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d20pro + Realm Works = happy dance

A

AEIOU

Well-known member
I just wanted to highlight a teensy piece of the latest monthly newsletter wherein Lone Wolf mentioned this about the d20pro Kickstarter: "A new Hero Lab importer is already planned. With enough support, RealmWorks integration is next!"

:D :D :D :D
 
I haven't looked at d20pro in years, but when you mentioned the kickstarter in another thread I downloaded the trial and gave it a looksee. I believe I'm going to purchase a copy and join the kickstarter.

I am definitely looking forward to some RW integration, perhaps the ability to link a scene in RW to open directly a specific map in d20pro. Only thing I really have negative to say about d20pro is the spell functionality, which frankly kinda sucks. Which is weird, considering there are posts in their forum from 5 years ago saying they were working to improve it.
 
I totally agree with you. Spellcasting and updating player characters are the two things that irritate me the most. I'm hoping the latter will be resolved with better HL importing. Unfortunately, spell changes haven't been mentioned.

That said, they are headed in the right direction. Now to nudge a little for spells.... :)
 
I've had a license for d20pro for a few years, have played with it, and even created an importer for my Hero Lab plugin for Castles & Crusades.

So, my question is what you're talking about. Spells. Is there a VTT that does it right, I'd love to take a look.

I have a Mentor/Backer account on Roll20, and an Ultimate license for Fantasy Grounds.


BoomerET
 
Seems to me that Fantasy Grounds does spells pretty much right on, at least as much as could be reasonably expected.
 
I want so little out of spellcasting in a VTT, really. I want to click a spell, have it pop up the box asking me for damage, I put in a number and it applies damage in the same line where it says "character casts spell", rather than my having to separately apply random damage. There's just so many rules and permutations that I don't want much. Even with a magic missile, it's xd4+x, and if the character is casting it as a different level, or using a feat, or whatever, I have no desire to have a program try and handle that. If it did, I probably wouldn't use it because it would be too time consuming. I'm hoping a VTT will help speed up my DMing, not the opposite.
 
Lady, the effects system of FG will handle most cases. For the example you cite, it will do the magic missile. If you cast it as a different level, you can have an effect in you character list to add to the CL (I haven't tried this, but it should work), which FG will account for when you cast the spell. Likewise with a feat. The system is pretty powerful. If you want to handle the odd cases as simply entering damage, that is easy enough, as you simply type the damage into the chat area and drag it to your target. There may be sexier ways to do it, as I'm really just getting up to speed on the program. It is really pretty amazing and can auto-roll (if you want) heal spells and most damage spells and condition spells.
 
Response back from d20pro team. The $30,000 stretch goal addresses rules which includes spells.

@Steven Wells, we've been waiting to address this for a long time! The spells/effects system will finally get a proper upgrade with the Unlimited Rules stretch goal. Some highlights include:
- spells may be pre-programmed (or imported) with all their effects included
- new powerful variables, like caster level, will be included in a spell's description
- spells that target via area-of-effect (e.g. burst, line) will automatically present the caster with the correct template as part of spell casting.
Click to expand...
 
Thumbs up on the spell effects system upgrade. Like with RW I don't expect this stuff to happen overnight, but eventually would be nice.

I've taken a look again at Fantasy Grounds, and I just don't like it. I know I've looked at it in the past (I'm somewhat of a champion of tabletop-assist software, used to have a rather large website with thousands of links to find/download tools/sheets/articles/etc.), unfortunately I don't find it at all intuitive, and not a fan of the focus on a pretty UI filled with floating windows. d20pro I installed and ran an encounter immediately. It's got most of what I want since I only play at the table, and I can easily ignore the remote features I won't ever use.
 
@Ladyofdragons: I'm totally with you. I've tried the other options including the newer roll20. Even though d20pro doesn't have all the right things in place, it's the only one that actually makes GMing easier for me. It reduces Pathfinder combat time by half. I like having choices though as they are all constantly improving.

I typically game with most of my players remote and the others with a laptop/monitor at the table for maps and combat and Teamspeak for talking. I've also used it for local-only games using laptop/monitor and it's worked very well.

Stretch Goal Update: Character sheet editing by EVERYONE is in the works with the $20,000 stretch goal being met. This has been another item that has been frustrating folks. Not a game breaker but certainly a time saver. I think this goal is also connected to their integration of the newer HL importing.
 
Well, FG is like RW. If you want a program to be powerful, it is kind of crazy to expect it to be trivial to use. FG has so much more power than d20pro in almost every respect, but you pay for it in the learning curve. It's like comparing Microsoft Paint to Adobe Photoshop and saying the latter isn't intuitive. Or it's like comparing Paint to Campaign Cartographer and bitching about the learning curve.

To each their own, but FG does spells like you want already (and more).

Oh, and FG has a fantastic character sheet in Pathfinder already without a Kickstarter.
 
Last edited:
Bidmaron said:
Oh, and FG has a fantastic character sheet in Pathfinder already without a Kickstarter.
Click to expand...

I do not think it has anything to do with being a good or bad character sheet, it has to do with supporting Hero Lab, and this for me is the deal maker. That and the seemingly good relationship between LWD and MM, and the possibility that thorugh this relationship we could see Realm Works support direct.

I am a heavy invester in LWD with both Hero Lab (all 5 licenses too), and Realm Works. So any product that can leverage these products will get my attention.

I took serious look at FG, and I agree with you, it looks like a fantastic product, however d20 Ultimate looks for me to be the perfect fit. Time is the judge of all things, we shall see.
 
uhmm... doesn't the topic say d20pro + RW? I don't remember FG being mentioned in the initial post, but I'll go back to page one and double check.

<wanders off whistling a little diddy>

<wanders back in whistling a different tune>

Yep, mentions d20pro and talks about the kickstarter for d20pro Unlimited (or was it ultimate).
 
Bidmaron said:
Well, FG is like RW. If you want a program to be powerful, it is kind of crazy to expect it to be trivial to use. FG has so much more power than d20pro in almost every respect, but you pay for it in the learning curve. It's like comparing Microsoft Paint to Adobe Photoshop and saying the latter isn't intuitive. Or it's like comparing Paint to Campaign Cartographer and bitching about the learning curve.
Click to expand...

So... I'm an IT professional. And I use Photoshop. And Campaign Cartographer. And Realm Works. And a host of other quite complex applications, aside from the fact that I actually develop applications. My view of intuitive is NOT the same as your average joe's. Easy or complex application, UI can still be intuitive or not. I don't find FG to be intuitive. Photoshop, on the other hand, is actually a breeze. Campaign cartographer is definitely not. Realm Works is quite intuitive, it's the "how to I use it best to not have to redo bunches of my work" where it gets tricky.

However, this thread is about d20pro. Fingers crossed for $30K, though I do have pipe dreams about them actually getting to do the shadowcasting. It's one of the features I like in Map Tools.
 
Ladyofdragons said:
So... Campaign cartographer is definitely not. .
Click to expand...

Second that statement. Been working with CC since version 1 and I still find it difficult to use. Beyond powerful, I mean its a full CAD engine under the hood, but its not easy, inuitive, nor fun to learn. However once you do, it is only limited by your imagination.
 
Bidmaron said:
Exmortis, FG can import hero lab already, so what is it you want FG to do that it cannot currently?
Click to expand...

First Realm Works integration is the key factor here, my campaign world I am building is soley done in RW. The ability to two way make changes to HL character sheets while gaming, Did not see FG's ability to do that. The idea that better stronger HL integration was coming was very cool. The colaboration with Mesa Mundi could also bring forward so interesting hardware support as well, but thats not a big deal.

I have been considering a VTT for may gaming group on my campiagn for some time, and the tipping of the scale to d20pro was the mention of it in the LWD newsletter. With my entire electronic gaming frontier invested currentyl in LWD products, the idea that these two companies could colaborate was too much to dismiss.

So I am a backer. Like I said, FG looks to be a fantastic product, I just felt D20Pro was the better fit for me moving foward, and in case it has not ben mentioned, this is a new campaign and world built ground up, I am not slated to GM for 2 years, so there is no immediate need.
 
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