Fantasy Grounds - Discussion

Anyone used or looked into Fantasy Grounds?

Basic Features
Below is a feature list for the 5E ruleset. This basic functionality is provided for when you want to run a D&D (R) 5E Roleplaying Game campaign. You can customize the rules to support a homebrew version of 5E and program more complex extensions which replace or enhance any of the features listed below.

Campaign Management
Create rich, visually appealing story entries with formatting into
lists
links to other items
boxed text
spoken text for an assigned speaker
headings
tables
Keep campaigns recorded and tracked separately. Resume where you left off

Dice Rolling
pick up and hold, then roll by moving mouse and releasing into chat window
roll multiple dice by r-clicking to add more or r-click to select multiple at first
supports d2, d3, d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, d20, percentile, fudge dice
Quick modifiers for +2/-2, +5/-5 modifiers to the next roll
Quick modifiers to enable advantage and disadvantage on the next roll. FG will roll twice and keep the highest or lowest value
halve or negate dice values
build dice cups by dragging multiple types to the hotkey slot of your choice
Players and GMs can customize dice colors
dice tower to support hidden rolls for GM or players
Auto-roll dice for attacks against target's AC and display Hit, Miss, Critical Fail and Critical Success
Auto-roll dice for attacks or spells against target's Saving throws and display Success or Failure of Saving Throw
Roll against multiple targets at once (CTRL+Click each target and then double-click attack. Set modifiers will apply)
Roll multiple attacks against target at once (for example, a high-level fighter's multiple attacks, each with a different bonus)
Preference option to auto-roll on included Critical Hit or Critical Failure tables
Preference option to auto-roll on custom Critical Hit and Failure tables
Auto-roll dice with bonuses and labels preset for the creature making the roll and the skill, attack, attribute, spell, weapon damage or spell damage
Auto apply various built in and/or customized modifiers to dice roll

Modifiers
Applies a list of selected modifiers to the next dice roll and shows the net result and the calculations (with labels) for each modifier
Build shared lists of common modifiers for use by players and GM
Build custom modifiers and assign to hotkeys for individual player usage (i.e. point blank, bless, charge, attacking prone, bard's inspiration, ranger's racial bonus, etc.)
macros - type /help to see the syntax for /mod
hotkeys
Built in modifiers for the following attack conditions
Opportunity - rolls single opportunity attack
Cover - applies -2 modifier for cover
Sup. Cover - applies -5 modifier for cover
Hidden - rolls hidden attack
Built in modifiers for the following damage conditions
Critical - automatically adds additional critical dice
Half - automatically rolls and halves the result

Effects
Automatically parse effects from special ability text and allow dragging and dropping the effect on a targer
Recognizes built in effects for the following conditions:
Blinded - grants advantage on attacks against target and disadvantage on attacks by target
Charmed & Deafened - informational only for now
Encumbered - grants disadvantage to target on attacks, ability checks and saves for Str, Dex and Con
Frightened - applies disadvantage to target for attacks and checks
Incorporeal - applies resistance to all forms of attack to target
Intoxicated - applies disadvantage to target for all attacks and checks
Invisible - grants target advantage on all attacks and applies disadvantage to anyone attacking target
Paralyzed - applies prone condition, grants advantage to anyone attacking target and automatically fails STR and DEX saves
Prone - applies disadvantage to attack rolls by target and to ranged attacks against the target. applies advantage to melee attacks against the target
Restrained - Grants advantage to attacks against target and applies disadvantage for attacks and dexterity saves by the target
Stable - stops death saving throws if the target would otherwise be dying
Stunned - Grants advantage to attacks against the target and the target automatically fails any STR or DEX saves
Unconscious - applies prone condition, grants advantage to attacks against the target and the target automatically fails STR and DEX saves
Effects granting disadvantage and advantage applied to the same target cancel out

Map and Image Sharing
hex and square grid support for maps
map templates for area of effects (cone, square, circle and arrow pointers)
image masking and reveal
drag story entries to map to place a push-pin hotkey
show all push-pin hotkeys by holding CTRL
Blank battlemap supported (as many as you want)
Use any image (jpg, png, gif) by dragging and dropping images from outside into FG and lay a grid over top
Apply a grid by setting the size for a single grid square or hex and apply to the entire map
Use auto-scale for tokens to fit into defined grid size (set to 80%, 100% or off)
Easily scale tokens to the map manually as a whole (from map screen) or individually from combat tracker (for example, when creatures become enlarged)
Turn on or off token facing indicator
Spin tokens with mousewheel
Show Token Name on map, display as a tooltip, display Title only on hover or keep hidden
turn individual or all NPC tokens visible or invisible to players
Preference to show health bar for enemy NPCs or PCs constantly or only when hovering over it
Preference to show health icon for enemy NPCs or PCs constantly or only when hovering over it
Preference to show effect icons for enemy NPCs or PCs constantly or only when hovering over it
CTRL+Click enemy to show distance to target based on grid size
Show size of area of effect templates as 5', 10', 15', etc. as it is drawn
Select multiple targets at once with selection mode toggle
Target all Friendly Units with toolbar
Target all Enemy Units with toolbar
Clear all targets with toolbar

Chat Features
shared chat window to show chat, dice roll results, whispers, out-of-context chat, story text and emotes
Shared dice roll tracker which auto-totals die results and modifiers
ability to include and list multiple modifiers to a dice roll
ability to change GM speaker identity to other personalities
set the mood or emote
Set option for GM identity to always switch to the active NPC
turn on options to show player and GM portrait when speaking
graphically show speech bubbles when talking
graphically show boxed text
change to day or night lighting modes or custom lighting modes
chat logs are saved to disk and accessible after the game
export character from one campaign and import into another
build custom dice strings
build custom modifier strings
Call for a vote where each player can vote in favor or against a topic
Item Tracking and Treasures
Item Tracking
Create individual items
Drag and drop to parcels
Drag and drop to players
Drag and drop back to item window to duplicate and further edit
Set Cost - useful when selling from the party inventory for a fixed percentage before dividing coinage to party
Set Weight - useful when determining whether or not the item adds to encumbrance
Set item description
Set item identification option On/Off to hide details until marked as identified
Set the Type to "Weapon" to enable the following
bonus - magical bonus or other bonus to hit and damage
Damage - in dice format with damage type as part of description
Range
Properties - Track things such as versatile weapons
Drag and drop to character to auto-add new attack actions and update inventory
Set the Type to "Armor" to enable the following
AC bonus
Dex Bonus - Yes or No and max amount that can still be applied while wearing this armor
Strength - minimum strength to wear this armor
Properties

Treasure parcels
use to track currency of different denominations however you design
use to track items found in the treasure parcel with links to those items
can be tracked to maps to create a hotlink, dragged to story entry links or to the party inventory sheet
Party Management
Party Management
Party Sheet to help manage party of adventurers
GM Features
Shows current HP of each party member
Shows attributes and bonuses of each party member
Shows AC, Flat-footed, touch, CMD, Fort, Reflex and Will Saves for each party member
Shows current level, name and portrait for each party member
Can roll hidden or visible roll against every party member's ability with a set Difficulty Class (DC)
Can roll hidden or visible roll against every party member's saving throw with a set Difficulty Class (DC)
Can roll hidden or visible attack roll against every party member with a set attack bonus
Skills window to show all skill bonuses at a clance
Skills window to show all senses at a glance (i.e., Darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, etc.)
Skills window to show all spoken languages at a glance
Skills window can roll hidden or visible roll against every party member's skill with a set Difficulty Class (DC). For example, roll perception with a difficulty of 20 for the entire party and return the success of failures to the chat window.
Inventory - track all party inventory and get a listing of individual party inventory on one sheet.
Quickly see who all in the party has a lantern or torch or any other item
Quickly see total party coinage and who has how much.
Divide party coinage automatically and evenly across the party when awarding treasure
Set the party watch order and marching order to refer back to for random encounters
See current and goal XP amounts for each player at a glance.
Track a list of each encounter and quest defeated and how much XP was awarded for each.
Drag and drop in new quests or encounters and choose to reward the XP to have it automatically divide it across all players
Character Sheets
5E Specific Character Sheets
Player manages their own character sheet (one or many)
GM can review as needed and re-assign control to other players if needed (for instance, if a player misses a session)
Assign your portrait
Assign your token
Assign attributes and any temporary bonuses or damage to automatically calculate the current bonus
Track level in each class, hit die type and # used
Track proficiency bonus
Track AC, from armor, shield, dex (if any) + other attribute (if any) + miscellaneous modifier
Mark whether the character is proficient in the armor of if they will have disadvantage on checks and attacks while wearing it [automatic]
Mark whether or not the armor applies disadvantage to stealth checks
Track Max HP, wounds and temporary HP for auto-resolution
Track successful or failed Death Saving Throws and roll automatically at the start of your turn or from the character sheet
Track healing die used and available and auto-roll the value to apply healing. Replenishes during rests automatically.
Track abilities and auto-calculate saves and proficiency on save types
Track perception and any special senses your character has
Track Skills, ranks, the stat which applies, miscellaneous modifiers to determine final bonus values and whether or not the character is proficient in the skill
Track a list of Feats, Features, Traits, Proficiencies, Languages the character has and include additional detail to display on demand
Comes pre-loaded with all basic 5E Skills
Create your own custom skills with right-click | Create Item option.
Track inventory, location of item, weight and link for more details
Auto update total encumbrance
Track currency
General information for Race, Gender, Age, Height and Weight
Track your DCI # and Faction
Keep character specific notes
Actions tab shows a list of weapon attacks the character has
Weapon attacks can be set to ranged, melee or thrown and will automatically use the appropriate attack bonus (which can be overrided)
Set general weapon crit range and extra crit dice to apply to all attack actions
weapons dragged to action tab auto-sets damage
expand weapon damage to allow pre-set of damage dice, crit threshold, damage type(s), application of strength/dex/other and crit multiplier
auto-resolution of attacks when dragged and dropped on target (icon of enemy on map, preset target or entry on combat tracker)
can set multiple damage types for attacks for use with auto resolution and Damage Reduction handling
Can add and track Spell Class actions for spells and special abilities
Spell classes can track spells per level, Base DC, default ability linked to DC, spell penetration, caster level and concentration check values
Can auto-roll concentration checks (set any modifiers prior to roll)
Toggle spell class actions between Preparation Mode (for memorization and spell prep), Combat Mode and Standard Mode
Set spell attack to Melee, Ranged, or Saving throw for use in auto-resolution
Override bonuses or DC per spell if necessary
Right-click spell and choose Add Action to add Damage, Healing, Effect or Attack preferences
Set Spell Damage with one or more damage types, dice and formula
Set Spell Damage with metamagic effect and determine if it counts as spell damage (for DR auto-resolution)
Set Spell Healing to apply healing dice as HP or Temporary HP
Set Spell Effect to apply a wide range of effects for target or self. Set the conditions, durations and modifiers. See the wiki for more details on the list of effects available.
Auto-resolution can apply affects to targets to boost AC or stats, apply conditions or damage over turns, etc.
Copy entire spell description to spell summary and then right-click and choose reparse spell to automatically set most values
NPCs and Encounters
NPCs - Non-player characters
Assign a name and token
Specify Type and apply this to auto-sizing on maps
Set alignment, senses, languages, CR, Speed and XP values
Set Defense values for AC, HP, abilities, Saves, vulnerabilities, resistances, immunities and SQ for use in auto-resolution
Set Offense values for Speed, space/reach, Special Actions, attack and full attack
Attack and full attack are auto-parsed to recognize attack strings for auto-resolution. Pick up and drag from an attack string and drop the dice on a target to auto-attack against the target and determine success or failure
Set Statistics for Ability scores, BAB/CMD, Feats, languages and other notes.
Set Traits, Actions, Reactions and Legendary Actions
automatically recognize full descriptions to auto-parse out attack strings, saving throws to apply, damage and effects for application with auto-resolution
List relevant NPC skills which are auto-parsed and double-click rollable or drag and drop rollable
Provide a list of equipment, links to default encounters, spoken text blocks, links to lair maps, etc. on the Other tab
Drag and drop to the combat tracker to auto-roll initiative and prepare for combat
Drag and drop to an Encounter to allow specification of number appearing and for pre-placement of tokens on maps

Encounters
drag and drop NPCs to the encounter to group them
change the number appearing to make multiples
pre-place on the map by dragging the tokens to an image with a grid assigned
when you want to run the encounter, click Add encounter to tracker to add them and place them on the map again automatically
drag completed encounters to the party sheet's XP tab to track progress and allow awarding of XP automatically to party
Combat Tracker
Combat Tracker
track the current turn
track friend, foe and neutral reactions for each NPC
Change visibility for all NPCs
Change visibilty for single NPC
Change the size and reach of a single NPC
Track current Initiative, HP, Temporary HP and Wound values for all combatants
Preference to show ally HP to players
Show enemy health descriptions but not details to players (i.e., Health, Wounded, Heavily Wounded, Dying, Dead)
Track effects active for a single NPC and make it hidden or visible to players
Easily open Full NPC entry with a click
Track current actor in turn sequence or re-order with ease
Remove all NPCs or all NPC actors with single step
Remove single NPC entry
Drag in additional encounter or NPCs to fight after it starts
GM Sees attack and full attack actions which are auto-parsed for easy drag and drop auto-resolution to target icon on maps, to target player portrait or target in the combat tracker
Toggle visibility of defense values, offense values, space/reach and effects individually or collectively
Clear all Effects with menu option
Apply a short rest or an Overnight rest to auto-clear initiave values, reset abilities and apply healing
Menu option to roll all PC, NPC or all combatant initiatives.
Players can roll their own Initiatives and it will auto-sort them in the combat tracker
Auto-roll NPC initiatives for NPCs when added to Combat Tracker (when option is set)
Auto-number duplicate NPCs when added (when option is set). For example, 5 goblins can be labeled as Goblin 1, Goblin 2, etc.
Randomize NPC number when option is set. 5 goblins could be labeled as Goblin 27, Goblin 2, Goblin 123, etc.
Show effects in the chat window at the start of each creature's turn
Auto-roll NPC hitpoints when added to NPC as Random, Max or what is listed on NPC entry
Auto-roll stablilization rolls when option is set
Tokens, Notes and Tables
Notes
Create multiple notes and use all story editing features
Mark notes as public or private
Drag note entry to single player to share with just that player

Tokens
Make and use your own by placing images in your tokens folder
Make GM only tokens by placing them in your tokens\host folder
Make Player and GM shared tokens by placing them in your tokens\shared folder
Comes with 32 included top-down animal tokens in pog and non-pog styles
comes with 72 included top-down fantasy character tokens in pog and non-pog styles
comes with 144 included top-down fantasy monster tokens in pog and non-pog styles
comes with letter tokens for general usage

Tables
Ability to create custom random tables
Use whatever size you want based on entries d4, d6, d8, d12, d10, d20, percentile
Assign ranges of die results to a value (example: 1-2 on a d6 = "Hairy")
Drag one table into another table to chain table results (example: NPC name generator that rolls the gender and then rolls on a subsequent male or female name table)
Drag other entry types to your table for Random Item lists, Random Encounter lists, etc.

Module Creation
Export the current campaigns Story, Images & Maps, Personalities, Encounters, Items, Parcels or Tables
Drag individual entries from each of the above types if you don't want them all
Re-use those modules in any campaign by activating the module and de-activating when no longer needed

Included Library Modules
None at this time

I've used it. It can be useful, but dms need the higher end version and for dnd you need to buy most of the dlcs. Players only need the basic version bought off steam and a couple dnd dlcs to make their characters. After the first session, the characters are saved with the dm.
If you not running the pregen dlc adventures, then you also have to make your own maps.
But dice rolls are average for dice roller and everyone sees the roll.

It looks a little daunting at first but once you get used to it, its very easy.

So I was thinking Ultimate license, then everyone could just use demo version, but yes, I'd need the 5e DLC and PC creation would have to occur while logged in with me, hence no PC portability.

I've been watching a lot of the you tube tutorials and it seems very powerful, but I agree it might take some getting used to at first.

Well I already have the basic copy from steam. So I can make my character somewhat eaisly. I then just have to upload it to your host game and you would have the info.

So the big question is how well it will work at the table with or without other copies running. Maggie has her laptop and Charlie has one from school. I don't see him being able to install this on there. So, if I run from Marcus' laptop, and built in everyone's PCs into the program we could, theoretically, HDMI into the TV above the PlayStation and use that for maps/tabletop, or some other combination. Linking into CCG wifi would also let other play from home as needed.

Well depends on how you want to do it.
If you want people to use the dice roller on the program then the laptops would have to be shared. Not Marcus's but maggies and charlies. Then you would just have to let the ones who can join in the game control of the heroes so they can be moved around then all you would control would be the enemies and traps.

Zac's done it before during encounters a few times though it may have been roll20.

In regards to people not there joining in, you would need Skype call or something so you can hear what they say. They can type what they say in the game but you need to pay attention.

It looks interesting, but how is this different from Roll20? I've considered, for my Homebrew campaign, having something like this at the table, but my campaign's mostly improv, so it doesn't work as well. But the times I've used roll20, its turned out really well.

Roll 20 is just glorified battle mat. You need to watch some of the videos to see how deep this one is.

Sounds great to me. I always lose my character sheets.

So, as stated I now have PHB, LMoP, EE Players Companion, and every D&D/Pathfinder mini as available tokens, plus the ultimate license. Need to buy the MM, then the DMG once released.

Marcus and I played the starr of LMoP with him running 4 PCs. Theater of the mind was thought to follow so a couple simple clicks and boom map/encounter added. Learning what to click and when in the proper sequence can be tough, and learning the coding for effects will take some work, but it is amazing. For example, we pre-built the code for Barbarian Rage. Now we can add as an effect that works all bonuses, penalties, etc automagically and comes up for renewal when you want (number of rounds, next turn, etc).

This is where the prep work comes in for higher level games like COW. It might take some trial and error to get all of your personal traits ready, but would definitely be worth it in the end!

All,

I've finally ordered a new laptop! Thanks to a sale and an employee discount it only cost $322 plus tax. HP Pavillion 15z with 8gb RAM, Radeon r5 graphics. Should arrive by the end of the month.

So not this weekend, but next COW weekend we'll need to spend a session building characters into the system as it can take some customization and work. You do not need to go this route, but I'll still need to create your PC as a placeholder.

All you need is a laptop and a full or demo copy of Fantasy Grounds. Full version keeps your PC portable, demo leaves them on my account.

Questions?

I'm pretty excited for this. My only question is, will the Sword Coast Adventures Guide be on there once it comes out, or can we enter custom content that we just copy from the book?

Charles, SCAG will be available at or shortly after release. The only main book not available is DMG as they are having to rebuild some of the core rule set to make some of the optional stuff work. They are also building the system based in Unity so it will function a little smoother and on more devices!

But, yes, you can always enter your own content. In fact that is encouraged.

Perfect. What's to stop someone from physically entering the info from the published books as custom instead of purchasing them?

Nothing other than time and effort! There is actually a Parse tool to help you do just that from your own PDF copies of documents. This is really nice for the other rule sets available too.

BTW. Installed, updated, and will spend part of tomorrow building in some of the custom effects, etc.

Well sword coast guide dlc came out same time as official release. On steam and on website:
https://www.fantasygrounds.com/store/product.xcp?id=WOTC5ESCAG
$35 dlc......... almost as expensive as the book.

I'll have to pick it up this week!