This is a really good program. We've been using FG for over three years now to run Paizo's Kingmaker Campaign Path. Several of us are in China with the rest of our players in North America, and combined with Hamachi (to get around the Great Firewall) and Skype (for the live talking part), it's as close to a face to face game as people who live on opposite sides of the planet can get.

Fantasy Grounds isn't always the easiest program to use, admittedly, but once you get over the learning curve it's an amazingly robust program. As the GM, the ability to create (or in my case, input from the Campaign Book) the stories and fill them with handy links to maps, npcs, encounters, treasures, and everything else imaginable is incredible. Even if I was running a face to face game I'd use FG just to organize my notes. No more need to have reams of paper around or to flip through books. Just click a link and the thing you need is right there, right away. It also allows you to keep track of xp earned, separated into story rewards and combat rewards. You can see what the players have received with just a quick glance.

Insofar as Pathfinder is involved, it has loads of free modules to increase this functionality, with everything from a complete list of spells to abilities, magic items, and the entire collected bestiary (including monsters and NPC's from the adventure paths!), all one click away. This means I'm free to use my planning time to improve on my campaign instead of flip through stuff looking for informaton.

Not only is this a great virtual tabletop, it's a splendid GM tool. My campaign would be worse if I didn't have all the organizational tools FG provides.

There might be other free programs out there, but nothing I've seen has the depth and robustness of FG. Along with tremendous dev support, I can't recommend FG high enough.

TL, DR; Great program, something of a learning curve. Great for GM's, which is great for players.

Well I found this neat utility...and I have to say it makes Playing many role playing games alot easier with a computer and at long distances. I admit I am not used to using such a program....so for me its still a work in progress. But its potential is limitless for table top gaming. There are many DLC things available.
The only drawback someone might have might be the costs.

Now here is how this program works....you can get it free.....but to utilize alto of features you need to get what is called a gaming liscense. There are two available...on and beyond just the free version. One is the standard one....whihc lets you play with allthe stuff and join games online etc....but unless your friends have a standard version they cannot connect to you and let you be a GM.

The other liscense is a GM liscense.....this is pretty cool...as it lets anyone even people with the free one join your game and play...they can even get the rules and books you are using....

The second one is expensive....but if you like gaming its worth it.

Steam has alto of stuff available....and you can get more form their website.

One failing is that even though this software supports alot of games....not all games have things available for this utility.....so...you end up having to make your own things....thats if the game is not something you have modules for.

I recoomend this program for any gamers who like doing table top role play.....its a useful item.

To DM this you have to learn some things but once you learn it. You can make games so very easily. 5th Edition D and D is very easily done up here. Absolutely one of the best programs I have ever seen for playing pen and paper roleplaying games over the internet. The demo version is fine if your DM has the Ultimate version of the software, which many I know do (myself included). The price-tag is a bit steep, and the learning curve does exist, but once you get rolling it becomes a train of fun with no end.

Think about it this way: A new video game comes out, you nab it for 60USD or whatever. You can pay for FG and any suppliments you require, and have unlimited fun, barred only by your own imagination.

I have been happily using Fantasy Grounds to run multiple campaigns for the past three years. It is well worth your purchase price. Automation for most things is built in, depending on the rule set you are using and SmiteWorks are always releasing new patches/improvements in core functionality and are very interactive with their community. There is a significant amount of additional content available, but you don't need to buy them unless you want to; think of buying a pen & paper module or class book in the "good old days" by comparison - if you chose not to, your core game would still go ahead fine.
There are a lot of people looking to stir up trouble complaining this isn't free. Ask yourself if you'd be willing to put hours and hours of your time into a project and not expect to make something back from it. Also, be sure you know what "free" is... because it isn't "free" like you think.
I've used FG to run D&D 3.5e, Pathfinder, Rolemaster Classic and Castles & Crusades campaigns. All of these are well worth getting time into the software... you should not regret it if you take the plunge and join the FG community. As a last point, anyone who likes Rolemaster but shudders at memories of flipping constantly through books and attack charts... take heart - FG makes your RM game a dream to run.

I bought this a while ago, mostly to manage my obsession with making characters, but also to help with making my campaigns. It may be more of a hub than an actual creation program, but it can connect players and DMs on easier and more honest terms, and any custom content is easy to port in. The only issue I've had is adding maps, and that is just resolution differences with a map generator. It's not perfect, but it was worth what i paid for it.

I've invested $65 for Fantasy Grounds and the BRP Rule-set. So far, I've had 6 hours of play just looking around and familiarizing myself with the mechanics. I was surprised to find out how user friendly creating content for your play style actually is. There are some free player-created content out there ( but I have not looked at that material yet). If you are familiar with other available tools online, there is some comparability; the table function is there, but I'm not aware of button-binding. The scrolling can be difficult, as is the movement of each row to the bottom of the list as you type. I have not seen or heard of any macro-making ability, but the mechanics of Fantasy Grounds doesn't need it to feel the satisfaction of preparing the gameplay.
All and all, it is an investment, and the prices are discouraging it's Steam community from growing faster than it is; but it already has it's own community from it's website. After spending $65 (no sale) I recommend the purchase.

This is by far the most comprehensive and advanced VTT out there. Most of the negative reviews come from people not taking the time to learn how to use the software. Once you are familiar with how the software works it can make tabletop gaming very enjoyable, moreso than even the real thing. The software allows PCs and DMs to set aside many of the cumbersome elements of tabletop gaming and focusing on roleplay, combat, and just plain fun. P.S. my time played isnt reflected on Steam, I have used this product for hundreds of hours.

I purchased Fantasy Grounds well before it came to Steam, and at the time, it was well worth it. It worked far better than any other Virtual Tabletop on the market. As things are, however, Fantasy Grounds is outdated, and does very little that can't be done in Roll20 for free. Not only do you have to spend a ridiculous $40 on the software, but you have to count on every other person in your group doing the same, unless you want to drop over $100 for an ultimate license.

In short, if Roll20 didn't exist, this would be an excellent purchase. As it is, Fantasy Grounds would do well to annul its price of entry and simply sell pre-made adventures and rulesets.

oh boy!!! a $40 2 MB program that does nothing that any free program like it does not, which also strangles your ability to homebrew unless you have extensive knowledge of XML files, and otherwise forces you to do every ounce of the legwork when it could easily do it itself if only the developers put a trivial amount of extra effort into it?! WOW WHAT A STEAL! HHKKKKKhhhkkkjfjgggg :fmad: $$$$$$ remember to buy our special ruleset DLC, unless you want to invest significantly more time and effort than it would take to just homebrew something with actual pen and paper! boy do we love your nerd money!!! $$$$$$

EDIT: since some people have, justifiably, called this a nerd rage review, allow me to expand, particularly upon 'well what ELSE does this and that?' and the greivances i have (this comes from my response to Smiteworks in the comments to this review). Roll20 does all of the things FG does, and does not come with a forty dollar pricetag. Roll20 does not ask for a pile of cash because Roll20 did not acquire meaningless licenses to things that players could have and would have created and distributed for absolutely free, and Roll20 did not slap a massive pricetag on it based on that. what if i don't want to just change spells and monsters? what if i want to have the All Flesh Must Be Eaten's Unisystem rules in place? i will have to MAKE it myself using the world's least user friendly formats- XML, LUA, as Smiteworks has stated- or wait for someone ELSE to do it- or for Smiteworks to release it as a fifteen dollar DLC. Roll20 instead hands all the tools and most importantly FLEXIBILITY i need to customize my campaign's rules right off the bat- i could have a standard 3.5 high fantasy game or AFMBE campaign on my own terms at my own whims. forgive me if this comes off as a cashgrab to me and i can't give it a serious review.

The UI is terrible and unintuative.
I wasn't able to drag and drop spells and abilities like advertised, just couldn't figure it out.
I wish I could get my 30$ back, This is not a polished GUI for RPGs.

EDIT: I gave the product another chance, but I really can't get it to do anything. I can't figure out how to create an advanture. Comparing this program GUI to modern software is like comparing windows 3.11 with windows 7/8.

I own the full version of FG since shortly before the Steam Launch. I think it is very important to realize that Fantasy Grounds by itself is not a full game - it is a tool and might be better fitting for the Software Section of Steam rather than the Games section.

There is a high learning curve to the game for a Game Master. It takes a few hours to get used to the rules sets, the various tools provided and all the little things you need to consider. Once you do spend these hours to familiarize yourself you have a powerful tool to handle campaigns, battle maps and characters.

We started playing Savage Worlds in Fantasy Grounds and are having a blast. As an experienced pen & paper player, I have to say that gameplay is actually sped up by the tools provided, allowing us more time to actually roleplay and less time discussing rules, piece positioning or anything else.

If you are willing to tackle the initial learning curve and understand that FG is more a tool than it is a game, I can highly recommend it to you. If you are expecting a highly interactive video game however, you might want to direct your attention towards Divinity: Original Sin or something similiar.

I've been playing tabletop RPGs online since 2006. I have gone through nearly every pay product and user creation that's hit the internet in that time. I would like to think that if there’s anyone that could compare the products available right now, it would be me. That being said, Fantasy Grounds is my client of choice. Let me give you a few reasons…

Rules Automation:
In other Virtual Tabletops (hereafter VTTs) when you roll the dice that’s the end of it. You have to go look up the AC of the target, check it vs. the roll, make sure if there is cover, or if the target is prone you add those in to see if you hit. There’s room for error and everyone is waiting on you to give them the result of the roll.

In Fantasy Grounds when you roll to hit, the program tells you immediately. You’re not waiting, there are no math errors, it’s immediate, it’s correct, and you’re on to the next turn. Faster rolls to hit, means more gaming, and more fun.

System Libraries:
Again, in other VTTs you’re face down in your books or PDFs looking for what Burning Hands does. Did they save? How much damage does it do? Does your character even have it.

In Fantasy Grounds you know your character has it because it’s right there in the game on your in-game character sheet. You know its range because the in-game library you dragged it from included that information. It also included how much damage it does, what the save DC is, and how many times your character can cast it. In fact, if you include what I said above about Rules Automation, you can just click on it and it casts it on the enemy, tells you if they saved and then you can roll damage with again, just a click. Easy, Fast, and Accurate to the rules you are playing.

Professional Developers
Some VTTs are community projects. Amateurs banding together to make a program. The energy is great when it's new and everyone has input and it feels great to be a part of it. But once things are done and it's out, someone needs to do the boring part and support it, answer nagging questions and be the guy that all the newbies turn to. This isn't nearly as fun as making the game, so some groups just don't do it, or turn it over to other users. It's also at this point that all those little bugs those users are telling you about need to be fixed. This is maintenance and its not fun either. People tend to let that go, and just run it with the problems and work around them. Worse yet, many VTTs are based on another platform they don't control, Java, or a web browser means some other software could be causing the problem with your game. Java, and The Browser makers don't care about your game problem, and the VTT makers will just say it's Java's fault... or it's your browsers fault, and shrug when you have a problem.

Fantasy Grounds is a professional team that stands by their product. They have an excellent bug testing procedure and plenty of people willing to run the betas before a patch comes out. The developers are given enough time to test thoroughly and they are good at debugging. Even the other pay to play VTTs have companies that just patch, patch, patch and end up with bug forums filled with customers with problems after every buggy patch. Fantasy Ground's patches are clean and professional. Also, Fantasy Grounds is stand-alone. Everything Fantasy Grounds needs to run is made and maintained by Smiteworks. There is no passing of the buck when you have a problem.

My Work is Mine:
When I make map in some VTTs it becomes theirs. I have to keep paying subscription fees to keep that map… I MADE. This is unacceptable. It is my work, I should always have that available. If I make my own adventure. I should always be able to run it for my friends. It’s my creation, you can’t keep it from me just because I didn’t want to pay my subscription, again… (and again, and again)

The art, story text, tokens, and everything else in Fantasy Grounds is YOURS. It’s your creation, it’s your Intellectual Property (I.P.) and every law in most lands respects that. Did you know if you create a story you automatically have it copyrighted? It’s yours it came from your imaginative brain. You own it. Fantasy Grounds respects that, other VTTs don’t and hold your creations ransom for more subscription payments. With Fantasy Grounds you’ll ALWAYS have access to your creations.

I Control My Wallet!:
You should decide when you want a new feature, you should decide when you want a new ruleset, or adventure, or art pack, YOU! There should be no subscription. You shouldn't have some company reaching into your wallet every month controlling your finances. You shouldn't have to tell your group that the game is on hold this month because you got a new credit card and there was a problem with moving your subscription over to the new card. Don’t you have enough subscriptions as it is? TV, Internet? Phone? MMOs? Now even single-player computer games are getting in on this? Enough is enough with the subscriptions!

With Fantasy Grounds whatever you buy, you can use in perpetuity. There will be no recurring fees to continue to use what you already paid for. Nobody will be reaching into your wallet deciding when you need to pay them money. That is entirely up to you. For example, if I had bought another web-based VTT that charges subscriptions back when I bought Fantasy Grounds in 2006, I would currently be $960 in the hole with them, and if I ever stopped paying them, all my work would be gone.

Conclusion
$40 (on sale now for $30) for a lifetime of gaming fun isn’t such a bad deal after all, is it? Free yourself from fees, pick Fantasy Grounds run the fastest, most professionally made game and say no to VTT companies digging around in your bank account every month.

I've been using Fantasy Grounds to run games for five years now. During that time I've played with dozens of people from all over the world and even managed to reunite with my old group from the 90's. It does have a learning curve especially if you're the GM but over the years a large amount of tutorial videos and manuals have been released by the community so you will become a pro in no time.

This software never ceases to amaze me! You get everything you need that you would use in real life except voice chat and SFX of soda bottles opening and snack bags crumpling. And that without the need to toggle back and forth between windows. Some rulesets will offer the books in the library. You get free beautiful tokens/miniatures too! As for maps, you can use any jpeg/png image you want, character sheet are automated so no need to create custom macros (even though the option is there for you to create macros and conveniently drop them in your hotkey bars). Prep time for the GM is cut down by using reference modules, just drag and drop what you need on the map and combat tracker! You can organize your campaign however way you want.

Everybody on the official forum is very helpful and if you have a problem someone will rise up to help you fix it. People are creating free custom content every week, they work hard at it because they are passionate and we are so grateful for their work.

Whether you're new to the hobby or an old timer like me looking to rekindle your passion for the hobby you will find what you need with this software. What's $40/$150 for a game you will play for years and pour countless hours into? Some of you probably spend $60-$80 on a game you'll play for less than 60 hours.

This is more of an application than a game. I've found that the interface takes some getting used to but it does work very well. I've picked up an additional ruleset and it's great for using offline to get used to the gaming system if you aren't going to be the GM. With what it comes with out of the box I think it's a great value for the money. It's hard finding people to play face to face with but with FG it's a lot easier.

I've been a FG user for over 4 years.
(I see a lot of misconceptions in the reviews below)

This software allows you to play as a player or GM/DM a session over the Internet.
Session: An adventure created by the DM/GM that players connect to.

The DM/GM puts together his adventure by inserting images/descriptions/ideas into the interface.
The Interface can automate a lot of the math involved in hit/miss and damage totals.

The concept is to allow a group to enjoy playing a Pen & Paper style Roleplaying game over the Internet.

You will need your books or PDF's, although the rulesets in the interface includes a lot of this info.

The GM/DM will need to invest some time making an adventure, like he would with a real Pen & Paper Tabletop RPG session.
He will then need to insert all the images/maps notes into the session prior to hosting the game.
(You can also download/buy ready made adventures as well)
(You can pre-make adventures and save them... then activate them in the session as you need)

This is not a video game, it needs a GM/DM to set things up first, so the players can play.

Now that you have a better idea of what this software is...

Fantasy Grounds does an excellent job at automating a lot of your session, Once you watch some videos on how people put together their adventures, you will have the tools to recreate anything you made with Pen & Paper within FG.
I think we need to have more videos to explain this a bit more, but what it does, it does GREAT.
I've invested more time as both player and DM/GM than any video game I have.
I personly use Skype or Teamspeak so we can voice what our character actions are in the game.
It allows social interactivity and brain stimulation we so much miss in our computerized world.

I recommend trying the free DEMO and hooking up with a DM/GM with an "Ultimate" license (because they can let you connect to their game like the paid version).

I have tried ALL the tabletop emmulators out there...
THIS one is the best.

For table top simulation, I have found Fantasy Grounds to be the very best. The automation makes combat flow more quickly, modules can be created and shared, features for maps, pooled resources, movement, area of effect, etc., all work quite well.

There are free options such as the RPTools suite, but such tools are clumsy, kludgy, prone to breaking, and lack a lot of features. Fantasy Grounds has everything you need in one single application.

There's only a few drawbacks:
1. The learning curve. You need to spend time with the software to understand how it works. For most people familiar with pen and paper RPGs, spending some time learning isn't a big deal.

2. No automated fog of war or light sources. Areas of the map must be revealed manually by the game master. MapTool from RPTools does this, and it would be a great additional feature for FG in the future.

3. The built-in rule sets (3.5, PathFinder, 4.0, etc.) work very well, but if you want to customize the rule set or, god forbid, build your own, expect to spend days and weeks mucking about undocumented blobs of XML and Lua. It's a MESS, and even trivial changes can be difficult to implement. I say this as a professional software developer! FG's documentation in this area is appalingly bad.

4. Like ANY computer software for running RPGs, GMs with a spontaneous style may feel a bit stifled and limited by the tools.

Overall though, Fantasy Grounds is the best of breed for this type of software. If your gaming group is spread far and wide you should definitely give this a try!

A hint: Buy your licenses in bulk from the official website. If Steam is ever down or dies or whatever, you can still download and run the software.

Fantasy Grounds is honestly too complex and unautomated like a computer program should be. The developers of this game placed a 40 dollar price tag on a game that's worth easily 15 dollars max. There is a website called Roll20 and it is pretty much Fantasy Grounds with much more customization, but here's the kicker, IT'S FREE! The DLC price is outrages, with a 40 dollar game i expect much more content rule set wise. Some of the DLC is nearly half the price of the game, i could find a PDF of a rule set online for free. Overall i do not suggest it.

Absolutely one of the best programs I have ever seen for playing pen and paper roleplaying games over the internet. The demo version is fine if your DM has the Ultimate version of the software, which many I know do (myself included). The price-tag is a bit steep, and the learning curve does exist, but once you get rolling it becomes a train of fun with no end.

Think about it this way: A new video game comes out, you nab it for 60USD or whatever. You play the campaign, beat it in 20 hours. 20 hours of what is hopefully fun, for 60USD. OR, you can pay for FG and any suppliments you require, and have unlimited fun, barred only by your own imagination.

Great format. The learning curve is a bit steep, but once you become familiar with the tools, it is not that difficult. There are a lot of really great features that when used correctly, can bring a lot of reality to your gaming sessions. Being able to view maps that are revealed as you explore, pictures, notes, story lines, player and monster tokens on map with grid spacing, ability to link NPC script or even scene descriptions right into the chat box for everyone to view, are just a few.

I have been using FGII for years now, and I am very excited that it is now on steam. The program, is worth every cent, if you are a true gamer and like RPGs done the way they are meant, then this is the program for you. Our old gaming group all decided to purchace the program years ago and now every week, we have one game night and we are all scattered across the country. Not bad for a bunch of old guys.

And Yes, if you want to make your own rule sets, then you need to learn a little bit of XML and LUA. I know hardly any, and so far I have been able to adapt what rules sets that are out there to what I need! But that this is something you only need to deal with if you really want to make your own. Other then that you are all set to GM or play. The program is solid, and it really does enchance and capture that around the table roleplay feeling. I love it.. Another thing, that maybe some people may not think about. Is FGII is a program that you can use to even run actuall table top games, and it works like an GM Screen. Great when you run demos of games at events and stuff.

But again, the hundreds of hours I have spent on this program doing what I love the most.. its well worth it!! The program is solid, and it really does enchance and capture that around the table roleplay feeling. I love it.. Some of the games and system we run.. Savage Worlds, Dead Lands, Dark Heresy, Black Crusade, Death Watch, GURPS, Star Wars (West End and FFG versions) and Advanced Fighting Fantasy. And that does not even include all the D&D and Pathfinder stuff.

Hope to see around the table.