The short version: can FG serve as a useful tool for a group of gamers playing in-person at the tabletop (for mapping encounters, etc)?
The long version:
I'm starting a D&D group with a few people from work. We've all had some experience with D&D in the past, but we've all been out of the RPG scene for quite a while. Since it looks like I'll be DMing, I've been trying to get up to speed with D&D in particular and with modern tools of the trade in general. It's a lot to take in all at once, so I thought that I'd just ask my question at the outset and save myself a lot of time in trying to figure out if FG could be the kind of tool that I'm looking for.
As I said, it looks like I'll be the DM. My players and I are all professionals who work long hours, so we (especially me as the DM) will have limited time to put into all of the prep work for sessions. I'm really interested in anything that could help streamline the process. For instance, we plan to run Lost Mines of Phandelver, and, if that goes well, continue into Princes of the Apocalypse after that; using published campaigns should, I would hope, cut down on the amount of prep time necessary.
I'm really intrigued by FG's modules for these published adventures. Were I going to be playing online, I'd be all over FG; it looks really great from what I can see! However, we'll be getting together every other week in person, and I'm wondering if FG could help us (me!) at the tabletop with maps, battle grids, pictures, whatever. I think the idea would be to have us all sit at a table with me on one end, two players on each side, and an old wide-screen TV hooked up to my laptop at the end opposite me. We could use some sort of digital tool (maybe FG!) to map out battles and anything else that would be helpful.
So, my question is this: could FG be helpful in this way, or is it really not amenable to that kind of use? In an ideal world, it would stop me from having to prepare maps and help keep track of everything. If it would be a really awkward use of the platform or just not workable, that's fine; I'm just trying to get a sense of that at the outset of my exploration.
Thanks so much for your help!