Looking to purchase Fantasy Grounds

[wardoghavoc]

I hope I am posting this in the right forum. I have recently returned to gaming after a 10 year Hiatus. I have a group and we have started playing 5E. I am DMing and I am looking around for computer based tools to assist me in that. That search led me to Fantasy Grounds and this forum. I am hoping this forum can answers a couple of questions. Our set-up is one where we play with me, the DM having a laptop and the other players are using pencil & paper. We also use a television placed horizontally on the table as a battlemat. I will display a map on the tv and we will use standard figs for the PCs and monsters.

1. Can you use Fantasy Grounds on a laptop without an internet connection? I ask because in the room we play in has a very weak wifi signal. (I know, I am working on getting an extender).
2. If you use a table top television, one that is set flat on a table top, will Fantasy Grounds work so that I can see my DM stuff on my laptop and the players can see the battle map on the television on the table?

Thanks in advance!

[LordEntrails]

Hey wardoghavoc, welcome to the community! Hope you find as much value and enjoyment in FG as we do. I predict by the time you wake up in the morning you'll have nearly a dozen responses :) Maybe mine will actually be first and at least somewhat useful :))

So, to answer your questions;
1) Yep, the only time you need internet connectivity when playing locally is if a) the GM has an Ultimate license and other users try to connect using a demo/free license. Then it just checks to make sure your ultimate license is valid, or b) you have a subscription license rather than the permanent license.
2) Yep :) you can do this by connecting the TV to your laptop, running a second instance of FG on your laptop and putting that instance on the TV display.

You'll find that there are actually quite a few people who do exactly this. At least one of these guys takes his laptop and TV to his game story every week of so!

There are several threads that show examples of tables people have built to do this. You'll also want to find the community extension that helps you size your maps to 1" squares on your screen.

And, in my opinion, you and your players may just change away from paper, pencil, and mini's in the future because its so much easier when everyone is using their characters through the automation available in FG. But then again, maybe you'll be happy with the setup exactly the way you describe it and never change. Your choice :)

Anything else you think of, just ask. Someone will be sure to help you out.

[vodokar]

Welcome, wardoghavoc, it's always awesome to see new faces. Welcome to one of the friendliest places on the internet. Fantasy Grounds is a very robust piece of software that can meet most, if not all, of your gaming needs. It supports a great range of games of all genres and in theory could support any. I concur with LordEntrails. It can support exactly the type of set-up you are talking about, but it can do so much more than that, so you might find yourself expanding your horizons eventually.

[Varsuuk]

Having pretty maps with masking you can uncover as you go is just one of the cooler things about playing on PCs.

Ease of mechanics is another.

Welcome to the forums!

[Trenloe]

Welcome to the forums wardoghavoc.

I use Fantasy Grounds both over the Internet for VTT gaming and face-to-face with a flat-screen TV on the tabletop. See this thread for a quick bit of FG coding I did to make sizing maps quick-and-easy for 1" = 1 square on the TV surface, and some photos in post #2: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?33834-Map-resize-to-TV-resolution-for-Face-To-Face-games

[JohnD]

Hey man welcome. You're in the right place.

[dulux-oz]

Hi wardoghavoc, and Welcome! to the Community,

In addition to what the others have said, if you haven't done so already, let me encourage you to take a look at some of the great Tutorial Videos available on the Fantasy Grounds Wiki (and on YouTube). Damn'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 just about all the RPGs we play with Fantasy Grounds - so by learning how to use FG with the CoreRPG you'll learn about 80% of what you'll need to know to play any RPG with Fantasy Grounds. Once you've gone through the CoreRPG Videos you can then go on to Videos about your chosen RPG.

When you get familiar with the basic Fantasy Grounds product the next step is to check out some of the Extensions (Plug-Ins) for FG, such as the DOE: Sound, DOE: Locations, DOE: Weather and DOE: Organisations Extensions (to name a but a few).

And keep on asking questions - we're a pretty friendly lot here, and we love answering questions.

Cheers

[MarianDz]

Welcome "wardoghavoc"
If I could recommend you something at the beginning, then best place for starting is watching this great video tutorial series (especially workshops, and reviews) for better imagination:
https://www.twitch.tv/fantasygrounds
https://www.twitch.tv/fantasygrounds/videos/all

of course exists other valuable resouces which are Dulux-Oz video tutorials and extensions and FG Wiki pages.
But if you are planning to run 5E games then infos on upper meaned link very helps me run my campaign.

[Nylanfs]

Welcome, also for those people looking to extend their network signal strength I found this not too long ago.

https://eero.com/

[wardoghavoc]

Thanks for all of the great replies! Looks like I have some learning ahead of me.

[LindseyFan]

Thanks for all of the great replies! Looks like I have some learning ahead of me.

Actually, Dulux-Oz has a solution for that too: his videos! Hehehe

Seriously, watch his videos first and you will get a very solid grasp of FG mechanics. Then watch as many of the other authors as you can. The others sometimes tend to be advanced or just "click here and here" where with his will give you an explanation on what you are doing.

As for the extensions, I am still too new to have taken the leap yet, so I don't know. Now if only I had a reminder to check them out. :)

And welcome!

[dulux-oz]

@Lindsay: Thanks for the kind words re: my Tut Vids - I'm glad you found them helpful.


As for the extensions... Now if only I had a reminder to check them out. :)

Well, as a reminder and a Shameless Plug(TM) you could check out the DOEs (Dulux-Oz Extensions) - they're probably good ones to start with because the documentation on how to use each one is quite extensive, and (apparently, according to Moon Wizard) they're reasonably popular so there should be plenty of people to help you out if you get into a jam. You can find them both on the FG Wiki and also in their own threads in the Extensions sub-forum of the Armory Forum.

But only because you said you wanted a reminder :p

[LindseyFan]

But only because you said you wanted a reminder :p

Yep, I did! I am off to try some extenstions!

[donpaulo]

great to see you and how FG can help you improve the gaming experience

looking back on the various iterations of the software, the recent updates have been bloody marvelous. Not only that but when we do run into something unintended its EASY as posting to get a solution. What more could you ask for ?

welcome to FG!

[TheoGeek]

Welcome!!!

I run a series of 5th edition games exclusively with FG, and also, except for one, exclusively local. The players all keep track of stuff on paper - they like the old school feel of pen and paper, which is awesome because they are teenagers. :) I use FG to make DMing a TON easier. Everything is a few clicks away, and it keeps things rolling smoothly.

The only thing I haven't really optimized in my setup yet is how to translate the player's manual rolls into FG. There are ways, and I think there is a manual roll feature now, but I haven't taken time to investigate it. This only really matters for me when a player hits with a weapon or spell that has an effect that Fantasy Grounds would auto apply.

Other than that, running a local campaign with the DM using FG works like a charm, provided you have the 5th edition resources - the SRD content is nice, but you *need* the DMs guide, the Monster Manual, and the Player's Handbook. :)

And BTW, this forum is one of the best on the internet...

Have fun!