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

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


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.



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.

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.

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

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 :) )

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.

This is fantastic news

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 ?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 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 ?

---

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

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by LordEntrails

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

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

Regards,
JPG

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Skie

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!

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?

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.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Egheal

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.

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

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 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

---

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!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by slaapliedje

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.

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.

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?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 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

---

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.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 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.

---

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.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 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 ?

---

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.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jiminimonka

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

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ikki

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.

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.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jiminimonka

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.

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...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Navigat0r

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.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 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...

---

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

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.

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.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 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.

---

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

I will continue to wait patiently :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ddavison

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 :)

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.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 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.

---

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.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 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.

---

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

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by BadEye

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.

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

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 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.

---

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

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ludd_G

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).