Confused Potential Newbie

[Mozared]

Hey guys!

So I've been DMing for a fair bit now, pretty much solely online. Mostly, I've relied on Roll20 for this - a program that generally suits my needs, but nevertheless, does not entirely satisfy me. Also I've been doing some worldbuilding for a 5E homebrewed campaign I intend on setting up somewhere in the future, and I've now arrived at a point where I feel like I could start working on 'putting things online'. These two things together have been having me look into alternatives. As far as I can see, Fantasygrounds seems like a useful tool. However, I've spend the last year running a campaign in Roll20, meaning that by now I've collected a good 200 enemies that I've given character sheets, abilities, corresponding macro's, etc. Obviously, I'm very hesitant to switch if I'm going to be forced to fill in all those things myself again.

Which brings me to my issue: there are some specific tidbits of information that I can not make out from the main page. I was considering buying the Ultimate License to do away with all the hassle of requiring my potential players to have a subscription and such. However, it's a bit unclear to me what that would actually net me. The page itself (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/store/product.xcp?id=SWK03) tells me I get '5E Rulesets' and 'Library modules with D&D fifth edition open gaming content found in the SRD 5'. At the same time, the wiki (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/wiki/index.php/Supported_Game_Systems) doesn't list this. And what's up with the things in the Fantasy Grounds Store?

What my questions really boil down to is this:
1. If I buy the ultimate edition and nothing else, will I have pre-build monsters that I can use out of the box?
-> If no, will I need to buy things like the Core Monster Pack (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/store/product.xcp?id=WOTC5EMMDELUXE) or Volo's Guide (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/store/product.xcp?id=WOTC5EVGM) to get them?
-> If yes, what do the above packs add?

2. Similarly: if I buy the ultimate edition and nothing else, will I have pre-build classes that my players can use out of the box?
-> If no, will I need to buy the Core Class Pack (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/store/product.xcp?id=WOTC5EPHBDELUXE) for this?
-> If yes, what does the above pack add?

As for a final question: as far as I know, Fantasy Grounds has no way to handle soundtracks or music, does it?

Hopefully someone can help me out.

Edit: I should probably clarify - I've already bought things like the Monster Guide in its regular, paperback version. As such, I'm not too fond of the idea for paying for it again.

[Trenloe]

Welcome to the FG forums Mozared!

1 & 2: You get the monsters and classes/backgrounds that Wizards publishes in the SRD under the Open Gaming License. Download the SRD that includes the monsters and classes you'll get in FG format: https://media.wizards.com/2016/downloads/DND/SRD-OGL_V5.1.pdf Further details on the OGL/SRD here: https://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/systems-reference-document-srd

You'll also get the "Basic Rules" info in FG format: https://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/basicrules

1) You'll be able to compare what comes with the SRD modules included with FG and what you'd get in the Core Monster Pack (Monster Manual) by looking at your own printed MM. Additionally, you get the nice creature artwork and monster tokens, in the SRD version you'll get a pre-populated letter token.

2) The Core Class Pack (PHB) contains a lot more info that you'll need than the SRD/basic rules contain. Especially as you are thinking of getting the ultimate license and the players will join your game and have access to the PHB (if you purchase it).

I'd recommend getting a 1 month subscription and see what information comes in the SRD and Basic Rules modules before you make a decision on what additional modules to get. FG has a 30 day money back guarantee, so if you're not satisfied you can get your money back if FG just isn't your thing (but I'm sure it will be).

[dulux-oz]

Hi Mozared, and Welcome! to the Community,

In addition to what Trenloe has said, yes, FG can do music and sound - sort of. There is a Community Extension (Plug-In) that allows FG to control (manually and automatically) a 3rd party Sound Engine. Its called the DOE: Sound (you can find it here on the Forums and on the FG Wiki) and its by yours-truelly :)

Also, 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

[Trenloe]

Oh yeah, forgot to mention about sound. Most people will run their games using a voice platform - the FG community provides a TeamSpeak3 server to use for free: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?17071-Voicechat!-Community-TeamSpeak3-Server and FG has recently setup a Discord server: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?36377-New-Official-Discord-Server Both can be setup to allow you to play music/SFX through to your players.

[vodokar]

Just to clarify, "Ultimate" does not mean anything except that it allows the DM to host any number of players using the demo version of Fantasy Grounds, whereas, the "Standard" version requires the players to have a "Standard" license also.

It does not imply that you get everything that there is to get for Fantasy Grounds, as some people assume. It says nothing about all the 5e manuals coming with the Ultimate version. It only provides the ability to have players connect for free.

In most cases, for someone new to using the software, this just is not needed. It primarily comes into play when people want their real life friends to play with them, but can't convince them to spend any money to do so. Most players you will meet online have at least a Standard license already. I played for years with a Standard license, before deciding to take the plunge for the Ultimate.

Start out with a subscription for a standard license and come join us in some games. Once you are more familiar with the software and your actual situation, you will know which license has most value for you.

[Mozared]

Thanks for the quick replies guys!


1 & 2: You get the monsters and classes/backgrounds that Wizards publishes in the SRD under the Open Gaming License. Download the SRD that includes the monsters and classes you'll get in FG format: *link* Further details on the OGL/SRD here: *link*

You'll also get the "Basic Rules" info in FG format: *link*

1) You'll be able to compare what comes with the SRD modules included with FG and what you'd get in the Core Monster Pack (Monster Manual) by looking at your own printed MM. Additionally, you get the nice creature artwork and monster tokens, in the SRD version you'll get a pre-populated letter token.

So basically, what I'm getting from this, in a nutshell: without the core packs bought, you'll get some stuff (some, but not all of the monsters in the MM, plus barebone versions of the classes), but it'll be less pretty, and the tokens will be staple. Is that more or less correct?


2) The Core Class Pack (PHB) contains a lot more info that you'll need than the SRD/basic rules contain. Especially as you are thinking of getting the ultimate license and the players will join your game and have access to the PHB (if you purchase it).

Alright, fair enough, but to what extent does this matter with regards to what I'll be able to do in Fantasy Grounds? The group I'll be running with will likely all have their own physical copy of the PHB. Is it a case of "players will have access to a more easy-on-the-eyes source of information, but that's it", or is it a difference between "with the core class pack you'll be able to drag a class onto a sheet, just having the ultimate version does not allow you to do this"? In case of the first, I'm not that bothered: players can use their physical PHBs if they want to double check something. In the case of the latter, I will effectively have to spend an additional 40 bucks.


I'd recommend getting a 1 month subscription and see what information comes in the SRD and Basic Rules modules before you make a decision on what additional modules to get. FG has a 30 day money back guarantee, so if you're not satisfied you can get your money back if FG just isn't your thing (but I'm sure it will be).

I'll definitely consider doing this. It seems like the best way to simply give the program a go. I'll look at the audio option when I get to that point. I've been using Plug.DJ with Roll20, but that website has some major issues making me eager to move away.

[Trenloe]

So basically, what I'm getting from this, in a nutshell: without the core packs bought, you'll get some stuff (some, but not all of the monsters in the MM, plus barebone versions of the classes), but it'll be less pretty, and the tokens will be staple. Is that more or less correct?
More or less correct, yes.


Alright, fair enough, but to what extent does this matter with regards to what I'll be able to do in Fantasy Grounds? The group I'll be running with will likely all have their own physical copy of the PHB. Is it a case of "players will have access to a more easy-on-the-eyes source of information, but that's it", or is it a difference between "with the core class pack you'll be able to drag a class onto a sheet, just having the ultimate version does not allow you to do this"? In case of the first, I'm not that bothered: players can use their physical PHBs if they want to double check something. In the case of the latter, I will effectively have to spend an additional 40 bucks.
It doesn't stop you doing anything at all - If you and the players are happy manually entering and editing their characters then you don't need the PHB. See this video that shows the drag/drop functionality of the PHB: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nurEMR4JJeU Sounds like you'll be happy entering data manually, so save yourself $40. You can see some of the drag/drop functionality with the SRD/Basic Rules classes.

And as Vodokar mentions, the Ultimate edition doesn't give you any more functionality than the standard - all it allows you to do is accept a bunch of freeloaders, err... I mean friends using the free/demo license. ;-)

For info on manually entering a NPC (perhaps useful for you migrating over some of your baddies), see this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-POluSDHAc

[ddavison]

David from Digital DM just happened to cover what is included with the base licenses. He gets a bit distracted with general "what can I do in Fantasy Grounds", but he does cover everything pretty thoroughly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tZy8jxPGjU

[Zacchaeus]

You may also find this post (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?32987-What-do-I-need-to-play-5e) useful.