5E Product Walkthrough Playlist
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  1. #11
    If you're new to scene, check out other VTTs, some free to play. 175 bucks is a commitment for when you're sure you want more tools to run your game. If you're just running something lite, one of the free VTTs could be all you need.

    Usually when you need more ruleset support, FG has the bells and whistles.

  2. #12
    I'd say what you need depends on your use case.

    If you are just wanting to use it in person as DM then I feel you can get away with just the adventure and the standard.

    If you're wanting your players to login remote and use their characters in the VTT it will take more custom setup and outside reference without the class pack.

    As a new dm as of this year I'd recommend it over other VTTs simply for the time I save using it to setup games. Yes, The interface is old and not intuitive at times but my users stopped caring when I'm able to randomize monster health when loading encounters and auto roll initiative every round with the combat tracker. I feel those things add a great dynamic but would be very hard to implement without these tools.

  3. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by Bidmaron View Post
    Full Bleed, we try to be civil around here -- just a reminder.
    We all have different thresholds for what is considered "civil."

    For example, I think the running idea that because people get the 5e SRD in FG "for free", without clearly acknowledging how gimped the 5e SRD is, isn't civil. I find it downright misleading. The 5e SRD is a WOTC marketing ploy--Provide a gimped/preview/partial 5e experience to hook users for a greater investment that they'll *need* to make to enjoy the core game. That Smiteworks provides it for free is cool. That some then present it as something more than it is, isn't. And not highlighting that to the (clearly) uninformed, particularly to people who, say, are already spending a lot at the door (nearly $200 in this case) to specifically play 5e isn't very nice. And I feel the continuous reinforcement of the misconception (that players are actually getting the the full 5e experience for nothing), does not serve FG or it's users. They shouldn't drop $150 on FG and *then* learn that they can't make a Drow Wild Mage. A race and class that is present in the core 5e Player's Handbook (the foundation of the 5e game for most players.)

    And just because someone doesn't agree with you and mounts a strong counter argument doesn't mean they're stepping outside the bounds of civility. In fact, questioning someone's civility on those grounds is pretty rich. There is no moral high ground to be had in obfuscating the fact that the 5e SRD is a *gimped* version of 5e.

    This user had a simple question and I provided a simple answer. The answer I'd give a close friend if they asked the same question.

  4. #14

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    The word "gimped" is insulting and disparaging. There is enough in the SRD to play, especially if the purchaser is also going to buy adventure modules - what a module needs that is outside the SRD will be included with the module.

  5. #15
    Trenloe's Avatar
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    And I think that a lot of people miss the main reason for the SRD - to release some of the 5E rules under an Open Gaming License (OGL) to allow third party publishers (3PPs) to legally publish material for 5E. If people aren't familiar with the original OGL for d20 (D&D 3.x), it was a ground breaking license that allowed people to make their own versions of "the worlds oldest role-playing game". I doubt the OSR (Old School Revival) would have occurred, Pathfinder most definitely wouldn't have happened, and all of the amazing material released by 3PPs such as AAW Games, Legendary Games, Kobold Press, Frog God Games, etc. wouldn't have happened either. In fact, the RPG industry would probably not be in the healthy state it is now without the original OGL. And, yes, this was released by WotC - not as a marketing ploy, not as a gimped version of D&D - but to allow everyone to write and publish material based on the d20 system.

    The D&D 5E OGL/SRD is the same - it allows all of those fantastic 3PPs out there (some mainstream, some just starting up) to legally produce material for D&D 5E. There are currently over 130 3PP D&D 5E products in the FG store: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/store...search=&sort=1 Virtually all of these would not be possible without the original d20 or 5E OGL/SRD. You don't *need* to buy any other 5E products to use these - it's up to you if you want to purchase the PHB, DMG, MM etc. - but you don't *need* them. It's great that SmiteWorks provide the 5E SRD data as part of the standard FG license. Is the SRD data the same as the PHB - no. But, is the SRD useless/broken (the usual definition associated with "gimped") or is it purely a marketing tool - no, not at all!

    This conversation comes up again and again. No one is forcing you to purchase additional D&D content - you don't *need* it unless you want a specific class/ability/scenario/whatever. This is standard practice in virtually every RPG publisher out there - you don't get "everything you need" (despite the product description usually containing those exact words) in one product - the publisher will keep producing more and more and more stuff. You don't need all of that other stuff, it doesn't stop you playing. Buy what you want, or not - use the free stuff that comes with FG.
    Last edited by Trenloe; December 2nd, 2017 at 16:36.
    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. #16

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    Our DM has not purchased the PHB or DMG (I am not sure about the MM) and has his own world he has built and we all thoroughly enjoy ourselves with the SRD. I personally have purchased more for when I do DM, but that was a personal and financial choice I made. So the SRD gives plenty of info to play and enjoy the game for a minimal investment into FG.

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