Add me to the group clamoring (not so) patiently for a Pathfinder ruleset for Fantasy Grounds. I've got two VTT groups that I DM through FGII and I want to change at least one of them over to PF as soon as possible. The other group has 3 Savage Species-type characters, so it would be much harder to convert.
I am definitely jazzed about converting the one group over to PF though!
PS I'm sure that the other VTT platforms are fine, but I've put too much work into my FG campaigns to start thinking about changing now!
me too!!! same situation!
Here's my two cents.
I've tried Maptools and maptool like programs before. They're nice, free, and they get the job done. My present players refuse to touch them. They hated the idea of gaming through online programs despite acknowledging that whenever we did part ways we'd likely end up doing just that. Then I dusted off my old Fantasy Grounds and joined a couple games. While they're not clamoring to play online they said that if they did they'd want to play on Fantasy Grounds because they like how it tries to actually emulate the feel of a tabletop game. Complete with dice that you pick up with your mouse and roll.
I like it for that same reason as well as the fact that it has a lot of support and database options. I can pick up a file that will plug in all the rules and a built character sheet for Iron Heroes if I so desired saving me a bit of work and making such a gaming experience run much more smoothly. Not saying Maptools is bad by any stretch, in some ways I think it's better as that whole being 'free' thing tends to be a major 'selling' point. :P
Fantasy Grounds isn't something to brush off though, it's a solid program with an incredible amount of flexibility that works hard to try and immerse the players in the game in a way the free programs simply can't. The support for it is impressive as well. I think it would kick ass if Paizo was able to get some support for it, maybe even sell some of their modules built specifically for Fantasy Grounds like many other companies have done.
I've owned Fantasy Grounds for quite a while, but never really used it. For the last six months, however, I've been GMing for my group (which is spread over three time zones) with a combination of D20Pro + Skype + Paizo PDFs, with occasional assists from Hero Lab. I find it a powerful mix.
I've owned Fantasy Grounds for quite a while, but never really used it. For the last six months, however, I've been GMing for my group (which is spread over three time zones) with a combination of D20Pro + Skype + Paizo PDFs, with occasional assists from Hero Lab. I find it a powerful mix.
I've nothing against D20Pro, on the contrary, I will stick on it if Paizo decide to support it, or to support ANY virtual tabletop software, or even to create their own virtual tabletop. I'm not a programmer, I have few spare time, I can't use it to plug the Pathfinder ruleset in FG2 ot in d20pro... I want everything ready to play, and I'm ready to pay for it. FG2 is very flexible, but I've no time to explore the flexibility, or to learn and customize another kind of software, that's why I ask Paizo to produce/support one
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Anyone who tried all the major tools (map tools, FG, battlegrounds, others?) willing to elaborate on the relative strengths and weaknesses of each program?
I heard/ read quite a lot about each individual tool, but barely know anything about how they compare, their compatibility, their optimal area of use and of course how widespread they are used (e.g. by you Paizo board visitors).
I'd really like to get to know a bit more apart from the obvious: the price. ;-)
Thanks in advance!
Guenther
Glad to hear someone say this. Is it really about price still? I just don't buy that argument(sorry for the pun)... how much money do most of us shell out on a regular basis for our gaming products but yet there is a pause when asked to spend ~$30 for a perpetual license to play the games we love? I will admit that there are definitely features around the map/combat that could be improved on FG compared to its peers... but let's drop the "Free" argument.
Let's not drop the "free" argument. I am retired and on fixed income, ie. pension and US Social Security, so whether a product is "free" or is not "free" is a consideration for me in my purchasing decisions.
-- david
Papa.DRB
Glad to hear someone say this. Is it really about price still? I just don't buy that argument(sorry for the pun)... how much money do most of us shell out on a regular basis for our gaming products but yet there is a pause when asked to spend ~$30 for a perpetual license to play the games we love? I will admit that there are definitely features around the map/combat that could be improved on FG compared to its peers... but let's drop the "Free" argument.
<minor tangent> This thread got me thinking about some of my own questions regarding the incorporation of a VTT into a face to face game and instead of a full on threadjack I started a new post in the Gamer Life/Technology forum here.
I'd appreciate any input. Thanks! </minor tangent>
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Well I've been using FG for a few years now and still find it an absolutely amazing tool for online games. My gaming group irl is small and infrequent and this has been my primary method for playing games.
In relation to the Pathfinder stuff, this is what I've discovered:
There is a big community devoted to playing Pathfinder, it has a section on the FG forums for scheduling games. And even a seperate Yahoo group devoted to Pathfinder Society sanctioned games using FG2 (http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/fg2pfs/) where I have found a load of drop in drop out games alogside the longer running modules and games. There's a addition to the 3.5 ruleset that does all the Pathfinder coversion and lets DMs create Pathfinder games, and with the latest release's action system it's utterly amazing. I play a lot of spellcasters, and for even custom homebrewed spells there's the structure to target a creature, the system auto rolls the correct save and can go on to apply damage, ability drains and effects such as sleep, shaken etc. My words can't really describe the setup but if you havn't used the system in the last 9 months the changes to the 3.5/pathfinder ruleset is staggering. We use the Action system under spells for other stuff, trait abilities, fighting defensively etc; moved way beyond working it outside of the application and adding a standard modifier to a roll.
I am also hoping that Paizo would team up and issue some scenarios in Fantasy Grounds module form but the community hasn't waited. When a DM purchases a scenario they have all the material waiting to be inputted. We now have a Pathfinder Creature Parser to put all the monster info into the right format and with a few copy/pastes it's in the module. .pdf image extractors and text selection does the same job with images and story text then it's just adding the shortcuts. Been toying with the DM tools while putting First Steps together and speaking to the other DM's they can convert a scenario ready for play in less than an hour starting from .pdf purchase.
So i urge people to check it out if they havn't or abandoned it some time ago, currently several of our DMs in the group hold Ultimate Licenses, meaning when they run games they can take players who havn't paid anything yet and hold demos for those wanting to try it out. And also want the community to know that we are still hoping for greater collaboration in the publishing of modules and scenarios already FG-compatible, though that's just really laziness on our part :)
