a token. (Lets players see movement pattern; useful for Tomb of Horrors-esque trap-fests).

Sharing records

• When you've shared a record with the players, a "P" will show up next to it in the proper menu (Images or Maps, for example). As a DM, clicking on that P will unshare it, and close it if they still have it open.
• Right click on an image an choose "Sharing">"Preload Image" to force the players' computers to load, but not display, it. Once the spiderweb shows up in the upper right, the image is cached and can be displayed immediately by sharing it.
• Virtually all records can be shared with the players (and between players) by dragging the link to the chatbox. A bit less obtrusive than forcing an item to pop up on their screens.
• Dragging a record link (other than an Item; see Items) to a character portrait on the desktop will only share with that user. Good way to pass notes set up in advance, or share pictures of areas/creatures only that character sees.

Sorting Records

• Many of the DM's records can be stored in multiple tabs. Right click on the tabs (there should always be at least one), and choose "Add New Group"
• To apply a name to a tab, type it in the chat box, then drag it to the tab.
• Drag the tabs to rearrange them.
• Drag items onto tabs to move them to that tab.
• Moving an item into a tab will not break existing links to that item.

Dice and Numbers

• The modifier stack is neat. (It's the box right below chat that says "Modifier"). Don't forget you can use it. Drag numbers from virtually anywhere into it to add them to the next roll.
• Modifiers (and their labels) can be applied to the Modifier stack from the hotbar at the bottom of the screen. The Hotbar items correspond to the F1-F12 keys, and you have a separate bar for each combination of Control, Shift, and Alt you can hold.
• Middle mouse click the modifier stack to clear it.
• Hold control when dragging a Number to Negate it.
  
  • Supposed to subtract 1d4 from your next attack? You can roll the 1d4, then drag the result, hold control, and drop it onto the modifier stack. Now roll your attack.
    
  • Strange curse makes a character's melee attacks heal? Roll his damage without a target, then Control-drag the result onto a character. Voila! Healed.
• Some rolls have special significance, and dragging the result gives you a special icon rather than a number. To extract the number, drop it back in chat.
  
  • Trying to handle Wraith energy drain? Roll his damage without a target. Then drop it back in chat. Now you can grab the number, and control-drop it where ever you want to keep track of it. (I would use Tmp HP slot, but there are other options).

Traits

• Many features and traits are simple enough to create custom effects to handle automatically. Make sure you go through each after making a character or leveling up to see that you gain their benefits.
  
  • Dwarf? Give him a permanent Dwarven Resilience ability "Dwarven Resilience; RESIST: poison".
    
  • Barbarian with Feral Instinct? Give him the effect "Feral Instinct; ADVINIT".
    
  • Make sure to reapply the permanent effect any time the PCs are removed from the Combat Tracker. If you're using it appropriately, that shouldn't happen often.
• Class abilities are a larger source of temporary abilities. If the duration is Rounds or Minutes, they'll expire automatically:
  
  • Barbarian Reckless Attack? Give him the effect: "Reckless Attack; GRANTADVATK; ADVATK; [SELF]"
    
  • Barbarian Rage? Use the effect: "Rage; ADVCHK: strength; ADVSAV: strength; DMG: 2, melee; RESIST:bludgeoning, slashing, piercing; [SELF]"
• Check here for more information about effects, and if you're stuck, the forums are also a great place to get more help.
• Effect Descriptions are typically easier to read than write, but don't be discouraged.
• Often people will start the effect off with a name. The description just ignores text it doesn't understand. The names don't do anything other than offer information.

Targeting and the Combat Tracker

• If you're not using an Encounter record, make sure you add NPCs to the Combat Tracker, and then add them to your map from the Combat Tracker. If you do it from anywhere else, Fantasy Grounds won't know which token on the map corresponds to each creature in the Combat Tracker, and won't be able to automatically handle attack rolls and damage.
• You can target creatures in the Combat Tracker directly by holding control and clicking on their portrait.
• The DM can assign targets to the current NPC/PC by holding control and clicking on portaits in the Combat Tracker.
• Mouse over the portrait of a creature in the Combat tracker and use your mousewheel to adjust their size on the map.
• Don't overlook the menu button at the bottom of the Combat Tracker - There you'll find options to give the whole party a rest, or delete all enemies from the Combat Tracker, and the map (if they were added properly).
• GM: Double clicking on or drag-rolling from an attribute in the expandable Attribute section of the combat tracker will perform a check using the chosen attribute (Strength check, for instance). Holding shift when doing so will perform a saving throw using the chosen attribute (like a Dexterity Saving Throw).

[TASagent]

Advanced Effects

• Effects can be tricky, and there are ways of further customizing how they trigger.
• Effect Targets can be specified that will conditionally trigger effects. The can be filled in by players holding Shift and dragging the Effect onto the intended Effect Target. DMs can fill in Effect Targets by using the Effect Target button in the expanded Effects description panel of the Combat Tracker. DMs can clear Effect Targets by just clicking on the names in the summary.
  
  • To create an effect that gives you bonus damage against a particular foe, Create an effect that targets yourself and gives you the bonus damage. Applied normally, this bonus damage would apply to all of your attacks, but if you Shift-Drag the effect and drop it on an opponent (in the combat tracker or on the map), it will mark him as the Effect Target, and the effect will only trigger when abilities are used against him.
    
  • To create an effect that reduces a target's AC against your attacks, create an effect that applies to your targets and has the AC reduction. Applied normally, this would just generally reduce his AC for all incoming attacks, but if you Shift-Drag the effect and drop it on yourself (in the combat tracker or on the map), it will mark you as the Effect Target, and the effect will only trigger when your abilities are used against him.

Combat

• Critical damage is queued up automatically when you crit, but to roll critical damage manually, hold shift when rolling the damage.
• Hold shift when rolling an attack to mark it an opportunity attack (and thus apply conditional modifiers you may have related to opportunity attacks)
• Hold Alt when rolling d20s to annoy everyone
• Toggling the target crosshair above the modifier stack will change whether your ability will be directed against your current target. If you don't want damage to be applied automatically for a particular roll, click the crosshair to turn that off. If you want to turn it off in general, you should probably investigate the options.
• If you are confused why your abilities don't seem to tell you whether or not you hit your target, first make sure the target crosshair button is turned on, then make sure the DM added the creatures from the Combat Tracker, and finally investigate the current options.

Items

• When Defining your own items, the "Weapon" and "Armor" item types are special, and will open up more fields for defining these.
• Add "magic" to the damage type of magic weapons for appropriate resistance penetration
• Drop items on PC's portraits in the upper left to pass it directly to them.
• Parcels, like Encounters, are awesome. Drag and drop a parcel into the Party Window to let PCs divvy up the loot.
• Players can drag items back into the Party Loot menu, allowing the DM to then convert the items to Cash via his handy "Sell Items" button. Don't forget to set the proper Sell Percentage first.
  
  • It is now easier than ever to force players to leave a dungeon before liquidating their non-coin assets. Have them divvy up and carry treasure items, and then return to the party menu items they wish to sell when given the opportunity. Encumbrance can be an actually interesting and fun mechanic when it doesn't require manually updating a paper spreadsheet.
• Items in the Party menu with an assignment entered are not liquidated with the "Sell Items" button. DMs can use this to liquidate subsets of the items at different sell percentages. Just set the assignment text to "don't sell" or "asdf" or "Cthulhu Fhtagn" on the items you don't want to sell, leaving the items you intend to sell blank. Then set the percentage and hit Sell Items. Repeat as necessary.

Creating and Updating Characters

• If you set your race and ability scores before adding your class, you won't have to manually change your hit points to account for your constitution modifier. Which reminds me:
• You have to manually change your hit points to account for changes in your constitution modifier.
• Fantasy Grounds can't (yet) warn you about overlapping skill proficiencies from your background, race, and class combinations. When you've finished creating your character, check to make sure you have the appropriate proficiencies granted by your class, your race, and your background. Remember that in the case of overlap, you're allowed to choose a different skill proficiency to replace it (PHB 125).
• Don't forget to grab your equipment from both your class and your background.
• In general, it's a good idea to go over each Trait and Feature on the sheet to make sure the appropriate changes are made. A number of things are automated, but not everything is, so it pays to check. Unless what you overlooked is a penalty, in which case you get punished for checking, but you're doing the right thing.
• Don't forget you can cycle through the three different modes on the Actions pane.
• A lot of different ability-use schemes can be set up with abilities:
  
  • Spells use spell slots already (obvious)
  • Power-point-like abilities (like Ki Points or Superiority Dice) can be set up as powers. On the actions pane, click the Edit List button and add a power. Make sure the Display option (at the bottom) is set to Group and enter something descriptive like "Ki Powers" into the group box. Add each of your Ki abilities to that new group. Click the Magnifying glass next to the Ki Powers header and make sure the Group Type is set to "Abilities". Set the uses to the number of points you have, and the recharge to Rest, or Daily, based on the type (Rest for Ki).
  • Abilities with their own limits on use can be set up as well. Put them in a category that doesn't have an explicit group limit (unlike the Ki Powers above), and set the appropriate limits in Preparation mode.
  • Wands can be set up like the abilities above. Set the refresh to "Once" and set the number prepared in the Preparation window to be equal to the max number of charges. Then, when appropriate, adjust the number of charges. You can drag multiple copies of the same spell into your character sheet (you might want to do this if you're a Wizard who can cast Magic Missile, but also has a Wand of Magic Missile).
• To check multiple boxes next to a power without spamming the chat, hold control (or whatever your edit key is) and use the mousewheel over the checkboxes.

GM Tips

• You can open up a second instance of Fantasy Grounds and connect to your own games. This is invaluable for understanding the player's perspective.
• If you installed Fantasy Grounds through Steam, you can launch a second instance by going to the steam folder, and then navigating to "steamapps\common\Fantasy Grounds", and then open the FGSteamLauncher. (Steam won't let you launch a second instance from its library interface)
• To connect to your own game, enter "localhost" as the IP address. Alternatively, both "127.0.0.1" and your local ip address also work, but why are you making things more difficult than they need to be?

Extensions

• Extensions, Modules, and Rulesets are added to the Fantasy Grounds folder. This can be accessed from any of the numerous Folder buttons you'll find at the top of some UI elements, such as the Images screen, or the Launcher.
• To have a look at the contents of an Extension, Module, or Ruleset, simply rename it to a *.zip file and extract it.
• If you make changes, zip it back up (make sure that when you open the zip you see the files, not a whole directory. Just compare it to the original) and throw it back where you grabbed it originally.
• You can find the Fantasy Grounds data directory by clicking on the folder button in the upper right corner of the launcher. In-game, the "Folder" button on the image menu, and the "GM" and "Shared" buttons on the Tokens menu will all lead to subfolders in the data directory, if you need to find it in a pinch.
• For many people, it is worth the convenience to add a shortcut to the data directory in your Windows Explorer Favorites bar, or the equivalent for other operating systems, when present. For the Windows environment, just drag the folder to the Favorites group (in the navigation pane, found by default on the left side of the explorer in Windows 7 and 8). Drop it anywhere you see a solid black line (indicating where it will go). Then you can rename the new link without affecting the actual folder.

[TASagent]

Placeholder Post - For future expansion.

[Drakewing]

Copy...Paste...Print.. I love my reference material Thank you so much!!

[Moon Wizard]

One more for you.

Dragging a record link to a character portrait on the desktop will only share with that user. Good way to pass notes set up in advance, or share pictures of areas/creatures only that character sees.

Cheers,
JPG

[TASagent]

Thanks Moon Wizard; added.

[LordEntrails]

Sticky this please. I know I'll be coming back to this!
+!

[TASagent]

Thanks, guys. I left plenty of room for expansion. If you think of something new that belongs there, or a better way of saying something that is there, don't hesitate to let me know. If something on the list isn't clear, or it's not clear why something on the list is desirable (aka not well motivated), just say so and I'll tweak it.

[Zacchaeus]

Wow, I was semi-joking really, but this is excellent work!

[Thegroo]

Thank you very much.