Need a refresher

[Michael Hopcroft]

I need a bit of a refresher on FG, if nobody would mind. I haven't used it at all in a while, and I have a few questions that I have probably seen answered before -- at least a year ago....

1. I don't know what rulesets I own and what rulesets I should buy. I don;t need the D&D5e content because I doubt I'll ever play D&D5e and it's expensive to alarming degrees. But I wonder how I can check which games I currently have support for.

2. Are there any character software packages that make files that can be used directly with FG?

3. I bought my copy before the subscription model was in place. If I'm going to GM, do I need the Ultimate edition, and what would be the better option for upgrading? Does prior ownership of the core version affect the price of an Ultimate subscription?

4. I've heard reports of a Fantasy Grounds 2. Will it be compatible with current-edition content?

Sorry for being all confuzzled.

[Nylanfs]

Welcome Back Michael!

1) Start FG > Start Campaign, everything listed as a Ruleset is what you have. You may have to enter your forum info into the settings.

2) PCGen, Herolab

3) You only need the ultimate if you have players that only have the demo.

4) FG Unity, the intention is to keep backwards compatibility &/or seamless upgrading.

[Trenloe]

1) You need to put your FG website user ID and password in the Settings window and run an update - this will install all rulesets etc. associated with your account. You can see your order history by going to the Store (link at the top of the page) and clicking Store -> Order History.

2) PCGen and HeroLab can be used for import 3.5E and Pathfinder characters using the Character Importer utility. This can also be used for 4E DDI characters.

3) Having a permanent Full license does not reduce the cost of an ultimate subscription, but it does reduce the cost of an ultimate license (via the Ultimate upgrade).

4) Fantasy Grounds 2 is essentially the version you're running now. Fantasy Grounds is going through a re-write to port it to Unity, but this is a way off. The current content will be compatible.

[Zacchaeus]

Hi Michael and welcome back. The answers you seek are as follows:

1) Start Fantasy Grounds select a ruleset and (i.e Savage Worlds, 3.5. 4e etc etc) and create a new campaign in that ruleset. Now open up your library (big button on the right) and click on 'modules' and you'll be able to see what you have in your library. FG comes with a number of built in rulesets but that doesn't necessarily mean that you'll be able to play them all. You may need other content. You can get a general idea of what is available to you by looking in your 'rulesets' folder within the Fantasy Grounds data folder (usually in Username/AppData/Roaming/Fantasy Grounds/rulesets)
2) HeroLab and PCGen can be used to create characters which can then be imported into FG for some rulesets (but not all). There's a par5er for some rulesets wich can be used to create files for use in FG - but again it depends on what ruleset that you want to use whether that is available. The best place to look is in the sticky threads at the top of each ruleset forum.
3) You don't need an Ultimate license if all of your players also have a standard license. If they only have the demo license then you will need the Ultimate license. There is an upgrade price which you can find on the FG store front page. What you'll pay will depend on the license you already have.
4) The current version is Fantasy Grounds 2; what you are probably hearing about is the port of FG to the Unity engine. There's a multitude of posts on this subject - do a site search for Unity Port or Unity engine and you should come up with a few hits. And yes it will be compatible when it arrives.

[HoratioDrank]

I absolutely LOVE this community. I mean, FG is a fantastic product, but this community makes it 100 times better.

[LordEntrails]

I absolutely LOVE this community. I mean, FG is a fantastic product, but this community makes it 100 times better.

Agreed. And I will say it was one of two determining factors as to why I bought FG a year ago and not a competitor.

[damned]

Whats all this talk of FG2? We are on FG3 people!
https://www.fantasygrounds.com/store/orders.xcp
And $115 for the upgrade if you go that route.

And Michael Hopcroft if I recall correctly you were playing or wanting to play some unsupported games. Sometime in teh next week or two FG will update to 3.2.0 - Very soon after download a new ruleset called MoreCore which might suit you.

[Michael Hopcroft]

And Michael Hopcroft if I recall correctly you were playing or wanting to play some unsupported games. Sometime in teh next week or two FG will update to 3.2.0 - Very soon after download a new ruleset called MoreCore which might suit you.

You do recall correctly. And I still would. I have this unnatural fondness for the obscure and interesting. It bites me in the butt whenever I go to a convention, because I have a hard time finding players for the games I run. Sadly, this even applies to boardgames.

Fate Core support is a good start if I can get my hands on that. MoreCore would eb great if it's easy to work with.

The strangest game I want to run does not use dice at all. Although I really shouldn't call it great, more different. The "heartwarming" RPG Golden Sky Stories (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/118784/Golden-Sky-Stories) has a new supplemental setting called Fantasy Friends (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/180039/Fantasy-Friends), in which you are friendlier versions of classic D&D monsters. It's a wonderful deconstruction that reduces typical Beholder megalomania to the ravings of the bigoted uncle who's had too much to drink at Thanksgiving and really needs to collapse on the couch for a while to sleep it off (otherwise he'll crash his chariot going home).

[Michael Hopcroft]

Oh, one other thing -- if I want to run games at an event like FG Con, what level of license do I need -- especially as I cannot seem to find the old Player license anymore?

[damned]

Click this link: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/store/orders.xcp and find your order and your keys.

Fate Core is included as PWYW in the base product. Its there to use and try out. Pay $5 for it if you like it.

To GM at FGCon or FGDaze you need a Full or Ultimate license. Its easier with Ultimate but there are plenty of Full GMs.

[LordEntrails]

...
To GM at FGCon or FGDaze you need a Full or Ultimate license. Its easier with Ultimate but there are plenty of Full GMs.
Does SmiteWorks still upgrade Full License DM's to Ultimate for the FG weekends?

[damned]

Does SmiteWorks still upgrade Full License DM's to Ultimate for the FG weekends?

No they dont. New players are encouraged to try out the free 1 month subscription. Other players are encouraged to just subscribe :)

[Michael Hopcroft]

Click this link: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/store/orders.xcp and find your order and your keys.

Fate Core is included as PWYW in the base product. Its there to use and try out. Pay $5 for it if you like it.

To GM at FGCon or FGDaze you need a Full or Ultimate license. Its easier with Ultimate but there are plenty of Full GMs.

And there it is, including the payment I chipped in on for Fate Core. My other licenses are BRP and M&M (not sure which edition, which given the changes that came in the 3rd Edition means a great deal). And I just picked up the core ruleset for Savage Worlds. I am not total expert level on any of those systems, and can definitely use practice on any of them.

Letting me muse is a bad idea, because I just found myself wondering if an online game of No Thank You, Evil! would work at an online convention to give kids in the 6-10 range an introduction to what online roleplaying is like, and the value of having friends around the world. It shares a lot of system tricks with Cypher/Numenara (though the pools are more manageable for counting-newbie children).

[damned]

And there it is, including the payment I chipped in on for Fate Core. My other licenses are BRP and M&M (not sure which edition, which given the changes that came in the 3rd Edition means a great deal). And I just picked up the core ruleset for Savage Worlds. I am not total expert level on any of those systems, and can definitely use practice on any of them.

Letting me muse is a bad idea, because I just found myself wondering if an online game of No Thank You, Evil! would work at an online convention to give kids in the 6-10 range an introduction to what online roleplaying is like, and the value of having friends around the world. It shares a lot of system tricks with Cypher/Numenara (though the pools are more manageable for counting-newbie children).

What GMs run is up to them. We do have some guidelines for Adventurers League and Pathfinder Society but otherwise its largely up to the GMs.
We do not have any significant number of minors playing. I dont know that you would get a lot of uptake on this - but you wont know until you try.
My kids play Dungeon World about once every 3 weeks. Their attention span does not exceed 75mins. I think it would be even less in an online - non visual context.

[Nylanfs]

The Trail of the Apprentice (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/183047/Trail-of-the-Apprentice-The-Bandits-Cave-Pathfinder?term=Trail+of+the&manufacturers_id=3730&test_epoch=0) adventures aimed at kids was a big hit at Gen Con.

[damned]

The Trail of the Apprentice (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/183047/Trail-of-the-Apprentice-The-Bandits-Cave-Pathfinder?term=Trail+of+the&manufacturers_id=3730&test_epoch=0) adventures aimed at kids was a big hit at Gen Con.

This is available here in the FG Store in FG Format.
First few parts here -
https://www.fantasygrounds.com/store/product.xcp?id=LGFG5EKC
https://www.fantasygrounds.com/store/product.xcp?id=LGFG5EBC
https://www.fantasygrounds.com/store/product.xcp?id=LG5ERTDFG

[Michael Hopcroft]

The Trail of the Apprentice (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/183047/Trail-of-the-Apprentice-The-Bandits-Cave-Pathfinder?term=Trail+of+the&manufacturers_id=3730&test_epoch=0) adventures aimed at kids was a big hit at Gen Con.

I can imagine! They sound really good for that, and I wonder how they resolved situations without the PCs having to get into combat after combat (an idea that should make parents wince).

[Valarian]

1. If you've not used FG for a while, and you've had it for a few years, it's also worth checking DriveThruRPG for any content. Some of the rulesets were third party and have now been bought by Smiteworks. They can be added to your store list by sending DriveThruRPG order details to the support email address.

[Michael Hopcroft]

1. If you've not used FG for a while, and you've had it for a few years, it's also worth checking DriveThruRPG for any content. Some of the rulesets were third party and have now been bought by Smiteworks. They can be added to your store list by sending DriveThruRPG order details to the support email address.

I see at the FG Store that there are third-party content that is being sold by SmiteWorks. Have publishers built their own FG content in the past?