Fantasy Grounds Licenses are Now FREE! Plus Online Digital Reader launched in Beta

[ddavison]

Fantasy Grounds VTT Is Now Free to Play, with Early Access to a New Online Reader

Melbourne, FL – November 8, 2025 – SmiteWorks USA, LLC, the developer behind the acclaimed Fantasy Grounds virtual tabletop (VTT), is excited to announce today that Fantasy Grounds is now completely free to play. The announcement was made today during the company's annual online convention, FG Con Online 2025, marking a new era for one of the most feature-rich and long-standing platforms in digital tabletop gaming.

ANNOUNCEMENT TRAILER
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Effective immediately, Game Masters and players can host and join unlimited games without needing to purchase a software license or subscription. Previously, Fantasy Grounds required a one-time $50 Ultimate License or a recurring monthly fee to host games. Now, all users gain access to the platform’s robust automation tools, versatile ruleset support, customizable interface, and refreshed visuals – without the technical hassle of server setup or port forwarding – entirely free of charge.

“By removing the license barrier, we’re making Fantasy Grounds more accessible to the global tabletop gaming community,” said Doug Davison, President of SmiteWorks. “Whether you’re a veteran GM or a first-time player, we want everyone to experience how powerful and immersive virtual tabletop gaming can be – with zero upfront cost.”

While the software is now free, players can still unlock thousands of titles from the world’s largest library of officially-licensed game content, thousands of premium art, map, and token assets, over 300 sets of addictive-to-roll digital dice sets, and more products focused on personalizing their experience and making gameplay more convenient.

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In addition to this major update, SmiteWorks has also launched beta early access to its new Fantasy Grounds Online Reader – a web-based compendium tool that gives users access to their entire Fantasy Grounds library from any browser, on any device, without needing to launch the Fantasy Grounds app. This new reader brings a whole new level of accessibility to users, allowing them to browse books, adventures, and rulesets on the go. It already supports hundreds of titles from popular publishers and systems, and SmiteWorks is actively working to expand that coverage throughout the beta period.

“After seeing the impact that digital readers have had on the hobby, I’m thrilled that Fantasy Grounds fans will now be able read their content whenever that random rules question comes to mind or wherever inspiration strikes to confirm what the book says,” said Adam Bradford, CDO at SmiteWorks. “Combining the flexibility of the online reader with the offline access that already exists in the Fantasy Grounds app is a powerful combination.”
Players can try the online reader now by logging into their account and navigating to the My Library section on the Fantasy Grounds website. Even if you haven’t purchased any content yet, dozens of free modules – such as the Dungeons & Dragons Basic Rules and Pathfinder ORC Rules – are available to explore immediately.
For more information about SmiteWorks USA, LLC and Fantasy Grounds, please visit www.fantasygrounds.com

About SmiteWorks USA, LLC

SmiteWorks USA, LLC is dedicated to providing innovative virtual tabletop solutions that enhance the gaming experience for players worldwide. Our flagship product, Fantasy Grounds, is a premier virtual tabletop platform that allows players to create and participate in immersive tabletop RPG adventures. We are committed to fostering a vibrant and inclusive gaming community while continually pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in digital tabletop gaming.

[Myrdin Potter]

Very good news to get even more people using this excellent program. I bought my “ultimate license” years ago and I have so many hours of play on it that the cost per hour is basically free now anyways.

[Egheal]

Fantastic news. Will it be possible to have a search functionality inside a book, like in a pdf?

[Kelrugem]

Great changes! :)

If the reader is ever able to share the campaign book with players, that would be great :D (in my case: I write a codex and adventure diary for my players with the campaign book; would be nice if the players can access it without needing me to open the campaign or share the campaign book module. But I certainly see, why SmiteWorks wants to focus on the store modules :) )

[anstett]

Once items from the Forge are viewable I imagine that export a module, "sell" it on the Forge to your players and they will be able to view it.

How to deal with the IP issues is not something I can figure out.

[Darth Jerod]

This is fantastic news

[Skie]

Does the move to F2P mean that, i as the forever DM, in theory could let another player log into my account to be the DM as all our books and adventures are tied to my account... or would there still be issues preventing this ?

[LordEntrails]

Does the move to F2P mean that, i as the forever DM, in theory could let another player log into my account to be the DM as all our books and adventures are tied to my account... or would there still be issues preventing this ?
I would not think so. The books are licensed to you. Not to anyone you give access to your account.

[Skie]

I would not think so. The books are licensed to you. Not to anyone you give access to your account.

i would think so as well, but in the same breath i would ask, does that same logic not also apply to a physical copy of a player's handbook that is then placed on the table for anyone at the table to use? should we all hoard our books and not allow others to look up a spell or some other info, just because i have the license to that particular physical copy of a given book that i brought to the table.

I'm not trying to find a loophole or anything, i simply find it interesting that the online community as a whole generally frowns on sharing a book, but if i had the same book as a physical copy, no one would bat an eye if i placed it on the table for free use on a game night. :D

[Moon Wizard]

You can as the GM of a session share the books during your session; just not as a player.

Regards,
JPG

[LordEntrails]

i would think so as well, but in the same breath i would ask, does that same logic not also apply to a physical copy of a player's handbook that is then placed on the table for anyone at the table to use? should we all hoard our books and not allow others to look up a spell or some other info, just because i have the license to that particular physical copy of a given book that i brought to the table.

I'm not trying to find a loophole or anything, i simply find it interesting that the online community as a whole generally frowns on sharing a book, but if i had the same book as a physical copy, no one would bat an eye if i placed it on the table for free use on a game night. :D
As Moon said, while connected to your game, you can share your book with every player at the table. You can also share it in a way that each player can be looking at a different page, not something you can do with a physical book.

And think about the consequences if one was allowed to share their account with "friends". Some folks claim to have millions of friends right? So then one account that buys all the books and then posts their credentials online for their "friends" And the RPG industry goes kerplop!

[LordEntrails]

On the loyalty rewards. Since I think we have to gift entire orders to a single user, do we have to claim them one at a time? And, can we keep going back to the claim rewards page or do we have to claim everything in one try?

[ddavison]

Yes, gifting is for an entire order. If you want to split the gifts up to send to different people, we recommend claiming them one at a time. Yes, you can return back and claim any items you have not already claimed or claimed and gifted.

[BadEye]

Fantastic news. Will it be possible to have a search functionality inside a book, like in a pdf?

We have no shortage of enhancements we'll be adding to the online reader throughout the beta and beyond. This is one of the items on the list, but we don't have any details to share or a timeframe - we'll be adding things consistently in the days to come.

[ikki]

Break through the VTT paywall; is there a possibility to break the core rules paywall? Users only need to pay for content, similar to platforms like FVTT, Roll20, or Alchemy

[slaapliedje]

Break through the VTT paywall; is there a possibility to break the core rules paywall? Users only need to pay for content, similar to platforms like FVTT, Roll20, or Alchemy

That only works if the system you are playing has an SRD. Not all of them do. GURPS is a good example of this. The online reader is an amazing start, for sure. Been waiting for something like this for ages, since the price of the content generally matches buying the book itself, in many cases I end up 'double dipping' to get the full PDF so I can browse through it on a tablet, PC, etc. In many cases, I end up ordering the book direct from the publisher so that I end up getting the PDF that way.
One other benefit, the 5e stuff has almost unreadable pages for me, the My Library book looks WAY nicer to my old eyes!

[ddavison]

That only works if the system you are playing has an SRD. Not all of them do. GURPS is a good example of this. The online reader is an amazing start, for sure. Been waiting for something like this for ages, since the price of the content generally matches buying the book itself, in many cases I end up 'double dipping' to get the full PDF so I can browse through it on a tablet, PC, etc. In many cases, I end up ordering the book direct from the publisher so that I end up getting the PDF that way.
One other benefit, the 5e stuff has almost unreadable pages for me, the My Library book looks WAY nicer to my old eyes!

The accessibility of the online reader definitely helps. It's pretty nice already, but it is still in Beta. We can expect it to improve even further over the next few months.

[Navigat0r]

Is there any timeline for when products will be added to the reader? I was briefly checking out the reader earlier and I noticed that there were quite a few products that were missing. I imagine that adding products will take time but there were more than a few that were missing that didn't "make sense" given the other products that are available. For example, I own the pre-update version of the Traveller Core bundle on FG. Some of the books (the central supply catalogue, the vehicle handbook) are available in the reader but the others (including the core rules, high guard and the traveller companion) are not available. Similarly, I own the Starfinder Essentials bundle. A few of the books appear but most of the books (including the core rulebook) do not show up for me. Or to take another example, I own each of the 6 PF1E Kingmaker modules in FGU. However, only parts 3-6 can be read using the reader. Part 1 and 2 are nowhere to be seen. Other rulesets (Cyberpunk Red) are missing entirely.

[sedgetone]

Two huge announcements, really hope to have the Call of Cthulhu rule books on here soon. Making it free means new users are going to expect the latest releases to be available for their favourite rulesets. Is there a plan to fix this for the non-DnD/PF rulesets?

[Jiminimonka]

Break through the VTT paywall; is there a possibility to break the core rules paywall? Users only need to pay for content, similar to platforms like FVTT, Roll20, or Alchemy

Those rulesets are already in FGVTT. You want to get the books, they cost money and no; FVTT, Roll20 nor any other provides the content for free, or Wizards of the Coast would shut them down.

[Jiminimonka]

Is there any timeline for when products will be added to the reader? I was briefly checking out the reader earlier and I noticed that there were quite a few products that were missing. I imagine that adding products will take time but there were more than a few that were missing that didn't "make sense" given the other products that are available. For example, I own the pre-update version of the Traveller Core bundle on FG. Some of the books (the central supply catalogue, the vehicle handbook) are available in the reader but the others (including the core rules, high guard and the traveller companion) are not available. Similarly, I own the Starfinder Essentials bundle. A few of the books appear but most of the books (including the core rulebook) do not show up for me. Or to take another example, I own each of the 6 PF1E Kingmaker modules in FGU. However, only parts 3-6 can be read using the reader. Part 1 and 2 are nowhere to be seen. Other rulesets (Cyberpunk Red) are missing entirely.

As Adam said on the stream, there are over around 4,000 products on the store and 1,600 are done already. Pretty quick since it is in Beta and just went public.

Also, some of the books are split in to multiple parts (like the GM Guide and the Player Guide for the same product) so those have to be treated differently. Smiteworks are working on this too. Then more products will appear.

[Jiminimonka]

Does the move to F2P mean that, i as the forever DM, in theory could let another player log into my account to be the DM as all our books and adventures are tied to my account... or would there still be issues preventing this ?

It means you as the forever DM can now tell your players "my turn" and they can be DM instead - but they have to buy the books.

[ikki]

Those rulesets are already in FGVTT. You want to get the books, they cost money and no; FVTT, Roll20 nor any other provides the content for free, or Wizards of the Coast would shut them down.

I mean that currently, FGU supports 5E and PF2E rulesets for free; you only need to purchase modules. Is there a chance they will support more rulesets in the future? Right now, many rulesets are behind a paywall

[Zacchaeus]

I mean that currently, FGU supports 5E and PF2E rulesets for free; you only need to purchase modules. Is there a chance they will support more rulesets in the future? Right now, many rulesets are behind a paywall

I think they'd like to make rulesets free but it does depend on the publisher. Usually any rulesets that are paid for come with the core rulebook which you'd need anyway.

[ddavison]

There are more built in rulesets beyond 5E and PF. Since rules are not copyrightable, we can build these for any system— but we still prefer to get the blessing of the game owner because our desire is to help them sell more official content. With their blessing, we will be able to use some of their trade dress and branding without having to build and maintain two versions. With no license fee or subscriptions, this becomes even more important.

[Navigat0r]

As Adam said on the stream, there are over around 4,000 products on the store and 1,600 are done already. Pretty quick since it is in Beta and just went public.

Also, some of the books are split in to multiple parts (like the GM Guide and the Player Guide for the same product) so those have to be treated differently. Smiteworks are working on this too. Then more products will appear.

Undoubtedly adding these books will take quite some time. Is there any place that I can check to see a list of which books are currently available? Or a place where "updates" can be read regarding which books are being worked on?

Just so my impatient self can have something to help me resist the urge to post "when?!" too often...

EDIT: And also so that I know that products I own should or should not appear in the reader. If they should appear but do not, I will know to make a report in the appropriate place.

[Vackipleur]

That’s great, and it’s big news. I’ve stayed loyal to FGU after 12 years of intensive play.
Will there still be random discounts on Store products? I mean outside of the bundles—asking as a guy who’s collected nearly 200 items...

[ddavison]

Undoubtedly adding these books will take quite some time. Is there any place that I can check to see a list of which books are currently available? Or a place where "updates" can be read regarding which books are being worked on?

Just so my impatient self can have something to help me resist the urge to post "when?!" too often...

EDIT: And also so that I know that products I own should or should not appear in the reader. If they should appear but do not, I will know to make a report in the appropriate place.

We don't have it in a list form of any kind, but I imagine we might tie it into the store and the store history at one point so you will be able to jump directly to the product if you own it -- or see if it is there before buying.

[ddavison]

That’s great, and it’s big news. I’ve stayed loyal to FGU after 12 years of intensive play.
Will there still be random discounts on Store products? I mean outside of the bundles—asking as a guy who’s collected nearly 200 items...

If you are not already, please sign up for the newsletter. We put around 40 items on sale nearly every single week.

[Navigat0r]

After poking around with the reader a bit more, I have a few more questions. First of all, I noticed that some of the data that one would expect in a book can not be accessed. Namely, data records which exist as links within the fantasy ground program such as NPC stats, treasure parcels and encounter records (and sometimes tables depending on the book). Within FGU, one needs to simply click the link and be shown the relevant data record. However, in the reader these links do not exist and many such records are not viewable. This is particularly noticeable in monster books where a significant potion of the book is dedicated to stats. For some books such as the 5e monster manual, there is flavor text I can read through (along with a line of text saying NPC [name of npc]) but none of the actual mechanical stats I would need to run the creature. For other books which contain most of the important stuff within data records, the online reader only shows a few sections such as the FGU conversion info and a few sidebars.

This is also true of adventure modules. Much of the information I would need to know to prep an adventure is contained within stat blocks, encounter records and parcels. With the reader I would know that behind this door the BBEG and his minions await (and maybe some info about the arena itself) but I am not able to know what kind of spells the BBEG has, how many minions there are, what kind of abilities they might use, or what sort of treasure is available after the fight.

For me this lack of ability to see the information is something of a problem as my biggest use case as GM would be to prep when I am away from my PC. Familiarizing myself with adventure content, learning the abilities of NPCs, adjusting treasure to fit the party using and drawing inspiration from tables and so on. However, in its current form, the online reader makes it a bit hard to do that.

Are there any plans to make such data records viewable within the reader?

To be clear this is not a complaint. I think the reader is a big step in a positive direction and I would like to continue using it. However in its current form the utility of the reader is somewhat reduced.

[ddavison]

Absolutely. This still needs to be built out across the various rulesets that we support. It will be coming in the future as we add more content and expand the coverage to show linked data such as NPCs, spells, items, etc.

[Navigat0r]

Absolutely. This still needs to be built out across the various rulesets that we support. It will be coming in the future as we add more content and expand the coverage to show linked data such as NPCs, spells, items, etc.

Excellent. This is what I was hoping to hear. Thank you ddavison.

I will continue to wait patiently :)

[Vackipleur]

If you are not already, please sign up for the newsletter. We put around 40 items on sale nearly every single week.

Oh, you wicked tempter :)

[dmbrown]

Question about the table of contents. Will all of the content eventually have the same left hand sidebar that was shown with the D&D 2024 books that Adam was previewing? It would be nice to have it on the side to just look there and click instead having to click back to the table of contents then look and click again, bouncing back and forth.

[BadEye]

Is there any timeline for when products will be added to the reader? I was briefly checking out the reader earlier and I noticed that there were quite a few products that were missing. I imagine that adding products will take time but there were more than a few that were missing that didn't "make sense" given the other products that are available. For example, I own the pre-update version of the Traveller Core bundle on FG. Some of the books (the central supply catalogue, the vehicle handbook) are available in the reader but the others (including the core rules, high guard and the traveller companion) are not available. Similarly, I own the Starfinder Essentials bundle. A few of the books appear but most of the books (including the core rulebook) do not show up for me. Or to take another example, I own each of the 6 PF1E Kingmaker modules in FGU. However, only parts 3-6 can be read using the reader. Part 1 and 2 are nowhere to be seen. Other rulesets (Cyberpunk Red) are missing entirely.

As I shared in another thread, we have around 1,600 of the ~3,500 books from our full catalog available in the reader initially. This was not based on what "makes sense," but rather on the backend module complexity or setup and what would work "out of the box" easier for the reader in its current state. The rest of the catalog will be added over the course of the beta, as will a great deal of refinements to the content that is already there.

And no, we don't have a timeline for when either will be completed, but you'll see rapid iteration and progress in the weeks and months to come.

[BadEye]

Question about the table of contents. Will all of the content eventually have the same left hand sidebar that was shown with the D&D 2024 books that Adam was previewing? It would be nice to have it on the side to just look there and click instead having to click back to the table of contents then look and click again, bouncing back and forth.

Not sure what you mean here - all of the books should have the navigation sidebar while you have them open.

[dmbrown]

Not sure what you mean here - all of the books should have the navigation sidebar while you have them open.
That is odd as it was not there before but is now. Like the new login screen by the way.

[ddavison]

The navigation collapses into a smaller menu button if your window width is too small.

[Ludd_G]

Absolutely. This still needs to be built out across the various rulesets that we support. It will be coming in the future as we add more content and expand the coverage to show linked data such as NPCs, spells, items, etc.

Hi,

will you expect (in the fullness of time) for this to also include maps and other images that are presently only there as inactive text links?

Cheers for this update, even as it is it's great!

Simon

[ddavison]

Hi,

will you expect (in the fullness of time) for this to also include maps and other images that are presently only there as inactive text links?

Cheers for this update, even as it is it's great!

Simon

Yes. Some of the old modules just linked to images. We plan to actually embed the images inline with the text like we do with all the modern modules we release now. It will look like the reference manuals in FG. The maps themselves won't be interactive -- at least for the short-term (1 year or so).

[Ludd_G]

Yes. Some of the old modules just linked to images. We plan to actually embed the images inline with the text like we do with all the modern modules we release now. It will look like the reference manuals in FG. The maps themselves won't be interactive -- at least for the short-term (1 year or so).

Great news! Thanks!

[QuothDRaven191]

Fantastic news. Will it be possible to have a search functionality inside a book, like in a pdf?

Looks from a brief viewing like each chapter loads as one big browser page, so normal Ctrl-F in your bowser will at least let you search a chapter

[Gibson400]

I saw someone mention loyalty credits for those of us who purchased licenses way back when. How will this work and when will that be available?

Thanks

[Trenloe]

I saw someone mention loyalty credits for those of us who purchased licenses way back when. How will this work and when will that be available?

Thanks
There's a link of the main FantasyGrounds.com home page that will take you here: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/store/claimRewards.php

[Gibson400]

Thanks for the link. Are these the only options or can we simply go to the store for other things?

[LordEntrails]

Thanks for the link. Are these the only options or can we simply go to the store for other things?
Nope, only those. If you already have it, you can gift it. Just make sure you claim each gift individually since you have to gift an entire order.

[Fuffelschmertz]

Awesome work, this is definitely the step in the right direction!
BTW one of the youtube links is broken on the claim rewards page.
Link to screenshot (https://pasteboard.co/2slX1vM4QsTn.png)

Are there any plans for the reader to be shareable or include the content from the game? I would love to share stuff with my players through this!

[Keltyrr]

Upon spending several hundreds of dollars on multiple copies of ultimate in classic and unity, for both my self and others....

And all I got was two cosmetic dice sets!

I am hope this leads to a growth in community but... honestly feels like my purchase was negated and nothing in exchange.

[Trenloe]

Upon spending several hundreds of dollars on multiple copies of ultimate in classic and unity, for both my self and others....

And all I got was two cosmetic dice sets!

I am hope this leads to a growth in community but... honestly feels like my purchase was negated and nothing in exchange.
This is a natural reaction to some extent. You should weigh up how much use you've had out of your purchases and, like anything, I assume you made a decision that you were OK making the purchases at the time. It looks like you've been using FG for 10 years - during that time, SmiteWorks have only mode users pay for an upgrade once (FG Classic -> FG Unity) and have continued to provide more and more functionality for no further upgrade fee. You didn't just get "... two cosmetic dice sets..." you've got a bunch of gaming out of FG up to this point as well!

[Robyn1xp]

I have a probably dumb question, but as a content creator, if I made corrections and edits to a module (I am the publisher & owner of) that is currently available for purchase on the FG Store (not the Forge) and is already viewable in the My Library viewer, how long will it take for those edits/updates to the module's contents to show up on the My Library viewer of the product?

[BadEye]

I have a probably dumb question, but as a content creator, if I made corrections and edits to a module (I am the publisher & owner of) that is currently available for purchase on the FG Store (not the Forge) and is already viewable in the My Library viewer, how long will it take for those edits/updates to the module's contents to show up on the My Library viewer of the product?

Great question - book updates are pushed manually for quality control reasons, but we will refine a full process over time.

We welcome content creators to make updates to the source content that will improve the reader (or app) experience (as we know seeing it in this new format could prompt that), so in the meantime, feel free to let us know and we can push them to the reader.

[Jiminimonka]

I have a probably dumb question, but as a content creator, if I made corrections and edits to a module (I am the publisher & owner of) that is currently available for purchase on the FG Store (not the Forge) and is already viewable in the My Library viewer, how long will it take for those edits/updates to the module's contents to show up on the My Library viewer of the product?

Probably the same time as any update.

[Jiminimonka]

This is a natural reaction to some extent. You should weigh up how much use you've had out of your purchases and, like anything, I assume you made a decision that you were OK making the purchases at the time. It looks like you've been using FG for 10 years - during that time, SmiteWorks have only mode users pay for an upgrade once (FG Classic -> FG Unity) and have continued to provide more and more functionality for no further upgrade fee. You didn't just get "... two cosmetic dice sets..." you've got a bunch of gaming out of FG up to this point as well!

What Trenloe said.

[RosenMcStern]

I will ask for more information about this via the developer relation email in a few days, but I think it can be useful to the community to raise the subject here, too.

What is the fastest way to have your products, both free and for-pay, available via the online reader? You mentioned that Forge products will not be moved to the reader for QA reasons. Is this permanent or will you make them available in the future?

Also, where are we with localisation in other languages? I need to release content in French and Italian, too, but with the main application (CoreRPG) not translated it is a bit clumsy to do so.

[bzar]

My group of five have pitched in together to get the ultimate license, rulebooks and modules for our GM to FG over the years. This F2P update would allow us to rotate our forever GM for some one shots or something, but am I reading this right that we'd need to repurchase all the rulebooks for each of us wanting to GM? I know allowing account sharing or something is out of the question, but could there be a system for temporarily moving a content license to another player like you would borrow a book? The content would still be used in exactly the same games, with just a different person as a GM. Or some kind of small sharing pods where you can only belong to one and content can be shared between the pod users.

We most likely won't drop a hundred or more per GM more to repurchase the books for everyone individually, we'll just play until our GM wears out and then stop. I understand there's negative economic incentive to implement any kind of sharing, but I have to ask since it would probably allow us to keep playing longer and purchase more new content.

[frozzzt]

I have FG since classic, since 2014 and bought all licenses to GM since the beginning. After 11 years finally it's free.

Every time a Software as Service becomes a free subscription, the old subscribers always feels a little betrayed for spending for the money they paid for every license upgrade.

I have a suggestion to make old players happy: please, think about to give a voucher, a discount, some free content for old players who lost his subscription (for a good reason) to make them valued and spent some bucks on FG store! it's a win win!

please think about :)

[LordEntrails]

I have FG since classic, since 2014 and bought all licenses to GM since the beginning. After 11 years finally it's free.

Every time a Software as Service becomes a free subscription, the old subscribers always feels a little betrayed for spending for the money they paid for every license upgrade.

I have a suggestion to make old players happy: please, think about to give a voucher, a discount, some free content for old players who lost his subscription (for a good reason) to make them valued and spent some bucks on FG store! it's a win win!

please think about :)
They already did. (Though they really haven't publicized it well, and finding the link on the website is near impossible) but just go to this page (you may have to log out and log back in due to a bug): Fantasy Grounds - Claim Rewards (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/store/claimRewards.php)

[ddavison]

My group of five have pitched in together to get the ultimate license, rulebooks and modules for our GM to FG over the years. This F2P update would allow us to rotate our forever GM for some one shots or something, but am I reading this right that we'd need to repurchase all the rulebooks for each of us wanting to GM? I know allowing account sharing or something is out of the question, but could there be a system for temporarily moving a content license to another player like you would borrow a book? The content would still be used in exactly the same games, with just a different person as a GM. Or some kind of small sharing pods where you can only belong to one and content can be shared between the pod users.

We most likely won't drop a hundred or more per GM more to repurchase the books for everyone individually, we'll just play until our GM wears out and then stop. I understand there's negative economic incentive to implement any kind of sharing, but I have to ask since it would probably allow us to keep playing longer and purchase more new content.

I think it is great that you will have multiple GMs who will be able to play the game. Account sharing like you described was never supported and is against the TOS. I would recommend that not every GM needs all the content in order to run. You can do a lot with the included SRD content and just the adventure you want to play. In that situation, you really don't want your players having access to the adventure content anyway. If each player ultimately buys the PHB or sticks with free SRD content, it should be pretty inexpensive to rotate the GMs.

[Xemit]

The Claim Rewards seems to be broken. One can select the rewards, but once you hit the Submit button, you just get a security token mismatch error.

I just tried the Log out and Log in to the forum and tried to claim again, and this time it did work.

[ddavison]

I thought I disabled that previously, but I just pushed a new version for it just now.

[frozzzt]

Wow! Good to know about that rewards link, I haven't no idea about this. Thanks for share, worked for me!

[mghauber]

Well played Smiteworks! Fantasy Grounds is still the best VTT out there, IMHO. I hope the new changes bring you even more success in the future. Keep up the good work!

[claedawg]

I like the way things are going, especially the reader. The only thing I have to add is please make so that players can choose owned tokens like they can portraits. Or, please post that purchased tokens are not available to players in-game.

[claedawg]

They already did. (Though they really haven't publicized it well, and finding the link on the website is near impossible) but just go to this page (you may have to log out and log back in due to a bug): Fantasy Grounds - Claim Rewards (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/store/claimRewards.php)

It's also not a whole lot there if you already purchased everything for the most part, lol.

[MoNeart]

Fantastic news. Will it be possible to have a search functionality inside a book, like in a pdf?

I think that's what the new My Library online reader does.

[ddavison]

I like the way things are going, especially the reader. The only thing I have to add is please make so that players can choose owned tokens like they can portraits. Or, please post that purchased tokens are not available to players in-game.

We have some work to do on player assets. The project is on our list.

[Jesse0317]

To Doug and the team I would like to say Thank you!! I'm glad I chose to invest in Fantasy Grounds so long ago..you beat out Roll20, Foundary, and my former favorite...Maptools.

Well done!!

[Fillimir]

Do we have to claim free modules or will they populate the library automatically as it keeps getting updates? I currently only see the D&D SRD/Free Rules in my library

[sgtwhy]

Any plans for offline character viewer of any sorts?

[LordEntrails]

Do we have to claim free modules or will they populate the library automatically as it keeps getting updates? I currently only see the D&D SRD/Free Rules in my library
Yes you have to claim them.
Fantasy Grounds - Claim Rewards (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/store/claimRewards.php)
Then you have to Update to see them in FG.
As for the online viewer, not sure if any of the Rewards are there yet.

[bzar]

I think it is great that you will have multiple GMs who will be able to play the game. Account sharing like you described was never supported and is against the TOS. I would recommend that not every GM needs all the content in order to run. You can do a lot with the included SRD content and just the adventure you want to play. In that situation, you really don't want your players having access to the adventure content anyway. If each player ultimately buys the PHB or sticks with free SRD content, it should be pretty inexpensive to rotate the GMs.

I absolutely don't mean account sharing should be allowed nor do I think it ever was.

I also don't mainly mean sharing adventure modules, but the rulebooks. There's quite a few in DND5e a DM needs to have all the class options available for players in FG, for instance. Just playing SRD is really limiting basic player content wise (classes, subclasses, spells, monsters, equipment...). It'd be fine if each DM bought their own modules, but the rulebooks and PC character options like classes and such could be sharable in a limited fashion without interfering with FG's ability to make money off game content too much.

[LordEntrails]

I absolutely don't mean account sharing should be allowed nor do I think it ever was.

I also don't mainly mean sharing adventure modules, but the rulebooks. There's quite a few in DND5e a DM needs to have all the class options available for players in FG, for instance. Just playing SRD is really limiting basic player content wise (classes, subclasses, spells, monsters, equipment...). It'd be fine if each DM bought their own modules, but the rulebooks and PC character options like classes and such could be sharable in a limited fashion without interfering with FG's ability to make money off game content too much.
The DM does not need every player options book. If you have one DM and you want all player options available to the whole table then yes it's easiest if the forever DM has all the books. But really the DM only needs the adventure and each player needs the books for the options they want to play (as allowed by the DM).

You could also have one DM with all the books. Everyone join that DM to create characters and then import them into the play DM's campaign. The character sheets would have everything needed to play, though you would have to go back to the other campaign to level up etc.

That being said, if a share was able to be done, I'm sure ddavison (the President of SmiteWorks) would go for it. It's something we've asked about for a long time. I assume they are restricted by their license agreements. But, that being said, we should keep letting them know what we want. Maybe it's something they can get negotiated and/or implemented. Things are always changing :)

[Nylanfs]

DM: Who needs rule books, everything is an illusion and made up anyway!

[bzar]

The DM does not need every player options book. If you have one DM and you want all player options available to the whole table then yes it's easiest if the forever DM has all the books. But really the DM only needs the adventure and each player needs the books for the options they want to play (as allowed by the DM).
Well, sure, if everyone buys the rulebooks it's easier, but that's even more repurchases. For example spells are also added by the books so if you have two players who want to play a graviturgy wizard with access to spells from SCAG, XGtE and TcoE, both need all those books. The DM probably still also wants them so they can review the player characters' abilities. That's buying the books in triplicate in order to play together in one game.


You could also have one DM with all the books. Everyone join that DM to create characters and then import them into the play DM's campaign. The character sheets would have everything needed to play, though you would have to go back to the other campaign to level up etc.
Does that even work? At least for items when one of us accidentally had SRD module loaded instead of Player's Handbook all the items and spells didn't have descriptions for them. Sure you can have the character *technically* in the game but it doesn't *work* AFAIK.


That being said, if a share was able to be done, I'm sure ddavison (the President of SmiteWorks) would go for it. It's something we've asked about for a long time. I assume they are restricted by their license agreements. But, that being said, we should keep letting them know what we want. Maybe it's something they can get negotiated and/or implemented. Things are always changing :)
Yeah, and I didn't mean to argue, I know the financial realities must take precedence so we can even have FG. I mainly wanted to make sure the idea was communicated clearly, that this could be an opportunity to allow more people DM for their group since hosting itself no longer requires a separate license.

[Trenloe]

Does that even work? At least for items when one of us accidentally had SRD module loaded instead of Player's Handbook all the items and spells didn't have descriptions for them. Sure you can have the character *technically* in the game but it doesn't *work* AFAIK.
PC sheets make copies of most data when records are added - so most of the data stays local to the PC sheet. Exactly which records are copied can depend on the ruleset being used. In the case of the D&D 5E ruleset, all records are copied to the PC sheet, with the exception of class, background and species - which are links to the original data module. I can't recreate the issue you mention with the SRD spells - I get full data adding spells to the PC and then opening them from the PC sheet after closing the SRD.

[ddavison]

You can make copies of most records in the system or just enter the few items you need from any given book. I think many people lock themselves into the idea they can’t play unless they have everything- and I think that is a self-imposed limitation. I’ve played in many games IRL where the GM has limited characters to only the core book. Most of the longer term games I’ve played in, everyone has also purchased the core book we were using.

[freitaslex]

​"I noticed that some of my books are not available on the online reader, such as Savage Worlds, for example. Is there any forecast for availability?"

[Zacchaeus]

​"I noticed that some of my books are not available on the online reader, such as Savage Worlds, for example. Is there any forecast for availability?"

They are working on it. Everything will get there in due course but no time line.

[Trenloe]

​"I noticed that some of my books are not available on the online reader, such as Savage Worlds, for example. Is there any forecast for availability?"
Mentioned in post #1: " It already supports hundreds of titles from popular publishers and systems, and SmiteWorks is actively working to expand that coverage throughout the beta period." And some further information in this post: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?86121-Fantasy-Grounds-Licenses-are-Now-FREE!-Plus-Online-Digital-Reader-launched-in-Beta&p=753342&viewfull=1#post753342

[Goldzerah]

Excellent news!

[johnecc]

In the new "My Library" online viewer, in the drop-down to select a Game System, I noticed that Mutants & Masterminds is not listed. I understand their may not be and product transferred yet, but I see all other systems represented, even if content hasn't been transferred yet (such as Rolemaster).

[Snarky McGee]

Great news. Will my subscription stop billing automatically, or do I need to cancel it myself?

[Reg]

I applaud your move to F2P and as a long-time paid-up ultimate licence holder have enjoyed the benefits of use that I have had over the last 6 or so years.
For you to Recognise that we paid that money and giving us something, anything, this far down the track?
That's unheard of in my experience with software!
So thank you for that!

Another thought on the whole - "How many copies of all the books do we need in a group" debate.

Having just gone and claimed my reward credits and been given the option to gift my previous purchases to another user, could this be done in perpetuity?
So for example, a DMG, TCoE, XGtE etc is purchased and gifted back and forth amongst a group of friends so the "forever DM" gets a break and the new, license-free DM gets access to the books to host for adventure running and hosting for the players - no need to import character sheets or whatever so the experience for all users in that group is pretty seamless.
Could help foster new DMs and make FGU even more appealing?

Another thought that might be bounced off publishers - register a group and get a bulk discount - many of my TTRPG friends are book hoarders and will eventually want to own stuff - might make for a quicker sale and some even stickier loyalty if they knew that 5 copies got a modest discount if done together or within a registered group, perhaps?

[Josith]

Great news. Will my subscription stop billing automatically, or do I need to cancel it myself?

Snarky McGee, I've canceled the subscription listed on your account.

[Snarky McGee]

Snarky McGee, I've canceled the subscription listed on your account.

Thank you!

[Nylanfs]

Same

[*Neuro*]

Why I don't see my Dungeon Crawl Classics Ruleset in the online reader? because I bought it in the past on steam? Now I buy everything directly but would be nice to have everything I own on the reader.

[LordEntrails]

Why I don't see my Dungeon Crawl Classics Ruleset in the online reader? because I bought it in the past on steam? Now I buy everything directly but would be nice to have everything I own on the reader.
No. Because the Reader is in Beta and as stated in the OP:

It already supports hundreds of titles from popular publishers and systems, and SmiteWorks is actively working to expand that coverage throughout the beta period.

In short, it takes time for them to convert 20 years of content that was made in different formats and styles. They launched with something like 1600 of 4000 titles available. A week or so ago I think they said something like they were past 2000 titles. I'm sure they are doing the more recent and popular ones first. DCC might not be high on the list (I don't know).

[ddavison]

As LordEntrails states, we haven't converted it to the reader yet. We plan to add a mechanism that indicates whether you own something - perhaps with a 'Coming Soon' message of some kind. That way you will know that you will get it once the conversion process is complete.

[slaapliedje]

As LordEntrails states, we haven't converted it to the reader yet. We plan to add a mechanism that indicates whether you own something - perhaps with a 'Coming Soon' message of some kind. That way you will know that you will get it once the conversion process is complete.
This is great. I tend to buy my stuff on Steam, since that is where I had started getting stuff, but I know sometimes the FG store page doesn't always show that I already own stuff. Hopefully that doesn't translate into the library missing stuff as well.

[Setran_777]

Hi - Just wanted to say that I have seen my number of viewable books in the Online Digital Reader triple over the last week or so. Thank you for getting those into the system.

[Tempered7]

Im enjoying this so much and am so grateful to the coding wizards for adding it.
This feature couldnt come in a better time for me.
Whislist feature: I hope one day you integrate dmsguild purchases with account linkng too, at least a way to read our own campaign modules.

[Marmus]

The online access is great. My Library keeps expanding!!

Question from a Forge Creator, will there be an option to have Forge items within the Library? If so, I think I will need to change how I did one of my manuals based on how the new Books work within FG. I should probably change anyway, but definitely if it goes to the online Library. (To explain, I did Header images on each page. With the new Book layouts, it is repetitive.)

I did peruse this thread, and I did not see the Forge mentioned. My apologize if I missed it.

Thanks

[ddavison]

Thanks Marmus. That is a good question. The answer is "maybe... but not in the short-term".

We have been working for ways to automatically detect and remove some of the duplication from double-headers that arise from how some modules were created within FG. That may or may not be an issue in the future.

[slaapliedje]

This is a good move. I wish more publishers would do what Paizo does and provide PDFs with the purchase of the FGU purchase. I usually end up ordering books direct from publishers... which means I have PDF downloads from a bunch of places... but having an HTML-ized version of the books is really good.

[HywelPhillips]

The Ultimate licence upgrade is still showing up on the store as purchaseable - currently discounted to $7.50. It's the first trending VTT Module on the store screen for me. Since the licence is now free, this is probably not intended behaviour?

Cheers, Hywel

[ddavison]

Thanks for the report. We removed it.

[Ravanazar]

Thank you all for the My Library reader. I'm getting good use from it

[sbonario]

i would think so as well, but in the same breath i would ask, does that same logic not also apply to a physical copy of a player's handbook that is then placed on the table for anyone at the table to use? should we all hoard our books and not allow others to look up a spell or some other info, just because i have the license to that particular physical copy of a given book that i brought to the table.

I'm not trying to find a loophole or anything, i simply find it interesting that the online community as a whole generally frowns on sharing a book, but if i had the same book as a physical copy, no one would bat an eye if i placed it on the table for free use on a game night. :D

As a librarian who deals with ebooks, the solution publishers use in the academic library world is to sell multiple-user licenses (or not) and/or unlimited user licenses (or not). It varies by publisher and even within titles for a given publisher.

If I could buy, say, a 5-user license that allowed players (accounts) I specify to use the book simultaneously, I'd pay for it happily if the cost were no more than $10 per user (with me owning a full-price license, then adding the additional user access licenses).

[SmackDaddy]

As a librarian who deals with ebooks, the solution publishers use in the academic library world is to sell multiple-user licenses (or not) and/or unlimited user licenses (or not). It varies by publisher and even within titles for a given publisher.

If I could buy, say, a 5-user license that allowed players (accounts) I specify to use the book simultaneously, I'd pay for it happily if the cost were no more than $10 per user (with me owning a full-price license, then adding the additional user access licenses).

I too would gladly pay extra money per slot allowed to simply view. I've spent hundreds Nay thousands within the FG store and would love if some of my players could reference when I am not around to open the campaign

[claycub]

Hey there..encountered this and solved it! - Set up a standalone machine..remote into it..RDP..whatever you want. It stays running logged into your account as the GM. You have the library available to share. Any player can log in and see the library pre/post game session. BEFORE your session begins..You reboot your session and get updates.. this refreshes the machine..your players will update as well..and again..everybody is on the same version. The titles are always in your possession..the game is always running..and..that remote window you accessed the stand alone machine..enlarge to fill your screen or a portion and play out of that. Never bogging down your main machine. ;) Enjoy. feel free to explain any problems you encounter with this set-up. A diskless/SSD machine will do fine! Just need power and ethernet..

[sgtwhy]

If users want to also view their character data offline (outside of FGU) ... I have a tool in "beta" that works for Paizo products.
... it currently loads/displays the character data, but much, much more is possible, including printing character sheets.

Looking for feedback / suggestions ... here is a quick link;

external Character viewer (https://fgu-sync.onrender.com/)

[ddavison]

Pretty cool.

[Ravanazar]

If users want to also view their character data offline (outside of FGU) ... I have a tool in "beta" that works for Paizo products.
... it currently loads/displays the character data, but much, much more is possible, including printing character sheets.

Looking for feedback / suggestions ... here is a quick link;

Character viewer (http://converter.us-west-2.elasticbeanstalk.com/)

Could there be a future use for this in the inverse, creating a character to import into FGU?

[Laerun]

Could there be a future use for this in the inverse, creating a character to import into FGU?

Where would the data come from?

[Blahness98]

Could there be a future use for this in the inverse, creating a character to import into FGU?

There was a tool that was decommissioned by Smite that did that. Took Herolab and PCGen output files and converted them to importable XML files. Was a great tool for 3.5/PF. Still use it from time to time when I don't want to manually make a character in FG. I know the Herolab output needed several tweaks in order for the tool to properly work (removing the archetype in PF for instance) and updated community modules to have spell data included.

[Ravanazar]

Where would the data come from?

From the online character viewer.
If later it could do more than view it might allow you to edit a character or even build one from scratch.

[sgtwhy]

Could there be a future use for this in the inverse, creating a character to import into FGU?

My initial goal was to be able to load Starfinder characters then update them with exports from hero lab. Since the players were using Herolab to view and manage their toons outside of FGU.

In the process, also added a few options I needed to manage my specific campaigns characters ... such as importing a FGU character, then changing its race or theme data, them re-exporting into FGU. It saved me from having to re-build entire characters from scratch or having to manually level them up. The tool adds all their new abilities and gear, memorized spells, etc.

Also, am happy to discuss any ideas further on the dedicated forum (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?86217-Character-converter-in-progress-herolab-to-fgu-pipeline) post.