Roll20 VS Fantasy Grounds

question
#1

Oy shield-wallers and gar gobblers!

I run all my VTT games on Roll20 mainly because it’s what I know and it has a good enough function even as a free subscription. Thing is. Not much is really happening. It’s been as it is forever even if it need changes. I’ve done the subscriber thing and I mean… It didn’t do much for me really.
But what about Fantasy Grounds?
Do we have any advocates for it? Maybe any Roll20 “turn-coats”? :thinking:
I’d love some input! Also wanna know if ICRPG is in there as a rules system already.

#2

Check out tabletop simulator on steam. @Murder_Hobo_Show is the resident expert, but I’ve been waiting for a sale to nab it.

#3

I only use fantasy grounds and Tabletop Simulator.

I prefer tabletop simulator as it’s system agnostic, it’s just a table in a 3d world but it gives you the options to do some cool 3d maps. It’s got everything you need and you can get it for 10 bucks on sale… No monthly charges.

Fantasy grounds doesn’t have icrpg as a ruleset but it will handle it through “morecore” or “core”, the benefit of fantasy grounds shines through in crunchier systems, for example in FG I can could target 4 or 5 players and hit them with Dragon breath and FG will roll for saves and apply half and full damage depending on it you save. It’s better than roll 20 imo and cheaper in the long run, also note that fantasy grounds unity is being Kickstarted next month.

Also note, I use a 50 inch tv for battlemaps and fantasy grounds at my local gaming store because you don’t need internet to use 50 fathoms, I simply run two instances of FG and contest to local host… The tv runs the player side and my laptop is the DM side… So I get alot of use from FG.

#4

He’s a video I made a year ago using fantasy grounds at my store…it’s 20 mins or so.

#5

I just stumbled across a couple other VTT sites that looked interesting.
https://www.astraltabletop.com/ They are teamed up with Drive Thru RPGs
and
http://foundryvtt.com/ (still in Alpha I think)

Both look very new…so I am not sure how they will pan out. Both say they are going to be system agnostic.
I am pretty new to VTTs, but I am keeping my eye on them. Maybe someone else with more experience has looked at these already…

#6

also https://www.skirmish-vt.com/ this looked really good to me, but it didnt pass kickstarter twice. Has some great features that look amazing though… not sure what is happening with it these days.

#7

I’ve looked at astral tabletop and I think it has promise. I think the GUI is a little hard to grasp initially, and that the controls are a little too ‘busy’.

That said I haven’t run a game on it yet.

Between roll20 and FG, I think FG is the technically better product. I think it lags because roll20 is easy to start using. The FG unity update might be a game changer, and I’m waiting for that to come out before considering a switch.

#8

Yeah I’ve checked up on Unity. Will stay on Roll20 for now.
I have Tabletop Simulator but haven’t even started it yet :smile: maybe I should? @Murder_Hobo_Show

#9

Like anything there is a learning curve, you can find lots of already made 3d maps and minis on the community hub.

You can buy it for 10 bucks on sale, no monthly charge, unlimited storage, and play more than RPGs, any board game or card game is on their as well.

Also you don’t have to use 3d… Like roll 20 you can just use a flat map and pog tokens.

I have to say that my favorite part is the lack of automation, I find that automation can get in the way of simpler less crunchy systems. I find that alot of times players spend time asking how to make an attack or Target an NPC (I use FG mainly) or asking where a thing can be found.

In TTS you just roll dice, you just teach them how to move the mini and roll a dice… Done. It works the same for every system as well.

Drawbacks… Fog of war is shady, minis tend to fall over alot (on hills ect), limited in game character sheets (i have icrpg,d&d,Savage worlds and tales from the loop character sheets)

I dunno… It’s my vtt of choice these days. I enjoy building scenes, it’s like crafting for me but virtually and then having players go through them. I find the lack of automation speeds up the game and makes it flow better and it’s cheap, an no monthly fees.

#10

I’m hoping unity will introduce 3d elements like TTS with an overlayed Gui for character sheets
… not sure what the design is going to look like but 64bit will be nice!