Considering Buying

[Bloodsausage]

Hi all,

Like many people floating around these forums (I'd imagine), I have some questions about your experiences with FG before committing to a hefty buy-in. Thanks for all of your patience with what are probably repeated questions:

1. I'm likely buying a new computer in the next 6 months or so. If I purchase a FG license now, will I be able to re-download and activate FG (and any other content I buy) on my new machine?

2. If I buy FG through this website, and my friends buy it through Steam, can we still connect?

3. Does anyone have experience using FG simply as a DM tool at a real-life tabletop? Is this a waste of money or a helpful campaign management tool in a non-digital game?


Thanks!

[dulux-oz]

Hi Bloodsausage, and Welcome!

1) Yes, no problem at all

2) Yes, no problem at all

3) I started out using it around our face-2-face table. We had a 2nd monitor on which I put up a Player's copy of the map, etc, and away we went. Pretty soon the Players started to bring their laptops to the game because they found it so useful in all aspects. We still play that way, but now we tend to laze all over the lounge-room on beanbags, the couch, whatever, instead of sitting at the table. So yes, no problem at all :)

Hope that helps

Cheers

[Bloodsausage]

Thank you for the quick response. Those are exactly the answers I was looking for.

[dulux-oz]

Glad to be of help.

One other piece of advice I can offer: if you haven't already done so then I recommend checking out the various Tutorial Videos available on the FG Wiki. Damned's are good, as are Xorn's, and people seem to like mine as well (mine are also available from the links in my sig, below). Start with the ones on the CoreRPG, because the CoreRPG forms the foundation of practically all the RPGs we play with FG, and by learning how to use FG with the CoreRPG you (& your Players) will learn about 80% of everything you need to know to play any RPG with FG.

Cheers

[Nylanfs]

I have seen this for #3

https://imgur.com/gallery/FJN4B

[Sirgod]

Hi Bloodsausage, and Welcome!

1) Yes, no problem at all

2) Yes, no problem at all

3) I started out using it around our face-2-face table. We had a 2nd monitor on which I put up a Player's copy of the map, etc, and away we went. Pretty soon the Players started to bring their laptops to the game because they found it so useful in all aspects. We still play that way, but now we tend to laze all over the lounge-room on beanbags, the couch, whatever, instead of sitting at the table. So yes, no problem at all :)

Hope that helps

Cheers


That is awesome to hear btw, I wanted to jump in (Sorry for the hijack Bloodsausage) and thank you again for your videos. We are gonna do a trial run Wednesday , and hit the big game on the first.

Bloodsausage, For ten bucks, it is well worth trying out. Once you get in the habit of right clicking every thing, it is super easy to use. Heck, Copy and paste is your friend, if you have old notes on your PC or what not.

[Moon Wizard]

One clarification to the answers above. All data for your campaigns is stored on your own machine, so you'll need to copy the data over to a new machine when you upgrade your machine.

Cheers,
JPG

[Callum]

3. Does anyone have experience using FG simply as a DM tool at a real-life tabletop? Is this a waste of money or a helpful campaign management tool in a non-digital game?

There are quite a few threads discussing face-to-face use of FG on here - try searching for "face". Here's a recent example:

https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?25600-Using-FG-at-the-tabletop

I use it that way myself once a year, for a Christmas get-together of my group!

[Arindris]

I WAS also thinking about buying it, but just trying to figure things out, and trying to sit through the long winded dull tutorials from the wiki have kind of taken it out of me.

I feel like there'd be more new players if Fantasy Grounds held your hand a bit more. I had a hard time even trying to make a character using the demo, and I while I understand a game browser isnt exactly what a dedicated group might use - to new players, a list of one-shot games that are friendly to new players would be amazing. Checking the calendar and organizing a business meeting is a real deterrent to just play.

[Zacchaeus]

Arindris; you can't please all of the people all of the time of course but the Wiki was updated because many people were complaining that it wasn't long winded and dull enough :)

There are however a very large number of video (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/wiki/index.php/Videos) tutorials if that's more your bag.

Depending on what system you want to play and whether you want to be a player or DM there are a good many games which you could join if you have a look here (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?40-LFG-Looking-for-Group-%28formerly-Guild-House%29). You can put out a post yourself in that forum and I'm sure you'll find something relatively quickly.

[Arindris]

Haha the long winded and dull part I was referring to WERE the video tutorials. The reading was a bit more helpful.

But as a new player my thoughts aren't that I want to DM or play on a relatively unpopular system, like almost any new player (I assume) I just want to get in and see what this is about! That's what demos are for after all. Find the most played system, and get into the next one-shot that about to start that'll take in a newbie. But taking your advice, I'll make a post in the LFG forum when I have a bit of time and give this all another shot.

[dulux-oz]

Haha the long winded and dull part I was referring to WERE the video tutorials. The reading was a bit more helpful.

Well, based on the feedback received more people get more out of the "long winded and dull" tutorial videos than they do simply RTFMing - but as I've said countless times in the past, every person learns in their own way.

[Nylanfs]

I WAS also thinking about buying it, but just trying to figure things out, and trying to sit through the long winded dull tutorials from the wiki have kind of taken it out of me.

I feel like there'd be more new players if Fantasy Grounds held your hand a bit more. I had a hard time even trying to make a character using the demo, and I while I understand a game browser isnt exactly what a dedicated group might use - to new players, a list of one-shot games that are friendly to new players would be amazing. Checking the calendar and organizing a business meeting is a real deterrent to just play.

First off Welcome to the community and forums <glances at Zac and Dulux>, and you JUST missed FG Con which is 48 hours of nothing but one shots and having fun. The next event like this coming up is FG Daze, which I believe is in Dec? except it's only 24 hours.

[dulux-oz]

Nylanfs: :p

[LordEntrails]

@Bloodsausage
FYI, I jumped in back in May? full force. Ultimate license, PHB, MM & LMoP. Haven't regretted it at all.

Before buying, I was playing once every 2-3 weeks via Skype and mini's. And we could do about 1 fight every two hours. (A lot of that is due to the DM's excessive house rules and the need to track all the die rolls etc.) It was very... tiring and not much fun.

Now I DM a weekly session with my son and brother of LMoP and a monthly Undermountain group of 5 players. Sometimes we play in person, sometimes remotely (often from three places when I'm travelling) and a monthly session with the previous group. The weekly group did a full frontal assault on Cragmaw Castle from LMoP last Monday night which ended up being a massive fight and then a second small one, all in about 90 minutes. Even the big group does combats in about 1/3 of the time we do on Skype. (Partly due to FG's automation and part due to my DM'ing style.)

In short, Fantasy Grounds has been key in realizing the return of joy to my role playing. Part because it handles the book-keeping and tedium, part because it allows me to play with my family in short sessions regardless of where I happen to be in the world.

[Tuatara]

FG is by far the best experience for a DM. I have heard a lot of players say they find other alternatives better, but ultimately they will stay with FG because the structure behind it allows their DM to work more efficiently.

Personally, having played most the VTTs out there I find FG to be the best on all counts. It might have a steeper learning curve, but don't let that scare you away.

One thing I think the owners could do those is add in microtransactions for various cosmetic items, or smaller packs for sale. I know a lot of us gamers are getting older and aren't broke students anymore - I'd blow some cash on an impulse buy skin if the choice was in my face when I was waiting for players to show up! More money for the devs=better FG for all of us :)

[ianmward]

I couldn't agree more! Fantasy Grounds has rebooted my RPG life completely. Before I bought it (18 months ago) I hardly got any gaming in, now I could easily do much more than I can handle.
Another thing, too, The community here is one of the best I've found anywhere!

Welcome! and I look forward to seeing you in one of my games soon.

[Brynnan]

With today's busy lifestyle of go-go-go and the fact that somehow I went and became an adult with (blech) responsibilities, I have trouble finding people that can line up a game at the same time. One guy can play only Monday and Tuesdays because of kid's sports, one guy can play Wednesday and Fridays because of second jobs, etc. And then there's my travelling. With Fantasy Grounds, We can whip up a game and go anytime. Even if my normal crew can't play, I can pop on the LFG forums and find a random person to play one of the characters and go. That character can go on and get experience points from the game instead of just being ghosted along.

bottom line, It's given me the ability to play again. And I don't have to be away from my (non-gamer) wife on yet another night.

But if you want to learn to play, I'm sure there are many people here (me included) that will fire up the demo encounter for you or let you join or sub in a game.