Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................................................

2
Welcome to Fantasy Grounds.......................................................................................................................................................... 2
Program Setup ...................................................................................................................................................................................................3
www.fantasygrounds.com ....................................................................................................................................................................3
Getting ready to play ............................................................................................................................................................ 4
Hosting Games.................................................................................................................... 4
Joining Games....................................................................................................................... 5
Creating Characters Locally .............................................................................................................................................................. 5
Player's guide ................................................................................................................................................................................ 7
The Desktop ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7
The Character Sheet ................................................................................................................................................................................... 7
Conversation and Chat Modes ........................................................................................................................................................8
Dice ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 10
Drag and Drop .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 10
The Radial Menu ..........................................................................................................................................................................................11
Sheets and Drawings...................................................................................................................................................................................11
Sheet Bookmarks .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 12
Smooth Gameplay Walkthrough ................................................................................................................................................. 12
Gamemaster's guide ............................................................................................................................................................... 14
Gamemaster Controls .............................................................................................................................................................................. 14
Record Sheets .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 16
Advanced Sheet Options .....................................................................................................................................................................19
Running the Game ......................................................................................................................................................................................19
Where to go for more information? ......................................................................................................................................... 21

Foreword
Fantasy Grounds is the result of about a designed to emulate the gaming table in
year of development. The original basic principles as well as the user interface.
motivation for the project was the Special care has also been taken in making
seeming void in the field of online the basic functions as easily available to the
roleplaying software. Although budding beginner as possible; to make sure anyone
with expectation, the community of role can step in and concentrate on the fun and
playing game enthusiasts has not not the technicalities.
discovered the medium to take their
hobby to the internet in earnest. I believe we have managed to create a
package that captures the essence of role
Many of the existing means available for playing games - storytelling and the world
online roleplaying haven't often been of the imagination. I hope you have a good
designed with this purpose in mind. With time enjoying it with your friends.
Fantasy Grounds, we made making sure
the user feels like playing the RPG our Tero Parvinen
primary goal. The software has been Smite Works Ltd.
INTRODUCTION
WELCOME TO FANTASY
GROUNDS.
Fantasy Grounds is a virtual tabletop for
pen & paper role-playing games that
provides all the tools you need to play
your favorite role-playing game online.
This is not a game in itself. but rather a
tool that enables you to play social role-
playing games online that were originally
meant to be played at home with your
friends. Fantasy Grounds is compatible
with d20 fantasy games out of the box.
but it can also be modified to support
several other pen & paper style role-
playing games.
A game consists of a Gamemaster. a
campaign the Gamemaster is running. and
players acting as adventurers. The
Gamemaster has control over what
happens and when. and chooses his or he~
course of action based on the players
decisions. The players' role is to decide.
either by themselves or as a group. what
to do and how. The campaign is a general
setting in which game actions take place.
Usually the Gamemaster has prepared a
campaign beforehand to be able to keep the
game moving along at a steady pace. but a
game can also be run without preparations.
Players might want to see a map for
instance. at which point Gamemaster can
share a map for everyone to see. A well
prepared Gamemaster has made a map
beforehand. but he or she can also decide to
make one on the fly.
Running a campaign and taking part in one.
requires a common set of rules. or a ruleset.
to go by. This is something the party and
Gamemaster must decide. To be able to
play d20 games with Fantasy Grounds. for
instance. the players and the Gamemaster
should have the appropriate rulebooks.
Fantasy Grounds is open ended and does
not enforce any specific ruleset so it is up
to the Gamemaster to decide what is
allowed and how the game is played.
To get a game started. the players and the
Gamemaster should agree on when to play
and the Gamemaster needs to tell the
players his or her Internet Protocol Address
INTRODUCTION
or Server Alias provided by Fantasy
Grounds game hosting options (see
Hosting Games, below).
PROGRAM SETUP
The minimum system requirements for
running Fantasy Grounds are:
Windows XP or 2000 with DirectX 9.0
Pentium@ 3 500 MHz or equivalent
RAM:256MB
Video Memory: 32 MB
Hard Drive Space: 30 MB
Internet Connection
Insert the Fantasy Grounds CD or if you
bought Fantasy Grounds electronically,
run the downloaded installer package.
Follow the on screen installation
instructions and choose an appropriate
directory to install the software in. When
you start the program for the first time, you
are prompted for a license key. This license
key is written inside the CD package or on
the purchase confirmation e-mail if you
bought Fantasy Grounds from an online
distributor. Once you have entered a valid
license key, you are taken to the main
menu (see the next chapter).
WWW.FANTASYGROUNDS.COM
The Fantasy Grounds website is located at
www.fantasygrounds.com. In addition to
general information, the site has a message
board with several forums, one of which is
for Customer Support. In the downloads
section, you can find software patches,
token and portrait packs as well as new
rulesets when available.
 @efii93 ready to play
This chapter explains how to get started
with Fantasy Grounds. The first section is
for the Gamemaster, who hosts the
gaming server. The last two sections are
meant for players, who either connect to
a game or want to create characters
locally.
HOSTING GAMES
This feature is available with the full
license version of Fantasy Grounds only.
With the gUidance of this section you, the
Gamemaster, should be able to handle the
somewhat technical issues encountered at
the start of the first gaming session.
1. Open the Fantasy Grounds application.
2. Select the "Host a Game as a
Gamemaster" option from the selection
menu.
3. Write a "User name and a
"Gamemaster name" in the boxes. The
"User name" is a name you are known
in person by your players and the
"Gamemaster" is the name used for
game master chat messages and could be
e.g. GM, Gamemaster, or some other
identity. You can change the settings at
the beginning of each session if you
want to. Click "Continue".
4. In the host options you can load a
previously built or downloaded
campaign or create a new campaign. The
campaign means the setting (being)
created for the game, NPCs, maps,
landscape images and miscellaneous
notes on the world and its turning. You
might want to look at a ready-made
campaign first to see the kinds of
material you can incorporate into
campaigns using the tools in Fantasy
Grounds. Let us now, however, create a
new campaign; after the instructions
you'll be told how to load a campaign,
ready-made or your own.
a. Click the "Create new campaigns"
button.
 b. Write down a name for your
campaign. e.g. Judith·s Earth or
Plains of Gallanor.
c. Select the d20 Rules (the GMs
can create their own rulesets or
modify existing rules to
accompany house rules. but these
advanced features are not
covered in this manual).
d. The players can connect directly
to your IP address. but it could
be convenient to give them only
your unique alias because with
many Internet connections the
computers· address changes
frequently. When connecting to
your game using an alias the
{)layers first contact Fantasy
Grounds servers that map the
alias to your IP address. So. click
on the Generate button to get
your own server alias and check
the check box active. You do
not need to generate another
alias in subsequent sessions - the
one just generated is your own.
e. If you like. you can also assign a
password to your game. but if
you do. remember to give that
also together with the unique
alias to your players.
5. Click ·Starf
6. Refer to the Gamemaster's GUide for
more instructions.
LOADING A CAMPAIGN
Omit steps a to c in phase 4 above. click
"Load campaign" and select the name of
the campaign. Campaigns you have
created will appear in the drop-box
under the "Load campaign" button.
Notel If you are behind a firewall or use
other extensive network security. consult
your ISP or firewall manual if you have
problems.
JOINING GAMES
This section allows you. the player. to
qUickly and easily connect to a game
hosted by your Gamemaster.
1. Open the Fantasy Grounds application.
2. Select the "Join a Game as a Player··
option from the selection menu.
3. Write down a ··User name··. which is the
name you are knovv:.n in person ?,y the
other players. In the Host address field.
enter the IP address OR the alias your
Gamemaster has provided you with.
You can change the settings at the
beginning of each session if you want to.
Click "Starf.
4. If your Gamemaster has protected the
game with a password. you are
presented with a passwor~ r~quest.
Enter the password and click OK.
5. Wait until the gaming desktop and a
character selection screen appear.
Create a new character and enter a
name for your character and double
click on it. Alternatively. you can select
an existing character (if any) by double
clicking it.
6. Refer to the Player·s Guide for further
instructions.
CREATING CHARACTERS
LOCALLY
With these instructions you can start
creating characters locally even if you are
not hosting or connected to a game.
1. Open the Fantasy Grounds application.
2. Select the ··Create and View Local
Characters·· option from the selection
menu.
3. Select the d20 ruleset from the list (in
fresh installations the only choice) and
click Start.
4. Wait until the gaming desktop appears.
5. There are two items in the right-hand
side of the desktop, one includes d20
reference material and the other holds
buttons for character creation and
selecting existing characters.
6. Create a new character and enter a
name for your character and double
click on it. Alternatively, you can select
an existing character (if any) by double
clicking it.
7. Refer to the Player·s Guide and the
rulebook for your game for further
instructions.
PLAYER"S GUIDE

:@layer'i ..£\uide
This chapter is devoted to describing how
to play roleplaying games (RPGs) with
Fantasy Grounds. The Player's gUide is an
information source for each user, the
Gamemaster or the player. For the
players, learning this chapter is sufficient,
but the Gamemaster should also study the
Gamemaster's gUide. The following
sections describe the player-accessible
features and properties of Fantasy
Grounds. We hope you have a pleasant
learning experience!
THE DESKTOP
After joining a game or starting the local
mode (LM) of Fantasy Grounds, the
gaming desktop opens. It contains the
character portraits of active players in the
top-left (LM feature), the chat window
below the portraits, dice (LM feature), and
hot-key slots in the bottom. On the right-
hand side of the desktop are items for
making notes, accessing reference material
(LM feature) and a box containing tokens;
the buttons in the top-right corner open
customization options. Right-clicking an
empty part of the desktop opens up
additional features. A feature in local mode
only is the character selection item above
the d20 reference material.
THE CHARACTER SHEET
OPENING / CLOSING
Your character's portrait can be found in
the upper left corner of the window.
Successive left-clicks of the portrait reveal
and hide the character sheet. The character
sheet first opens up showing the main tab;
left-clicking the tabs on the right SWitches
to different pages.
TYPING IN TEXT AND NUMBERS
Left-clicking fields in the character sheet
evokes the text cursor. The fields requiring
numerical values can be modified also using
PLAYER"S GUIDE

the middle mouse-button: either pressing

the button while moving the mouse up
and down or rolling the wheel change the
attributes. The ability scores link to a
number of modifiers: The ability-
dependent modifiers in abilities, combat,
saves, armor, and skills fields update
automatically according to the
conventions of the d20 fantasy game
rules. Additional miscellaneous modifiers
can be inserted by modifying the ability-
based bonuses and they appear as ovals in
the top-right corner of the particular
modifier.

Note! Playing a d20 RPG with Fantasy

Grounds requires the knowledge of the
rules of the game. In order to create a
character you should have the Player·s
Handbook.
CONVERSATION AND CHAT
MODES
The chat window, on the left, is always
visible. In-character chat, actions, emotes,
and out-of-character messages can be
entered using different commands. The
next few paragraphs describe these and
other available chat options.
CHAT MODES
Producing the different styles of chat is
easy. After finishing a line of
conversation on screen, the style can be
selected by pressing Enter while holding
down combinations of the Shift, Control,
and Alt buttons. Hitting Enter without any
additional modifier buttons produces in-
character chat. An abbreviation of the
selected chat mode shows on the right in
the chat entry area and changes according
to the state of the selection buttons. Table 1
summarizes the chat modes.
Usually it is not critical if you miss the
appropriate chat mode, but in the long run,
it is more fun to take advantage of them.
They enable even better immersion than
traditional pen & paper roleplaying and the
chat window gets easy to read almost
effortlessly.

Table 1 Chat modes

Mode Key Mode description Example message Result
Chat In-character speech No way! It's mine! Ted: No way! It's mine!
Act Control Intended action I open the lock Ted: I open the lock
Emote Shift- Feelings and trivial scratches his scalp Ted scratches his scalp
Control actions
OOC Ait Out-of-character [s it 4000 XP for Ivl3 Billy: [s it 4000 XP for Iv[ 3
speech
PLAYER"S GUIDE

Table 2 Using moods

Example Result Description
Imood (anxious beyond reason) I Brian (anxious beyond reason): I don't The mood (in parentheses) is
don't want any part in this! want any part in this! applied only to the one
This is wrong! Brian: This is wrong! comment

Imood (anxious beyond reason) Brian (anxious beyond reason): I don't The mood is applied until
I don't want any part in this! want any part in this! another mood or empty
Brian (anxious beyond reason): This is mood is selected
This is wrong!
wrong!
Imood
Imood anxious I don't want any Brian (anxious): I don't want any part The single word following
part in this! in this! Imood is taken as the mood
This is wrong! Brian: This is wrong!
Imood anxious Brian (anxious): I don't want any part
I don't want any part in this! in this!
This is wrong! Brian (anxious): This is wrong!
Imood

ADDING A MOOD TO IN- Ivote Shall we enter?

CHARACTER CHAT
Adding a particular mood to the in-
character speech (Chat) output is a nice
way to enrich the dialogue.
Table 2 gives examples of the use of
moods (Brian is the character's name).
A shorthand for Imood is 1m. Note also
that the slash character (/) must be the first
character in the message.
WHISPERING TO THE
GAMEMASTER
Another "slash-command" at the players'
disposal is Iwhisper (or Iw). The message
written after Iwhisper goes to the
Gamemaster only. As an example,
Iwhisper rn backstab Margie at the first
opportunity.
VOTES
Players can arrange votes by using the
slash command Ivote. For instance,
brings up a vote in the chat window with
the question.
VOICE BUFFERS
In Fantasy Grounds each player can type in
text into two voice buffers, toggled with
the Tab-button. This can be convenient
when typing a particularly long piece of
dialogue and wanting to respond to an
urgent situation, for example. Writing the
response in one buffer and then continuing
with the other can save time and nerves.
HOT-KEYS
Pieces of dialogue can be dragged to the
hot-key slots (there are a total of 96 slots -
each combination of Shift, Control and Alt
buttons holds 12 slots, one for each
function-key)' Simply drag and drop the
text to a hot-key slot in the bottom of the
desktop. Hit the corresponding key to
produce an in-character chat message. If
action, emote or out-of-character messages
are required instead, the slash-commands,
lact, lemote, and looc preceding the message
PLAYER"S GUIDE
yield the desired results. The hot-key
radial menu evoked with the right mouse
button (see below) provides an option for
relabeling the hot-key. For instance,
"Greetings! I am Brian the Fist, earl of
T rollhaven. Who might you be?"', could
be conveniently labeled as "greeting".
DICE
The desktop offers six different dice.
Dice use described in this section covers
rolling one or several dice, using modifiers
and attaching messages to roll results.
ROLLING ONE DIE
To roll one die, grab the die with the
mouse and drop it into the chat window.
You need to put some swing in the throw
or the die will not roll properly, just as
with real dice. Releasing the mouse
button anywhere but in the chat window
does not count but is a "practice rolf"
whose result will not show up in the chat.
ROLLING SEVERAL DICE AT ONCE
Several dice of the same type can be
rolled at once. Each click of the right
mouse button while dragging a die brings
up an additional die. ReleaSing the left
mouse-button tosses them all at once.
Alternatively, the radial menu (right-
mouse button) on a die lets you select the
number of dice required.
ROLL MODIFIERS
Making a skill check, for
example, might need a skill
modifier. Numeric fields from
the character sheet, chat
hot-keys (regardless of their label) can be
dragged and dropped to the modifier box
below the chat window. Dragging them
onto any die results in the same. Dragging
several modifiers to the modifier box or
dice prior to rolling puts them in the
modifier stack and the number of lit
counters tells the number of different
modifiers in the stack. The stack empties at
any dice roll or it can be erased using the
radial menu option.
Dragging modifiers from the character
sheet also characterizes the action. For
example, dragging the hide bonus (+3) from
skills to the modifier stack and a
subsequent roll of a d20 (14) gives a result,
Hide 17. If a player drags a Long bow bonus
(+5) and a Rapid shot modifier (-2) to the
modifier stack and makes a d20 roll of tt, it
results in: "Long bow +5, Rapid shot -2: 14."
IDlE
It is also possible to "throw" dice with the
text interface. The dice thrown must be of
the types available on the desktop. For
example:
Idie 6d20+10 ExplOSion damage
may result in "Explosion damage 13 9 20 3
315 +10"',
DRAG AND DROP
Certain user interface elements, numbers
and text fields, for instance, can be grabbed,
dragged and dropped onto other parts of
the desktop and various sheets. Stat
modifiers on the character sheet, attack
bonuses, skill check modifiers as well as
dice results, tokens from the token box and
text from the notebook are examples of
dragable items. The mouse pointer changes
into a hand every time it hovers over a
field whose contents can be dragged. While
dragging a number, say, over the character
sheet, the fields accepting the dragged item
show a highlight. If the dragged value adds
to the target field, there is a small "plus-sign"
in the field, otherWise the target field
changes into the dragged value when
dropped. Bonuses and modifiers retain the
description text of the source, meaning that
PLAYER"S GUIDE
dragging such an item into a hot-key slot
or on the modifier stack shows the
modifier·s name when it is used.
WOUNDS AND HEALING
The die results can be dragged and
dropped. which allows e.g. qUick
application of wounds from damage roll
results. Pressing the Control-key while
dragging a numeric item negates the
value. This is useful when healing
wounds. gaining negative experience. and
soon.
THE RADIAL MENU
Right mouse button used on any object
evokes an options menu. Clicking once on
an item brings up the options and shows
them until choosing one of them or
canceling the selection by clicking outside
the choices. Another way is to hold the
right button down and releasing it on the
selected option. Using the radial menu is
both convenient and essential in getting
the most out of Fantasy Grounds. It is
good ad vice to check the options each
item on the desktop offers.
SHEETS AND DRAWINGS
The Gamemaster can hand out images or
blank drawings. shared to one or all of the
players. Once the GM has shared a sheet.
the players cannot close them but only
minimize them; this is so because the
Gamemaster needs to know that the
players have the material and have not by
accident closed it.
DRA WING ON IMAGES
The radial menu from an
image contains an option for
turning on or off the
drawing mode. If the drawing mode is off.
the image window can be dragged to
another place on the desktop while in
dra wing mode. the pen draws line on the
image.
USING POINTERS AND POINTER
TYPES
A pointer is a special type of drawing used
to deSignate intended character movement
or attack targeting. for example. Usually it
is an arrow. drawn in the color of the
player·s dice. Holding both the left and
right mouse button down and dragging the
mouse draws the pointer. Another way is
to select it from the radial menu. where the
various pointer types can also be found.
The additional pointer types are the square.
circle. and cone. Using the two-button-drag
method they can be drawn by holding
down the Shift. Control. or Alt key while
dragging. There can be only one pointer
per user at a time.
DESKTOP ITEMS
The buttons on the right-hand side of the
Fantasy Grounds desktop include dice and
pointer color selection. portrait selection.
notebook. d20 reference book. and token
box.
TOKENS
Tokens are small pieces.
such as buttons. arrows.
and counters that can be
placed on the desktop.
sheets and hot-keys.
Clicking the token box
shows the selectable tokens; click the
middle-button of the mouse to shake the
box (clicking the left button while holding
down Control produces the same result),
Placing a token on a shared sheet also
shares the token; the GM can lock all
tokens on shared sheets. after which all
token movements must be approved by the
GM. The radial menu and the mouse wheel
allow token rotation.
PLAYER"S GUIDE
REFERENCE
The d20 reference
includes crucial material
f rom the d20 SRD
including character
classes, races, feats, spells,
weapons, armor, and
common modifiers. The items can be
dragged to hot-keys and recalled
conveniently from there. Especially
useful is hot-keying the modifiers most
commonly used by the particular
character: the name of the modifier
appears in the hot-key bar while dragging
it from there provides the numeric value.
Memorized and frequently used spells
can be dragged from the reference to the
spells tab of the character sheet.
NOTEBOOK
The notebook allows
making personal notes. A
note can have a heading
and text. The symbol on
the left of the heading of
the note is for dragging
to, for instance, a hot-key slot. The menu-
options for note records include closing
the note, deleting the record, minimizing,
and sharing the note to all players (each
player can individually close the note,
and they cannot edit it; the GM can
additionally close it for everyone). The
new sheet selector creates a new record
in the notes; alternatively Control-
clicking the Notebook desktop button
directly creates a new record.
SHEET BOOKMARKS
The numeric keypad can be used to set
quick keys, or bookmarks, to certain
sheets, one to each of the n umber keys
from 0 to 9. To set the bookmark, hold
the corresponding button down for about
a second. The sheet will briefly blink to
indicate it was stored in the bookmark.
From this point on, you can bring up the
sheet qUickly by tapping the number key.
SMOOTH GAMEPLA Y
WALKTHROUGH
This section proVides some ingredients for
smoother gameplay.
OPEN MINISHEETS
Click the "coin" labeled with your
character's name in the top-right corner of
the desktop to open your character sheet.
On the Main and Spells tabs you will find
three buttons: open minisheet, open
qUickslots, and open minilist.
• The minisheet includes the HP account
and AC,
• the qUickslots keep track of spell
casting and
• the minilist includes all prepared spells.
l <lng;ston M
1 1H~ lI~nd d~5 ~
If you use the minisheets and take
advantage of the hot-keys you rarely need
to reference your complete character sheet.
DRAG IMPORT ANT MODIFIERS
ONTO THE HOT KEY BAR
Drag important and frequently used
modifiers from the character sheet to the
hot key bar. It is very convenient to have
at least the total save modifiers, initiative,
weapon attack bonuses and most important
skill bonuses qUickly available. Remember
also that any combination of Shift-
Control- and Alt-keys brings up another
set of hot keys.
PLAYER"S GUIDE
The modifiers in the hot key slots can be
dragged onto the modifier stack and
pressing the corresponding function key
adds the modifier there. See also the hot
key paragraph in the ··Conversation and
chat modes·· section.
USE TOKENS
Click the token box open and drag a
suitable set of tokens to the hot key bar
or onto the desktop. Placing a token on
the desktop makes one copy of the token
whereas putting the token into a hot key
slot creates a ··mini token box"" from
where you can obtain any number of
such tokens.
SELECT POINTER AND DICE COLOR
To customize the color of your dice and
the pointer used on images click on the
button with the arrow icon on it. In the
selection box that appears. click on the
color of your choice. Note. however. that
it is best if all players have different
colors. You can evoke the color settings
also from the radial menu of your
character portrait.
SELECT OR CREATE A PORTRAIT
Fantasy Grounds comes with a set of
portrait images to assign to a character.
Just click the portrait button in the top-
right corner of the desktop and choose;
alternatively. bring up the choices from
the radial menu of your character
portrait.
If you wish. you can also use your own
images as portraits. Simply copy an image
in PNG. JPG. BMP. GIF or TGA format to
the "Fantasy Grounds\Portraits" folder.
The image will be selectable among the
premade portraits. When selected. the
image is scaled and centered. so
preferably you should have images whose
sides are of equal length.
OPEN THE CLASS DESCRIPTION PAGE
The d20 system reference book on the
right-hand side of the desktop includes the
character classes from the d20 System
Reference Documents. Click open the
page of your character·s class. For
convenience. you might want to drag the
page to the hot key bar for qUick
referencing; drag the "draggable link"
beside the class name.
If you play a spell caster. you can find
another (or several) additional "draggable
links··. Clicking the link opens a spell page.
but it can also be dragged to the hot keys.
DRAG SPELLS FROM THE SPELL LIST
TO THE CHARACTER SHEET
Now open the spell list for your character
class as described above and open the spells
tab of your character sheet. Now just drag
the appropriate spells from the link symbols
beside the spell names to the spell selection
list. The spell appears on the list and the list
sorts according to spell level.
COMBAT SITU A TIONS
Eventually. a combat situation arises. often
requiring some dexterity by the player. For
smooth gameplay you might want to. once
again. check the possibilities of using
pointers in target selection. Dragging &
dropping damage to the wounds field and
using the Control key for healing should be
assets worth paying attention to. Utilize the
minisheets and the hot keys and draw on
the images to improve game flow on your
part. Make an impression by collecting all
relevant modifiers to the modifier stack
before making the rolls.
GAMEMASTER·S GUIDE
@amemas'ter'i ..£\uide
One of the users participating in a session
acts as the Gamemaster (GM)' In Fantasy
Grounds, this user is also the one whose
computer acts as the network host, with
other users connecting as players. To start
the game in Gamemaster mode, you need
to follow the instructions for acting as a
host in chapter 2. You can also start in this
mode if you want to create information in
preparation for a game session in the
future.
Note! The Gamemaster mode is only
available using the full version of Fantasy
Grounds.
GAMEMASTER CONTROLS
The Gamemaster has some special
controls at his disposal in addition to
those offered to players. Before acting as
a Gamemaster, it is a very good idea to
familiarize yourself with the controls
available to all users by reading chapter 3
of this manual.
CHA T CONTROLS
When the Gamemaster types chat messages
··in character··, they are displayed in a
special font face to distinguish them from
regular chat by players, and the I1!essa~es
are sent using the Gamemaster Identity
specified when the session is created (see
chapter 2), The GM also has access to two
special actions, using narrator mode and th.e
identity list. Narrator mode text IS
presented to the players in a special font
and without a speaker title. For the
Gamemaster, narrator mode takes the place
of the action chat type, and is accessed by
entering a line of chat using Control-Enter.
A special way of entering text prepared
beforehand is by using chat frames in the
story book (see The story book below for
more information).
The identity list is located below the chat
window on the screen, and contains all the
identities the GM can chat as. When
starting a session, it includes only the GM
identity, but other identities can be added
to this list to represent the non player
GAMEMASTER·S GUIDE
characters (NPCs) involved in the
adventure. By activating an NPC
identity, the gamemaster can type in chat
and emote messages, which will be sent
using the name of the identity. NPC chat
messages will be displayed using a specific
font coloring.
Clicking the chat bubble icons on NPC or
monster sheets (see Personalities below for
more details) adds them to the identity list
and activates them. Another way of
adding identities that is particularly
convenient when you need to add an
identity on the fly, is to use the lid slash
command. The command takes the name
of the identity as a parameter. Typing ··/id
Vernon" would add Vernon to the
identity list and activate him.
The active identity can be changed by
either clicking the name of the identity to
activate with the left mouse button, or by
pressing down the Shift key and using the
left and right arrow keys. To delete an
entry from the list, bring up the radial
menu on the entry you wish to delete and
select ·Remove Entry"· from the menu.
You can also click with the middle mouse
button on the identity you want to delete
to perform the operation. Note that you
can·t delete the GM identity at the
beginning of the list.
The Gamemaster can clear the chat buffer
using the radial menu on the chat
window. This operation affects all players
connected as well. The radial menu also
includes options to send a ··stop·· and
"speak freely" indicator to the players.
These can be used by the GM to indicate
to the players that he or she wishes to
take a moment to enter chat text without
the players interrupting.
Also, chat logging can be turned on or off
using the chat window radial menu. Chat
logging is made into a file called
chatlog.html in the campaign folder, which
can be found under the Fantasy Grounds
program folder in the "campaigns··
subfolder.
The / whisper command differs from that
available to the players. You must specify
the name of the character as the first
parameter to the command, for example:
Iwhisper Julia You hear a muffled footstep
behind the door
DIE ROLLS
When the Gamemaster rolls dice by
dropping them on the chat window, the
results are hidden from the players. The
GM can see the results of the roll normally,
but a question mark icon is included in the
roll result. For the players, the only
indication of the fact the GM rolled some
dice are the shadows visible from the dice
themselves. If the GM wants to reveal the
rolled value to the players, he should either
drag and drop the value onto an empty
portion of the chat window or click on the
result with the middle mouse button. Of
course, the GM can also simply roll a die
outside the chat window, but no modifiers
will be applied and the result can·t be
manipulated using drag and drop.
SCREEN TINTING FOR
ENVIRONMENT AL LIGHTING
If the GM wants to emphasize the
conditions the player characters are
experiencing, the screen can be tinted a
particular color using the lighting controls.
Changing the hue affects all players in the
session. The available colors are day
(normal colors), night (blue tint), fire (red tint)
and forest (green tint).
GAMEMASTER·S GUIDE
GAMEMASTER TOKENS
The Gamemaster can use special tokens
reserved only for his or her use. Usually,
these are either used for decoration or to
represent places or objects in the world.
These tokens behave identically to all
normal tokens, except only the GM has
them in his token box, and is therefore the
only one capable of adding them onto
sheets.
To use Gamemaster tokens, place image
files into the "tokens\host" subfolder
under the Fantasy Grounds program
folder CC:\Program files\Fantasy
Grounds" by default).
RECORD SHEETS
To create adventures, the Gamemaster
has four basic types of record sheets at his
disposal. Some of them can be shared with
players, while others are for reference
purposes only.
THE STORYBOOK
The story book contains
pages of formatted text,
which can be used for
many purposes. The most
basic use is as the body
text for adventures,
where notes for encounters, locations and
story arcs are described. It can also contain
a library of descriptions for cities, religions,
organizations et cetera. Story book pages
can also be shared with players, so they can
be used to prepare handouts such as letters
or journal pages.
One particular feature that is of special use
with a chat based system is chat frames.
They contain text the Gamemaster has
prepared before the game session that can
easily be dragged and dropped on the chat
window when needed. Such text is
typically narrator messages about the initial
description of places and people, but it can
also be more specific, such as descriptions
of planned significant events in an
adventure, or chat lines for particular
NPCs. A chat frame text can optionally
include a speaker title. If it is not speCified,
dragging the chat frame onto the chat
window will result in a narrator message,
otherwise the title is used and the message
is entered as an NPC message. A chat frame
that includes the title can also be dragged
onto the identity list to add that title as an
active entry. GMs are encouraged to take
advantage of this feature - it can ease play
conSiderably.
Another useful feature of story pages is the
ability to add links to other sheets. This
way, a description of a village can link to a
map of the area, as well as the most
Significant NPCs. A sequentially written
adventure can also contain links to the next
and previous pages, as well as a story book
page used exclUSively as an index with
links to all the other pages in the adventure.
GAMEMASTER·S GUIDE
By default, existing story book pages are
in viewing mode. To edit a story book
page, enter edit mode by accessing the
radial menu and select "Enter Edit Mode".
After this, you will be able to use most of
the standard text editing functions. The
radial menu contains options for changing
paragraph types and text formatting. To
create links, change the paragraph mode
to "Link" and drag an icon from a list or
record sheet to the empty link icon.
IMAGES
Image sheets can be used
to display maps, generic
images or freehand
drawings. An image
consists of different
layers, any or all of which
can be used in a particular sheet. The
bottom layer is a static bitmap image.
Typically maps prepared before the play
session are bitmaps created using a map
making program, downloaded on the
internet, or scanned in from a
conventional paper drawing. A grid
overlay layer can be activated by the
GM, using a freely definable grid size.
The third layer available is the drawing
layer, onto which any player or the
Gamemaster can sketch freehand
drawings. The GM has controls for
erasing the entire drawing layer.
The bitmap layer can be masked, or hidden
from the view of the players. When an
image is masked, its contents are visible as a
transparent ghost layer to the GM only. He
or she can then use the mouse to draw
selection areas that are revealed to the
players. This way, the player characters
(PCs) can enter a dungeon, and the GM
reveal the map gradually as the PCs
explore.
The process used for creating image sheets
varies depending on the availability of the
bitmap layer. If you want to use a bitmap
image, the file containing the image data
needs to be copied into the image folder for
the active campaign. This folder can be
found under the Fantasy Grounds program
folder by first entering the "campaigns"
subfolder, then the folder with the name of
the current campaign, and finally the
"images" folder. Fantasy Grounds
automatically detects images added or
removed at this location. The application
supports PNG, )PG, GIF, BMP and TGA
image formats.
Bitmaps can be big files, and
transferring them over the
network to all players can
take a while. For this purpose,
you can find the "Preload Image" option on
the image radial menu, which sends the
image data to the players without
displaying the sheet. Use this if you know
you will need to display an image in a
minute to ensure the smoothest possible
operation.
Image sheets can also be used without a
bitmap, simply as a freehand drawing. This
is useful for small scale battle or encounter
map creation, or as scratch paper for
generic sketching. Image sheets like this can
be created just like any other resource, see
the chapter Managing resources below.
GAMEMASTER·S GUIDE
PERSONALITIES
The personality sheet
describes NPCs.
containing both
descriptive text and
statistics. The sheet is
divided into tabs for
description. combat statistics and non-
combat statistics. The description page
uses a formatted text control similar to
the story page sheets. and has all the
properties of story book pages. The
statistics pages contain text and number
fields usable for storing the abilities. skills
and other statistics of the NPC.
The chat bubble icon next to the NPCs
name can be used to insert the NPC into
the identity list.
The personality sheets can't be shared to
players. and are for the GM's reference
only.
ITEMS
Item sheets resemble story
pages in functionality. but
have their own sheet type.
This will help in
categorizing different
types of adventure assets.
but is also useful in separating items from
the story when using imported modules.
Item sheets can be shared with players.
020 REFERENCE MATERIAL
The d20 reference book contains
reference information from the d20 SRD.
A separate desktop icon contains the
monster list. The monster sheet is similar
to the personality sheet described above
and copies of items on the reference lists
can be created on the modifiable lists by
dragging an entry from the reference
books onto the list of personalities or
items.
MANAGING RESOURCES
Story pages. images. personalities and items
are all accessed through the list scrolls that
open when you click on the respective
desktop icons.
To create new entries. you can either use
the new sheet selector on the list scrolls or
press down the Control key and click the
desktop icon directly.
Entries can be deleted using the radial
menu on either the sheet window. or on the
respective entry on the list scroll. and
selecting the "Delete Record" option. Please
note that if you delete an image with a
bitmap. the bitmap will also be removed
from the image folder.
The names of the sheets can be modified on
the record sheet itself or on the list scroll
by accessing the radial menu on the item
and selecting "Edit"".
SHARING SHEETS WITH PLAYERS
Displaying a sheet to players is
referred to as sharing the sheet.
To do this. select the "Share
Sheet"" option on the radial
menu of the sheet. This will
send the sheet to all the players currently
connected to the session. The players will
not be able to alter any of the modifiable
fields. but they will be able to place tokens
and create draWing strokes on images.
To display a sheet to only one player. drag
the icon representing the sheet from the list
scroll or the left upper corner of the sheet
in question on the target player's portrait.
Small portraits of the players viewing the
sheet will be displayed on each shared
sheet. If you share a sheet with modifiable
fields. you can grant one player editing
access to it using the radial accessible from
this small portrait.
GAMEMASTER·S GUIDE

ADV ANCED SHEET OPTIONS

The Gamemaster usually comes to deal
with a lot more sheets than the players do,
and for this purpose two advanced
controls are nice to be aware of

RESIZING SHEETS
Some sheets can't be resized (such as
character sheets), others can only be
resized in one direction (the combat
tracked, and some are automatically
resized on the players' screens to match
the size of the corresponding sheet on the
Gamemaster's screen (images). To resize a
sheet, press down control and drag inside
the sheet with the left mouse button.

SCROLLING AND PANNING

Most sheets with information beyond
what can be shown on the screen at one
time can be scrolled by either using the
scroller button by pressing the left mouse
button down on it and moving the mouse
to scroll the list, or similarly by pressing
down the middle mouse button (usually
on the mouse whee)) anywhere on the
corresponding area you wish to scroll.
RUNNING THE GAME
Getting familiar with the controls
accessible through the Fantasy Grounds
user interface is important for
Gamemasters in order to focus on the
story they are telling. This chapter
contains some hints for efficient ways of
working with the application.
PREPARING THE ADVENTURE
Whereas the actual game can proceed at
equal speed or even faster than when
running pen and paper roleplaying
sessions around a conventional gaming
table, some people may find that using a
keyboard is more demanding in
describing the action than face to face
chatting. This situation can be remedied by
preparing the adventure beforehand. You
should consider running whole sessions by
"winging it" only if you are confident in
using the interface and your playing group
is already accustomed to using a text based
network chat program.
Make good use of chat frames in the story
book as opening lines for encounters and
crucial moments in the adventure. Not only
will this give you an opportunity to make
the most out of epic moments, it will also
give the players a chance to speak out.
One of the strong points of text based chat
compared to conventional roleplaying
situations is the ability to hide the identity
of the GM behind the identity of the
GAMEMASTER·S GUIDE
NPCs. Use the lid command to create
identities for different NPCs, and make
them chat with one another as well as the
PCs. You can also use chat frames to
write crucial parts of dialog for NPCs.
PROPELLING THE GAME FORWARD
During the game, pay special attention to
the state of the game. It is harder to judge
the reactions of other players without
seeing them in person, but it is also easier
to take action in text chat. If a situation
seems to bog down, step in and propose a
course of action, or use the stop icon and
move the story on. Calling votes using the
Ivote command is good for such
situations.
USING MODULES
You can download module files that
contain record sheet collections. The
actual content of the modules can vary
from campaign settings and adventures to
libraries of NPCs or magic items. See the
Fantasy Grounds official web site at
http://www.fantasygrounds.com for
downloadable content.
Module files are placed in the "modules"
folder under the Fantasy Grounds program
folder. After this they can be loaded and
unloaded using the module selection view.
After you load a module, you can make
modifications to the record sheets created
as a result, but they will be lost if you
unload and reload it. Modules are meant to
be used in the same way as many
conventional RPG supplements, usually
published as books. When you make
modifications to items from modules, keep
in mind their nature, and limit the changes
to small, session specific information.
COMBAT
The most important tool for the
Gamemaster during combat situations is the
combat tracker. It is a list that can be used
to keep track of all PCs and NPCs
participating in the combat, sorted
according to initiative, along with their
wounds and active effects.
To add entries to the list, use drag and drop
starting from an entry on the NPC or
monster list or a PC portrait. You can also
add empty records using the radial menu
on the list. The radial men u also has the
option for removing entries.
To keep track of initiative, either drag or
type the initiative results into the
corresponding field on the tracker, and
select ··Sor( from the radial menu. The
entries will be arranged in the order of
descending initiative.
In combat situations, the GM may want to
lock the tokens on a sheet so that players
can·t freely move them around, or add new
tokens to the particular sheet. To do this,
select the ··Lock Tokens·· option on the
radial menu from any token on the sheet
you want to lock. When the tokens are
locked, any drag attempt on a token will
result in a move vector being displayed.
GAMEMASTER·S GUIDE
The Gamemaster can either move the
token to an alternative location. or
ayprove the move. Pressing down the
Control key and left clicking on the
token or simply clicking on the token
with the middle mouse button will
approve the action and move the token to
the target position.
Combat usually progresses in rounds.
Fantasy Grounds supports this by
allowing the Gamemaster to flag one
f>layer at a time ~s having his or her turn.
When a player s turn is activated. an
indication of this is displayed in the chat
window. the active player gets an audio
signal of the event. and his or her
character·s name under the portrait is
displayed in bold text. To set a player as
active in the round order. bring up the
radial menu on his or her portrait and
select ·Toggle Turn··. Selecting this option
again on a player who is in turn will
deactivate all players. effectively moving
the turn to the NPCs. A blank turn
indicator line will appear in the chat to
indicate this.
Special situations will often occur during
combat and when they do. characters
attempting skill checks or attacks may
require Gamemaster adjucated modifiers.
Sometimes it is convenient to take this into
account without telling the players. Other
times. it might be easier to have the players
take care of them. or just be able to present
the modifiers in order for the players to
have an easier time judging the difficulty
of an action for the character. To create
modifiers the players can drag directly
from the chat window to the modifier
stack. use the /die slash command. Specify
the modifier as the die roll. and any
description you may want to attach to it as
the message. Another nice way to use this is
to award experience the players can drag
and drop directly on the experience field. It
will be automatically added to the value
already in the field. Some examples of the
use of this command are:
/die -4 Range penalty
/die 1500 Experience award
WHERE TO GO FOR MORE
INFORMATION?
This manual can only introduce you to the
most common aspects of Fantasy Grounds.
For more information and a user
community. check out the Fantasy Grounds
website at www.fantasygrounds.com.