FGs biggest problem

[Dugahst]

Seems to me that the biggest problem it suffers from is a lack of support.
By this I mean there are really only rulesets for a couple of games. Sure there is Core which is meant to be able to run anything, but from a practical standpoint it just doesn't (i've tried).

Now I'm not saying that they need to have the full rulebooks, monster manuals, and adventures of every game (as they have done with 5th edition D&D), but to just take the time to create fully functioning character/npc sheets with proper dice rolling for the games would go a long way.

I think this problem is more of a man power issue, I recall hearing in various youtube interviews that they only have a 'few guys'-- and these few are split between working on unity and current products (5e, path/starfinder, etc)-- hire some more, or source out some contractors.

If you look at the biggest competitor for FG (Roll20) they support so many more games (granted this is mainly because everything is html based and so the community can easily build functioning character/npc's).
FG has something like 13 or 14 native games (not including the Core ruleset for the reason listed above) where as Roll20 has nearly every game there is, want to play an AGE game its there, want to play Open Legend its there, DCC, ICONS, the list goes on (and on, and on, really there are a ton).

Don't misunderstand this post, I love FG (i got the ultimate license and own hundreds of dollars worth of content), but it's very disheartening when I find a cool looking game system and the first thing that pops in my head is "Well I can't play this in Fantasy Grounds (and I don't want to use Roll20) guess it's not happening at all."

I mean even if they hired 1 or 2 extra people and dedicated them to just making a functioning character/npc sheets (with the proper dice rolling) for systems it'd go a long long way.

[damned]

There are hundreds and hundreds of games that can be played with MoreCore.
It has support for over 60 unique dice rolls and you can build out Character Sheets quite easily once you work out how best to use the rolls.
I play several different game systems with MoreCore.
It also has several Combat Tracker enhancements over CoreRPG as well as Party Sheet and many other features.

It has support for AGE stunt dice. Legend. DCC has its own full ruleset that is very awesome. Im not familiar with Icons. The last 5 systems MoreCore rolls were added for include WEG's d6, Tiny RPG, Powers and Perils, Kult Divinity Lost, The Dark Eye (German game - Das Schwarz Auge or something like that). It supports PbtA, Torg, Metamorphosis Alpha, 2d20, Tunnels and Trolls, Ubiquity, Talislanta, Pendragon, Traveller, Symbaraoum, Harn, The Black Crusade, Dead Simple Roleplaying, Qin, 7th Sea, Legend of the Five Rings and many, many more.

[Dugahst]

I've used morecore to run a game before (shadow of the demon lord) and while it works it is not very good because it is not made for the respective system. Furthermore to get it to work you (as in the GM) has to essentially program it to work, setting up custom dice rolls is not easy, hell setting up simple dice rolls is not easy or intuitive.

From the player side they have this blank character sheet that they have to learn to set up, which causes a few problems in and off itself. For example there is no commonality, IE one players sheet will likely be set up completely differently than anothers- as the GM trying to look at the sheets really sucks.

I'm not saying it won't work, i'm just saying it doesn't work well and for average people (IE those who are not super computer literate or programming geniuses) figuring out how to force it to work is not an option. Even with the Shadow of the Demon Lord game I ran which doesn't use any fancy dice expressions, my players (and admittedly myself) couldn't figure out how to get custom dice rolls to work off the character sheet. And if the players aren't used to FG it makes it all the more harder.

Simply put it is not easy, and therefore isn't a real option.

Also MoreCore isn't an option with the default client- it's a module that needs to be downloaded. Comparatively when the DM of a Roll20 game makes a new game, they just select from the drop down the system desired. Looking at the base FG list when choosing to create a game you get the following; 3.5e, 4e, 5e, Basic Roleplaying, Call of Cthulhu, Castles and Crusade, CoreRPG, Fate Core, Numenera, Pathfinder, Rolemaster Classic, and Savage Worlds. THATS IT! Anything else has to be downloaded as a module and set up by the GM. That's pretty pathetic when you compare it to the competition.

As I said in my original post, I love FG. I'm just offering some honest and constructive criticism. I know it will likely fall on deaf ears, but maybe not.

[Myrdin Potter]

https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forum...hp?92-Rulesets

Plus there are a few more hidden in the different WiP forums (like a very functional AD&D and 2e AD&D ruieset). As damned mentioned, there is a very good DCC ruleset (mentioned above by you as missingj.

I have tried some of the Roll20 other games set-ups and they are about on level with the core rpg ruleset here, and more core is even higher functionality.

What I find is really missing here is a base OSR D&D ruleset, and Swords and Wizardry is bpbeing worked on now,

[Trenloe]

Unfortunately, for Smiteworks to "just take the time to create fully functioning character/npc sheets with proper dice rolling for the games" would not be enough for the majority of people. They'll want customized combat trackers, customized items, spells, feats, etc., etc., etc.. Spending many, many hours of developer time to produce an "official Smiteworks" character and sheet for a single RPG system and package it with Fantasy Grounds would be like doing half of the work and leaving it incomplete. People always want more, and if it's provided by SmiteWorks will expect more to come too! The level of automation in the 5E ruleset has set the bar that everyone now expects. This requires many hundreds of hours of developer time. My view on this is that spending a lot of money on a full time developer to do what you're asking would have little return compared to the investment, and result in people being disappointed with the result - wanting more and more automation for their favourite RPG system.

As has been mentioned above, MoreCore can do a lot of what you're asking for (PC and NPC sheets with dice rolling mechanics). What we're missing here is an extensive library of example PC/NPC sheets that are setup with most of the rolls to get you started. Sure, you still have to download the ruleset and copy it to a directory (a few clicks of a mouse, nothing more) and you'd have to do the same for example MoreCore PC/NPC sheets. But once this is done (takes a couple of minutes) then you're good to start using the sheets and creating custom PCs and NPCs.

This idea has already been done for some systems using the CoreRPG ruleset - see this thread: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forum...aracter-Sheets But it would be good for the same to be done for MoreCore. Maybe even take it a step further and have some pre-made campaigns including settings/labels setup for a specific RPG system.

@Dugahst - maybe your idea can be modified to be along these lines? Help to get some of the community members who have used MoreCore to run a game in FG to post example PC and NPC sheets, so that others can get over the hurdles you mention of setting up the rolls and base character sheets? Here's an example of what I'm talking about - this is for The Dark Eye - which includes example PC and NPC sheets to get going quickly: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forum...Core-Extension

[Andraax]

What I find is really missing here is a base OSR D&D ruleset, and Swords and Wizardry is bpbeing worked on now,

Castles and Crusades.

[LordEntrails]

C&C is 50% off right now, and it's inexpensive to begin with.

I will agree this is a problem. But to me its not a big one. I guess that's mainly because I don't have an interest in playing every new game (or the hundreds of 'old' ones) that comes along. I'm lucky that way, I'm happy using just about any system to play my adventures. I will add that I play in a Star Frontiers game that uses CoreRPG (DORCore) and compared to 5E the character sheet sucks. But, it works just fine in reality.

No problem if someone else wants to play every system that gets created. But as have been mentioned, supporting every game that comes along would actually be a really bad business decision for SmiteWorks. Most game systems would never recoup the financial investment. It's not just about hiring more people or contracting them to do the work, you have to be able to pay them a reasonable wage for their work.

That being said, their are ways to resolve almost all of your current concerns.
- Character sheets with custom rolls can be made. If it's difficult for you, ask for help. You know this place is full of people that will help each other.
- Inconsistent character sheets between players. Don't have the players make their own, make one and them distribute it to all the characters.
- ...

All that said, you want to play ICONS? Then start a post asking for help. Layout in detail what the dice mechanics are. Layout or give an example/link to a character sheet, ask for help setting it up. Ask nicely and be willing to put in your fair share of work and people will help

[JohnD]

As long as you have Castles & Crusades you have everything you need.

[Arion]

Unfortunately, for Smiteworks to "just take the time to create fully functioning character/npc sheets with proper dice rolling for the games" would not be enough for the majority of people. They'll want customized combat trackers, customized items, spells, feats, etc., etc., etc.. Spending many, many hours of developer time to produce an "official Smiteworks" character and sheet for a single RPG system and package it with Fantasy Grounds would be like doing half of the work and leaving it incomplete. People always want more, and if it's provided by SmiteWorks will expect more to come too! The level of automation in the 5E ruleset has set the bar that everyone now expects. This requires many hundreds of hours of developer time. My view on this is that spending a lot of money on a full time developer to do what you're asking would have little return compared to the investment, and result in people being disappointed with the result - wanting more and more automation for their favourite RPG system.

As has been mentioned above, MoreCore can do a lot of what you're asking for (PC and NPC sheets with dice rolling mechanics). What we're missing here is an extensive library of example PC/NPC sheets that are setup with most of the rolls to get you started. Sure, you still have to download the ruleset and copy it to a directory (a few clicks of a mouse, nothing more) and you'd have to do the same for example MoreCore PC/NPC sheets. But once this is done (takes a couple of minutes) then you're good to start using the sheets and creating custom PCs and NPCs.

I find myself disagreeing with you! Although i have run a 5e campaign, and it was very good indeed, i find myself wishing that there was just a character sheet for [insert game here]. I know that MoreCore can do most things, but it did take me an age to set up a character sheet for each race. And then, when someone went up a level and a stat increased, i had to go in and modify the dice script etc.

I have run loads of WFRP2e using the superb Morecore ruleset, loads of Earthdawn (and that is a cracking rulseset too!), some WFRP 1e, and quite a few more from character sheet only rulesets. To be honest, i would quite happily buy say a Palladium Character sheet plus theme (with no programmed content) for say £5-10. Or Pendragon, or Star Wars D6, or basic D&D or (and i could go on).

I backed the idea of a Character Sheet Creator a while back because i am not a coding person and never will be. I myself publish 8 or so games. Two of them have had the Character Sheet treatment from fans (and although based on the old version, so no drag and drop) are fantastic. I would quite happily supply or back a character sheet (if there was a creator) for all my games as it would increase my sales and hopefully boost FG too.

[Valarian]

Just checked the list in the wiki. I counted 17 official rulesets and another 42 community rulesets. I'm sure that there are more listed on the forum that haven't been listed on the wiki.