FNG to FG

[RBloom0566]

Greetings! I am not yet a user and seek answers prior to becoming one.
Been rpg’ing since I was 16. Am 52. D&D 1.0, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0 & 3.5. BECMI. MERP. Many others. Pathfinder currently.

An old group of gamer friends and I had a gaming reunion last year in TN. We are scattered across AL, MS & VA. We wish to continue the adventure I made for TN.

I, as DM, need something that is user friendly (ie. tech simple) to use. Using Pathfinder and hand-drawn maps, how involved would it be to run my game on Fantasy Grounds, hosting my group of five (total)?

I already know it doesn’t support voice/video. How big/involved of a headache would it be to get up and running on FG?

Thanks in advance. Your input will made my purchase decision for me.

[Zacchaeus]

Hi RB welcome to FG.

This is the kind of question which is hard to answere because there isn’t an easy answer. The glib one is no trouble at all, you’ll be up and running in 5 minutes. But that isn’t true. You need to learn how to use the software, not just the mechanics of the programme but also your chosen ruleset (Pathfinder). How well you learn that depends on whether you expect just to load up the program and it somehow magically tells you all you need to know, or if you expect to do a bit of reading of the user manual, watch a few videos, ask a few questions on the forums or Discord. In other words how much time you are prepared to put in to learning and using the software.

So the answer is that there is no answer since it depends on you, and only you know how much patience you have to learn something new.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t direct you to FGCollege. Well worth dropping in there and taking some classes or getting answers to questions https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?40020-Join-Fantasy-Grounds-College-Learn-Fantasy-Grounds-learn-D-amp-D-and-then-play!

[Three of Swords]

I haven't actually visited FGCollege, but I would recommend you try that. See what you think.

That being said, if you're technically challenged, Roll20 might be a better option. I hate to say it because I prefer FG and would like to support Smiteworks. But the truth is being browser-based, Roll20 is easier to get started for most people using just basic tools. Esp if you plan to hand-draw your dungeons, as you stated in your OP. Roll20 has better drawing tools, and includes text tools which FG does not.

But any group that doesn't mind digging in a bit to learn, wants combat automation in popular games, and easier setup for the DM should consider FG. My group of friends and I used Roll20 for years. We liked it, but wanted to at least try FG. We decided to test FG for one adventure and have stayed here since then.

[LordEntrails]

Have to agree that the answer is "it depends". I'm an old grognard like you, playing since the Holmes box.

I will say that while Three of Swords is right that many people say that Roll20 is easier to learn than FG, for me it's not. I've run 2 campaigns on Roll20 and both of them I struggled through as the GM. I never got more than just getting the maps in and sized right and the player sheets were nothing more than nicely formatted static text. That and NPCs I had to track everything (AC, Hit Points, attacks) manually on a piece of paper because I couldn't figure out how to do anything else with them. I'm sure its capable of it, but I spent hours and couldn't figure it out. So, though many people say Roll20 is easier or more intuitive, for me its not.

The next thing I would suggest you consider is the community and support. To me, FG is far more friendly and a community I like being part of. The community here is very active, very friendly and SmiteWorks fosters a very open and civil place. You'll notice that not only are flame wars almost non-existent (I think I've seen 1 in the years I've been here), but also that civil discussion and even criticism of FG is allowed here. You won't find that on Roll20. That's a big thing to me.

Then consider costs. Yes you can play on Roll20 for free. But there are tons of things you can not do on a free account, like moving content you create (including characters) from one campaign to the another. Once you are paying a subscription for Roll20, then the costs are the same as an FG subscription. Since I don't like subscriptions, the one-time FG license is cheaper after you have used it for awhile. And if you buy the 5E books they are cheaper than on Roll20 on FG.

Finally is content creation. It's really easy on FG. Sure, FG can't create a map, but I do that in a dedicated mapping program and then just import the image file in. Easy to size it, etc. You can also create any hoembrew you want, adventures, classes, spells, etc.

You also mentioned voice, Discord is exceptionally easy to setup, and if you prefer, their is a free community TeamSpeak server. So voice and video is easy to incorporate. (Also on this note, in those two Roll20 campaigns I ran, I could never get voice or video to work and was told by players in those campaigns who had been using Roll20 for years not to bother trying.)

[Bidmaron]

Well if all you want to do is an rpg over the internet without putting any computer assistance to work, Roll 20 is easier to pick up (most believe). However if you would like your computer to do something more than enable remote gaming, then FG is the only real answer. It has much more automation and can be customized to a much greater extent than Roll 20.

Think of it this way: if you want to craft a two page summary of a meeting, you could do so in a text messaging phone app. But if you want to write a novel with a complex plot and rich, consistent characters you would most likely at least use Microsoft Word or even Dramatica or some other for-purpose tool. Sure, you could eventually get it done on a phone messaging app but why?
You don’t have to be a techno geek to use FG (less true if you want to tailor the ruleset or interface) but you do have to be willing to learn the application to the degree that you want to take advantage of its power. If all you want to do is eliminate the geography problem and still do all you DM bookkeeping, mapping, and so on by hand, it shouldn’t take you more than 15 minutes to be up and going after the install. But that would be almost as bad as buying a car and moving it around by sticking your leg out the open door and pushing it along a flat road.

[Topdecker]

I found an old 1e module and decided that converting it to 5e would be my method of learning FG. It was 12-15 hours before I got the conversion done and felt good enough to try it out with some players.

It has pretty much been like riding a bike after that, but you have to put some time into the learning curve.

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