5E ruleset and the Par5e-are they different?

[shoggothic]

I'm a new user of FG, and after seeing that 5e is part of the included rule sets with the software, I was wondering what the Par5e I keep reading about is for? Is the 5e rule set included with FG incomplete and the Par5e a 'finishing touch', or are they totally unrelated? Also, if Par5e is needed to make 5e games run on FG, how difficult is it for people who know nothing about XML, etc., etc. to deal with? Should I even bother trying? Thanks in advance for your help.

[Trenloe]

At present Wizards do not allow anyone to include gaming statistics/fluff with their products as 5e is not covered by something like the OGL (Open Gaming License) that 3.x was. Smiteworks are in negotiations with Wizards to be able to do this but there is no official announcement (yet).

Therefore, people can create their own library modules for personal use - but they cannot distribute these modules. Par5e was created to allow people to copy/paste info from their own copies of 5e material and create Fantasy Grounds library modules for their own personal use.

Take a look at the Basic Rules parser that uses the free PDFs to make some FG library modules for use in the 5e ruleset: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?21835-D-amp-D-Basic-Rules-PDF-Parser

[shoggothic]

Ugh, okay, that was what I was afraid of. Even though the product download information page shows 5E as included with the program, I guessed that it was only supported, hence the necessity for par5e. I've already read through a lot of that thread and it seems way over my head, unfortunately. I'm not even sure how to do what they are saying to do (or what a 'parse' even is) or how to do it, truthfully. Plus, it seems a lot of that parse stuff is still broken or incomplete (spell lists), or am I mistaken on that? As a non-programmer GM, I guess it's back to Mathfinder until WoTC decides to officially go with an OGL. Too bad.

[Trenloe]

Don't think the 5E ruleset has only a minor feature set - it is a major ruleset that includes all of the base tools to play 5E - character sheets, NPC sheets, advantage/disadvantage rolling; to name but a very small portion of the feature rich ruleset. All that is missing is a library module, which you don't need to be able to play - just reference your own rulebooks. Plus, the basic rules parser I linked above will give you a set of base creature and spell modules to use at the click of a button, no need to use PAR5E to get some basic rules modules.

[damned]

shoggothic - Trenloe suggests that you look at Valeros basic 5E parser - did you read that thread?
https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?21835-D-amp-D-Basic-Rules-PDF-Parser
This tool takes 5mins to parse the info that Wizards have released for free. It even downloads it for you.

Wizards have stated that they have no intention of releasing the full books as OGL or even PDF at this time.
They have the Basic D&D which is in PDF and free but the main products have no PDF options.

SmiteWorks have been in talks with the Wizards and are working at negotiating a license but that will happen if and when that happens... and then the FG rulebooks could quite likely cost the same as the hardback copies as they would be licensed and would have to pay licensing costs on them. But this is all speculation at this point...

[Trenloe]

Check out some of the 5E videos available here: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?22022-Let-s-Play-The-Lost-Mine-of-Phandelver

99% of what you see in these videos is part of the standard 5E ruleset. There would be a bit of one-off manual data entry to initially make the characters (data entry in the character sheet), but once that is done you're off and running. The GM would have to enter the maps and NPCs (which is what they have to do for any campaign, not just 5E). The basic rules parser mentioned above will give you NPC modules for all of the NPCs in the basic rules and free PDF GM additions.

[shoggothic]

shoggothic - Trenloe suggests that you look at Valeros basic 5E parser - did you read that thread?
https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?21835-D-amp-D-Basic-Rules-PDF-Parser


No, I missed that one. Thank you!

So basically, I can do what the D&D 5E effects video shows https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=****66Wo_lE out of the box?

Can I add material from my own dead-tree books as needed via data entry, rather than parse things from pdfs? Thanks for your help guys.

[damned]

No, I missed that one. Thank you!

So basically, I can do what the D&D 5E effects video shows https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=****66Wo_lE out of the box?

Can I add material from my own dead-tree books as needed via data entry, rather than parse things from pdfs? Thanks for your help guys.

Absolutely - just add what you need when you need it.
There are plenty of monsters that export in that tool - so you really just need to add your Character stuff - push that job back on to your Players.

[shoggothic]

So what would an OGL from WoTC change as far as the 5E ruleset at this point? It sounds like just saving us from data entry, as the functions are already there. Thanks again guys for the quick responses. This community has been very friendly and helpful, a great selling point and foreshadowing what I can expect from FG in the future.

[Griogre]

An OGL would allow a library module module with OGL content to be distributed with the ruleset and auto updated for free. I think it unlikely Wizard's will do an OGL for 5E but they do seem to be open to licensing arrangements. Time will tell.

[Trenloe]

Yep, the OGL would mean that people (either Smiteworks or the FG community) could put together library modules and publicly share these modules. As an example, see what the community has put together for Pathfinder (which is covered by the original d20 OGL): https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?16074-List-of-Modules

[damned]

The included ruleset right now has ALL the functionality.
You cant see all the functionality until you put some data into it but you 100% can put the data in manually as and when you need it.

Some doco here: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/wiki/index.php/User_Guides
Scroll down to 5E.

[Trenloe]

Some doco here: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/wiki/index.php/User_Guides
Scroll down to 5E.
Have you checked the 5E user guide recently? There's not much there - it's still waiting for someone to take on the task...

[damned]

hehehe... i originally wrote...
Some doco would be nice....

and then I thought I shoudl check... and saw the headlines...

so...

Some doco would be nice....