Here are some things I've been enjoying about Fantasy Grounds

[HoratioDrank]

I'm an old school gamer from back in the day, so I resisted trying out the virtual tabletop experience like a dog resists a bath: I barked and growled and peed everywhere. ;)

But I finally did make the plunge and I was really surprised at how well I took to it. I found some elements of VTT play that are actually better than in-person play. On Saturday evenings I DM an in-person D&D group (presently I'm running them through Curse of Strahd) and on Sunday evenings I play in a 5e group through Fantasy Grounds that I met here on these forums. So my Saturday and Sunday evenings are different views of the same activity, and I have to say there are things about both experiences that I really like.

Comfort: When playing D&D via a VTT, I can sit in my own space and wear whatever I want to wear and just relax. My Saturday players might not appreciate me showing up to the game in boxers and a T-shirt.

Focus: For me, it's very easy to focus on the game with a VTT. I play on a 27" monitor (not too big, not too small) with Fantasy Grounds on full screen. Everything is just designed to pull my attention into the various elements of the game.

Intimacy: One of my biggest oppositions to VTTs going in was I thought there would be a disconnect among the players because we're not all in the same room together. But talking by voice over a headset and mic is surprisingly intimate. Although I have never met all but one of the people in the Sunday game I play in, I feel like I'm getting to know them. I feel like we're interacting and exchanging ideas on a real level.

Roleplay Focus: Not everyone likes a strong roleplay element to their games. There are many ways to play an RPG, and there are no wrong answers. But for me, I like playing in groups that favor roleplay. And when you're not physically in a room with people it is surprisingly liberating. I find I do much more roleplay when I'm playing via Fantasy Grounds than in my in-person game.

Character Portraits: As I said, I don't know all but one of the players in the game I play in on Sundays. I have no idea what they look like. Instead, I'm staring at their character portraits throughout the game. It really adds an immersive element that isn't present in a non-VTT game. I had not anticipated that.

Mechanical Stuff: There are programmatic elements to Fantasy Grounds that I have found really enhance the experience. Fog of war, magic item identification, hiding NPC and enemy tokens, rolling dice in the tower, handling of in-game languages, and a whole host of other "little things" have all added up to an experience that took me by surprise.

To be sure, there are things about the Fantasy Grounds experience that I don't prefer. But they are minor and I choose not to focus on them.

Anyway, that's pretty much what I wanted to say. Kudos to the devs who created and maintain this game. Kudos to the users who help steer the direction of the product by maintaining an active community. I'm in for the long haul.

CNYGamer99

[damned]

Woot! Nice one CNYGamer99 ;)
You get the best of both worlds.

[Zacchaeus]

Indeed, nice post.

I like the fact that it has brought together my gaming group once again from a few years' hiatus because we all live in different parts of the world.

[HoratioDrank]

Indeed, nice post.

I like the fact that it has brought together my gaming group once again from a few years' hiatus because we all live in different parts of the world.
Zacchaeus,

I know the feeling. I ran a homebrew D&D 4e campaign for roughly 6-7 years. It was a hell of a ride. We lost one of our most beloved players to job-out-of-state attrition. We were all thrilled for him and his new opportunity, of course, but he was the heartbeat of the game. Recently, I reached out to him and he has been itching to play with us again. That lead me to start preparing a new campaign via Fantasy Grounds. I'm really excited to be able to play in a D&D game with him again. But most of all, I'm really relieved that I don't have to compromise a solid game experience in order to do it.

[Nickademus]

I like that I can play D&D in my pajamas. *sagenod*

[HoratioDrank]

I like that I can play D&D in my pajamas. *sagenod*
You describe a beautiful, beautiful world.

[Answulf]

I agree with all of this - especially the more role-play in VTT bit. But for me, it's all about being able to play from home after the kids go to bed without having to go anywhere and have an "official" game night. Makes a huge difference in quantity of games played!

[ddavison]

This is a great post. Thanks for sharing your experience. I think it's non uncommon for long-time gamers to have the same trepidations about online or VTT play and the more people hear about positive experiences like yours, the more people will be willing to try it. Between newer gamers and long-time gamers who are moving online or playing more thanks to online options, I think the community is poised for some continued growth.

[midas]

I agree with Doug. Another aspect that makes your post great is that some folks may sign up here and just look at the forums. Given that the forums are one of the first places people go for support it would be easy to browse the forums and think, "wow look at all the problems people have!" That's just the way things go on the internet, though--you're usually going to see more posts from people having problems than you will from people that aren't, as the people that aren't having problems tend to be merrily using the product and not posting about it.

Seeing posts like yours is great for that reason alone. Your breakdown makes it very easy for someone to read and digest though, and that's what makes it excel.

[GM BK]

I agree with all the points the OP made. TBH, I don't think I could ever go back to old school, sitting around a table style of gaming. Especially not as a GM... the tools within FG save so much time, and make gameplay so much smoother, that doing things the old fashioned way would just irritate me now... FG has spoiled me! :)

[Nylanfs]

The just use FG on a laptop to run the combat and a portable projector for maps and etc. :)

[DM|Mag]

Welcome! I've been doing gaming exclusively online for over a decade and just jumped into FG in the past month. Loving it so far and yeah, there's a difference to gaming online for sure. I enjoy it. I connect and play with folks in southeast Asia, Europe, all over the world all from the comfort of my appt in NY. I've gotten to know new cultures and new people from all over the world doing so. It's great.

[HoratioDrank]

The just use FG on a laptop to run the combat and a portable projector for maps and etc. :)
I may be switching to Fantasy Grounds for my in-person tabletop Curse of Strahd game. I have a 40" 1080p LED television built into my tabletop (https://cnygamer.wordpress.com/2016/05/08/game-mastering-with-a-video-table/) that I use as a virtual play surface. I've been driving that experience with MapTool because all I need is the map and fog of war. But I also use Hero Lab for my combat tracker. I'm giving strong consideration to switching all that over to Fantasy Grounds. That will allow me to consolidate the work of two pieces of software down to just one, plus gain additional features in the process. Our group is even talking about getting rid of physical miniatures and going with tokens. So it may be Fantasy Grounds all around for both my VTT game *and* my tabletop game.

Oh man, I think I'm hooked... :p

[dulux-oz]

Oh man, I think I'm hooked... :p

Excellent! Another successfully corrupted... I mean, converted... gamer.


BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[DM|Mag]

Just noticed your location, you can't be more than a couple hours from me. Nearby Rochester myself. Small world indeed.

[The Hawk and Sparrow]

Great comments! I am in a great place because of Fantasy Grounds. I started playing in 1978 as a ten year old... notebook paper... rolling in a box lid on the shag carpet... fascinated by those old tomes. I then fell away from the game until I was able to bring my son to the game in the late 90's. We played 2e. He grew up and moved out and I was dying to play again. I was looking at various on line possibilities and then stumbled upon FG via Steam. Once I saw it, I knew it was going to be perfect. It represents the old game then throws in so many conveniences and DM enhancing features that I knew I had to expand my gameplay. I threw together a group over a year ago and try to play every Saturday with players from all over the globe. 2 Danes, 1 Brit, 1 Kentuckian, 1 Texan, and several US Georgians. What a hoot! 5e keeps adding more and more content and we just keep twisting it into a free for all Faerun sandbox. I love being able to quickly brew up a random encounter... the fumble tables are great... it's so easy to add context to things with map making and the viewing of pictures. I also find myself being more willing to roleplay with crazy accents and also now have the ability to weave in sound effects and music although prep time doesn't allow for much of that. Anyhoo... happy gaming to all and if you haven't DMd yet... giver 'er a try. There are no mistakes if you just let go and have fun. Cheers. Huzzah!!

[Hecklerus Prime]

There is no doubt my group would no longer be playing if it were not for Fantasy Grounds. We all live 1-3 hours apart, which in all honesty might as well be the other side of the planet. We found that it was too difficult to find the time to drive to a central location once we got out of college and began this "adulting" thing. Even though our sessions are now only 3 hours long once a week, they are better than the zero sessions we'd see without FG.

We tried Roll20 for about three months when a new player joined, didn't want to commit to buying a FG license, and none of us had an Ultimate. Roll20 was pretty good, but ultimately it only had one thing we thought was better than FG: image loading and manipulation. It felt easier as a DM to load and set up maps for my players, and the ping function was very helpful (hint hint nudge nudge). However, this was simply not enough. FG outshines Roll20 in so many other ways that the choice was really no choice at all. If you're a seasoned FG-er, you know what I mean. And if you're new to FG, stick around and you'll find out.

On June 30, 2016, we'll have officially been using FG for 5 years. The improvements made in that time are awesome and I'm sure those to come will be just as amazing. I play with the same group of friends that formed my first ever D&D group way back in high school fifteen years ago. It sounds silly, but D&D is what has kept us in touch since then. Different colleges let us drift apart, but 24-hour in-person D&D twice a year kept us in contact. But like I said, post college didn't allow for those massive sessions. But Fantasy Grounds did. This program and that game have helped keep my friends and I together and happily slaughtering orcs to our heart's desire. For that I'll be eternally grateful.

To any developers, longtime forum supporters, or other other FG employees: thank you, thank you, thank you! Keep up the good work, and mark me down as a Raving Fan.

[Trenloe]

and the ping function was very helpful (hint hint nudge nudge).
Hold down the left & right mouse buttons at the same time and draw a short arrow on the map pointing to where you want to highlight. This arrow will be drawn in the colour of the PC dice and can be removed by pressing the two mouse buttons again. Quick and easy way to highlight a specific area on the map - similar to a "ping", but it stays there until you remove it.

See "Add quick pointer" here: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/wiki/index.php/Images#Pointers

[Hector Trelane]

... for me, it's all about being able to play from home after the kids go to bed without having to go anywhere and have an "official" game night. Makes a huge difference in quantity of games played!

I can relate. Preach on, brother. :)

I'll add another VTT strength not yet mentioned here: Easy sharing of RPG trends and developments in the community. The nature of prepping images and calendar posts for VTT play makes it easy to share after-action reports and tease upcoming games, mods, and creations. This amounts to peer-to-peer education being easier, or at least happening more consistently. I suppose a quality local game shop can achieve the same effect, but how often does that happen, for how many of us, really? So this has turned out to be a nice feature for me: viral learning about new games I didn't even know I was interested in, but try out because I learned about it through the FG community.

[Hecklerus Prime]

Hold down the left & right mouse buttons at the same time and draw a short arrow on the map pointing to where you want to highlight.

Mind = Blown. Five years and I'm still learning about this program. Thanks for the tip, Trenloe.

[dulux-oz]

Mind = Blown. Five years and I'm still learning about this program. Thanks for the tip, Trenloe.

Again, covered in my Tutorial Videos :p

[Moon Wizard]

That's also a good way to get a quick distance measure.

Cheers,
JPG

[Andraax]

Mind = Blown. Five years and I'm still learning about this program. Thanks for the tip, Trenloe.

Try it with various modifier keys. Holding Ctrl while doing that creates a circle, and Shift and Alt create arcs and squares, but I'm not sure which is which...

[Hector Trelane]

Again, covered in my Tutorial Videos :p

It's one thing to provide instructions to human beings, and quite another thing to get us to learn something, ADD savannah monkeys that we are. ;)

Instructions are a crucial first step. Thanks for all the tutorials, dulux-oz.

[dulux-oz]

It's one thing to provide instructions to human beings, and quite another thing to get us to learn something, ADD savannah monkeys that we are. ;)

Instructions are a crucial first step. Thanks for all the tutorials, dulux-oz.

I know, I know - getting people to RTFM is always a PITA, IMNSHO! :)

[Hecklerus Prime]

Again, covered in my Tutorial Videos :p
I'm not surprised. I watched the tutorials way back in the day (FG v2.7 or earlier) when they were put on by Xorn. After that I knew enough to get by or figured it out on my own. Every now and then the forums reveal some little gem, though, and I kinda like it better that way ;)


Try it with various modifier keys. Holding Ctrl while doing that creates a circle, and Shift and Alt create arcs and squares, but I'm not sure which is which...
Easy to remember if you match the first letters.
Shift = Square
Alt = Arc
Ctrl = Circle

[Hecklerus Prime]

Browser hiccup induced double post. Sorry. Here's a picture of a puppy (https://blog-photos.dogvacay.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/tumblr_n155p7IMWn1rppsk3o1_500.jpg) instead.

[Andraax]

Easy to remember if you match the first letters.
Shift = Square
Alt = Arc
Ctrl = Circle


Thank you. I use circles and lines the most, so I never really bothered to figure that out, but it does make it easy to remember.

[dulux-oz]

Browser hiccup induced double post. Sorry. Here's a picture of a puppy (https://blog-photos.dogvacay.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/tumblr_n155p7IMWn1rppsk3o1_500.jpg) instead.

Very cute - in a weird sort of way :)

[Answulf]

Yes, thanks for the tutorials Dulux. I've had FG forever, but took a break for a while and when I came back this year I watched the entire series. Was extremely helpful, both as a refresher and leaning new stuff I never knew about.

[Magnimost]

I concur with the OP. We had an over 10-year hiatus from gaming, and picked it up at the beginning of the year thanks to FG. Have been playing CoC most weekends, and it's been just as fun as everyone remembers. Ultimate license sounds like a lot of money, but has so much value in fun, usability and connecting with friends.


Hold down the left & right mouse buttons at the same time and draw a short arrow on the map pointing to where you want to highlight. This arrow will be drawn in the colour of the PC dice and can be removed by pressing the two mouse buttons again. Quick and easy way to highlight a specific area on the map - similar to a "ping", but it stays there until you remove it.

See "Add quick pointer" here: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/wiki/index.php/Images#Pointers

Doesn't work for me in drawing mode or default mode, just drags the map around :(

[Andraax]

Doesn't work for me in drawing mode or default mode, just drags the map around :(

Sounds like you have your mouse setup so that clicking both left and right mouse buttons acts as the "middle" button.

[DM|Mag]

Yeah, it worked for me this morning, neat, I wasn't aware of that myself. I've had issues where my deathadder mouse is setup with macros for one program, I use another and my mouse just fails to work properly. I rage at it thinking its the software only to realize, I just need to change the profile of my mouse. >.< Simple things like that, or a sneaky driver update you missed can really throw folks for a loop.