Hey all,

I've been running a continuous WFRP 3rd Ed campaign for the past 2+ years with a rotating group of about seven players, though most sessions only include 2-4 PCs at a time since they're not all located in the same area of the campaign world.

Recently, some of my core players schedules have changed, making it difficult for us to all be in the same room for 4-5 hours straight. This has forced me to turn to running our sessions online. I've run a couple of games using roll20, as it was easy to pick up, and several of my players were already familiar with it. However Roll20 has proven to be a headache when it comes to running WFRP 3rd edition as not all of my players have access to their character's components (cards, tokens, etc), and simply typing everything up in an email for them doesn't quite work the same way that having a card in front of you with recharge tokens on it does.

I find that as a GM, being able to look around the table and almost instantly be able to see how weary and busted up a PC is by the kind of cards/tokens they have in front of them has been a godsend! It keeps play running smoothly and doesn't take us out of the game-world having to ask "how many hit points do you have left?", or "how soon until you can cast that spell again?", etc.

Anywho, I've been eyeing Fantasy Grounds II, with the Warhammer Fantasy RP 3rd edition expansion, but wanted to hear from GMs that have actually used it to run several games. I'd be purchasing the Ultimate License so that my players don't have to download or pay for anything.

There's also MapTools, which I just started looking at last night. I was surprised to see modules for a dice pool roller and tokens/location cards on Gitzman's site, but still don't see a way to integrate Action/Talent cards, Party Sheets, etc.

So what's your opinion of these two pieces of software? Have you used them to run games? If so, how did you handle components that aren't covered in Maptool? Was Fantasy Grounds worth the $ you spent on it?

I am player in a campaign (12th advance) using FG2.

It's simply and straight forward.

Also I started to create my own adventures using the WFRP3 extension, which is pretty awesome.

Creating is also straight forward, especially if you check out Ceodryn's video.

Read about FG2 on our Virtual Game Forums:

http://www.p-mi.com/prediger/roleplaying/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=5

I am player in a campaign (12th advance) using FG2.

It's simply and straight forward.

Also I started to create my own adventures using the WFRP3 extension, which is pretty awesome.

Creating is also straight forward, especially if you check out Ceodryn's video.

Read about FG2 on our Virtual Game Forums:

http://www.p-mi.com/prediger/roleplaying/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=5

Awesome stuff! Thanks for the heads up!

Regarding maptool, I think the easiest way to integrate actions and party sheets is simply by putting out a token that shows you the text. Actions themselves can also be worked simply into the decks as you can open up the deck and look pretty quick.

Anyways, I'm getting to the point where less is more on virtual tabletop. A player can just have his "paper" copies at home. The party sheet though needs a regular ability to pop up. Probably a macro print-out of info would work on a single-button push as well though.

Best of luck,

jh

Regarding maptool, I think the easiest way to integrate actions and party sheets is simply by putting out a token that shows you the text. Actions themselves can also be worked simply into the decks as you can open up the deck and look pretty quick.

Anyways, I'm getting to the point where less is more on virtual tabletop. A player can just have his "paper" copies at home. The party sheet though needs a regular ability to pop up. Probably a macro print-out of info would work on a single-button push as well though.

Best of luck,

jh

Yeah, I've tried doing something similar in roll20...created a "token" to represent the Party Sheet, which worked ok. The real problem is that some of my players live out of state, and don't have access to the materials and components, which makes playing online much more difficult. Writing everything down for them would be a ***** since they're already into their third careers (that's a lot of actions, talents, etc to write down), not to mention the headache of having them spend advances on cards they don't have access to in the future.

This is the main reason I'm thinking of switching to Fantasy Grounds, which (when including the WFRP expansion) incorporates all of these things already.

I am player in a campaign (12th advance) using FG2.

It's simply and straight forward.

Also I started to create my own adventures using the WFRP3 extension, which is pretty awesome.

Creating is also straight forward, especially if you check out Ceodryn's video.

Read about FG2 on our Virtual Game Forums:

http://www.p-mi.com/prediger/roleplaying/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=5

I'm having difficulty getting the WFRP expansions to load in the demo version. I've read on a Google Groups forum that it's possible to test our the WFRP expansion with the demo version,but I want to be certain I'm sorting the various downloads into the correct folders. Where does the main rules expansion (WFRP v3.PAK) go in the Fantasy Grounds AppData folder?

Should be pretty trivial to creat a google docs (which u could then share) sheet containing list of actions etc. with room to mark numbers of recharge tokens on them etc. - same as to build a table of crits etc - which you could roll on ...I did that for EotE ...sure its bigger job for wfrp but same principle ...

I am player in a campaign (12th advance) using FG2.

It's simply and straight forward.

Also I started to create my own adventures using the WFRP3 extension, which is pretty awesome.

Creating is also straight forward, especially if you check out Ceodryn's video.

Read about FG2 on our Virtual Game Forums:

http://www.p-mi.com/prediger/roleplaying/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=5

I'm having difficulty getting the WFRP expansions to load in the demo version. I've read on a Google Groups forum that it's possible to test our the WFRP expansion with the demo version,but I want to be certain I'm sorting the various downloads into the correct folders. Where does the main rules expansion (WFRP v3.PAK) go in the Fantasy Grounds AppData folder?

GoblynKing,

If I remember right, for the Demo version of Fantasy Grounds, you will need to place the WFRP v3.PAK file into the directory where Fantasy Grounds is installed, rather than its AppData folder (C:\Program Files\FantasyGrounds\...)

I am player in a campaign (12th advance) using FG2.

It's simply and straight forward.

Also I started to create my own adventures using the WFRP3 extension, which is pretty awesome.

Creating is also straight forward, especially if you check out Ceodryn's video.

Read about FG2 on our Virtual Game Forums:

http://www.p-mi.com/prediger/roleplaying/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=5

I'm having difficulty getting the WFRP expansions to load in the demo version. I've read on a Google Groups forum that it's possible to test our the WFRP expansion with the demo version,but I want to be certain I'm sorting the various downloads into the correct folders. Where does the main rules expansion (WFRP v3.PAK) go in the Fantasy Grounds AppData folder?

GoblynKing,

If I remember right, for the Demo version of Fantasy Grounds, you will need to place the WFRP v3.PAK file into the directory where Fantasy Grounds is installed, rather than its AppData folder (C:\Program Files\FantasyGrounds\...)

That worked perfectly, thanks for the tip!

Alright, I got the Warhammer patch to work, but still can't figure out how to load the Library, Themed Extensions, and Adventures. Is this possible with the demo version, and if so, where do I put these files?

I dont know the interface by heart but there is a button in the upper right corner which opens a popup that shows which libs are loaded. next to the lib names are little books. you need to click&drag as if you open a book irl to load it

I hope that helps.

I dont know the interface by heart but there is a button in the upper right corner which opens a popup that shows which libs are loaded. next to the lib names are little books. you need to click&drag as if you open a book irl to load it

I hope that helps.

I've done that, but the WFRP library doesn't show up. What I need to know is where to put the library file in the Fantasy Grounds folders?

The library file (and all .mod files) go in the Modules folder of the Fantasy Grounds AppData folder. Make sure that you have not renamed the ruleset file from the original name (WFRP v3.PAK) as libraries are matched to their ruleset based on name. All extensions (.ext) goes in the Extensions folder under the Fantasy Grounds AppData folder.

With the module in place, there is a button on the right of the screen that allows you to activate any modules compatible with the ruleset. The WFRP library should appear under that list is everything is working ok.

Extensions are selected before creating or loading an existing campaign. Any compatible extensions will appear in the window when creating a new campaign or loading an existing one.

The library file (and all .mod files) go in the Modules folder of the Fantasy Grounds AppData folder. Make sure that you have not renamed the ruleset file from the original name (WFRP v3.PAK) as libraries are matched to their ruleset based on name. All extensions (.ext) goes in the Extensions folder under the Fantasy Grounds AppData folder.

With the module in place, there is a button on the right of the screen that allows you to activate any modules compatible with the ruleset. The WFRP library should appear under that list is everything is working ok.

Extensions are selected before creating or loading an existing campaign. Any compatible extensions will appear in the window when creating a new campaign or loading an existing one.

Thanks! I finally got everything to work properly. Turns out I didn't have the most recent version of the WFRP v3.PAK file. Thanks for your help everyone!

I tried using Maptool quite some time ago, and while it was easy enough to use, I experienced quite a lot of bugs. It would crash with regular intervals, and I seem to remember not being able to load previous files. Am I the only one?

Also, I have to wonder why people use all these different (and somewhat complex, at leat to the uninitiated) programs to play online. Couldn't there be an easier way? I'm very interested in trying WFRP online, but getting all this stuff seems inconvenient and unnessescary, at least on first glance. Provided everyone involved have the base components of the game, why can't we just use Skype?

Provided everyone involved have the base components of the game, why can't we just use Skype?

Exactly. Who's the hell plays in a group where every player owns the base components of the game? I've got one player that owns the core box other than myself (the GM), another player owns the players toolkit...the rest don't own shite. This leaves me with the option of loaning my components to some of my players, and scanning/copying the rest for those that live out of state...either way it ain't convenient. Unfortunately, WFRP3 being a component heavy game does not make for an easily ported online experience. If it weren't for the fact that I'd sunk so much money into it at this point, I'd just switch to 2nd Edition to make playing online easier. Que sera sera.

Provided everyone involved have the base components of the game, why can't we just use Skype?

Exactly. Who's the hell plays in a group where every player owns the base components of the game? I've got one player that owns the core box other than myself (the GM), another player owns the players toolkit...the rest don't own shite. This leaves me with the option of loaning my components to some of my players, and scanning/copying the rest for those that live out of state...either way it ain't convenient. Unfortunately, WFRP3 being a component heavy game does not make for an easily ported online experience. If it weren't for the fact that I'd sunk so much money into it at this point, I'd just switch to 2nd Edition to make playing online easier. Que sera sera.

Yeah, I obviously understand that. But coudln't at least the 1/4th or 1/5th or whatever of people who have what they need form some group, and they could use Skype for the sake of convenience? I think the option is at least worth considering, but I can see at least two possible complications:

- It might bum over the majority who don't have the needed components if the ones who do band together in a way that excludes the more disenfranchised members of the community, and especially so if they depend on people who own these in order to play at all.

- I would imagine that most of the people who own some components still lack access to other vital bits. For example, I have the core set, Adventurer's Toolkit, GM's Toolkit and Omens of War, meaning that I lack access to disease cards and don't have the roles for diseases, mutations or corruption. Now, there's no problem with this so long as no other components are used (as would be the case in conventional play), but let's say I'm playing via Skype with someone who have them - that whole aspect of the game would have to be removed if I were to play with them, and that might diminish their experience.

But then again, that might be solved with Strane Eons?

Regardless, I'd like to know just how many people are both able and willing to play in such a fashion.

I would also just take a moment to recommend obsidian portal. While it does not have any build in features for running the actual online session, it could be a great support tool to document an online campaign and keep track of the story itself.

I have used it for my own group. Feel free to take a look at my campaign to get a feel of what it can do:

http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/heads-or-tails

I would also just take a moment to recommend obsidian portal. While it does not have any build in features for running the actual online session, it could be a great support tool to document an online campaign and keep track of the story itself.

I have used it for my own group. Feel free to take a look at my campaign to get a feel of what it can do:

http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/heads-or-tails

Already use it.

http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/omens-and-portents

A follow up for those who are still interested. I've actually decided to stick with Roll 20. I ended up scanning all of my cards into Photoshop and just uploading them into Roll 20's custom decks feature.

I created a dice roller that integrates with Google Hangouts allowing you to roll dice pools and everyone view the results. As Roll20 can also use Google Hangouts, you can get them working together. Check the links in my signature for links to my dice roller.

Your invention is the greatest thing ever!

jh

Looking at the options, Fantasy Grounds 2 seems the most powerful option in terms of features and functionality. Am I wrong?

Looking at the options, Fantasy Grounds 2 seems the most powerful option in terms of features and functionality. Am I wrong?

You are correct. It's also the most expensive option, and requires quite a bit of elbow grease to make work. I'm sticking with Roll20 at the moment since I've already spent the time scanning and uploading my various cards. Up next I'm uploading Condition Cards, and Mutation Cards. I'm only going to upload the Actions and Talents that my players are using currently and will add others as they purchase them.

The next hurdle is figuring out a way to easily place the Party Sheet and it's various tokens (tracking token for the Tension meter, Fortune Points, and socketed Talents) onto the play area quickly and easily.

Is there a way to create a Macro to do this?

I know you can create Macros to roll dice and the like, but is there a way to create a quick Macro that will place certain Tokens grouped together?

Looking at the options, Fantasy Grounds 2 seems the most powerful option in terms of features and functionality. Am I wrong?

You are correct. It's also the most expensive option, and requires quite a bit of elbow grease to make work. I'm sticking with Roll20 at the moment since I've already spent the time scanning and uploading my various cards. Up next I'm uploading Condition Cards, and Mutation Cards. I'm only going to upload the Actions and Talents that my players are using currently and will add others as they purchase them.

The next hurdle is figuring out a way to easily place the Party Sheet and it's various tokens (tracking token for the Tension meter, Fortune Points, and socketed Talents) onto the play area quickly and easily.

Is there a way to create a Macro to do this?

I know you can create Macros to roll dice and the like, but is there a way to create a quick Macro that will place certain Tokens grouped together?

Cheers. I already bought it a while ago when I was looking into savage worlds and as I many times do - I got the full package. Tried to register at their site and my e-mail was used - logged in and there is was. So I believe players don't need to buy anything.