New to FG, Questions for GM's and FG vets for Society play

[Derisat]

So i started a new PnP group with new players a week ago and we blasted through 3 S1 stories. Sharing PDF's and books is becoming a chore so I bought FG Ultimate edition. Already noticed some shortcomings I could use help with. Token packs. Every class and race/sex combo. I'm trying to make a token for Zamir's Archers in Assault on the Impossible Kingdom as a tutorial to FG, since we beat it on paper already, and there are no Human Archer tokens. or ranger tokens in general for my players. If any GM's could recommend a list of additional modules and token packs for a NEW PF society GM (I'll be registering a group next season) That'd be very helpful. hope this is the correct place to post this. if not please let me know.

[kwarner1986]

I have a few you can use, but this is where I've got most of mine for free. I think he has twenty free token packs. If you want what I have you'll have to pm me your email.

https://immortalnights.com/tokensite/

[Derisat]

i noticed there is very little support for pathfinder on the store at all. unlike other systems, creation of characters/npc have to be typed in and not drag and dropped like the videos do with 4.0 and 5.0 DnD. No class packs, the classes/races etc... from the included source materials have to be manually adjusted. This is the same job as an excel sheet which i could program with more automation. After combing forums from 3 different sites, i'm now contemplating just applying for a refund. This is not the E-d20 software i was hoping it was

[lachancery]

Have you tried the community created modules listed in this post and the preceding one?

https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?16074-List-of-Modules&p=120187&viewfull=1#post120187

Is it what you were looking for?

[Derisat]

Have you tried the community created modules listed in this post and the preceding one?

https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?16074-List-of-Modules&p=120187&viewfull=1#post120187

Is it what you were looking for?
that is exactly what I'm talking about. FG is not new user friendly, it reminds me of early auto-cad. I have nothing against using community content, but a new user should not be expected to read through the army of stickyposts to find this. Thanks iachancery. now to find how to import it. I notice there's no Complete spell or equipment compendium conversion. If I'm going to keep using FG I'm going to have to learn how to make modules. This feels like driving a car with 1 tire and no exhaust pipe, just an overall feeling of incomplete (steam forums are less helpful)

[lachancery]

I won't argue that; FG is powerful and flexible, able to be extended quite a bit, but it's a geek's tool rather than a thoroughly polished high-end commercial software offering. There are valid historical legacy and commercial reasons why it's like that, but ultimately it's a choice each FG user needs to make early on - keep at it and master its powerful features, or invest passion and time in other pursuits. I can tell you that nearly all who went over the initial learning curve have appreciated what FG does for their gaming and would rather not do without FG.

To install a module in FG, simply download the .mod file and copy it in the Modules directory of Fantasy Grounds. To use it in a campaign, you must first select the library icon and open the module you wish to use. You can drag/drop content from a module onto a character sheet after it's been opened.

There are modules for items and spells from d20pfsrd in the list of modules. Farnaby's spell conversion is even better as it includes the coding for effects in the spells - effects are advanced automation that can keep track of active spells and conditions (with a timer) on the combat tracker, often automatically adding/substracting on the appropriate dice rolls.

Because it's New Year (happy 2016 btw!), I can't do it now, but we could connect this weekend with voice chat and I would walk you through techniques for using FG with Pathfinder. Let me know if you'd like that.

[Trenloe]

I notice there's no Complete spell or equipment compendium conversion.
In the post Lachancery shares there is a link to "Complete Paizo Spells" and "Mundane and Magical Equipment Library". Have a look at these.

[Derisat]

I've looked through the posts, downloaded and scanned the modules, and watched the videos on using hero labs to import characters for "speedy" creation. I'm able to read a module in 40 minutes and start that campaign in under an hour at a table. between the additional monetary sink needed to bring hero labs up to date for the PDF's i'm using, it's practically the cost of hardcover books flatout and the amount of manual labor to import and convert entire society modules is staggering. It would be less stressful just to drive to Milwaukee, slam out 2 games in 2 nights and drive back.

in deed it is a dedicated PnP gamers tool, but it's not convenient, and the 3d party support to get it running smoothly is costly as well. I wanted an Electronic alternative to a table and 20 books+PDF's to save hundreds of dollars and weight while allowing players to laptop face to face, or game long distance quickly. but 15 minutes with a pencil vs 1 hour at a keyboard in updating sheets + the different licenses and costs is just not viable. The videos shown as previews, are showing the best of what FG has to offer, and glossing over the very real hard bits, kind of like EVE. Looks shiny and neat, actually very complicated and easier by hand.

[Trenloe]

I don't think you're giving FG the time it deserves to get to know the power of the application. There are plenty of FG GMs who use FG for face-to-face games and have never looked back. However, the main use for FG is for running games over the internet - it is a virtual table top (VTT), it is not a 100% Pathfinder ruleset automation/electronic rules library. It has a lot of reference data in various modules and lots of automation is provided via the ruleset and the effects functionality, but it is not a complete replacement for the GM, and players, knowing the rules of the RPG. If you're looking to it to replace your 20 books and PDFs then that won't happen, unless someone takes the time to fill in the gaps in the community created modules - which are pretty good, but can never keep up with the speed that Paizo releases material.

You don't need Hero Lab - if you don't use it face-to-face, then there's no need to buy it and all the data packs to create the odd PC. Just add your PC into FG like you would onto a normal character sheet.

Or, if you want a PC creation app, then you can use PCGen (free) and import from there.

For NPCs, copy/paste the statblock directly from the PDF and use the creature parser to create FG creatures (with spells, if applicable): https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?20522-Pathfinder-Creature-Parser-V2-Beta-Version

If you have purchased the PFS PDF, and a FG GM has created that scenario in FG then they are allowed to share that scenario with you, if you prove to them you've purchased it. Info here: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?20244-Private-sharing-of-PFS-scenario-data-available-modules

As most Pathfinder data has been converted to modules by the community, I'm not sure what the cost is you're referring to (beyond the FG license). You most certainly don't need to have Hero Lab, if you don't use Hero Lab in your normal games then don't get it just for FG character importing.

As far as scenario conversion time - you don't need to convert the whole scenario - NPCs (use library modules or the creature parser linked above), maps (extract from PDF), handouts (again, extract from PDF) and encounters can be entered very quickly and this is all you need to run the game. I've ran many PFS scenarios, both face-to-face and on FG and my prep time for FG is significantly less than my prep time for a face-to-face session.

I highly recommend you take up Lachancery on his offer to show you around FG. In the end it still may not be for you, but I feel that at the moment you have only brushed the surface and don't fully understand what FG can (and can't) do.

[damned]

A role playing game that has 20 supplements sounds like a complex environment to me - its 20 books worth of history and settings and options and optional options and rules and exceptions to rules and optional exceptions to exceptions and the list goes on. Any tool that is going to try and manage and assist with that is going to be a complex one.

Once you get more familiar with Fantasy Grounds and you work out the Combat Tracker and Effects you will really see some of the magic of Fantasy Grounds and Pathfinder.


i noticed there is very little support for pathfinder on the store at all.
Why is there only community content and basic content for Pathfinder? Because they wont license it. If you continue with Fantasy Grounds (and we hope you do) then let Paizo know that youd like to see their products on Fantasy Grounds.


unlike other systems, creation of characters/npc have to be typed in and not drag and dropped like the videos do with 4.0 and 5.0 DnD
This is only available in 5e. This is not a character generator and it doesnt advertise itself as one.


This is the same job as an excel sheet which i could program with more automation.
You may well be able to - excel is another very powerful tool that if you spend the time learning can be made to do many things - but I have yet to see a combat tracker and combat resolution tool in Excel that comes close to what FG does.