Noon with questions

[Zanzion]

Noob** love predicted text (not)

Hey everyone,

I'm interested in purchasing this as I have always been interested in RPG games, but due to my location never been able to find others to play with.

Firstly, what kind of tips would you give a newcomer to RPG games? This is completely out of my comfort zone, and would probably feel silly starting off.

Which game should I look at joining/learning? I intend to start with my boyfriend and two friends who are also in the same place as me.

If I were to join someone's game would it be skype / voice Or could I just use text? I obviously wouldn't be able to DM my own game cos no experience.

Anyway, thanks for reading and any advice :-)

[Nylanfs]

Voice/Chat decision is made by the GM on a game by game choice.

I would post in the LFG section (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?40-LFG-Looking-for-Group-(formerly-Guild-House)) and keep an eye on the New Posts (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/search.php?do=getnew&contenttype=vBForum_Post) for game announcements

[Trenloe]

For newbies it is probably better to play with voice chat, this will help so much in getting used to the RPG game system you play and using Fantasy Grounds. Some GMs use text for in character and voice for out-of-character chat just for this reason.

In terms of getting started, you're best picking a popular ruleset (best chance of getting a game) with some easy to get into rules. The two that I'd recommend are D&D 5E (basic rules available here: https://dnd.wizards.com/products/tabletop-games/trpg-resources) and Pathfinder (beginner box available here: https://paizo.com/products/btpy8osv?Pathfinder-Roleplaying-Game-Beginner-Box). Both of the above links give you access to PDFs, they also both have physical box products for each of these starter/beginner sets if you'd like to get something physical in your hands. Whereas both are aimed at people new to the relevant system, the Pathfinder Beginner Box is specifically aimed at introducing beginners to the system (newbie friendly character sheets, etc.). The 5E starter set is still pretty good at this but, IMHO, for people completely new to RPGs it's not as newbie friendly (but is still a good starting point). The advantage of the 5E route is that you can get some of the material for free (links above) whereas the Pathfinder PDFs for the Beginner Box will cost $9.99 (but you get all of the PDFs that come in the box, not just the basic rules).

5E has Fantasy Grounds support, you can get the basic rules for $2.99: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/store/product.xcp?id=WOTC5EDDBASICRULES

Fantasy Grounds also has Pathfinder support built in - it comes with the Pathfinder ruleset, basic rules module, NPCs, spells and Magic Items. And there are a bunch more library data modules available for free here: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?16074-List-of-Modules

Also, Watch some Videos. Community member OTG_Wraith posts regular videos of his gaming sessions. Here is the first part of a Pathfinder campaign: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9gjHAoEISw and here is the first part of the group playing D&D 5E, with the scenario from the Starter Set: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YyGfv-oa1M

[Zanzion]

Thanks a lot for the advice I'll look over it ASAP and get my bf and friends to Do the same. Once we have a grasp on the rules which reSources would be good for us to buy to join games.

Sorry for the questions and thanks for your response

[Trenloe]

Once we have a grasp on the rules which reSources would be good for us to buy to join games.
As with all RPGs, the person running the game (GM = Games Master, DM = Dungeon Master, Story Teller, Referee, Keeper, etc. - the term can change with each game) usually buys the material. This is the case with Fantasy Grounds games as well - the GM buys/creates material and shares this with the players when they are connected to their game.

You'll more than likely have to each buy a full licence in order to be able to connect to *all* FG GMs out there. You might be lucky enough to find a GM with an ultimate licence, which allows you to play in their games with the free version of FG (complete functionality when connected to a GM with the ultimate licence).

[Griogre]

Hi Zanzion and welcome to the boards. Virtual tabletops are great for people who can't find a group locally. The pool of players is very deep on the Internet, the trick is finding people who liking playing the way you do.

For newcomers I would say, don't be intimidated by starting up. Particularly, if you are starting up with others who haven't played before. You're going to make rule mistakes, and you know what? It won't matter if you are having fun. Once you realize you did something wrong just do it right in the future.

Answering which game should you look at joining/learning is like asking which sports team is best. People are going to have a lot of different answers. Specifically for Fantasy Grounds both 5E D&D and Savage Worlds have a lot of players and support. Fantasy Grounds just got a license for the 5E D&D game so there is a lot of people looking to play that right now. Plus you can download free basic rule PDF from their site to get you started. Likewise Savage Worlds has free starter rules. I'd start there but keep trying different games. Particularly when the next FG Con comes up sign up for one shot games with some other different game systems and try them. Its like desert, different people like different RPGs better.

Most people use voice chat in their games. There is a free TeamSpeak community server for FG many use here. There are also people who only used typed chat. For a beginner I would suggest using Voice since it is so much faster to get rule explanations and ask any other questions.

Honestly, its not obvious you shouldn't DM. The most important thing to being a DM is being willing to do it. :) And, generally, the only way to get better at running a game is... by running a game. If you are considering being a DM its usually easier in the beginning to run a short adventure module written by someone else. For 5E D&D that would be the Lost Mine of Phandelver. If you are considering running that for you group then, it would help you run it for them later, and you might have more fun - if you could first find a game where you could be a player and go through the module. Then when you are finished you could turn around and run it for your group.

I've got to run but if you have more question just ask.

You can download the Basic D&D rules here: https://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/basicrules
You can download the Savage Worlds quick start rules here: https://www.peginc.com/store/test-drive-savage-worlds-the-wild-hunt/

[Trenloe]

To follow up what Griogre says - 5E (and Pathfinder) are Fantasy based RPGs - think elves, dwarves, dragons, etc. in a quasi medieval setting with magic and lots of different monsters. Savage Worlds tends to be more contemporary and futuristic (but it doesn't have to be - it's a very flexible system).

The Society of Extraordinary Gamers run regular one shot games with Savage Worlds and other RPG system (mostly 5E at present). Find them here: https://extraordinarygamers.com/

If you enquire with GMs and let them know you're all newbies then I'm sure some of the great community GMs will be more than happy running a beginner game for you and your friends.

[seycyrus]

... but due to my location never been able...

Out of curiosity, where is your location?

[dulux-oz]

Hi Zanzion,

As the others have said - Welcome!

Just to reinforce what both Trenloe and Griogre have said (they're both great guys, btw, and both very, very knowledgeable about FG and RPGs - as Immortals, they're worth listening to. Actually, any of the Immortals are worth listening to - that's one reason why they're Immortals in the first place, after all) - to reinforce what the boys have said, one of the quickest ways of learning how to use FG to play RPGs is by watching some videos. There are quite a few Tutorial Videos on the FG Wiki - Damned's are excellent, as are Xorns, and people seem to find mine useful as well (mine are also available from the links in my sig, below). Start with the Videos on the CoreRPG - most of the Role-Playing Games used with FG are built on top of the CoreRPG, and thus the CoreRPG has most of the common functionality of the various Rulesets (Ruleset = programming logic to play a given RPG with FG). By learning how to use FG with the CoreRPG you and your friends will stand yourselves in good stead to be able to play ANY RPG with Fantasy Grounds.

Anyway, have fun, keep on asking questions, and get "stuck in"- you'll will be glad you did!

Cheers