Using FG2 as DM Tool during live session:

[CDHayz]

Hello everyone,

I gaining a growing knowledge of the FG software, and so far, I really like it. However, I find that I'm probably using it in a way that it wasn't quite intended: as a DM Tool during a table-top session. I have been researching other DM tools to help me keep track of combat, NPCs and my campaign, and I keep coming back to FG as the best thing to do that. So I am trying to plan my adventures/campaign inside FG, and will put it on a laptop while my friends and I gather around a table and play like normal.

I'm running into some problems though I feel that it is of no fault of FG; I'm simply using it in a way it wasn't designed. For example, I would like to have a number of player characters info that I could access during play (feats, skills, hps, etc), but since my friends around the table aren't going to connect to the DM client, I find that I can't access the PC info unless someone has connected as that character (identity). Is there any way to get around this?

A secondary problem with the one above is that because I don't have players connecting, and hence have no PC's available in the session, I can't use the combat tracker to track the PCs and NPCs as we go through combat on the table-top. I realize that I could create Personalities for all my PCs, but the info available in the NPC screen is a lot less than for a NPC (which makes perfect sense) and so I find myself not liking this solution.

Other than that, I feel like the FG software will handle all my other DM'ing needs during a session; a credit to its design.

So have any of you esteemed collegues tried to do the same thing?

Do any of you have any suggestions for my difficulties above?

Do any of you have any other suggestions of a DM Tool that can track NPCs, track Combat, track PC stats, and can hold my adventure notes? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Chris

[Foen]

There are a number of folks who use FG like this, and some of them link a monitor to the laptop to show maps etc to the players. One guy was even saying that he has a second PC so players can move their tokens around.

On the issue of accessing the PC character sheets, you don't need to have a second session connected. The GM can just single-click in the character selection dialogue box and the sheet will open. Unfortunately you cannot do that with the standard d20 ruleset without connecting as a player session. I suggest you do that once before the start of play (adding every PC) and just add/remove NPCs as you need them.

Cheers

Foen

[Foen]

Welcome to the forums CDHayz: how rude of me not to say so before!

[Ged]

You can create the characters from the character selection dialogue (right click) as well as later access them.

To have access to the player characters on the combat tracker on a single computer requires connecting a second Fantasy Grounds to the host (Join Game as a Player, select another User Name, and type localhost in the address field). With the new client you can then choose as many player characters as you wish and after that the Host window will include the portraits, which you can drag and drop in the combat tracker as usual.

[unerwünscht]

Just wanted to let you know that you are not alone.
We run our local games using Fantasy grounds. Tho we did buy extra Lite Licenses so the players could connect as well. The idea being we could recruit people through the forums and have larger games. Tho that strategy did not work in practice for us.

[CDHayz]

To have access to the player characters on the combat tracker on a single computer requires connecting a second Fantasy Grounds to the host (Join Game as a Player, select another User Name, and type localhost in the address field). With the new client you can then choose as many player characters as you wish and after that the Host window will include the portraits, which you can drag and drop in the combat tracker as usual.

I never took into consideration that a single player can load multiple characters. I think this will work. Thanks for the advice (all of you guys) and it's good to know that I'm not the only one who thinks that FG is great for a local session too.

Chris

[Morgan]

Well starting tomorrow, I'll be trying something new. Last year, I got a very nice LCD TV for the living room. This year, I got a new gaming system for the living room. I'm going to try using FG for a table top game using the LCD TV as a second monitor for displaying maps and pictures to my players.

Eventually, I want to use the combat tracker and all, but for now, the prep time was a bit intensive for the first game.

Should be interesting ;)

Morgan