FANTASY GROUNDS Virtual Tabletop's D&D License!

Officially licensed D&D electronic tools! For real! Fantasy Grounds, one of the leading virtual tabletops, has just released a set of D&D 5th edition licensed data packages. These include the D&D Basic Rules, packs for each of the core classes, and a pile of monster packs. Each states specifically that "This product is licensed from Wizards of the Coast." This appears to be the first officially licensed and branded electronic product. (thanks to Matchstick for the scoop)

Check out their D&D wares here. They mention that "The DMG is still in the works, along with the Hoard of the Dragon Queen, The Rise of Tiamat and Princes of the Apocalypse." and that "The basic 5E ruleset will continue to be provided directly within Fantasy Grounds to all licenses. These purchasable options add a new graphics theme that is officially branded, along with the library module support, and whatever other enhancements we could squeeze in, like tokens or portraits or decals."

Here's the announcement:

We are proud to announce that we are officially licensed to sell D&D source material and content inside of Fantasy Grounds! This is the beginning of a great new partnership between SmiteWorks and Wizards of the Coast that will benefit gamers worldwide.

You can purchase the D&D Complete Core Class Pack with all the class, feats, spells and equipment or you can purchase individual classes only. You can also buy the monsters in packs or as the D&D Complete Core Monster Pack. These products have been converted to work really tightly with Fantasy Grounds to give you the best possible gaming experience - we know you're going to love them. They contain all the great artwork and content from the official products and all the smarts and integration to work with Fantasy Grounds. Not only will you get the same content that can be found in print, but you also get an exciting new Fifth Edition theme, adventures and content customized specifically for ease of play inside of Fantasy Grounds.

For Dungeon Masters and players on a budget, you might pick up a Player Customization Pack and one or two Class Packs of your choice. Dungeon Masters can often get by with just the Adventure of their choice and one or two Monster Packs.

Don't forget that players can gift purchases through Steam for Dungeon Masters who have linked their license on Steam.
​

​

 

[Mistwell]

Most likely high licensing fees would be the root cause of the cost.

The base product is the bulk of the cost ($150), and they always charge that for the base product whether you're playing FATE or Pathfinder or Savage Adventures or whatever.

 

[JohnD]

That is simply not entirely accurate. There are many more options for pricing for base FG than $150.

At the most expensive level nobody that ever connects to your game needs to pay anything. No charge. Ever.

I can appreciate everyone has their preference, but at least get your information right.

 

[Kramodlog]

This seems like a great boon for people playing games over the internet but is a far cry from what was initially promised with DungeonScape. As rough as it was DungeonScape was centered around developing a tool to use at the table. I have to wonder if Wizard's has abandoned that plan entirely. While I love using OneNote as a DM there is definitely room for something that caters more directly to the needs of RPG players.

This is not a replacement for Dungeonscape. This most likely has been planned for a while. These guys have been coding for a longer time than the moment Dungeonscape was cancelled.

WotC probably still wants to make some e-tools, just do not expect any word about until it goes live. Like Fantasy Ground did. With the cancellation of Dungeonscape and the cancellation of the of the Adventurer's Handbook, WotC wants to avoid over "promising" and under delivering. It certainly has merites considering WotC's history, even if no communications is not optimal.

 

[Psikerlord#]

Yes, you can create your own spell effects. You'll want to use similar syntax to the spells in the D&D basic rules or the Class Packs and then you'll see how it picks up on certain wordings and effects.

Wow OK that's pretty sweet. I downloaded the demo actually to give it a spin... I love it!

I fear I will have to convert from Roll20! And I don't even use maps and grids and tokens much. FG just seems to have more free space. I like the chat on the left better than the right. Uploading and displaying pictures is a breeze and looks great. The dice rolls look great, and hotkeys/macros are easier to set up for the way I play/DM compared to roll20.

I don't anticipate using the tracker much - except for initiative - but it was very quick (a few seconds) to add a monster name/token to the tracker (without any details - if you want to input HP, AC, attacks etc then that would take a while). I should confess I bought fiery dragon digital tokens years ago for 4e, so I have a bunch of tokens already available.

Just add voice skype ... and bam this thing is ready to go! Course now I will have to check out the extras in the store, arrghhhh!

 

[Nylanfs]

You can also spin the d20 on its tip like you can at the real table.

 

[Rhenny]

That is simply not entirely accurate. There are many more options for pricing for base FG than $150.

At the most expensive level nobody that ever connects to your game needs to pay anything. No charge. Ever.

Yup. That's it man. I started FG for a couple months paying for the monthly, but since I was getting to use it for 1 or 2 sessions each week, and I knew my group was into it, I bought the lifetime ultimate. It was totally worth it. I know I'll be using it for years so I'm actually saving money.

 

[Abbasax]

You can also spin the d20 on its tip like you can at the real table.

We truly live in miraculous times. *grin*

 

[Dire Bare]

The base product is the bulk of the cost ($150), and they always charge that for the base product whether you're playing FATE or Pathfinder or Savage Adventures or whatever.

Nope.

$150 is for the ultimate package. You can spend $39 for the basic package, and there are a couple of subscription options as well. And, if your DM has the ultimate package, you can connect for free.

 

[Mistwell]

That is simply not entirely accurate. There are many more options for pricing for base FG than $150.

At the most expensive level nobody that ever connects to your game needs to pay anything. No charge. Ever.

I can appreciate everyone has their preference, but at least get your information right.

Nope.

$150 is for the ultimate package. You can spend $39 for the basic package, and there are a couple of subscription options as well. And, if your DM has the ultimate package, you can connect for free.

Fair enough. The context I was replying to was people adding up the cost including the ultimate package, and I thought it relevant to point out that a big chunk of that total was for the base use of the engine itself, not the D&D part of it.

 

[Hussar]

On the pricing. Kinda sorta. 150 bucks is actually pretty accurate.

40 bucks for the standard license
50 bucks for the Class Pack
50 bucks for the Monster Pack
50 bucks (presumably) for the DMG pack.

So, 200 dollars/DM is pretty much what this will cost. For my group, with 6 DM's, that's 1200 dollars to play D&D. You better be giving me a helluvalot of bang for my buck for 1200 dollars. Even 200 dollars, which is pretty much what this is going to cost anyone who wants to get the full value out of the program, is darn steep.