New to FG and need advice on a couple things

[Rallits]

I am new to Fantasy Grounds and I have been learning a lot. Due to the COVID-19 risk I told my players we should switch to playing online. At first I tried Roll20 and did not like it much. I have used it in the past but felt I was fighting the UI the whole time. We played our first session of Roll20 and spent 1 hour trying to fix character sheets and formulas, I am a computer networker with minor programming experience and it still was a nightmare. I realized more that Roll20 is more of a battlemap then a VTT. When I started looking into FG I liked a lot of the features. Being able to set encounters, parcels and assign experience from encounters is really appealing.

I am DMing "Eyes of the Lich Queen" a 3.5 Eberron adventure. I discovered that support for 3.5 is limited as WOTC hasn't licensed 3.5 content like they have for 5E. It's understandable considering the age of the system but puts me in a pickle.

I encouraged players to have simple characters but some have content outside the SRD. Seems the default for FG only includes SRD. I have been looking for a way to add the other content but have not had any luck. So it looks like I have to add it manually.

It also seems I am going to have to help the players create effects to emulate feats and class features. I experimented a bit and figured out how to create effects for things like Sneak Attack and Combat Expertise. I saw some people have created stuff similar to this but there is almost nothing for 3.5 or if there is I didn't find it.

I am not very experienced yet and will have to create most content in the campaign. I did find "NPC Engineer" but this looks to be for 5E. I haven't found a tool similar for 3.5.

I want to create a module for the campaign and have all content in that module. But looking at some guides has been confusing. I want to be able to navigate through the campaign with ease and make the switch over as painless as I can for my players.

The last issue is that FG stores the data in Appdata and it looks like some if not most content is in the campaign folder in appdata. This is a problem for me. I have multiple PCs and work on my campaign on two different PCs. Then when I DM I use my laptop hooked up to a TV for my players. Currently this is not an issue with us playing online only but later it will be.

In addition since FG is Server-Client system I am assuming my game needs to be on for players to edit characters and stuff. So if I end the session and award loot, exp, etc I have to keep the game on for them to make changes. This might annoy some players as we are moving from Roll20 and that is not an issue. I planned to just run FG on my server and always have it up but since I have FG installed Via Steam I can't since I use steam for games and such on my regular PC. I found out that if I have an Ultimate license I can host on one machine and just run Demo on my normal PC to connect as DM but you can't do that with a normal License to my understanding. I guess I can use Remote Desktop for my server and connect when I want to use FG from any PC in the house but that doesn't solve the steam issue.

I know this is a lot to ask. So I am going to summarize my questions below. If you have a tip for one of my questions I would love to hear from you. There is a lot I can learn from all you FG veterans.

1. Is there free content modules for other D&D 3.5 books like the Completes, Eberron Campaign, etc.

2. What is the cleanest way to create my own module that will be easy to navigate while DMing. (I found some a nightmare to look at in the Story section. I found the author.ext but it looks different in 3.5 ruleset)

3. Are there 3.5 effects somewhere that emulate most if not all feats, class features and spell effects

4. Can I use Fantasy Grounds on multiple PCs while working on the same campaign.

5. Can I download a non-Steam version of the game and use my license on it so I can always have it running and not have to lock up my steam account on my server?

Also any other advice you have for me just starting would be great. From must have modules to useful extentions. Any help is much appreciated.[/td]

[LordEntrails]

edit: I forgot to say Welcome!


1. Is there free content modules for other D&D 3.5 books like the Completes, Eberron Campaign, etc.
If it's protected by copyright, it can't be distributed. Most of 3.5 is still protected by copyright. Now, Pathfinder had a community use policy that was pretty lenient and lots of PF (1E) stuff is available in FG for free, plus some of the actual PF source books are now licensed on FG. For more resources for both 3.5 and PF, see here;
https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?22402-OGL-material-for-use-in-Fantasy-Grounds


2. What is the cleanest way to create my own module that will be easy to navigate while DMing. (I found some a nightmare to look at in the Story section. I found the author.ext but it looks different in 3.5 ruleset)
Create your own modules using development campaigns and then /export to make modules. Numerous YouTube videos walk through this, plus see the link in my signature for best practices.


3. Are there 3.5 effects somewhere that emulate most if not all feats, class features and spell effects
See here for what's available; https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?18006-Effects-library


4. Can I use Fantasy Grounds on multiple PCs while working on the same campaign.
Yes, BUT... you can change the install directory during install, you can change your FG Data directory via settings. But the 'but' is, don't let two processes access the same data at the same time. This means if you put your FG Data on a cloud synced folder don;t let the cloud sync your data while FG is running or you may get corrupted data! And if you use a shared drive, don't let two instances of FG (from two computers) access the data at the same time or you may get corrupted data. (FG uses a flat file for database information and can not handle the db files being accessed by two processes at the same time).


5. Can I download a non-Steam version of the game and use my license on it so I can always have it running and not have to lock up my steam account on my server?
Yes, Steam is just a wrapper for FG. Link your Steam account (see FAQ on how) and just download FG from the website here.


Also any other advice you have for me just starting would be great. From must have modules to useful extentions. Any help is much appreciated.[/td]
RTFM? Just kidding, sort of :) There is tons of info out there. If you like Videos, go that way by searching on YouTube. Be aware that though 3.5 is different from 5E, much of the UI, behaves the same (though 5E has much more automation than 3.5E). Also be aware of the wiki, especially when you are looking at things like creating effects or using the UI. The Manual is also good, though it is mostly a reformat of the wiki. Finally, Discord is a great application for getting real-time support and discussion on FG. See the official FG Discord server. And, finally, look into www.fantasygroundscollege.net (https://www.fantasygroundscollege.net). Free classes and support on using FG!

[damned]

I know your flavour is 3.5 but there is a wealth of resources for PathFinder both licensed and SRD.
And of course there is also much licensed data for 5E and 2E

Worth at least a minutes consideration. Good luck and have fun whatever route you choose.

[GavinRuneblade]

2. What is the cleanest way to create my own module that will be easy to navigate while DMing. (I found some a nightmare to look at in the Story section. I found the author.ext but it looks different in 3.5 ruleset)

I have taken a lot of PDFs and made them into my own modules. You basically copy/paste each section into its own story entry. Copy the image and link them via drag and drop. If there are NPCs/monsters and items create them and link them. Setup the encounters and the treasure parcels and you're done. Export it as a module for later use.

It isn't that bad, but it isn't fun either.

[Trenloe]

Pathfinder had a community use policy that was pretty lenient and lots of PF (1E) stuff is available in FG for free...
Don't confuse the Paizo community use policy with material released under the OGL - these are actually two different things.

The reason there is so much Paizo material available is that Paizo releases their material under the Open Gaming License (OGL), with the usual things classed an intellectual property and not covered by the OGL (artwork, place names, story and descriptive text, etc.). What we know as FG database records (classes, backgrounds, feats, spells, items, etc. - not including images and stories) are covered by the OGL - hence why we see lots of community modules for Pathfinder data, but none for adventures.

WotC released very little of their 3.5E material under the OGL - basically what was included in their SRD.

The Paizo Community Use policy (https://paizo.com/community/communityuse) allows limited use of material that isn't normally covered by the OGL - certain images, some descriptive text, etc..