Quick Newbie Qs

[Drewwww]

Hi all,

I am new to FG2 and also new to GMing and SW, so please bear with me if I ask dumb questions :)

I am about to start a new campaign with a few people, learning SW and using FG2. I have a pretty good grasp of the SW ruleset, but was wondering about how this is going to work with FG2. I have gone thru the FG2 tutorials but there was one Q I needed to know the answer to.

I realize that you need to purchase the SW ruleset to get this to play, and also I would need an ultimate license fror FG2 in order to host it. But does each player need to also purchase the SW ruleset, or just the hosting computer? I would like to be able to host the game with the SW ruleset and just have the players connect with unregistered versions to my game. Will that work?

Also, for those that have set up SW in the past, about how long does a campaign take to set up? I mean, the point of SW from the books I read is that it is fast and furious and fun, meaning it wont take long to set up before you play. But looking over the tutorials of FG2 it seems that there are a lot of things you need to do for setup (NPCs, maps, story, etc). So I am wondering from those of you with experience, about how long does it take in preparation for running a game? I am assuming about 8 full hours to prep, and doubling that for first time use and learning of the FG2 software... is that about right? Just looking for a ballpark number, really, as I have no idea.


Thanking you all in advance,
Drew

[Doswelk]

If you buy Ultimate and the SWEX ruleset then that is all you need.

The players connect to you and have access to the SWEX guide.

I do not tend to spend any prep time if I am running a published adventure/campaign setting if I have the FGII version (ignoring the fact I created most of them in the first place!)

If i am running a self-created adventure then assuming I have maps already created I just have to create the NPCs, so a couple of hours for me.

[Griogre]

Like Doswelk said most of the prep time is used by setting up NPCS/Maps. The value of pre-build adventures or source books is they usually have these set up ahead of time so you can drop them in.

I an currently running a Pirates of the Spanish Main game for which there is no FG source book. However, I put together the 50 Fathoms campaign setting and can use most of the creatures with PotSM with a bit of editing. Like Doswelk, it takes me several hours to prep depending on what I'm doing.

Some advice on running extras and the combat tracker. Only put one extra per group on the tracker. Don't drag these extras onto the map, just use unlinked tokens. When an extra is shaken turn its token sideways. This avoids all the time it takes to first load the tracker with the extras' token, then find the right one to shake or take off.

When attacking with extras throw all group's attacks at once, if possible. You do this by dragging the fighting, shooting or throwing skill off the personality and then right clicking while still dragging to add more dice of the same type. If you don't like throwing that many dice then just throw as many as are attacking a single opponent.

You didn't say what setting you are running, but it would probably be easier on you to run a one-sheet adventure or some other already made adventure for the first adventure.

[Doswelk]

I think you said you watched my videos, if you find anything missing or any help please let me know.

[Griogre]

A forgot one other tip that works for me. I keep a sheet of paper next to the keyboard that has each of my PCs: Parry, Toughness, Edges and Hindrances. It's often easier to just look at the paper instead of try to find the PC on the tracker to look up their parry and toughness. It also helps when I am making adventures to have all their edges and hindrances in one place as well.

[Doswelk]

Ooh I like that, I must do that myself!

[Drewwww]

Thanks for the tips guys! I will definitely try to keep those things in mind.

I am running the pulp game for crimson emperor as a warm up to GMing. I didn't see this on the FG store site so I am trying to just wing it for a bit. It seems simple enough to do; But the players are also fairly new to RPGing anyway so I think everyone is understanding that there will be a learning curve. If it goes well, I am going to work in one of the FG adventures/campaigns into the story and transition into that one. Do you have any that you can recommend that is 1930s era storyline?

[Drewwww]

is there any way to keep the options between meetings? I want to turn on dice tower every time i open the campaign but it seems like each time i open the campaign i have to reselect it in options. Is there any way to save my preferences so that it is used as default each time the campaign loads?

[Tryll]

is there any way to keep the options between meetings? I want to turn on dice tower every time i open the campaign but it seems like each time i open the campaign i have to reselect it in options. Is there any way to save my preferences so that it is used as default each time the campaign loads?

I don't see this issue. On my system, such preferences are saved. After setting your preferences, try doing "/save" in the chat window. You should get a "Campaign Saved" message.

[Griogre]

@ Drewwww Make sure you have the latest version of the extention you are running with the dice tower. The latest version of FG that just came out broke most extensions.

[Drewwww]

thanks i will try this out. One more Q: Is there any way in the SW setting to add a mask to maps, similar to the way 4e does? That would be a really nice thing to have.

Thanks again for all the help and advice.

[Griogre]

You should be able to add a mask to all images just like 4E. Note: you can't add a mask to drawings. You get a drawing when you press the new button on the image lists - those are the blank battlemaps. I'm not sure the mask will persist on library images though, I'm pretty sure DA put static on a lot of library stuff which might effect some images out of the libraries in older SW library modules.

[Drewwww]

Thanks for the quick reply.
I still don't see what you are talking about. In the layers submenu, the only options I see are enable shortcuts, grid to hex, grid on/off, and snap to grid. Usually this is where the "enable mask" is found, right?
Is there a SW ruleset update I don't know about?
Thanks for the help.

[Drewwww]

please disregard the above. I missed the part where you said "a drawing is when you push the new button on the image list". When I added a JPG to the image directory, I was able to mask it just like you said.
Thanks so much for straightening it out.