I'm still trying to decide if Fantasy Grounds is what I need.

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Originally Posted by PuckGoodfellow00

Honestly, my biggest stumbling block is the need to purchase all the rule sets. I don't mind an occasional purchase, like the $10 each for either Deluxe or SWADE Savage Worlds. However, 5e has so many books that are necessary, and really expensive.

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So buy the Savage Worlds (SWADE) ruleset and get to playing!

We don't have to play dnd
to have a good time, oh no
We could roll dice and party all night
and roleplay with Savage Worlds, oh oh

For those too young to get the reference... or for a brief trip down memory lane... :bandit:

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Originally Posted by Ram Tyr

So buy the Savage Worlds (SWADE) ruleset and get to playing!

We don't have to play dnd
to have a good time, oh no
We could roll dice and party all night
and roleplay with Savage Worlds, oh oh

For those too young to get the reference... or for a brief trip down memory lane... :bandit:

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This!

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Originally Posted by PuckGoodfellow00

So far I've been a strictly Old School DM. My current Adventure written on a clipboard. Stacks of papers, books, DM screen, Dice, Dice Tower, etc. However. I just got a new laptop. I want to use it to help reduce the clutter in front of me when I DM. Strictly speaking, I don't need a VTT, because I don't plan on playing remotely. A Campaign Manager would be just as useful.

All I really want is something that will get my maps, player's character sheets, enemy lists, and maybe some of the books where I can access them quickly. With occasionally casting a map onto the TV so I can share it easily with my players (Simple enough since my laptop has a built in HDMI cable and I can set the TV up as a second monitor). I like the idea of having auto generated party and encounter sheets so I can do a quick reference without having to read the entire Character Sheet or Stat Block. I can't just use something like D&D Beyond, because I play multiple Systems.

I got myself the current Three Month Standard Subscription for the price of one, so I can try Fantasy Grounds out and see if it'll work for me... It's coming over as way more complicated than I need. I'm finding it counterintuitive and inflexible... but it's only been a couple of days.

The question is, should I stick with Fantasy Grounds, keep trying to find a Campaign Manager, or just use productivity software?

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If you do switch over to Fantasy Grounds, you may find you really don't want those 5 fat guys at your house anymore and tell them to stay home and run it remotely. That's what happened to me when I was looking for a Campaign manager for my live games. lol

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Originally Posted by PuckGoodfellow00

Sorry everyone. I didn't mean to post and run. I just got really busy the last couple of days.

I only paid for the $4 option right now. So I really don't need a refund. :) It's worth it for me to try to decide if I want to keep using Fantasy Grounds.

Honestly, my biggest stumbling block is the need to purchase all the rule sets. I don't mind an occasional purchase, like the $10 each for either Deluxe or SWADE Savage Worlds. However, 5e has so many books that are necessary, and really expensive. While I'm having trouble figuring out how to just add the occasional trait like it was homebrew.

I appreciate the links to the classes. I should definitely take a look through them.

I kinda have my eye on Foundry or Astral... Foundry may be as much trouble to get used to as Fantasy Grounds, but has the advantage of not needing as much money sunk into it. (I'm not bad with technology, so the need to download tweaks isn't a barrier. I'm a bit more of a Hardware guy though) Unfortunately, there's no way for me to figure out the DM side experience without buying Foundry... I found Astral much more intuitive than Fantasy Grounds. I'm just avoiding getting into Astral too deeply because I saw that it's future is uncertain. My friend who's had to switch to a VTT because of current events, was using Roll 20, and said that he and his group are switching to Fantasy Grounds.

I'm definitely going to look into Obsidian MD, or I may stick with Libreoffice and Acrobat.

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I've been meaning to respond, b/c I was looking for online gaming at the start of the pandemic and thankfully, landed on FG. There's a lot of good advice here but let me add a few comments:

- You did the right thing to test things out. FG does have a learning curve. But the FG Academy really helps. Plus, we have a friendly community.
- I would really consider not only your needs now but also in the future. For example, you mentioned DDB isn't the ideal solution since you're looking at other rule sets. Having it all in one system makes a big difference.
- If you are interested in 5e, FG is top notch (IMHO). The translations are great; better than the books or a pdf b/c of the links and ability to embed stuff like Encounters, monster/NPC stats, maps, etc.
You mentioned about the cost of the books. Sure, it can get expensive. But IMHO you don't need a lot of them. I'd say PHB is essential followed by M&M simply to save you time to enter. DMG is iffy (but if you reference it a lot - I don't - then it's helpful to save entry of magical items). Then there's the supplements like Tasha's and XgtE. Those are essential if you use them (to save entry time). If you homebrew, the adventure paths aren't needed.
There's A LOT of 5e material out there (by 3PP), so you can get things like tokens, maps, etc. cheap (and free if you look for it). For rule sets and supplements, **look for sales!** There are a few every week then big ones around holidays (usually). I sub to the newsletter (or check on discord) to monitor them.
- FG supports other rule sets (I'm just beginning to explore them) so it depends which ones you want. You mention SW which I know is pretty well supported.
- I have Foundry (there was a nice sale in 2020) and tbh it's more techy than I care to commit now. Let's say I had problems with Port Forwarding with Classic FG lol. I would compare costs too b/c either you host your own server or purchase it (adding to cost).
- Finally, you mentioned about just needing Campaign Management. Are you looking for that? Or game management?
When I started FG and 5e almost 2 years ago, I knew I wanted a VTT. But I also used a free campaign management site, Kanka, to host world building info for the players. Now, World Anvil might have more functionality, but I can't see using something like this to actually manage a game like:
- having monster/NPC stats and tracking them electronically
- having my adventure and GM notes
- showing maps or images
All this with a click of a button :)

It's worth checking things out and finding the right online tool for you. There's significant up front cost (time and money) but I've found it worth it since I'll be using FG for years/decades (hopefully) to come. Good luck with your decision!

If you haven't already come across them, these threads can prove useful;

https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forum...l20-vs-Foundry
https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forum...eed-to-play-5e
(there are threads similar to the above for other rule systems)