A Hello and a few questions...

[EyeBall]

Well, hello everyone. I have been lurking a bit, and looking about trying to decide on whether or not to purchase this program. The DM for my current F-t-F game uses the interface to project maps and such. It cuts down on quite a bit of miniture incidents and such. I am sure at one time or another all of us has had the mini that would not stand, as well as the mini that somehow ends up on the pizza. At any rate, I thought I would lurk around the boards for a bit, and see what may be. Over all the community seems somewhat stable. As a long time gamer, that leads me to ask a couple of questions.

1. How easy is it to get a game going? Are players dependable based on the anonimity of the internet?


2. There has been quite a bit of mention about this 1.06 patch that should help with the creation of rulesets... any idea on when it will be released? Is it really that difficult to create a ruleset?

3. Looking at the Guild Hall, it would seem that d20 is the most commonly used system. Is D&D the main game played? How open is the community to other games?

4. Finally, the question that I am currently struggling with.. is it better to purchase the full or lite liscence? I am a long time player and DM, but I am not positive that I will be running a game.

Thanks in advance for any and all responses.

Eyeball

[Cypher]

Welcome EyeBall!



1. How easy is it to get a game going? Are players dependable based on the anonimity of the internet?


I have found that it's been fairly easy to get a game going actually. Sure you may have to wait a couple weeks before it launches, but be patient and you will be rewarded. As far as finding dependable people I would suggest that you overbook your game to ensure that you have enough people to play. If you want 4, book 8!



2. There has been quite a bit of mention about this 1.06 patch that should help with the creation of rulesets... any idea on when it will be released? Is it really that difficult to create a ruleset?


I think the standard line here is "it will be released when it's done." As far as ruleset creation I am not an expert there so I'll leave that for some of the other folks to answer.



3. Looking at the Guild Hall, it would seem that d20 is the most commonly used system. Is D&D the main game played? How open is the community to other games?


Yes d20 is by far the most commonly played system. It comes as the default system in the program. Other systems are played, but with less frequency so you may have a more difficult time finding/launching those games then you would a d20 game.



4. Finally, the question that I am currently struggling with.. is it better to purchase the full or lite liscence? I am a long time player and DM, but I am not positive that I will be running a game.


If you even think you MIGHT DM a game, buy the full license. You can't change your mind later and upgrade the lite to full. You'd have to buy a full license in addition to the lite license you already bought. That may not be so bad if you were willing to give the lite license to a friend as a gift.

Hope that helps you in some small way, and welcome to the forums! :D

[LordTomar]

Well, hello everyone. I have been lurking a bit, and looking about trying to decide on whether or not to purchase this program. The DM for my current F-t-F game uses the interface to project maps and such. It cuts down on quite a bit of miniture incidents and such. I am sure at one time or another all of us has had the mini that would not stand, as well as the mini that somehow ends up on the pizza. At any rate, I thought I would lurk around the boards for a bit, and see what may be. Over all the community seems somewhat stable. As a long time gamer, that leads me to ask a couple of questions.

1. How easy is it to get a game going? Are players dependable based on the anonimity of the internet?

As a player, when I first bought the program, that day I posted on the forum that I was looking for a game and got a response either the same day or the next about a group that was just starting on FG and was looking for a couple more players. Ive been with that group since then... about 8 months now.



2. There has been quite a bit of mention about this 1.06 patch that should help with the creation of rulesets... any idea on when it will be released? Is it really that difficult to create a ruleset?


Like it was posted earlier, 1.06 will be released when they get it ready...

I have not worked with the workings of FG yet, so I really cant comment on how hard it is to work with it. And my view on the ruleset, only thing you need, in most cases, for a custom ruleset is to make a char sheet. This is because nothing in FG is scripted (at this time).



3. Looking at the Guild Hall, it would seem that d20 is the most commonly used system. Is D&D the main game played? How open is the community to other games?


A very large portion of the games are D20, but there are groups that play other rules. My group just started playing a Serenity RPG game. Theres also a group playing Riddle of Steel, think people are playing GURPS, there was talk of Warhammer... and a few others... So i think the comunity is open to different other game systems.



4. Finally, the question that I am currently struggling with.. is it better to purchase the full or lite liscence? I am a long time player and DM, but I am not positive that I will be running a game.

Thanks in advance for any and all responses.

Eyeball

If there is any chance of you DMing then get the full liscence. I never really plan on DMing, but I got the full just in case i do at a later date.

[BaldMike]

Eyeball,

First of all, welcome to the community! I, too, am a long time D&D'er (since the late 70s) and feel right at home here. And, like you, I'm still pretty new here. Thinking I bought the license in maybe late February/early March.


1. How easy is it to get a game going? Are players dependable based on the anonimity of the internet?

I am only playing right now, not DMing, but I found a game fairly quick. When our game is full, there are normally seven players. Again, I've only played with them for a month now but everytime there has been five or more players. It seems that with most of the games being run a private message board gets set up and, barring emergencies, folks keep their word about being there to play.


2. There has been quite a bit of mention about this 1.06 patch that should help with the creation of rulesets... any idea on when it will be released? Is it really that difficult to create a ruleset?


I don't know when 1.06 will be released and it's not a real issue with me. I know the DM in the game I play has a very complete ruleset that obviously took a lot of time to bring together. I'm not sure how difficult it is but certainly time consuming. Again though, I don't think any real ruleset is required if all players and GM had books in hand...


3. Looking at the Guild Hall, it would seem that d20 is the most commonly used system. Is D&D the main game played? How open is the community to other games?

It seems that some type of d20 system is probably the most commonly used system. As someone who looks at the boards regularly it seems that there is always a lot of interest in any new game being played. D&D will always be my game but The Riddle of Steel campaign looks very interesting and you'll note that there is huge attention paid to it...at least based on number of threads viewed. D&D is still better though! :D


4. Finally, the question that I am currently struggling with.. is it better to purchase the full or lite liscence? I am a long time player and DM, but I am not positive that I will be running a game.

This was one I thought about. I've been on both ends for many years but wasn't sure that I would be DMing in a virtual environment. Eventually, I just decided to buy the full license...just in case. And frankly, even if I never DM here the cost is still cheap IMHO.

Just my two coppers worth... Good luck, good gaming and I hope to see you around.

Mike

[EyeBall]

.... think people are playing GURPS, there was talk of Warhammer... and a few others... So i think the comunity is open to different other game systems.

Warhammer you say. So someone has converted it to D20, or is there an actual ruleset? I have recently become involved - after a several year hiatus- with a F-t-F Warhammer game. Unfortunately it looks as though it will disintegrate due to the fact the half the players are moving in the next couple of months. Ahhh, life in a college town.

Oh, and BTW, I purchased the Full Liscence, and I must say that I am quite impressed with the interface, what little I am able to play with.

Eye

[draeven57]

Heya, for the Warhammer Fantasy ruleset join this group:

https://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/azureawfrp/

I have been using FG to run my Warhammer Fantasy group since February. The newest ruleset is sweet...

Laters

[DarkStar]

Aw, why do you make people join Yahoo! Groups just to see a rulest? ;) Gee.

[draeven57]

I don't 'make' anyone join anything... That is just where I got the ruleset... :o

[tdwyer11b]

Is it really that difficult to create a ruleset?


Creating a ruleset really isn't that difficult, if your willing to learn a little XML. It is very time consuming if you plan to go all the way. The main focus should be on the character sheet if your planning to do a ruleset other than d20, the rest is just supplemental rules info.

[Sigurd]

Because Fantasy Grounds represents dice rolling and graphic sharing so simply I think it's important to note that you don't really need a ruleset to play a variant RPG.


Rulesets are really nice and help keep track of whats going on but ....


Without a ruleset, as a DM you can:

Watch all the rolls a player makes and tell them the outcome in chat.
Share the rolls you make (or not) and interpret them to your players.
Share maps and diagrams and scanned character sheets online.
Reveal only portions of a map as the players explore it.
Share pictures, histories, backgrounds and plot with any or all players in a game.


Thats enough to play any RPG that I can think of so long as people know the rules. All without the aid of a ruleset.
Undeniably a ruleset and a character sheet increase your involvement in the game, they give you a focus for your imagination of you character, but if all your players know how to play they can play any RPG without a custom ruleset.

Its nice to know because it means (worse case scenario) you can still play while someone looks for or developes a char sheet & other supports.


Sigurd

[Griogre]

Good summary by Sigurd. It puts in a nutshell one of the major reasons I choose FG. You don't need a ruleset to play, its nice but not necesary.