Considering getting FG and the 5E packs to DM a game, and I have questions

[Ragabash]

I would be the DM. My understanding is that all players must buy FG. What about the rule packs? Can we play together if I'm the only one who buys them? What is the best way to get setup to DM a game for me and my players? Also, considering the hefty price (I haven't bought the 5E books yet), to what extent can FG be used as a DM's assistant or a substitute for the books if I ever decided to run an in-person table game (and not via the Internet)? Thanks!

[Mavrik6666]

Hi Ragabash, new user myself... my take and practical experience of it is..
If you buy the Ultimate Licence as a DM then all your players can connect to you and wont need to buy anything
If you buy the content PHB, MM, you can share that content - character creation, spells, etc etc when they are connected to your game
You as the DM will have access to that content even if no one else is, so its a good resource at the table for in-person play

[Dracones]

The DM is the only one that needs the books. Now if a player owns a book, they can use it to create a character offline and then when they join your game they can just upload the character into the game. But as a DM you can just have FG running for a couple days before the game to allow the players to log in and create characters using your books.

For the PHB and MM all the rules and text are in the FG module. So for playing online I don't really see the need to have the physical books. But if you're doing a lot of in person play you'll probably want the physical books. They'll just be more convenient and easier to flip around in and look things up.

[Dracones]

Blah, internet hiccup caused a double post.

[Ragabash]

Minor question: Are the DMG variant rules implemented? Is it possible to houserule stuff?

[ddavison]

We haven't implemented any of the DMG variant rules at this time. You can house-rule as much as you want. There may or may not be fully automated support for it though. Over time, we may start adding in more of the popular variants and enabling them to be set in the preferences.

[Dracones]

On the house rule stuff. There are a few things coded in like how HP/hit dice refresh when you do a short/long rest. One way to change that is to just roll the dice manually/update manually like what you'd do at gaming table.

The automation itself can be changed, but it requires some programming how to. One positive though is that any changes that are made can be bundled up into a small mod called an extension and handed out to other people. So for popular types of changes you may end up seeing people creating and posting extensions for houserules that people are requesting.

[Ragabash]

Okay, thank you all for the information. :)

[chillybilly]

My two cents. FG2 is awesome and the community is incredibly helpful. If you're leery, just subscribe to the ultimate license for $10 a month and try it out with your friends.

Oh, and don't forget to use a third party chat program so you each can talk to each other.

[AstaSyneri]

Oh, and don't forget to use a third party chat program so you each can talk to each other.

Chat works fine in FG - you are talking about something like Teamspeak, right?

[JackOfAllGames]

Chat works fine in FG - you are talking about something like Teamspeak, right?

Yeah. Especially when you are gaming with a group of people that you already know, it's nice to hear their voices (and see their faces, internet bandwidth permitting). My group likes Google Hangout for gaming sessions. I'm sure many use Skype and other solutions too.

[chillybilly]

Chat works fine in FG - you are talking about something like Teamspeak, right?

Yes. A voice program. Written chat is all taken care of in FG 2. The language extension is particularly awesome.