(First post on these beloved boards in yeeears! Ah, feels sooo good.)
We may want to get into Starfinder. Actually I'm pretty sure I do!
We start with the beginner box at the "real" table and then I want to immaterialize into the digital and onto a VTT.
We have some experience with Roll20 (and D&D 5E), but there may be a better solution for SF.
So, what is in your opinion the best VTT for the game?
I use Fantasy Grounds and love it. The ground combat game is very automated. It assists tracking hits, damage, resolve, targeting, conditions and effects currently. The possibilities double with custom effects that are much easier to deal with than the API in Roll20.
The space combat is still beta with some development problems (Lead got sick and left), but is as usable as Roll20 which essentially is a digital paper with no automation. There are workarounds in FG to provide some automation but require DM effort.
I started on Roll20 with 5E, but once I decided to try FG never went back.
The only thing that Roll20 currently has over FG in my opinion is the map drawing tools. This however is being resolved with FG Unity (new version of FG) which will come out in December.
Roll 20.
It has a MUCH lower learning curve.
It's cheap for the DM and free for players (DM only needs an account if they're going to have a lot of tables)
If the sheets aren't working, you can use the macro system to get the exact effects you want.
Lots of other people using it (its kind of the default for starfinder society online)
If you want to get in some practice slash society games the cosmic crit discord has a lot of them popping off.
Thanks everyone!
I always considered Virtual Tabletop from steam very interesting, but not fully able to provide everything one needs for a "PNP" game. So this might just be too much effort for lazy me.
So the decision is again between FG and Roll20.
I plan to get some products for the VTT we finaly use, and the CRB for Roll20 costs 44.99$ and for 59.99$ you get the FG version "including" the PDF.
Beyond that Roll20 works for free and FG needs a (monthly) subscription.
Does every player and GM need a license on FG?
My understanding is that if the DM has the 'unlimited' license, or whatever it's called, FG is completely free to the players. I've never run a game in FG before, but I have played one, and it worked pretty well. My only reason for never attempting to run in it was the price (it's base price is higher) and that if you want to take full advantage of the features for the game, you have to buy the book you probably already own a second time through Fantasy Grounds. That's a pretty steep lead in point. However, I will say it does save you some work, so it could end up being a pro rather than a con.
I currently run games through Roll20 fairly regularly. It was fairly easy for me to get everything working the way I wanted in the free version. I used it so much I paid for the upgrades. I use the simple sheet in my home tables, and I was able to mostly automate starship combat and full automate everything my NPC's do with a few minutes of work and some macros.
I have not considered purchasing the in-game compendiums for Roll20, as I really dislike the official sheet and I am loathe to buy yet another copy of a book I've already bought (twice or more, in a few cases).
For rules references in game for my players, I just provide links to THT or AoN. That's free and generally just as effective.
Though, again, my understanding is that if you buy the compendiums from them, it could save you some work, so that may be worth the money for you.
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It isn't a VTT but if you like Play by Post games you really need to look into RoleGate.
I've been playing more RPGs in the last 4 months since I discovered it than I've EVER before in my life because I can play from my laptop, desktop, or phone just as easily and it side-steps the thousands of problems that Messageboard/Forum PbP games have with integrated Character sheets and even a Maps tool.
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It isn't a VTT but if you like Play by Post games you really need to look into RoleGate.
I've been playing more RPGs in the last 4 months since I discovered it than I've EVER before in my life because I can play from my laptop, desktop, or phone just as easily and it side-steps the thousands of problems that Messageboard/Forum PbP games have with integrated Character sheets and even a Maps tool.
Oh, this is interesting! Thanks!! (And thank you for the direct link @Ravingdork!)
I actually used to play PBP quite a bit back in the days, but fear that my group is not interested in this kind of game. Hm...| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Great info here! Thanks @BigNorseWolf
My understanding is that if the DM has the 'unlimited' license, or whatever it's called, FG is completely free to the players. I've never run a game in FG before, but I have played one, and it worked pretty well. My only reason for never attempting to run in it was the price (it's base price is higher) and that if you want to take full advantage of the features for the game, you have to buy the book you probably already own a second time through Fantasy Grounds. That's a pretty steep lead in point. However, I will say it does save you some work, so it could end up being a pro rather than a con.
I currently run games through Roll20 fairly regularly. It was fairly easy for me to get everything working the way I wanted in the free version. I used it so much I paid for the upgrades. I use the simple sheet in my home tables, and I was able to mostly automate starship combat and full automate everything my NPC's do with a few minutes of work and some macros.
I have not considered purchasing the in-game compendiums for Roll20, as I really dislike the official sheet and I am loathe to buy yet another copy of a book I've already bought (twice or more, in a few cases).
For rules references in game for my players, I just provide links to THT or AoN. That's free and generally just as effective.
Though, again, my understanding is that if you buy the compendiums from them, it could save you some work, so that may be worth the money for you.
Thanks @pithica42! Yes, the monthly fee is an issue for us. We will continue our regular game at the "real" table and SF via a VTT is just an addition, so we might end to play it not thaaat frequently. So we might end up with Roll20 again.
(The screenshots of SF games via FG look great though!)
