new, many questions

[Hector]

Good evening,

I am new, recently purchased an ultimate account and I have a LOT of questions. I'll be posting as I go, but to start:

1. How do my players set their class?
2. I thought there would be more portraits and tokens available to an ultimate account... do I have free ones I just haven't downloaded, or do I need to purchase them?

[madman]

Some Questions are going to be ruleset specific. most rulesets when you clinck in the area, right click that is you get another menu. You would check for the one that says to add the item, or create a new item. What ruleset are you using?

Chris

[Griogre]

Hi Hector, and welcome to the message boards. Portraits come from the player's computers so they are actually the ones the software thinks will get the pictures. They can use any picture they want though they should make it 63x63 pixels to conserve bandwidth. Google search pictures, RPG's website are good sources of portrait pictures.

Most rulesets take the fill in the character sheet for the game approach. So to add a class usually you just type in the name of the class in the area of the character sheet. As madman said though, the actual details can vary from ruleset to ruleset. It is usually best to have a session where your players all set up their characters and maybe you run a demo combat. This is because a great many rulesets don't support making local characters.

In FG if you don't know how to do something try right clicking and looking at the radial menu options.

[Hector]

I'm using the 3.5edition. It seems to autocalc a lot of things, but some it seems to autocalc incorrectly or need to be done manually. For example, one of my players has made a character wtih an 18 strength and is using a greatsword, which the sheet recognizes as a base +4, but then he gets +1 to hit for being a first level paladin (manually entered), and a +1 for having weapon focus. It shows +6 to hit. Great.

But under actions, it's also showing +6 for melee damage, and I'm not seeing any way to edit it.

[madman]

you just need to click on the magnifying glass icon on the right and it will open up more options.

Chris

[damned]

ultimate license vs full license vs lite license is just about what clients you can host games for. no other differences.

[Hector]

Thanks for the tip madman.

I saw the magnifying glass and opened it up, and I didn't see any way that I could edit the damage. It's still showing 2d6+6 for damage. I tried opening up a new weapon slot, seeing if it had just saved an error, and it showed "+4+ for damage, so I was psyked, but then when I typed in "Greatsword" the +4 changed to a +6.

Is there a reason why this is supposed to be this way? Some kind of odd rule I've never played with that makes two handed weapons deal additional +2 damage?

I am totally lost, and greatly appreciate all help.

[madman]

When you left click on the Melee one handed it cycles through other options you might have it on two handed, that adds 1.5 times str. Like a greatsword is supposed to by the rules.

Chris

[Hector]

Got it! Thanks Madman!

So there is a bit of a learning curve to this, but I'll get it with time. Thanks again.

[balrik]

As madman is pointing out for most of the action tab spells and weapons if you are trying to edit damage and to hit or such things always look to the right of a box for a down arrow or the magnifying glass it will open up for tabs to input more specific info and always try the right clicking to add items...while alot of the bonuses are calculated by the FG itself they are trying to give a very pen&paper feel...somehting I personnel forget sometimes and find a curse comes out that may not be needed....but keep asking questions the best thing about these fourms is there is always somone with an answer and it usually comes fast

[jedorian]

It took me quite some time to figure out what can be done with the character sheet and the combat tracker. So, to hopefully save you the frustration, here are some tips:

For Weapons, you can set the ability score being used for attack rolls by clicking BASE in ATK DETAILS. This is good for anyone that may have Weapon Finesse and is using their Dexterity for melee attacks.
For damage, you can change the ability score the same way, and you can also add another one. So, say you have a Swashbuckler that has reached level 3. You can add INT to the damage. Just remind yourself to change it when they're attacking something that the ability doesn't function on.
For DMG TYPE, you can write in the damage type of the weapon and also add the material it is made of and whether or not it is magical.
For example: Bludgeoning, magic, adamantine
So, an adamantine warhammer with a +1 enhancement bonus would have that in the DMG TYPE entry line.
Attack bonuses can be inputed in the box beside BASE in the ATK DETAILS row.
Also, you can put the penalty for attack rolls when using Two-Weapon Fighting in the individual boxes underneath each attack roll to have them calculated correctly.
Damage bonuses can be inputed in the third box on the DMG DETAILS row. So you can add bonuses from Weapon Specialization, magical enhancements, or whatever there.

For Spells. When you select a spell class you can change its style by clicking the icon next to the blank line. It allows for spellcasting requiring preparation, spontaneous spellcasters, and psionics.

You enter the daily allotment of spells per level under the drop-down window that appears using the magnifying glass. You can enter the caster's ability score and any bonuses they might get to their spell DCs plus the Spell Penetration bonuses in the boxes shown.

You can drag spells right from the library onto the spell levels and select the number of spell prepared for each of them.

On the radial menu for each spell, you can select "Add Spell Action".
Selecting "Add Cast" will add a cast line that allows you to enter information for attack rolls, level checks, and saves. You can add as many as you like. For spells that require multiple saves, you can enter a line for each save type.

Selecting "Add Damage" adds the damage line that allows you to enter the damage type for the spell. You can add the dice type and quantity, maximum values, and additional modifiers using this line. It currently only allows for adjustments of "per caster level" and "per 2 caster levels". The upcoming patch will allow for odd numbered levels, so spells like Magic Missile can be entered without having to manually adjust them.
You can make multiple damage lines to account for spells that have diminished effects when a target makes a successful save, like half damage.

Selecting "Add Heal" will open the heal line which lets you set up healing spells. You can adjust this in the same way as the damage line. You can set whether the spell heals damage or adds temporary hit points by clicking the HP tab.

Selecting "Add Effect" adds the effect line which lets you add information for combat tracker effects that the spell might cause, such as fatigue.
If you read the User Manual for 3.5, at the bottom of the list there is a tab for Effects that will show you the various things the combat tracker will recognize.
https://www.fantasygrounds.com/userguide35E/ref_effects_35E.xcp

For Conditions, just enter the word shown, like Blinded, and the effect is automatically calculated.
You can adjust the duration of the effect with the drop-window. Also, you select if the effect will apply to what the character is targeting or only to themselves. You can also select how the effect will work by changing the ALL tab, so short duration effects such as True Strike will apply for the next attack instead of every single attack in that round, and so on.

And here are some combat tracker things you may find useful.
For characters that have sneak attack damage, place this on their character's effects - DMG: #d6. Also add a line with "CA" for when they catch someone if they're being sneaky, or "Invisible" if they drank a potion or whatnot.
Also, if someone has a weapon that deals energy damage, add this effect to their character: DMG: 1d6 (or whatever die type) energy (cold, acid, fire, electricity, or sonic). You can add a second line for burst damage: DMG: 1d10 energy
If someone is dealing nonlethal damage, then add: DMGTYPE: nonlethal
For resistances, you can add RESIST: # energy. Immunities are IMMUNE: energy.

Also, you can add all the various conditions into your Effects box and have them on-hand for quick selection so that you can account for all sorts of combat situations such as when a character falls prone or gets paralyzed and so on.

I hope you find this helpful. Have a great time gaming! :D