Fantasy Grounds gets 5e license

[Chambers]

We are proud to announce that we are officially licensed to sell D&D source material and content inside of Fantasy Grounds! This is the beginning of a great new partnership between SmiteWorks and Wizards of the Coast that will benefit gamers worldwide.

You can purchase the D&D Complete Core Class Pack with all the class, feats, spells and equipment or you can purchase individual classes only. You can also buy the monsters in packs or as the D&D Complete Core Monster Pack. These products have been converted to work really tightly with Fantasy Grounds to give you the best possible gaming experience - we know you're going to love them. They contain all the great artwork and content from the official products and all the smarts and integration to work with Fantasy Grounds. Not only will you get the same content that can be found in print, but you also get an exciting new Fifth Edition theme, adventures and content customized specifically for ease of play inside of Fantasy Grounds.

Found this link (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/buyFG/DungeonsAndDragons.html) posted on the Dungeons & Dragons Facebook page today. I've never used Fantasy Grounds (didn't even know it existed) and most of the comments on the FB post are about how it's too expensive and Roll20 is better. My guess is this is their replacement for the Morningstar project after they cut their losses with that.

I don't do virtual table top gaming but if I did I'd be real hesitant to pay $120 a year (and still no pdfs) to use the official VTT when there's other options like Roll20. I did have an Insider subscription when I played 4e but that was because it was pretty much a necessity to play the game.

[pwykersotz]

Yeah, the ultimate package is pretty pricey. I'm trying the demo now. 40 bucks to have the GM version might not be too bad though.

[Alikat]

Anyone have experience with this product? I use the roll20 google hangouts plugin a lot. This looks interesting to me, maybe even for just character sheet use as something a bit better than mythweavers.

[Person_Man]

I'd pay $10 a month, but only if a single "DM License" was required for me to invite at least 8 players to access and use the system, including full access to a robust character/NPC/monster/map campaign creator and the online gaming stuff.

[asorel]

The price is partially offset by the fact that not every member of the group is required to pay. If the DM buys the Ultimate Pack, any participating players have access to the content as well.

[Envyus]

I'd pay $10 a month, but only if a single "DM License" was required for me to invite at least 8 players to access and use the system, including full access to a robust character/NPC/monster/map campaign creator and the online gaming stuff.

The $10 sub is the one that lets you play with people that have not payed. It says the only limit to players in bandwidth. If you have the Ultimate licence or standard one. (Though other people will have to pay to play with someone that has the standard one. Which is why it's 6 dollars cheaper.)

[Hyena]

There is no way in Hell I'm paying so much money for a virtual table. Actual games, with fancy graphics and all, are much cheaper. Even those that have subscription!

[Alikat]

I gave this a try tonight. Spent more hours messing with it than I want to admit. I tried a standard subscription and purchased the character customizer stuff and the barbarian class just to try and use it as a character sheet manager with hopefully some math built in for ease of use dice rolls. It's so clunky, the UI feels like something from the mid 90's, and about the only positive is it does essentially give you a digital PHB, though it's broken up into way too many little pieces.

My only real take away is that it made me take a closer look at the 'shaped' 5e character sheets on roll20, which are completely free and far superior in both visual quality and functionality.. at least in my opinion. The roll20 stuff being all browser based so I can do it with a tablet or chromebook is a huge plus too.

So yeah, my recommendation after dropping 20 bucks, and 5 hours of frustration messing with it, watching tutorial videos, and reading wiki articles: stay away.

[Envyus]

Here's a walkthrough of the monster pack.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6b9BLbQ6ejw

and how to make a character https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nurEMR4JJeU

[Dark Tira]

I gave this a try tonight. Spent more hours messing with it than I want to admit. I tried a standard subscription and purchased the character customizer stuff and the barbarian class just to try and use it as a character sheet manager with hopefully some math built in for ease of use dice rolls. It's so clunky, the UI feels like something from the mid 90's, and about the only positive is it does essentially give you a digital PHB, though it's broken up into way too many little pieces.

My only real take away is that it made me take a closer look at the 'shaped' 5e character sheets on roll20, which are completely free and far superior in both visual quality and functionality.. at least in my opinion. The roll20 stuff being all browser based so I can do it with a tablet or chromebook is a huge plus too.

So yeah, my recommendation after dropping 20 bucks, and 5 hours of frustration messing with it, watching tutorial videos, and reading wiki articles: stay away.

This is pretty much my experience with the demo. It's too bad too. I was all ready to spend $250 to make things easier for my DM, but for that price it better be significantly better than roll20.

[Kryx]

My only real take away is that it made me take a closer look at the 'shaped' 5e character sheets on roll20, which are completely free and far superior in both visual quality and functionality..
I love reading positive feedback on my Shaped sheet. :)

Let me know if you have any feedback on it. Either here or in the roll20 thread.

[Alikat]

I love reading positive feedback on my Shaped sheet. :)

Let me know if you have any feedback on it. Either here or in the roll20 thread.

Well I've only played with it for one evening so far, so these might be options but I haven't found them yet:

Be able to make initiative roles independent of tokens on the board. (I might not be using a token a lot of the time.) When I try to do it now it gives me an error.

Be able to turn off the double rolls on d20's so it only does advantage/disadvantage rolls when I tell it too. I'm assuming the way it's intended to work now is if those rules don't apply you just use the first number?

[Kryx]

Be able to make initiative roles independent of tokens on the board. (I might not be using a token a lot of the time.) When I try to do it now it gives me an error.
I made this work yesterday. It's under the settings. Mainly for tablet users, but others could do it as well. See https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/1734923/new-d-and-d-5e-shaped-character-sheet#post-1811762 for a screenshot. It won't be live for a few days though unless you pull my code directly from GitHub.


Be able to turn off the double rolls on d20's so it only does advantage/disadvantage rolls when I tell it too. I'm assuming the way it's intended to work now is if those rules don't apply you just use the first number?
It is intended to just take the first if there is no adv/dis, ya. Making it toggleable would require an extra step to confirm/deny adv/dis for every roll. The author of the default sheet decided that rolls should always include them so it's much faster to output than having to confirm/deny adv/disadvantage. I'm inclined to agree.

[Alikat]

Thank you for the reply :)

Good to know about initiative, we don't play again til Sunday so I'll just wait on the update to go out.

The dis/advantage thing was actually a complaint from my DM when I showed him the sheets. But he's a programmer, and like many programmers I know, complaining about other peoples code and how much better he could do it, seems to be one of the great joys of his life and I'd hate to take away from him. :p

About the only other thing I'm a little lost on, is what exactly I'm supposed to type into the crit damage field for weapons? If I remember right, crits in this edition are an extra damage die plus modifiers. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to communicate that into the field?

[asorel]

Thank you for the reply :)

Good to know about initiative, we don't play again til Sunday so I'll just wait on the update to go out.

The dis/advantage thing was actually a complaint from my DM when I showed him the sheets. But he's a programmer, and like many programmers I know, complaining about other peoples code and how much better he could do it, seems to be one of the great joys of his life that I'd hate to take away from him. :p

About the only other thing I'm a little lost on, is what exactly I'm supposed to type into the crit damage field for weapons? If I remember right, crits in this edition are an extra damage die plus modifiers. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to communicate that into the field?



It's for the Champion Fighter's Expanded Critical.

[Alikat]

There's a seperate field for crit range that covers that. I think you're supposed to put a roll formula into the crit damage field maybe? like for a glaive /roll 1d10+2.

[asorel]

There's a seperate field for crit range that covers that. I think you're supposed to put a roll formula into the crit damage field maybe? like for a glaive /roll 1d10+2.

No need for the /roll, the field is to indicate extra damage on crits, to accommodate the Half-Orc and Barbarian features.

[Ilorin Lorati]

I love reading positive feedback on my Shaped sheet. :)

Let me know if you have any feedback on it. Either here or in the roll20 thread.

The only thing I've noticed is that Jack of All Trades should apply to straight ability checks. Anything else I'd like to see are optional rules from the DMG.


No need for the /roll, the field is to indicate extra damage on crits, to accommodate the Half-Orc and Barbarian features.

As far as I can tell, you need to add the base crit damage bonus in as well.

[Easy_Lee]

The online scene has the potential to address a major problem with D&D, specifically that groups which physically meet are difficult to find, ones in close driving distance are more difficult, ones that fit your schedule are even more difficult, ones without weirdos are more difficult still, and consistent groups meeting all of the above are near mythic. "I run a cool D&D game for attractive people, and no one ever misses," said no one ever.

That said, this is not the way for D&D to go online. Roll20 is better, and even it has many problems that could be solved with some financial backing. WotC is continuing their history of questionable business decisions, it seems.

[Totema]

That said, this is not the way for D&D to go online. Roll20 is better, and even it has many problems that could be solved with some financial backing. WotC is continuing their history of questionable business decisions, it seems. Roll20 is trying its best to be system-neutral, though, so teaming up with them would go a long way towards ruining that image.

[Kryx]

To no longer pollute this thread I have created a thread for feedback on the Shaped Sheet. See Roll20 shaped sheet feedback (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?408720-Roll20-shaped-sheet-feedback)

[Joe Eskimo]

There is no way in Hell I'm paying so much money for a virtual table. Actual games, with fancy graphics and all, are much cheaper. Even those that have subscription!

This. It's too expensive. I hate it. My opinion.

I don't like the fact that you have to pay a lot of money just to make it easier to play. Now I would pay if the price was fair. A little money would be well spent if it made the game easier to play and manage. But the fact is they're charging too much for too little and you have to pay another fee just to use Fantasy Grounds itself. They're really not helping out consumers or the game with this move.

"There's a sucker born every minute"
-David Hannum

[Beleriphon]

This. It's too expensive. I hate it. My opinion.

I don't like the fact that you have to pay a lot of money just to make it easier to play. Now I would pay if the price was fair. A little money would be well spent if it made the game easier to play and manage. But the fact is they're charging too much for too little and you have to pay another fee just to use Fantasy Grounds itself. They're really not helping out consumers or the game with this move.

"There's a sucker born every minute"
-David Hannum

No, they're providing a robut license to an established company known for VTT. That's it, don't use Fantasy Grounds, no skin of your back to continue not using the service. As is this is empathically not a character genertor, it is licensed content for Fantasy Ground's VTT.