The software

[GreyFalcon70]

Hello,

I have played D&D for years from pen and paper to online. I am looking to maybe get back to my roots as it were and like the idea of a tabletop. I fooled around with roll 20 years ago. it seems that fantasy is the newest thing. I would like a straight forward answer though is it worth it? is it hard to find groups? is it worth my 40$? Looked at it I like what I see but want some feedback.

Thanks,
Grey

[Zacchaeus]

Hi GreyFalcon welcome to FG.

Since this is the FG forum of course we are going to say it is worth it. The only way that you can determine that for yourself is to play around with it.

If you are going to be a player then the chances are very high that you will only need to demo version since most DMs have the Ultimate license which allows any number of players with the demo to join their games. You only really need to invest in a license if you are going to be a DM.

I'd suggest that you join the FGCollege (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?40020-Join-Fantasy-Grounds-College-Learn-Fantasy-Grounds-learn-D-amp-D-and-then-play!) and they'll give you a handle on the software. You may also find games in the looking for groups (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?40-LFG-Looking-for-Group) channel here or in the DM looking for players channel on the official Discord (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?36377-New-Official-Discord-Server).

[SirGraystone]

I have been using Fantasy Grounds for the last two years, it brought me back to D&D, I play twice a week as DM and 1 or 2 night as a player so even at 150 for the ultimate version it was worth it for me.

You see many game looking for players in the LFG forums you can have a look before buying anything, or post you availability with the day of the week, the hours and time zone you are in, but it is of course easier to find a game if you are DM.

About the 40$, if you join a game in which the DM as the ultimate version of FG then you can use the free version to play.

[LordEntrails]

Well, FG actually isn't the New thing, I think it pre-dates Roll20 by 3 or 4 years. Note that it is also always improving. We get several significant release upgrades a year (roughly 3 or 4 I think?). So don't worry about thinking the software is old or stale.

I did my research on VTT's back on 2015 I think. There were many reasons I chose FG at the time. The biggest ones were;
1) DM prep time and making homebrew content is much easier here than Roll20 or elsewhere. Still true today, plus if you make custom 5E content you can sell it on the DMsGuild.com if you want (and you should check their under "Virtual Table Top" format to see lots of community made content).
2) The community here. It's active, it friendly, and it's open. Unlike other places, as long as you show civility you can talk openly about FG and gaming. If you look hard enough, you'll find complaints etc and they are openly discussed with the developers. To me, a company that suppresses discussion about its weaknesses versus a company that openly admits and discusses areas for improvement is a big difference. Not to say I think FG has lots of flaws or problems, I don't, I think it's very solid. But there are design choices and practical limitations that not everyone agrees with. And such is discussed openly and civilly with FG.
3) Official content. At the time FG was the only one with licensed 5E content. Now you can get most of it on Roll 20, but at full price where on FG it's about half off (or less). So even after buying an FG license (required to use the 5E books unless a GM shares them with you), FG is still cheaper once you buy 2 books.
4) FG is client-server and not Software as a Service. This means if FG ever goes out of business I still have access to the program and all my content (unlike if Roll20 ever shuts down or changes their terms of service.)
5) I found FG much easier to use than Roll20. I'm an anomaly I know :)
6) FG is, at least for the way I like to run games, is the better VTT.

So yea, imo, its worth every dollar I've spent on it.

[ddavison]

Try it for 30 days and then return it for a full refund if you don't like it.

[seycyrus]

...is it worth my 40$? ...
Grey

Yes, it is worth three times that.

[damned]

fantasy grounds is a much more feature rich platform.
finding games though is still up to you. it is a social hobby built on social interactions. you will need to engage with people and explore opportunities as they present.

[GavinRuneblade]

I don't regret a penny I've spent.

And the two biggest reasons for me have both been mentioned by others: the community here is amazing and helpful; and if anything happens years down the road the software is still functional on my computer for as long as I want to keep using it.

[GreyFalcon70]

Thanks For all the Info

[Arion]

I have been using FG since early 2009 (mainly to GM) and we are still playing at least once a week. It now feels more real than face to face gaming does!

[BrettM]

Thanks For all the Info

I'm a little late to the party. What I can tell you is I used Roll20 as a DM for ~2.5 years -- Jan/16 ot Oct/18. My group of 4 (plus me) migrated to FG.

I believe you gain a lot more than you lose with FG (you mainly lose: a) Dynamic Lighting if you were paying the $5/m Roll20 subscription; and b) the ability to "see" all the NPC tokens right away on a battlemap -- more on this below).

I was paying $5/m on Roll20 (actually I paid the $50/y version of the plan). Knowing I would probably stay with FG for a number of years, the $149 Ultimate would pay for itself in 3 years (I'm an engineer by education -- can you tell :p ), and allow my gang to play with the free version. We all pitched in to cover the cost of core books, etc. (we play D&D 5e).

For me, we hit the 'roof' of Roll20 and I wasn't interested in constantly coding Roll20 to accomplish what I wanted. FG allowed automatic gameplay in a lot of areas. We did the 30 days trial (all store purchases can be refunded in that period, so no risk), and made the go / no-go call.

I like Dynamic Lighting of Roll20, but can live without it, and looking forward to it in FGU. I really liked being able to see all the NPC tokens immediately on any map I pulled up in Roll20. In FG, in order to accomplish the same, I have to add all the encounters of one map to the Combat Tracker. Not an elegant solution, but again I've adjusted to it as these two points don't outweigh the plus of using FG.

In summary, I would say Roll20 is less expensive to start and probably a bit easier for the starting DM / Player using VTT for the first time. That said, with the number of FG videos around now, versus 3 years ago, if I understood the value of FG back then, I probably would have jumped into the monthly FG subscription, and then went One-Time at some point.

Very happy with FG. Good luck either way!

[GavinRuneblade]

In summary, I would say Roll20 is less expensive to start and probably a bit easier for the starting DM / Player using VTT for the first time. That said, with the number of FG videos around now, versus 3 years ago, if I understood the value of FG back then, I probably would have jumped into the monthly FG subscription, and then went One-Time at some point.


This video by Taking20 (https://youtu.be/1gHmxi4EydE) compares the prices side-by-side and shows for which combinations of products roll20 is cheaper and when fantasy grounds is cheaper. I don't know if the prices have changed since it was done, but it gives some great analysis on how to spend your money wisely. Might be helpful to some who are on the fence one way or another. In general the more books you buy the more likely FG is cheaper. The less you buy the more likely you will save money via roll20. Which, as you mentioned, is often true for DMs who are just starting out.

[Zacchaeus]

The less you buy the more likely you will save money via roll20. Which, as you mentioned, is often true for DMs who are just starting out.
This is unlikely since as far as I know the core rulebooks for 5e are 40% cheaper for FG than in roll 20 and that is before bundle discounts.

[GavinRuneblade]

This is unlikely since as far as I know the core rulebooks for 5e are 40% cheaper for FG than in roll 20 and that is before bundle discounts.
All the books are cheaper here on FG not just the core books. If you get the DMG, PHB, and MM and nothing else that's ~$150 on Roll20. A FG Ultimate so you can DM for a full group who are all using free licenses is about the same price, but then you need the books for ~$80. If you get 1 year of Roll20 paid that's $50, so Roll20 is still cheaper. After the first year or add basically ANY more books and FG pulls ahead.

So if you buy very little Roll20 can be cheaper as I said. But start adding any content, adventures, etc. FG is the better deal really fast. Add the Roll20 sub or pro version and FG is cheaper no matter what you do starting on year 2.

[LordEntrails]

You can play and run Roll20 completely free (for me its a very poor experience) and you can't do that with FG. BUT, once you decide to spend money, FG is cheaper and far better. So, if free is your driving factor, then go Roll20 or MapTools. If you are going to spend any money, then go FG.

[Andraax]

All the books are cheaper here on FG not just the core books. If you get the DMG, PHB, and MM and nothing else that's ~$150 on Roll20. A FG Ultimate so you can DM for a full group who are all using free licenses is about the same price, but then you need the books for ~$80. If you get 1 year of Roll20 paid that's $50, so Roll20 is still cheaper. After the first year or add basically ANY more books and FG pulls ahead.

You can get a $5/mo subscription for FG.

[Andraax]

You can play and run Roll20 completely free (for me its a very poor experience) and you can't do that with FG. BUT, once you decide to spend money, FG is cheaper and far better. So, if free is your driving factor, then go Roll20 or MapTools. If you are going to spend any money, then go FG.

You can *play* completely free on FG, only the GM needs to pay.

[Valarian]

You can play and run Roll20 completely free (for me its a very poor experience) and you can't do that with FG. BUT, once you decide to spend money, FG is cheaper and far better. So, if free is your driving factor, then go Roll20 or MapTools. If you are going to spend any money, then go FG.

You can *play* completely free on FG, only the GM needs to pay.
Only if the GM forks out for the Ultimate license, which is equivalent to the Roll20 Pro subscription

[GavinRuneblade]

Only if the GM forks out for the Ultimate license, which is equivalent to the Roll20 Pro subscription

Also if you are onsite and using the software as an aid even the DM can play FG completely free. Examples are the groups that use FG for the table or just as a tool for the DM behind the screen. It is really hard to do a complete comparison because there are so many variables and fringe cases. Which is why I tried to stick to just the general and refer to someone else's attempt lol.