Hi! Returning with questions!

[TheClaireProject]

So I'm picking up DnD again with a group of online buddies, and after fumbling through Roll20's "The Master's Vault", I'd like to see if I can persuade my group (if I pay the monthly fee for each of them to try it) to come to Fantasy Grounds. But before I do I want to get my info all lined up so I can present it properly.

We were interested in another campaign offered on Roll20, "Waterdeep: Dragon Heist" I think it's called. On Roll 20, it has a bundle price, and comes with four "season/villain paths". I'm assuming based on the Fantasy Grounds price that it doesn't come with those options (nor did I see them offered after a quick search of the store). I wanted to double check and make sure before I just guessed.

Secondly, that bundle on Roll20 also came with a "bonus token pack" and I wanted to know if people had any recommendations on packs to get, token and map wise for certain campaigns, like the Waterdeep one for instance.

Annnnd lastly for now, a ways back when I originally played with this program, I remember a "future tool" that was being worked on that allowed the addition of flowing water on maps and stuff? Is that still a thing? My client got an update so I assume this isn't dead, but...I wanted to ask.

Any help and answers are appreciated. ^.^ Thanks!

[damned]

Hola TheClaireProject

This product is $50 on Roll20 and $25 here :)
They are presented in different formats as the two platforms do things differently bu the content is pretty much the same across both.
The FG product has over 100 tokens too :)

The new mapping features have not yet arrived.

[SirGraystone]

Waterdeep: Dragon Heist in FG come with all nine chapters and appendix you would find in the hardcover. That includes the four "seasons/villain path", the maps, tokens, etc...

[TheClaireProject]

Oh wow! So it comes with all the things Roll20 gives for half the price? >3> Geez...

Definitely taking that into consideration. Thank you so much!

[esmdev]

So I'm picking up DnD again with a group of online buddies, and after fumbling through Roll20's "The Master's Vault", I'd like to see if I can persuade my group (if I pay the monthly fee for each of them to try it) to come to Fantasy Grounds. But before I do I want to get my info all lined up so I can present it properly.

Any help and answers are appreciated. ^.^ Thanks!

If you are going to be the DM you could subscribe to the ultimate license. It is identical to the standard license except that demo licenses can connect and play with an ultimate license without restrictions. So you would only need to pay one license while they try it out.

Another nice thing with Dragon Heist is a supplemental map pack that comes bundled for free with alternate maps which are much better, imho, than the original maps. Same with mad mage.

Additionally, you will probably also want to at least get the Players Handbook because the SRD/Basic ruleset is... well basic. :)

Finally, if you try it and don't like it you can get a refund from Smiteworks within 30 days.

Hope this helps.

[UltimateGM]

Trust me you will like it! I don't see you returning it because I had the same questions when I came here. Ive never looked back to Roll20. Ever!!! The ultimate license is the best and like was already mentioned you can connect your players with them only having a demo license so you save money all around. If you like the program I recommend ditching the monthly payment and purchasing the ultimate license you will save money over the long run and it will be yours. So a one time payment and you can play forever. Also recommended is the players handbook and I agree. So much more to these modules then just text its like having the book... no it is having the book!

[lostsanityreturned]

Another thing to note is if you wish to subscribe to the ultimate version for now and then wait until a steam sale, all the licenses usually go on sale here at the same time :)

The adventure will come with everything you need to run the adventure, but there is a huge amount of benefit to having the PHB, Xanathars Guide and Dungeon Master's Guide on hand.

I also like the Sword Coast Adventurers guide to be on hand so I can share things with players or easily reference lore when running games in Faerun.

Have a gander at the fantasyground college group, they are reportedly quite helpful when teaching various functions/features of the program to people.
As a GM you can get a huge amount of quality of life out of fantasygrounds.

(for the record I spent a huge amount of time with roll20 and 5e)

[TheClaireProject]

Thank you all so much for your responses. Unfortunately I'm in a bit of an unemployment patch so I can't buy anything (I still have my old PHB licences thing), but once income tax comes around I'll look into it. One of the members decided to "show me how other DMs operate", so she's hosting one on Roll20 that I won't be participating in. I want to look into FG a bit more. ^.^" Hoping to find a group soon.

I appreciate all the advice and support! ♥

[LordNova2]

I am confident that you would not regret investing into Fantasy Grounds.
For some it can be realty intimidating at first due to its complexity, but this complexity builds towards its automation, and once you get the basics down you will find that this automation works way smoother on Fantasy Grounds that in Roll20.
I did work with Roll20 for almost two years prior to switching to FG. The feature I miss the most from Roll20 is Dynamic Lighting, which is not that big of a deal once you get going with the Mask features in FG.


A concern of mine when I first made the switch, my internet connection sucks! And this is important as I (my computer) acts as the server where all the players connect and download the data from. I got a wireless connection with a whole whopping 10mbps down and 2mbps up. To top this off one of the guys in my group was one the other side of the world. But it worked rather well, actually we had less issues with me as the host vs running Rol20.
Also with the bigger campaigns Roll20 can quickly bloat your browser with data causing it to be painfully slow and laggy. This is not so much their servers being slow as it is your poor browser trying to crunch through 20+ MB of pure HTML code (in some cases this could be as high as 50MB or even significantly more).


As others have stated there is the price-point that FG offers. Allot of the official D&D 5E materials from Wizards comes in at around half the price of its counter-part on Roll20. The third party content for D&D 5e can be a mix-up with some of it being cheaper and others charging the same price.

For starting into Fantasy Grounds as a DM I would recommend getting the Dungeon Master’s Guide, Player’s Handbook, and Monster Manual, plus whatever module(s) you would like to run, along with an Ultimate license or subscription.
Later on you may want to look into getting some of the other source materials like Volo’s Guide to Monsters and Xanatha’s Guide to Everything...
For being on a budget you should be able to skid by on getting the Player’s Hand Book and Waterdeep: Dragon Highest, along with an Ultimate subscription or license for Fantasy Grounds. While you may not be able to swing the $149 for the Ultimate license, you might find it to be more affordable to get a subscription for $10/mo until you do have saved some money to buy the license.
Also when you do get a group going, it is not to unusual to see players offer to help out by gifting modules and materials to their DMs.


Again, I am certain you will like Fantasy Grounds. I have yet to hear of anyone switching from Fantasy Grounds to another VTT once they got the hang of how Fantasy Grounds works.

[Xemit]

One of the recommended practices for a GM on Fantasy Grounds is to use a wired LAN connection and not Wi-Fi. The performance difference is significantly higher, even if you don't change your ISP connection.

Sometimes this isn't practical, but it is well worth it if you can for the session, even if only temporarily.

[LordNova2]

It is not a WiFi connection like most people often think...
My PC is hard-lined (wired) to the LAN in my house. It is a wireless-unit/modem/router that is installed on the roof of my house that communicates with a wireless tower, like 8 miles away if they are pining the Palmer tower? On site it is a Telrad CPE7000 (https://www.telrad.com/products/cpe7000-outdoor/) they have up on the roof. Once you get past my ISP's equipment, my equipment is very good for a home network, it is all hard-lined with the main network fully supporting 1GBE speeds.

It is either this wireless connection or dial-up over copper lines buried in the 1970s. I suppose there is also the satellite stuff with like 50,000MS pings. LOL