Maps, quests and all that - how do I start?

[Ranger Arden]

Hi! I'm an experienced 3.5 player and DM offline but new to playing it on FG. I was wondering if there was any support for starting and all that? First thing I noticed... the dice roll weirdly. Second, how do I use maps? Is there any way to set them in as the background rather than a weird floaty window? Can I navigate around the map at all or do I just get to see that bit?
Lots of questions. Ok.
Secondly, is there any pre-made quest content and similar that I could use? Just looking to get a quick start while I figure out the platform.
Thanks in advance!

[Herb]

Hi Ranger Arden

I may have missed the point of your question about navigating around maps and quest content, but it should be mentioned that FG isn't a Computer RPG in itself that you start up and start playing. If you know that already, sorry - but it's important that you know FG is merely a Virtual Table Top simulator.
What FG does do, is use defined rulesets (eg, DnD 2E, 3.5E, 5E, Pathfinder 1 and 2 and quite a lot of other RPGs) to allow you to run a campaign in pretty much the same way that you would have done at a real table - except FG uses the rulesets to automate a lot of the irritating maths stuff and allow the players some visual interaction like seeing tokens on shared maps (shared to everyone as a campaign element in a movable window on the virtual tabletop). The campaign provides a digital repository for your game - allowing rule books, character sheets, maps, inventory, storylines etc to be stored and accessed easily by anyone with an FG install on the Internet. So you can start playing and then stop for a while and then continue as it suits the group - as you would do normally at the table top. Some campaigns have lasted years with players joining and leaving - just as you would with a sit-down game around a table.

If you haven't, I reccomend you google/youtube some of the FG campaigns that have been recorded and shared - check The Digital DM and the Fantasy Grounds College (FGC is the best resource for learning and starting, IMHO) - this will show you how FG is used to play.


If you already know that, and you're looking for rulesets and adventure modules and other material that you can use with FG, then the Fantasy Grounds store is the place to start.
For free content, you can find quite a lot on the DM's Guild - including some single-player games (not free unfortunately) as well, which would also teach you how the FG interface works.

If you have FG running already, then FG comes with a 5E Sample Campaign and some instructions that you can play around with as GM to get used to the interfaces.


Hope that helps

[LordEntrails]

I always recommend people start with the User Manual; https://www.fantasygrounds.com/filelibrary/FantasyGroundsUserManual.pdf
Then the tutorial campaign (yes it's 5E, but that matters little)
Then videos if you like them.
Then www.fantasygroundscollege.net

[Ranger Arden]

Ah, thanks so much! Yeah I'm aware that it's an interface rather than a game. I'm just not sure what stuff does like... what does adding a quest do? I've always been very much a homebrew DM so it was like oh you've been horrors today? HAVE A GELATINOUS CUBE. So I'm not sure what some of the functions do. Pen and paper? Fantastic. But when it's technical my brain gets a bit overloaded.
But thanks so much for the resources and answers :D I do really appreciate the time and help.

[LordEntrails]

What all those things do should be detailed in the User Manual I linked, or you can find them in the Wiki. For example, Quests in the 5E ruleset are detailed as the last section here; https://www.fantasygrounds.com/wiki/index.php/5E_Party_Sheet
In short, they have a description and a way to store and assign XP to the party. ("Free the princess" 500xp)

[Blahness98]

I don't spend time there, but if you have questions and need real time help, try the Fantasy Grounds College (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?47971-Fantasy-Ground-College-(FGC)-Class-One-shots-Demo-s-and-short-adventures-times). They have a bunch of resources to help out those new to using FG