Less advance prep & more improvise advise

[Korak]

Hello FG Tavern,

After some research and dilemma between Roll20 & FG, i am kinda set to go with FG.
my question is how friendly and easy to run hombrew adventures that i only do some of the planning ahead and improvise during play?
doing random combat encounters, giving randomise treasure and so on.
i am in a stage of seeing tutorial videos and such, i don`t see myself writing the full story of the campaign/few sessions ahead, mainly because its time i do not have.
a BIG plus Roll20 have (for me anyway) is its web based, i can connect from anywhere and work on my stuff while FG is a app based, so cannot work on stuff while i am away.

Thanks

[damned]

Ho Korak

When I run Dungeon World I do absolutely minimal prep. I let the story tell itself. I have no encounters prepped, no NPCs prepped, I run it almost totally off the cuff.
If you are using 5e or Pathfinder the ability to drag completely stat'ed critters into combat quickly is so helpful.
I dont see any issue with FG and your style of GMing.

[Korak]

Ho Korak

When I run Dungeon World I do absolutely minimal prep. I let the story tell itself. I have no encounters prepped, no NPCs prepped, I run it almost totally off the cuff.
If you are using 5e or Pathfinder the ability to drag completely stat'ed critters into combat quickly is so helpful.
I dont see any issue with FG and your style of GMing.

Thanks
I will be using 5e.

[JohnD]

The 5e DMG has great treasure tables that auto generate parcels. A big help for your approach.

I try to have a couple pre-planned set pieces and sprinkle in random stuff as needed. It certainly helps if you have a general idea what will happen if the party goes in x direction. Have a few maps handy to pop into FG at a moment's notice, slap on a grid and add your adversaries to the CT then the map and you're good to go.

As with anything, you will stumble a bit first as you learn the best way to do things in not only FG, but in FG for your particular style of approach and workflow.

Ask questions, there's always someone happy to help with advice; almost everyone remembers what it was like to be working with the software as a new user DM.

[Andraax]

a BIG plus Roll20 have (for me anyway) is its web based, i can connect from anywhere and work on my stuff while FG is a app based, so cannot work on stuff while i am away.

Copy your campaign to your laptop, and you'll have it with you...

[Korak]

Copy your campaign to your laptop, and you'll have it with you...

I thought about that and i think that is what i will do.

[Trenloe]

I thought about that and i think that is what i will do.
You can then develop your campaign even when you don't have Internet.

[LordEntrails]

There are videos and info in the wiki about campaign and module creation, plus the forum post linked in my signature.

[Ken L]

Genearlly FG doesn't do on-the-fly very well unfortunately. Things like applying an effect or damage to a group of to npcs without a prepared effect or spell ability for damage is wishy-washy.

[JohnD]

Genearlly FG doesn't do on-the-fly very well unfortunately. Things like applying an effect or damage to a group of to npcs without a prepared effect or spell ability for damage is wishy-washy.

He's using 5e, so even if he only uses the SRD creatures those things will be there in the CT.

As for the rest, as he plays, he will build his list of effects and improve his familiarity with the software, if he's anything like the majority of users. Even just rolling the dice and making manual changes isn't rocket science.

[Ken L]

As for the rest, as he plays, he will build his list of effects and improve his familiarity with the software, if he's anything like the majority of users.

The SRD creatures are a form of 'ready' prep which are curiated damage/effect/healling/attack buttons, as well as any custom NPCs which still need a manual touch, basically FG is still prep oriented unless more on-the-fly controls are added in the future.

Here's some examples:

+ Additive or negative values for number fields are not supported. If you want to add damage manually you need to perform mental math and enter the new total which isn't a big deal but is tedious if it involves multiple destinations. This is because number fields are typically tied directly to a database node and don't provide a way to react to input such as +5 or -16 to allow subtraction/addition to the prior value of the field.

+ Application of effects require one to either select from the effect window if it's prepared, and drop it on the CT or map token if done manually. There is no support to apply an effect to a selection of tokens manually, a case where this exists is if an item or environmental effect is used which isn't prepared ahead of time, but requires editing a large group of tokens. As an addium, the 'group select' for tokens is rarely used save for moving a bunch of tokens, you can't even control group visibility so if 8 npcs go invisible you need to "right click" each one and select the radial.

+ Applying damage/healing manually to a group of tokens is also not supported, you can't select a group of tokens and damage them the same amount. As trivial as this sounds, there's two types of damage application, one pushing it through the ruleset where you may want to apply certian types of damage and run it against the damage receiver's defenses, and the other being direct damage ignoring the rule-set completely.


Generally most FG tools are focused on preparation as opposed to on-the-fly control. "It is what it is."

[LordEntrails]

Ok, I think we have probably gone deeper than Korak is interested in at this point.

Korak, let us know any other questions or how we can help.

[Korak]

Thanks for the information.
I am sure that i will get a better understanding as a start using the software from session to session.
i wanted more or less know to what i am getting in too.

[GavinRuneblade]

Thanks for the information.
I am sure that i will get a better understanding as a start using the software from session to session.
i wanted more or less know to what i am getting in too.

Korak, I play 5e and I often come up with adventures on the fly. One things that helps is having a lot of maps and knowing several of the adventures so you can borrow from them for a city or a minor side plot your players want to turn into a full session. Lots and lots and lots of images really helps. I'm doing pinterest searches constantly during sessions, lol.

And you can use the NPC and Notes sections to keep track of the things you have happen so next session you don't change an NPC's race by mistake or something like that. It works pretty good.

[mrgrey]

When it comes to FG, much as at the table, you can do prep that makes improvisation easier. You can easily create random encounter tables that only give the kinds of encounters you actually want to see, for example, and if you like each creature to have different hit points, the software takes care of it automatically. Also, you can always just bring up a blank image and draw a general map on it, then add a grid, if you want a map but don't want to draw anything fancy in advance. Likewise, if you like the random generation tables given in Volo's Guide, that's an excellent way to get yourself a fully statted gang of beasties for your party to fight without needing to pause the game to start rolling on tables.