Daunted noob reaching for a glimmer of hope

[True Bond]

I just purchased my first license for FGC, excited to dig in to this gaming platform and build a campaign. Unfortunately I'm feeling a bit daunted, and I don't really know where to start.

I am sold on the functionality and potential for Fantasy Grounds. But I had no idea I'd have to learn so much in order to use it. I see so much discussion and sharing about how it can be customized to work with so many other rules sets, extensions, and modifications, especially for home brewed campaigns. I'd love to enjoy that level of creativity and functionality, but do I really have to learn code in order to do so? For anyone willing to throw me a bone here, how long did it take you to learn what you needed to learn in order to run a home brewed campaign? How about being able to create character races that aren't in the PHB. I am currently trudging through learning what I can and I'm hoping the light at the end of this tunnel isn't so far as to regret my choice to use FG.
Also, would it make more sense for me to wait and purchase FG Unity? That thought crossed my mind, but I wanted to dive in and run with this thing. Thanks in advance for any help you may be able to offer. It is my hope to be able to enjoy this format. The potential is exciting.

[superteddy57]

Well to code a full blown ruleset, 3 years of tinkering and working my way through all the various systems. I started with MoreCore as most do when faced with a group that wants to play a non-developed ruleset. I wanted more flexibility over what was on the sheet and focus it more to the system I was running. So I started to create small extensions to add those bits that were missing. It grew from there. The scope of Fantasy Grounds can be wide, but if you focus on starting small and adding the homebrew elements your wishing to see in the ruleset, you will slowly learn. As for your other questions they may be geared more towards the ruleset forums themselves. It sounds like it is more towards the creation of records (NPCs, Encounters, and Items). The coding bits come in when you want to change the make up of the ruleset and how/where it is supposed to display a certain field. Creating a custom class, race, or item can be a task that won't require coding. The basics are the key with Fantasy Grounds and there is the wiki, videos, and forum posts that can help with record creation. There is also the Fantasy Grounds College that offers classes as well to help you along. Check in with them if you prefer a more direct approach.

[damned]

Hi True Bond if you want specific answers you need to ask specific questions.

Creating Home Brew 5E classes etc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rV0vH1eeUZM&list=PLvtWYj3HpGj6aninQHnV7ZYH4fHpLg42I

RPGs are very complex. Computers are very Precise. If you program a computer to do XYZ it does XYZ, it doesnt do XYX or XYY. Sometimes its programmed to have options. Most content can be be added thru the program but Most still doesnt cover a gazillion edge cases or home brew ideas. Something might need a small code change and some will need a lot of code change.
Or when you want to do something that isnt covered by the automation you have to weigh up which is more important? The automation or doing exactly what you want Its ok to do some things, tracks some things, manually.

[Trenloe]

[Moved thread to the Tavern]

Many of us who started using FG year ago learned it over a number of gaming sessions.

For example, my first session had minimal information - basic PC data (to allow for the base rolls to be made from the PC sheet), a few maps (some even hand drawn as we played) and some base NPC data. No effects, no drag/drop automation data. And we had an amazing time! For me the best thing about using FG at first was just being able to game with my mates. But, down the line, I knew I’d want more functionality - but I didn’t need that in my first few sessions - I just wanted to play, and we did, and it was great.

In between the first and second session I thought about what I’d like to do next (without going nuts) and spent a little bit of time researching how to do those. This was mostly around story entries, flavour image, working out how to share a handout with just one player, etc.. I still had no idea what effects were and how to use them. Our session was still very enjoyable.

Over time I expanded my FG knowledge and started to add in actions and effects and drag/drop data, etc., etc..

Don’t get hung up with trying to do everything at once - either as a new GM or, once you get experienced, if a new player joins with little FG experience. Use FG to aid your gaming, not restrict it. If you just end up rolling dice, manually calculating the result and the GM editing HP etc. (if you’re playing a game with HP) then that’s great - you’re playing online! Small steps... But my recommendation is just to get playing with the basics - manage the expectation of the players and learn over time.

[Gaglug]

Take it slow. Take it step by step. Don't try to do everything all at once. You can slowly get used to FG, and slowly expand what and how you use the framework.

At the very basic level, you can use it for simple combat tracking and map integration. You can still use 100% of your customized stuff and all your house rules etc...they just won't be fully automated in the ruleset. That doesn't mean you can't use them...it means you use FG just like you play face to face. You can use any custom class you want and you can still play with it even if it isn't built in to your rules.

Once you get your feet wet and a good grounding, you can start automating more of your effects. Got a custom skill that isn't in the 5e ruleset? Its very easy to create a button on your player's actions tab that does damage, heals, applies effects, etc. Once you get that solid, you can start digging deeper. You've got all your effects, and now you can start adding custom character classes. Or maybe you want to create a new custom die roll for a new mechanic you introduced. Maybe you want to modify character sheets. Whatever you want, you can do with some time and effort.

Just don't try to do it all at once, just ease into it.

[lostsanityreturned]

Home brewed content is easy for most rulesets.

Creating a ruleset from scratch or adding major homebrew changes to a system can require a decent amount of technical knowledge and that is harder to quantify.

As for just learning program, I was able to learn it to a good degree within a couple of days of getting it. But I am the sort who happily read the PF2e core rule book cover to cover twice in the first month after it released.

It really isn't that hard to learn though, it just seems daunting at first. It is actually quite accessible in action.

[Griogre]

Try sitting in on someone else's game so you can see it in action if you can. Right now you see all the options and they seem equally important but the reality is there are only about a half a dozen that are really important: dice resolution, moving stuff on the map, accessing rule info and adventure info and getting NPC's and monsters to show up on the map and tracker.

[Silversteel]

It also depends on what game system you are using. If you're using a well-established system and just want to add some additional homebrewed material - items, a new class or race, etc, it's relatively easy. You may even find similar material has already been done. The best thing you can do is look at the wiki, etc, and learn how to actually run a game in FG. How to use the combat tracker, moving tokens on the map, things like that. Then take a short holiday from your usual game and buy a module from the FG website. It will install automatically, you go to the library and open the module. Read the module in FG, and you will find everything cross-linked. Clicking on the links will show you how to use the program as a DM/GM. Then work out what you need to use to actually run the module, and read/re-read that stuff in the wiki. Open a second instance of FG on your computer, join your own game as an NPC, and run one of the combats using the map and the combat tracker. Then invite one/some/all of your players to a test run, pointing out there will be lots of stuff-ups, and don't expect too much. Play, learn, enjoy. Then repeat with another module or 2. After that you will be in a much better position to know what you need to know, and its a relatively painless way to learn the program.

[True Bond]

Well to code a full blown ruleset, 3 years of tinkering and working my way through all the various systems. I started with MoreCore as most do when faced with a group that wants to play a non-developed ruleset. I wanted more flexibility over what was on the sheet and focus it more to the system I was running. So I started to create small extensions to add those bits that were missing. It grew from there. The scope of Fantasy Grounds can be wide, but if you focus on starting small and adding the homebrew elements your wishing to see in the ruleset, you will slowly learn. As for your other questions they may be geared more towards the ruleset forums themselves. It sounds like it is more towards the creation of records (NPCs, Encounters, and Items). The coding bits come in when you want to change the make up of the ruleset and how/where it is supposed to display a certain field. Creating a custom class, race, or item can be a task that won't require coding. The basics are the key with Fantasy Grounds and there is the wiki, videos, and forum posts that can help with record creation. There is also the Fantasy Grounds College that offers classes as well to help you along. Check in with them if you prefer a more direct approach.

Thanks superteddy57! Your feedback is truly appreciated. It sounds like you approach new things the same way I approach them... dive in the deep end, and learn to swim. To be fair, I'm not interested in using FG to create a whole new ruleset or anything that would require code. I simply want to know how to be creative enough with this program to streamline my current over-the-table campaign. I think I may have come in through the back door and was instantly overwhelmed with all the mechanics behind the curtain. Moving forward with a couple videos I've since created the variant character races for my players... super simple to do. I'm happy to know now that, while there is a learning curve, I won't have to make sure my affairs and burial arrangements are in order, before I can enjoy this program.
Thanks again!

[True Bond]

Hi True Bond if you want specific answers you need to ask specific questions.

Creating Home Brew 5E classes etc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rV0vH1eeUZM&list=PLvtWYj3HpGj6aninQHnV7ZYH4fHpLg42I

RPGs are very complex. Computers are very Precise. If you program a computer to do XYZ it does XYZ, it doesnt do XYX or XYY. Sometimes its programmed to have options. Most content can be be added thru the program but Most still doesnt cover a gazillion edge cases or home brew ideas. Something might need a small code change and some will need a lot of code change.
Or when you want to do something that isnt covered by the automation you have to weigh up which is more important? The automation or doing exactly what you want Its ok to do some things, tracks some things, manually.

Yes totally. Please pardon my frustrated outcry. I don't spend much time on chat forums and I learned VERY quickly that you're absolutely correct, specific questions get better answers. I'm also no stranger to computers, yet sometimes the nature of what you said does still slap me in the face. When I first got started I thought I was going for a ride in a Buick LeSabre, only to find myself in the ****pit of a Boeing 747. But I'm simply taking one control at a time and learning what it does. I've now created the variant races for my players to use and I'm moving on to other aspects of the program.
Thanks for the support!

[True Bond]

[Moved thread to the Tavern]

Many of us who started using FG year ago learned it over a number of gaming sessions.

For example, my first session had minimal information - basic PC data (to allow for the base rolls to be made from the PC sheet), a few maps (some even hand drawn as we played) and some base NPC data. No effects, no drag/drop automation data. And we had an amazing time! For me the best thing about using FG at first was just being able to game with my mates. But, down the line, I knew I’d want more functionality - but I didn’t need that in my first few sessions - I just wanted to play, and we did, and it was great.

In between the first and second session I thought about what I’d like to do next (without going nuts) and spent a little bit of time researching how to do those. This was mostly around story entries, flavour image, working out how to share a handout with just one player, etc.. I still had no idea what effects were and how to use them. Our session was still very enjoyable.

Over time I expanded my FG knowledge and started to add in actions and effects and drag/drop data, etc., etc..

Don’t get hung up with trying to do everything at once - either as a new GM or, once you get experienced, if a new player joins with little FG experience. Use FG to aid your gaming, not restrict it. If you just end up rolling dice, manually calculating the result and the GM editing HP etc. (if you’re playing a game with HP) then that’s great - you’re playing online! Small steps... But my recommendation is just to get playing with the basics - manage the expectation of the players and learn over time.

Perfectly sound advice, thank you. This is inline with what everyone else is telling me. I'm smacked in the face with my own personality. I've always been the type to learn how to swim in the deep end. But that approach isn't working for me here. But thanks to the support I found here, I've watched a couple more videos and have since created the variant races for my players. Upwards and onward from here.

Thanks again for the feedback!

[True Bond]

Take it slow. Take it step by step. Don't try to do everything all at once. You can slowly get used to FG, and slowly expand what and how you use the framework.

At the very basic level, you can use it for simple combat tracking and map integration. You can still use 100% of your customized stuff and all your house rules etc...they just won't be fully automated in the ruleset. That doesn't mean you can't use them...it means you use FG just like you play face to face. You can use any custom class you want and you can still play with it even if it isn't built in to your rules.

Once you get your feet wet and a good grounding, you can start automating more of your effects. Got a custom skill that isn't in the 5e ruleset? Its very easy to create a button on your player's actions tab that does damage, heals, applies effects, etc. Once you get that solid, you can start digging deeper. You've got all your effects, and now you can start adding custom character classes. Or maybe you want to create a new custom die roll for a new mechanic you introduced. Maybe you want to modify character sheets. Whatever you want, you can do with some time and effort.

Just don't try to do it all at once, just ease into it.

Thanks Gaglug. I appreciate your feedback, which seems to be in line with everyone else's response. I don't mind digging in and learning, I just wasn't sure how much learning was needed in order to put something together and enjoy the program. I've since learned that this program is more open ended than I first realized. Which is great! As you suggested I can use as much or as little as I have learned and just get gaming.
thanks again!

[True Bond]

Home brewed content is easy for most rulesets.

Creating a ruleset from scratch or adding major homebrew changes to a system can require a decent amount of technical knowledge and that is harder to quantify.

As for just learning program, I was able to learn it to a good degree within a couple of days of getting it. But I am the sort who happily read the PF2e core rule book cover to cover twice in the first month after it released.

It really isn't that hard to learn though, it just seems daunting at first. It is actually quite accessible in action.

Thank you! I appreciate the perspective. I've pushed through and learned a couple things and I can see that while there is a bit of learning ahead, it isn't going to require obscene amounts of time. Moving forward! Thanks again for your feedback.

[True Bond]

It also depends on what game system you are using. If you're using a well-established system and just want to add some additional homebrewed material - items, a new class or race, etc, it's relatively easy. You may even find similar material has already been done. The best thing you can do is look at the wiki, etc, and learn how to actually run a game in FG. How to use the combat tracker, moving tokens on the map, things like that. Then take a short holiday from your usual game and buy a module from the FG website. It will install automatically, you go to the library and open the module. Read the module in FG, and you will find everything cross-linked. Clicking on the links will show you how to use the program as a DM/GM. Then work out what you need to use to actually run the module, and read/re-read that stuff in the wiki. Open a second instance of FG on your computer, join your own game as an NPC, and run one of the combats using the map and the combat tracker. Then invite one/some/all of your players to a test run, pointing out there will be lots of stuff-ups, and don't expect too much. Play, learn, enjoy. Then repeat with another module or 2. After that you will be in a much better position to know what you need to know, and its a relatively painless way to learn the program.

That's very sound guidance. My wife and I have actually thought about just putting our main campaign on hold and do exactly what you suggested. I'm certain I'll learn quite a bit in the process. Thanks!