which is the best virtual rpg table top for playing warhammer?

MAPTOOL is the the only one I even know of that has the dice-roller built-in: www.gitzmansgallery.com/MapTools_WFRP/index.html

Fantasy Grounds is another. It costs though but it looks and feels amazing (if you're using a PC). There's even a plugin for WFRP2.

Fantasy Grounds 2 does look very cool, though it really appears to be designed with other systems in mind. I wonder how easily it could be customized to fit the WFRP3 style. MapTools can only be forced to fit to a certain degree and from what ive seen so far, Fantasy Grounds 2 is going to be a lot more restrictive (while looking much, much prettier).

I'd love to take a crack at it, but im a little hesitant to do so given the cost, complexity and application restrictions.

Gitzman

There actually is a plugin for Fantasy grounds 2, complete with the special dice and character sheet.

Since its possible to have multiple images/maps open in FG2, its the only one that does the cards and tokens satisfactory(you'd still have to scan them in manually).

Look it up on their forums, its been a long while since I've had a look at it but it certainly looked playable and lets face it prettier than maptools. Big deal though is the chat window is lousy.

However, I'd still recomend maptools. Theres gitzmans framework which is very good and robust, I actually had a half complete framework myself but stopped putting more effort into it when I found rumbles dice roller and borrowed some code from gitzman.

Of course now the whole things mutated into some sort of frankensteins monster into a homebrew of whrp3, dd4, ars magica and fudge mechanics...

Ugh, yeah the point of what I was trying to say is that whrp3 isnt really playable online since the whole system is so tactile based, just feels wrong somehow.

As a side note, gitzman have you per any chance suceeded into adding action cards to the framework? You know so they could be typed in and referenced and tokens added to them? If not, any plans to?

cylone said:

No i have not, for a few reasons. One, the mechanical, workflow, if/then methods of MapTools do not lend itself well to all the variety fo options a player has on how to divy out their dice results. Two, i am purposfully trying not to include everything the game needs to play. I realize the ruleset could be a little on the grey side of fair use copyright laws so i leave out that major component.

The system should remain a supplement to the game allowing people who already own the content to play online. Not a replacement.

Anyway, that beign said, i am still open to suggestions and improvements to the system since it is a labor of love.

Gitzman

P.S. Would someone please post a link to Fantasy Grounds 2 WFRP3 content? I looked the other day and didnt find anything. I am very interested to explore the system further but without the dice, there is no point.

Thanks!

Found another "D20 PRO 2" - can we play WHFRP on it?

That one is interesting too.

Im a little sad to see the ones that have the pretty interface and all the bells and whistles are the ones that i didtn work on lol. But quite honestly, i think MapTools is the most open source platform and the longest running platform. That is the reason it is so flexible and accomodating to WFRP3. Those D20 based programs are going to be very difficult to tweak enough to get WFRP3 off the ground.

Im still very intrigued though, i'm a pretty interface *****.

Gitzman

Gitzman said:

Your wish is my command...

www.theforbiddentome.com/fantasygrounds/warhammerfantasyroleplayv3

First off, Gitzman and his colleagues efforts to make warhammer "maptools friendly" is nothing short of amazing. What an incredible amount of work done for an amazing cost of zero-point-zero.

Unfortunately, I had a recent situation with my new online group. Five minutes before the game the file would not load. Tried everything I knew (which isn't much) and had to bail after doing quite a bit of work.

I am on a mac and couldn't get the server working. Prior to that we did fine playing using a desktop sharing program.

Still, the file wouldn't load. Very disappointing and killed that game.

I'm an old school player/GM and have never used any computer tabletop thingies for roleplaying. How do you do it? I mean, what is needed and how does the flow work? Do you communicate through writing or Skype or similar and does everyone need the rules, cards etc. to play? Is there are lot of work involved for GM and for players?

I'm very curious to try something like this out, as I think it would make getting the group "together" much easier and would also make a great tool for advancing the story between "real" sessions. Thanks.

I'll give this a shot...

Basically everyone downloads and installs the software (i.e. MapTools) which is essentially a program which allows everyone to share a common gaming table on screen where there are tokens and graphics, dice rollers, chat windows etc. You can communicate via typing within the application but it is far more convinient to use a conference call using something like Skype, TeamSpeak, or Ventrillo. The virtual game board has one player designated as a GM (though there can be mroe) and the others are PCs. The GM has a 'full view' of whats on the baord while the PCs have restricted views based on what the GM allows them to see.

The tokens and back end rulesets are what make these virutal tabletop games really cool. The system allows tokens to house the stats for the characters. You then can create (or use pre-created) macro buttons to trigger or perform calculations based on the stats and rules that you build into the game. So loads of people out there have build rulesets for a variety of game systems, so all you ahve to do is learn how it works and start playing or designing adventures.

The programs also offer 'maping' tools allowing you to draw or drag images onto the maps so you can faithfuly represent your locations.

A quick breakdown i know, but hopefully it helps.

I've made a WFRP3 ruleset available at www.GitzmansGallery.com along with a few adventures that you can load into it.

Gitzman

Found a picture from one of our play sessions curtousy of Emerikol:

The WFRP 3e ruleset for Fantasy Grounds is still in development and a fair way from completion - I know, as I'm the one who wrote it! It currently has a working dice mechanic and character sheet, with the party sheet coming next.

Although I have not used it, the work that Gitzman has done looks great and is already in use, so would be great place to start if you're thinking of playing WFRP online.

Another thing to note is that FG2 is a paid for product - while the ruleset is open source and available to the community, you do need to pay for the software itself. This might affect your descision on which tool to use.

Still, I do love FG2 - it looks great and its power and flexibility are fab - The character sheet includes working stance trackers which automatically adjust based on your currently active career. I've even got working prototypes of token pools & progress trackers just waiting to get integrated. In time, I think that I could get a working ruleset does a pretty good job of replicating the tabletop look and feel.

Here's a screenshot of the current ruleset :

Oh, and for those old skool players, there are FG2 rulesets available for WFRP 2e and the 1st edition of WFRP as well.

I'm very intrigued by the FG2 setup. If you want some help i'd be game to give it a shot. Let me know.

Gitzman

That's awesome work there neilgfoster! I had a small hand in the WFRP 1 and WFRP 2 FG rulesets, and would love to see v3 brought to the tool.

I have to imagine there will be some serious challenges with showing all of the action cards (both sides), from a scanning, writing details, or legal perspective. But the possibilities with FG 2 are limitless, really.

Thanks for the awesome answer Gitzman, really helped me to get this new virtual gaming thing sorted in my head. The FG2 stuff looks very very cool and since I'm into good graphics as well as nicely working system, I think I'll wait a while before deciding which system to use.

HedgeWizard said:

The legal side of things means that the ruleset will never include this information. The point of the ruleset is not to replace purchasing the books, but simply give you the tools to play online. In this instance, I would say that the Player and GM's guide are essential as they summarise all the actions, talents, etc. and the 'chit-less' rules gives the GM tables for rolling for criticals etc.

The current version of the ruleset includes the ability to create any of the types of cards - actions, talents, mutations, disease, etc. you just create a new action and enter the details. They include reckless and conservative sections plus placeholders for things like severity and recharge.

While it sounds like major work, in practice its not too bad - characters start with a relatively low number of actions available, and then gain them a few at a time. Players can enter the details about their characters themselves, so its pretty easy to keep characters up to date.

So you recomend FG2? Have you done some sessions online? The game arrive today and i'm reading the rules. I'm eager to play it, but like i said before i'm a newbie in papper RPG's and don't know any players. (forgive my basic english).

Right now, I would recommend MapTools - Its free, and Gitzman has done loads of working getting it working for WFRP. If you searches these forums Im sure you can find lots of his posts on the subject.

I do prefer FG2, and recommend it as a product, but wouldn't recommend it for WFRP 3e at the moment - I am still working on the ruleset but its not at a stage where you could run a 'proper' game with it yet.

Ultimatly, the choice is yours - I think you can try FG2 without purchasing it as they have a demo version available to download. Might be worth trying them both and seeing which one you like the most.

I only want to use it as a player. So maybe Maptools will be fine to start. thks

Hit me up if you want some help getting started with MapTools. jburke.design at gmail.com

Gitzman

Thks. I Will. If you run a game... don't forget me please.

Tell you what I'd pay $100 to get Fantasy Grounds working on a mac, and I don't want to hear about wine portal and other BS. I have zero idea how to use my computer and I have enough problems in work that I need to work around.

Get FG2 working on a mac!!! For Sigmar's sake, didn't Steve Jobs just shoot Bid Laden!?!