FAQ

[Smiteworks]

General info you might be interested in reading prior to posting.

Common Links:

FG Forums[www.fantasygrounds.com]
FG Wiki[www.fantasygrounds.com]
FG Facebook Page[www.facebook.com]
Official Discord Channel

Key Topics:

User Manual (Printable)
How to Print your D&D Character Sheet
Sample 5E Campaign & General Campaign Tutorial
Feature List
Tips for Mac Users

Activating an Existing License on Steam
Installing DLC Purchases

1. What games are supported by Fantasy Grounds?
Check the FG Wiki to see a list of all the current official and fan-made rulesets. More are added over time and works in progress can be found on the FG Forums.

2. How do I use the software?
Check the guides posted under the Community Hub or off the FG Wiki. There are a number of videos on the wiki.

3. Can I play this alone or will I need a group?
You will need a single user to act as the GameMaster (GM) and one or more players. There is no single-player mode with a computer controlled A.I. like in many games.

4. How do I organize a game or find a group to join and play?
There are several options, but currently these are all handled outside of Fantasy Grounds. You can post in the Community Hub discussions - Looking for Group to look for like-minded individuals who share an interest in the same games that you do. Alternately, you can access the Fantasy Grounds forums and post there under the game systems you are most interested in, or you can join the Fantasy Grounds official group on Steam and use the Group Chat feature to make introductions.

Finding a group that will reliably meet on a regular basis is one of the keys to a good, long-term roleplaying group. Unlike video games where you meet and group up instantly, a pen-and-paper style roleplaying group normally meets at regular intervals for weeks, months or even years to play a game. Joining a group you've never met in real life is surprisingly rewarding and leads to many life-long friendships. For that same reason, expect to spend a few days or even weeks advertising your interests until you find a group you can commit to.

5. Does this support Mac and Linux users?
Yes. You can use the installation through Steam or use the installer from our website found under Downloads > Mac OSX Installation. Linux installations require some manual steps. See the link below.
Mac Installer[www.fantasygrounds.com]
Linux manual installation instructions[www.fantasygrounds.com]

6. If I already have a license of Fantasy Grounds that I bought elsewhere, do I have to re-buy it on Steam?
Absolutely not -- unless you just want to give us more money. :)

Use Steam's Game > Activate a Product on Steam and paste in your license key. This should add it to your Library of Games and allow you to install from Steam or purchase additional DLC through Steam. Please note that licenses purchased outside of Steam do not immediately become available for activation and may take up to 6-8 weeks to be available for activation.

7. If I buy an additional ruleset, such as Call of Cthulhu, will the players have to buy it?
No. When players connect to your game with the alias you provided, they will download everything they need to play. While connected, they will have access to your player viewable modules if you enable this access on your module activation window.

8. Can I create my own modules?
Yes. You can create your own adventures, monsters, items, etc and share those with players when they connect. If you want to share these across multiple campaigns or with other users on the FG Workshop (when it is available), you'll want to create them in a brand new campaign and then type /export when finished to turn it into a module file that can be used in multiple campaigns or uploaded to the workshop. Check the guides and the wiki for more instructions on how to do this.

9. Does Fantasy Grounds support voice and sound or just chat?
FG only supports chat features natively. Most groups use FG alongside applications such as Skype, Google Hangouts, Ventrillo or TeamSpeak to provide voice and/or video sharing in additionl to the chat window provided within Fantasy Grounds.

[Smiteworks]

Tip: Activating Modules

If you buy a ruleset, this will create a new campaign type you can launch.

If you buy a module (adventure, library, token, portrait or map pack), then you will either launch an existing campaign or create a new campaign of the specific ruleset for the add-on and then use the Activation Module to open the product and activate it within that campaign. This allows the same content to be used in multiple campaigns and closed to save memory and reduce load times when you no longer need it.

To open a module from the Library (for adventure and settings style modules), click on the Library icon and then the Module Activation window. Once there, click-drag the book icon open to activate it. For adventures, you will see new tabs under the Story, NPC, Items and Images areas. For Settings, Map Packs and Library Modules, you will see new entries in your modules.

For token packs, you will go to the Module activation window under the Tokens area. Activating it will create new token bags for your use.

If the add-on includes an extension, you will want to look for the extension name in the Create Campaign or Load Existing Campaign window and activate it prior to launching your campaign. These change the functionality and look of the base ruleset -- such as for the Deadlands Reloaded extension for Savage Worlds. You can have multiple extensions active, but some are mutually extensive.

[Steven Brattac]

so i bought the whole addon bundle can i right away work with it or do i now have to open each one seperately inside steam? i dont wana spoil it so i ask better first here?

[Smiteworks]

Once you launch Fantasy Grounds, you'll want to enter your license key and then you should see an option for Update Available. Run that and the 2nd stage of the update will check your Steam purchases and download everything you've purchased here. Let me know if you need any further help.

[Steven Brattac]

ok thanks updates did run through but it shows no campaigns yet even i have all of em ?
guess i need to learn how to turn em active it shows none under campaigns ?

[Smiteworks]

On the first screen, you'll want to choose Create Campaign and then pick one of the items from the list that you've purchased or that comes included, such as PFRPG or 3.5E. Once inside, go to Library and then Modules to activate the modules.

[Trenloe]

Originally posted by Shadowhearth:

ok thanks updates did run through but it shows no campaigns yet even i have all of em ?
guess i need to learn how to turn em active it shows none under campaigns ?

Smiteworks have answered your specific question above. To give some background info: "Campaigns" are the data stores for the games you run as a GM/DM/Castle Keeper/Referee/Keeper/Story Teller/etc.. - you select the RPG ruleset you want to use for a specific game (and any extensions you may want to activate) and give it a name that refers to the RPG campaign you will be playing with your friends (e.g. "D&D Forgotten Realms"). Start the campaign and you have your framework to enter all of the info you need and to start playing with your friends. If you have purchased data modules (or modules available from the FG community) you can activate these for this specific campaign in the library.

[Corseth]

I cannot activate the modules I got through steam. I get a 'could not connect to steam client - disable steam DLC check to continue' error, and the modules are not available for use if I start without it.

[Moon Wizard]

That error message means that the Fantasy Grounds updater could not connect to Steam to verify which DLC you purchased. Usually, this means that Steam is not running or not logged in.

A few questions:
Are you logged into Steam?
Are you launching Fantasy Grounds from within Steam or though desktop/Start Menu link?
Which OS are you running on?

Thanks,
JPG

[Corseth]

Yes, I'm running FG through the steam library interface. Logged in / online.
OS is Win 8.1

[Trenloe]

@Corseth - Can you provide the steps you are taking when you get the 'could not connect to steam client - disable steam DLC check to continue' error? Thanks.

[Corseth]

1) Double-click Fantasy Ground off the Steam Library list, or select and hit play
2) UpdaterEngine.exe requests priviledges, I allow it
3) I get the "Fantasy Grounds Updater" window, with Settings / Update / Close at the bottom. If I close it, Fantasy Grounds loads but without the modules.
4) (Optional) Check settings. 'Check Steam for DLC' is enabled
5) Select 'Update'
6) The updater checks packages for updates. FGU, 3.5E, 4E, Core, general, Numenera, PFRPG, SWK01, Utilities, VortexGames all check.
7) After those, the next lines are as follows:
Getting purchases from Steam server
Unable to access Steam Client.
Please login to Steam, and update again,
or disable Steam DLC option in Settings.
Error during update check
8) Updater stops here and waits for another command.

[Moon Wizard]

For some reason, the Steam client is not accessible or the app ID is not getting picked up correctly. I'm not sure why, since this is the only report like this.

In one community post for another game, there was a suggestion to run Steam as an Administrator on your machine to fix. Can you try this, then run FG from Library again?

One other thing to try:
* Right click on Fantasy Grounds in Library
* Select Properties
* Select Local Files tab
* Click Browse Local Files...
* Delete steam_appid.txt (if it exists)

If these don't work, we'll need to reach out to Steam dev support to figure out why it's not working.

[Corseth]

Running Steam as local admin fixed it. Deleting the appid file did not.

[nylanfs]

I bet installing FG with Steam in admin mode will fix it, you shouldn't run things in admin mode as a matter of course.

[licktoren]

I would highly advise changing the Steam add-on modules so that they auto load as Campaigns if they are an adventure. Part of the joy with steam add-ons is buying it and having it auto sync and is ready to use with your program. But how it is now... you have to search to find out how to load what you just paid for. granted I’m not one of your programmers so that might not be an option; but I know as someone that just purchased an adventure looking all over steam and fantasy grounds for what I just paid for was annoying to say the least; I saw it from the FG updater, but then had no idea where it went after that (until finding this post) I understand that FG is still new to steam and maybe this is something that is already in the works to be addressed, but if it’s not please do address it. :D I love FG and want it to skyrocket (so more people start making adventures in it if nothing else) and I think auto loading DLC into the campaign section would be a nice addition.