Best Path for a newbie

[Sammage]

I'm starting off new to both Fantasy Grounds and SW. Also been out of the GM game for...a long time. I got convinced to run games for some friends and tried Roll20 but we spent a significant portion of the first few sessions fighting technical glitches. I decided I would try out FG and a new 'quicker' game system at the same time. I know...probably unwise. But it's done, so now I need some input. Oh, and I have limited time so I can't spend a ton of it on preparation.

I am running a normal 5e campaign for my friends until we finish the current storyline on roll20. Once that's done I want to shift over to FG and start a SW campaign. What SW modules and/or settings are going to give me the most value as I get my feet under me with the rules then allow me to spend a minimum amount of time prepping down the road?

I figured Deadlands Reloaded might be one way to go...but I'll be honest the western setting hasn't grabbed my imagination. A SciFi or Post Apocalypse setting is most interesting to me...or Pirates who doesn't love Pirates?

Thanks in advance for your wisdom.:D

[Talyn]

The Savage Worlds Deluxe Ruleset is obviously required. :) That comes with the Player's Guide and all the data you'd need to run a base SW game. Then each setting adds its own stuff on top of that. Deadlands is awesome, by the way! Pirates? Both 50 Fathoms and Pirates! (formerly Pirates of the Spanish Main) have official DLC in the store. The Last Parsec is the default sci-fi setting but as a caution, it's specifically a setting that draws upon the data from the Sci-Fi Companion. The real books or PDFs are setup the same way, so you must own the Sci-Fi Companion to use The Last Parsec.

Welcome to Fantasy Grounds! Hope you have a blast here and find us a friendly and helpful community!

[Topdecker]

I came from 5e after growing disenchanted with the length of combats. Anyhow, don't worry about that: SW is at LEAST 2x as fast and will get faster as you get comfortable with everything.

Ah yeah, Pirates!

Either setting is well done. 50 Fathoms is a bit more fantastical and is not based on known waters while you could use historical maps with Pirates! Be sure to set aside some funds for pirate tokens, ship markers, and deck plans - you will need as much of that sort of thing as you can lay your hands on.

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[Wookiee420]

Sixth Gun is really fun and has lots of info, even ways for you to merge it with Deadlands. it has the core, the companion, and the winding way adventure will be out soon.

[Sammage]

Thanks for the input so far. I talked to my players and they are leaning toward a western..land lubbers...so I'm going to look over Deadlands and Sixth Gun.

Meanwhile, I'll see if I can learn enough to set up a custom setting for Shadowrun.

[Topdecker]

Just for the record, I was a Sixth Gun reader and fan before I'd even considered Savage Worlds much less Deadlands. I would recommend getting the collected Volume I graphic novel as reading it will help you decided if you like the setting AND help you get a better grasp on it.

Shadowrun (https://wrathofzombie.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/savage-worlds-of-shadowrun-final.pdf), did you say? Savage Worlds is absolutely lousy with conversions of other game systems.

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[Wookiee420]

Also War of the Dead is awesome if you like Zombies

[WansumBeats]

If your are going to play deadlands, which i highly recommend!! start with either "the flood" as its the beginning of the deadlands stories... or try out "dont drink the water". its an easy "module" for lack of a better word.

If you decide on dont drink the water... PM me i have maps i found deep in the interwebs that are top notch for it :)

i should actually just upload them.. they are public maps anyways ;)

[dragonheels]

If your are going to play deadlands, which i highly recommend!! start with either "the flood" as its the beginning of the deadlands stories... or try out "dont drink the water". its an easy "module" for lack of a better word.

If you decide on dont drink the water... PM me i have maps i found deep in the interwebs that are top notch for it :)

i should actually just upload them.. they are public maps anyways ;)

Hello WansumBeats,
May I PM you too? I'd be interested by those maps you're referring to.

[Sammage]

If your are going to play deadlands, which i highly recommend!! start with either "the flood" as its the beginning of the deadlands stories... or try out "dont drink the water". its an easy "module" for lack of a better word.

If you decide on dont drink the water... PM me i have maps i found deep in the interwebs that are top notch for it :)

i should actually just upload them.. they are public maps anyways ;)

Thanks for the hints. I didn't realize that was the 'first' of the modules. I'll give them both a look.

Got another question. Are tokens and portraits part of the modules for sale?

[Sammage]

I was doing some beta testing with a buddy this week and one of the things we couldn't figure out (and I haven't found explicitly stated anywhere yet) is how to share tokens and portraits. I got some free resources and bought a Western pack of tokens. I have an Ultimate license and my friend had a demo running. He couldn't see any tokens or portraits even though I marked them as available for players in the settings (at least I think that's what I did by putting the green check on their library item). One possible complicating thing we didn't test for was that I opened a few things for players after he connected.

Anyway, question is whether everyone has to download their own token/portrait packs?

[Andraax]

He has to open the modules on his side to see the tokens. Portraits are only local to his computer (when he double clicks the portrait on his character sheet, he will see all the portraits he has in *his* portraits directory - so he can add / update portraits whenever he wants).

Why does he need access to tokens?

[Topdecker]

You can just drop some 63x63 pixel png files with portaits in....

C:\ProgramData\Fantasy Grounds\portraits

(Change the drive letter as needed, I guess.)

When selected as portraits, they will get auto-tokenized. Also, you can use larger images (say 150x150 pixel) as they will be scaled, but it is more efficient to scale them in advance.

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[Sammage]

He has to open the modules on his side to see the tokens. Portraits are only local to his computer (when he double clicks the portrait on his character sheet, he will see all the portraits he has in *his* portraits directory - so he can add / update portraits whenever he wants).

Why does he need access to tokens?

I was thinking he might like to pick out the token for his PC instead of me doing it for him.