I'm used to using Fantasy Grounds but recently decided I wanted to try moving to FoundryVTT version 11 for my content creation. Currently, I am converting a AD&D 2e module - which I have all bitmaps, graphics and story for - to pathfinder 2e. I have installed foundry for the first time, installed the PDF to pathfinder module, installed the Pathfinder 2nd Edition game system and trying to get started creating a world. However, I am finding there HAS to be other stuff I am missing. I looked around on this site and in threads - since I own just about everything in PDF format for 2e and looked through forums and I just cant find any type of Tutorial on how to get started on content creation. can anyone point me to content or tell me what am I missing:
a) The Items compendium is empty - I expected with the pathf inder system - I would get all the items from the books. How do I get those imported in there?
b) The Compendium Pack lists all the bestiary 1-3 but the POG/ICON for each is total basic - how and where do I go to upgrade those so - for example, a Ancient White Dragon doesnt look like a dude with a headband but a White Dragon when put on the map.
c) I have seen videos talk about importing other modules for Content Creation but they dont really tell what is essential?
d) For walls, doors, etc controls - under Fantasy Grounds I can paint walls in different styles of walls and different floorings - are their modules/packs I need to load to boost out the system for creation?
e) if you are aware of any videos for tutorials for kickstarting pathfinder 2e and 2e remastered creation with Foundry - please give me a pointer. I have a blank world and its pretty lonely in here :)
I know someone else HAS to have asked this all before - so I am surprised Paizo doesn't have a doc or video on "Getting started with pathfinder 2e creation of FoundryVTT worlds" - I just cant seem to find it.
a) Strange, the PF2e module already populates the item compendium with all available items from all official released books. Maybe your instalation is broken or maybe you are searching in wrong place. Are you searching in compedium browser?
I also suggest you to install the Quick Insert module. This allow so search anything from the game database with a simply ctrl+space an open it for details or drag to someplay that you want to drag.
b) This is the main problem of foundry. Due the creatures images are copyrighted and there's no special permission from Paizo do add them to the system module the are blank.
To workaround this I suggest you to install the Tokenizer module and get the creatures images from AoN on demand (when you add the creature to your game as actors). Usually you can simply copy the image link from AoN and add it as Avatar and then "convert" it to be a token.
There's also possible to add them to the monsters imagens database directly via Token Variant Art module but the process to get all creatures images from AoN is very complex and too bandwidth demanding. Honestly I done it after once only and it's too much work and doesn't worth because you still needs to use Tokenizer to manually add then as tokens. It's just avoids you to open the AoN to search the image to search for it inside your own foundry and usually is more easily to search for it in foundry than in the module.
c) Essential, of-course not. But if you are trying to play an pre-made adventure that you are able to import via module this will save a lot of time. If not, if your are making your own adventure there's no use for them at all.
d) I don't understand what you want here. You are trying to cosmetic change the doors image? If yes this is a background image edition you just add some foreground imagens/draws. But if you are talking about wall functionality (view and effect blocking, open/close/lock doors) the Foundry already have it in the wall icons in the tools bar. Yet can be improved a lot using Monk's Wall Enhancement giving tools to help to "draw" them.
About floors there's no native support for them in foundry but currently there's the Levels module. Yet I don't use it at all once that make multiple levels maps are pretty complex so I simply prefer to use multiple maps to represent each level (or just put in a single map side-by-side) and I avoid to use maps with mezzanines at all and maps with multiple natural heights I just put some notations in the map and add the height to the token when they are over them. (yet I rarely use such maps)
e) I learn by trial and error. But there's a lot of videos of "doing X in foundry 11" in youtube. Just search for them!
Ultimately there's no universal tutorial due the high number of 3rd party modules that you can add to Foundry that typically can change your experience a lot. But there's a wiki in the module that helps as reference guide but it's text only.
For b) you can just grab the official paid module to save yourself some time: https://paizo.com/products/btq02eat?FoundryVTT-Pathfinder-2E-Tokens-Bestiar y
I h8ghly recommend this suggestion! Some of the best quality tokens anywhere and automagically handles 95% of your monster art needs!
i have been working on a new campaign in Foundry (first time using any VTT). I have been drawing my assets on paper coloring in Krita and scanning them in. Used the bestiaries I bought from the humble bundle to load in pictures for a good deal of monsters.
It is a lot of work this way and I wont do it for every aspect of the game but there are some scenes and characters i just wanted to look a certain way.
Lol not that my drawing skill is good or anything, but I have fun with it.
For b) you can just grab the official paid module to save yourself some time: https://paizo.com/products/btq02eat?FoundryVTT-Pathfinder-2E-Tokens-Bestiar y
Cool I didn't know about this module.
Yet its very expensive and I don't like tokens where the images goes outside the rings. This creates some overlays problems with other tokens and maps elements.
I don't like tokens where the images goes outside the rings. This creates some overlays problems with other tokens and maps elements.
You might be the first person I've ever seen who felt that way.
Most people seem to love it because it makes them more dynamic, and grants a better sense of scale (such as how a dragon's torso might fill up it's space, but it's wings and tail stretch much farther out, as they really would). The official module also sizes things perfectly too, so those that do stretch beyond their boundaries are still sized appropriately and snap to the grid just fine. (Whereas if you were making them yourself with the same features, it would take a bit of finagling to get right.)
a) Strange, the PF2e module already populates the item compendium with all available items from all official released books. Maybe your installation is broken or maybe you are searching in wrong place. Are you searching in compendium browser?
I also suggest you to install the Quick Insert module. This allow so search anything from the game database with a simply ctrl+space an open it for details or drag to someplay that you want to drag.
b) This is the main problem of foundry. Due the creatures images are copyrighted and there's no special permission from Paizo do add them to the system module the are blank.
To workaround this I suggest you to install the Tokenizer module and get the creatures images from AoN on demand (when you add the creature to your game as actors). Usually you can simply copy the image link from AoN and add it as Avatar and then "convert" it to be a token.
There's also possible to add them to the monsters imagens database directly via Token Variant Art module but the process to get all creatures images from AoN is very complex and too bandwidth demanding. Honestly I done it after once only and it's too much work and doesn't worth because you still needs to use Tokenizer to manually add then as tokens. It's just avoids you to open the AoN to search the image to search for it inside your own foundry and usually is more easily to search for it in foundry than in the module.c) Essential, of-course not. But if you are trying to play an pre-made adventure that you are able to import via module this will save a lot of time. If not, if your are making your own adventure there's no use for them at all.
d) I don't understand what you want here. You are trying to cosmetic change the doors image? If yes this is...
a) Probably due to my unfamiliarity but I was under the upper right menu for ITEMS - it shows Compendium Browser at the bottom. When I bring that up - nothing is there. Finally figured out that you have actually CLICK one of the headers in the blue bar like EQUIPMENT for items to start showing. Installed the add on - thanks
b) >>Installed - I have a library over thousands of amazing tokens from before Roll20, Fantasy Grounds, etc. but was just trying to find maybe a directory I could just dump them in and use and select them.
c) Trying to write my own from the ground up. I have the maps, dialog and everything I need - but need to LOAD it into Foundry and cut and paste from my PDFs. Then I just have to add all the Scenes and Actors.
d) >> Yes - cosmetic changes for Doors, windows, items I can drop in rooms, library of furniture, torches, etc to drag and drop into the maps I load. For walls or floors, is it stone, is it wood, what color of wood, maybe the floor is marble, etc.
Thanks for the feedback
For b) you can just grab the official paid module to save yourself some time: https://paizo.com/products/btq02eat?FoundryVTT-Pathfinder-2E-Tokens-Bestiar yI h8ghly recommend this suggestion! Some of the best quality tokens anywhere and automagically handles 95% of your monster art needs!
Purchased - Thanks.
Id never find these things without you'alls help.
Pretty sure the PDF importer module only works on specific PATHFINDER 2e modules (the ones from before Paizo started making there own). It won't do anything with some random AD&D 2nd Edition PDF. So you'll need to export all the maps as image files and then build the scenes by hand. I suggest checking youtube for some getting started videos on scene creation.
I have an AD&D 2.0 Module - that I am converting to pathfinder. I have it all in PDFs with hi res maps jpgs AND I am just going to create all the actors and drop monsters from the bestiary in. Lastly, all locations and places - I am going to lift and set in Golaria. Thats the plan. Plus I am change a number of the encounters/scenes as I like to be creative.
Here are some modules that were recommended to me:
Dice so Nice
GM Screen
FXMaster
Lazy Money
Drag Ruler
Midi QoL
d) >> Yes - cosmetic changes for Doors, windows, items I can drop in rooms, library of furniture, torches, etc to drag and drop into the maps I load. For walls or floors, is it stone, is it wood, what color of wood, maybe the floor is marble, etc.
OK I understand know.
For this case I can recommend the Moulinette packs and modules. It's a HUGE pack of many different assets to use in your foundry.
Obs.: The Moulinette is so huge that it was the reason that I considered that $60 for the oficial tokens was too expensive IMO.
But notice that foundry it's not the best example of optimization (specially when you adding modules to it) so having too much mobile elements in your map can make a bad experience for players with low-specs computers. Instead I recommend to use some external MAP generator to help you to add fixed elements to your maps and only use mobile assets in your foundry when you really want that players interact to it in some way (like attacking it).
Yet if you really want to use many mobile assets and animations in your foundry I strongly recommend you and your players to open the chrome://flags/ of your Chrome and change the render engine to DX12(DirectX 12 and its Windows option only) or Vulkan (Vulkan is Linux, Android and Windows only) or Metal (metal is MacOS/IpadOS/IOS only) to speedup your foundry rendering. May also try to search and test to enable/disable some GPU options there to see what will improve the FPS in your foundry. This thing is fully client side so each player need to do these optimizations to try to improve their foundry FPS
Hmmm...
Might want to change the thread title if you're not asking for funding.
Sadly 'kickstarter' has kind of had it's meaning absorbed by online funding attempts.
d) >> Yes - cosmetic changes for Doors, windows, items I can drop in rooms, library of furniture, torches, etc to drag and drop into the maps I load. For walls or floors, is it stone, is it wood, what color of wood, maybe the floor is marble, etc.OK I understand know.
For this case I can recommend the Moulinette packs and modules. It's a HUGE pack of many different assets to use in your foundry.
Obs.: The Moulinette is so huge that it was the reason that I considered that $60 for the oficial tokens was too expensive IMO.
[/b]
Good suggestions - for the most part we are playing at the table and I am using Foundry for the ON TABLE MAP and display to the characters at the table - so all is good. Monitor is built into the table so I think we will be good. I might have to optimize the "client" PC in the table - but as a DM I have the DM Monitor and the TABLE "Client"
I just want to get started creating with Foundry and see how it compares to some other tools I've been using.
Thanks
Hmmm...
Might want to change the thread title if you're not asking for funding.
Sadly 'kickstarter' has kind of had it's meaning absorbed by online funding attempts.
Ill change it if I could figure out HOW to do that...