My thoughts exactly, especially while prepping for sessions. Nothing worse than getting stuck without your resources because they’re stored in a cloud!
Seriously bud your doing a good job :) keep it up! I DM mainly in person but have been using FG for years and had to switch to Roll20 because new players assured me it was better. It was not. I understand the appeal from a lobby and device perspective. As a player it doesn't really matter. As a dm, fantasy grounds a million percent. No need for shortcuts, coding, scripts, and tracking combat is a real bugger on Roll.
Rob Felker definitely looked at this from a DM perspective. I do get the allure of roll20 and it’s features. At the end of the day it’s all about what works for you and your game. For me, FG is the platform I prefer. I still use roll20 when I need to because it’s still a great interface. Just depends on my needs. Thanks for watching!
jason dads in what context are you asking? JS like you can with Foundry to make your own custom modules? Or do you mean like in roll20? There are ways to do so like roll20 but require greater knowledge than I would be able to provide here as I typically run with the vanilla versions of the interfaces.
The Blue Collar DM on, sorry about that. I was referring to features like roll20 since that was all I’ve had the chance to play with. You’ve already answered the question so, thanks!
jason dads make sure you check out some of the forums and test it out in demo before you throw money down to switch. I can’t say with 100% certainty the functionality or how to exactly compare the coding abilities between the two platforms. I just know you can in FGU but not to what extent.
Alignment Unknown youre very welcome! I have some tutorials on the channel if you need some guidance and I’m continuing to make more. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have questions!
I'm a roll20 pro user and i love it. The API scripts are life savers, from group initiative to group damage rolls, makes running a fireball roll a breeze. The dyanmic lighting makes maps fun and full of suspense. i've not used the other platforms but i think roll20 is great if a bit laggy at times. However the best 700 hours ive spent on a service.
Just wanted to clear up a few things that might not be clear from your video. When you state that you can share your Fantasy Grounds asset purchases with your group that is true ... but only those assets you have incorporated into your current campaign. Also, they can only access those assets through the FG interface while they are connected to the campaign instance you are currently running. The real intention is that your players have access to the material while “at the table”. What they will not be able to do is for example read the Player’s Handbook offline. I cannot speak for how the sharing works in Roll20 as I don’t use it.
Great video - thanks. Exactly what I was looking for to understand the differences in these platforms, as I have only used Fantasy Grounds in the past.
You’re very welcome! I will say that I’ll have another video coming out evaluating these and Foundry VTT soon as it’s changed my outlook on these platforms. Keep your eyes out for that either Saturday or Wednesday next week! 😄
I am now playing for over 7 Years on Roll20 and have amazed over 1200+ hrs in it. I played in 5 campaigns, lead 2 myself and use discord for voice. I love roll20 and never paid a dime for it. Currently I am thinking of DM*ing more and maybe get one of the paid accounts but still a little bit unsure. Roll20 Free does not give you really an amazing amount of options to work with BUT with the ability to upload elements from other sites you are quick to build everything. I custom make all my maps/dungeons and I feel like a little kid building with Lego. But yes, Roll20 Free or paid are great options in my opinion. Thank you for your video. :)
I like how my last name is a berserking dwarven barbarian that is an honor. lol Great Vid! FG's is the way to go and if you get it on steam they have sales throughout the year for books.
The FG Combat Tracker is the best tracker between all the online tools, once the players learn how to code their Class Features & Spells with coding effects & Unity will make it the best mapping software.
If you have steam, then during the summer or winter sale you can get Fantasy Grounds classic/unity and resource content for far cheaper. Steam often offers FG books, campaign, tokens, and other content for far less than most others.
I noticed R20 makes such a selling argument out of of 3-6 GB space for your data, sharable with 5-15 ppl. Compare that to... disk space is whatever is free on your hard drive , share your assets with as many ppl as you want, while they are playing on your table... Try DMing in a West Marshes campaign (e.g., 20 DMs, 150 players) with the limitations from Roll 20.
Wow, I see you're quite new here. Super quality video ! Thank you very much for all the information. I'm currently on roll20 DMing Curse of Strahd but always wanted to jump into Fantasy Grounds for any future adventures. I needed to see such comparison between these two platforms, which you made and executed it great ! Subscribed, keep up the good work 😁
How much you pay for the game resources they offer is fine when comparing which one is superior from a financial point of view, for short-term use. What this video and most other sources I've looked at fail to consider or discuss is usability, feature quality, support etc. Sure, you get 50 more tokens (for example) but in reality, you're only going to ever use 5 of those because 30 aren't appropriate for what they represent and the other15 look like crap. For example. The use (and ease of use) for dynamic lighting and maps, what can and can't be customised (you did touch on this with character sheets for roll20, could you do the same thing with FG for example). I appreciate the explanation of what you get for your money, but that doesn't assist me in making a choice, as I said, providing extra assets I'll probably never use isn't going to help make a decision.
Blake Smith Thank your for leaving your comment. I can see what you mean from where you are coming from. I do make some assumptions here that cost is going to be a large factor and the goal is to generally aim this discussion towards the most used ttrpg systems currently in use. As such, I discounted the use customized character sheets for different systems as such because I’m hoping to help those trying to jump into the online gaming arena (especially now with this large influx due to the current pandemic) a general comparison of what you are going to get for the money you put down, if you even want to put down money. There are arguments to be made both ways and, as such, I provided my viewpoint on the debate for the audience I’m looking to help out, and I can definitely see the points you are making as well. At the end of the day, the decision on which system to use is entirely up to you and what your comfortable with using. I definitely encourage anyone that hasn’t used or played with these systems to also try them out and see which one is also going to fit their playing style and is going to offer the most value to their experience. Thanks again for contributing to the debate!
A couples things I know for sure that is lacking from other or most VTTs is the sense of conmunity. FG has this. The Smiteworks customer service team is primo. The turn around on requests are usually fast. The feel of the platform seems like a DM made the platform for DMs, and not a group of web developers trying too hard to emulate the TTRPG experience in regards to feel, support, and flexibility. You cannot buy those qualities. Offline use, a more mature user base, and people willing to put in effort to help one another is huge with me. I'd pay nearly three times to be able to retain the IRL Tabletop experience over a web based or video game MMO feel experience.
@@FantasyGroundsAcademy I looked into FG, but to be honest there are two major hurdles that are keeping me from promoting it myself. First: The ease of use. Comparing roll20 and FGU is like comparing a sharp knife and a baseball bat for how easily they cut an orange. FGU is very difficult to use from what I've tried, especially compared to roll20, which is pretty straight forward. Whether it's loading maps into the game, or adding the dynamic lighting, everything just seems harder to do in FGU for some reason and that's a big turn off for me. I'm already going to have to put 5 to 6 times more work into preparing for a virtual game than a live game, and making that prep work harder is a very big negative in my book. Second: The subscription nonsense. The fact that they sell you a license one time for a large sum that lasts forever, but if you buy even one month of subscription you're throwing money away because it never accumulates towards buying the license. That means that rather than doing the morally right thing and saying "Oh, $150 is a large up front ask, here we offer a way (that is entirely open to us to do and doesn't negatively impact us in any way) to pay in installments so that you can use the license and at the end of payment unlock it in full instead", rather they say "Pay us, fuck you." That's an even bigger hurdle than their clunky system for me.
@@MysticVRB ease of use, I get it. Offline use, no internet service, that is where I can say I am not locked out of my content if I am not able to use the internet. I can take FG camping with me using a couple spare batteries and a laptop.
Yeah, when I purchased my Classic Ultimate license I paid about $80 on sale. I find it so good I jumped on the Unity Kickstarter to get the Ultimate license, and was able to buy a Call of Cthulhu bundle as a cheap addon, which I can use in Classic until Unity is ready
Roll20 is free. Fantasy Grounds has some interesting features but that first point is a mighty hill to climb and IMO no paid service has offered benefits strong enough to overcome that fact. If a DM happens to prefer Fantasy Grounds I'll use it but I'm not going out of my way for it.
Nice quick over view. Some thoughts; Roll20 still doesn't have the Dungeon Master's Guide. As well Roll20 never puts things on sale, where as FG has new stuff on sale every week. And though not relevant to most new players, Roll20 at Tier 1 (Plus account) doesn't allow any coding/macros, where the FG Standard account gives people full access to any extensions and customizations someone wants.
Imagine my surprise when I wanted to award a magic item from the DMG to one of my players on Roll20 and I could not find it, it didn't exist, and in order to do it I have to make a handout that is then "difficult" to transfer to other games. I was not happy and I wound up being so so so sad to find that out. Yes, I know it can be done on Roll20, but really??
Cool video. I use Roll20. No particular reason. It was the first I tried out some years back. It is interesting to see the other options on the market :D
Koroc DM Foundry VTT is another great option. I have another video on it compared to these two. It’s an amazing, community driven interface that is very polished
One of the things I did not realize is that I would have to purchase game books that I already have. Am I understanding that correctly? I understand that an "Ultimate" account would bypass that (in a sense) via shared materials. But I guess I don't understand why. It certainly makes the idea of playing online more expensive, which I don't need. I enjoyed your presentation.
Victor Sangabriel try this one instead: Foundry VTT vs Roll20 vs Fantasy Grounds Unity | Which One Do I Choose? ruclips.net/video/k-WkLRtM_rg/видео.html I dive a little deeper than just $$ and cents
FG hands down is the way to go. As a DM, Unity is still not where it needs to be to run a campaign though (the way I want it to run). Optimization has not been completed and I've heard this won't be done until just before official release. The only reason to need Unity over Classic right now is the line of sight. If that is not a requirement for a group, stay in Classic for now.
Why is the license for Unity even available if it's not a finished product? Beta testing is one thing, but making people pay the full up front price of the product to do your grunt work in testing is questionable at best. Why is their "updated version" not working to the same standards as the "outdated version"?
You’ve brought up a very important factor that it is still in beta, and smite works is still working out the kinks for the platform. That and, it depends on what works for your game. Like you said, FG classic still works best for you and that’s great. Once FG Unity is optimized I’m sure it’ll be worth it though! Thanks for watching! 😄
Tim Brown I’m not 100% sure that is, but I’ve dabbled with the software, and I can see how great it’s going to be moving forward. I’m looking forward to full release, but at the end of the day, what’s most important is what going to work for you and you’re game. FG Unity isn’t quite up to what you need yet and that’s okay! I do wish the beta testing wasn’t behind a paywall like you said!
Jose Rosa I honestly do. I’m not special enough to know when the full version will be released but from just dabbling with the software it’s definitely headed in the right direction!
Henry Korvus it really does depend on the rules yet you’re playing. This video was made with D&D and Paizo games in mind but I do get what you’re saying and where you’re coming from. No matter what one will still need to analyze the system they’re playing and what works best for them.
@@mrbastos It is incredibly user friendly for the baseline, with a few tutorials on youtube being able to show you how to use nearly all of the amazing features in it. You can download sheet packs for many tabletop games, so if you are playing D&D or Pathfinder there will be a plentiful array of tools, otherwise you will still have many generalist options available to you! Well worth the asking price, and my friends have already stated they are never going back.
Cubeist Games it can be very quirky. Hoping to jump into another comparison video between the two and foundry VTT. I’ve had a lot of great experiences with it and feel it needs to be brought to the table for discussion
Binge Watchers great question. If you have an ultimate account on FG, and you’re going to be the all time DM/GM, then no, your players do not need paid accounts to play in your games and will have access to your sourcebooks in games that you host. If they ever want to DM or play in games not GM’d by you, then they’ll need to get their own accounts with resources etc if they want access to that content still. Hope that helps!
My advice would actually be to use Foundry VTT. They have a way to import that DnDBeyond content into their platform, minus the adventures for now but that is in the works from my understanding.
I do not know that. From my understanding you cannot upload your own system. You can do that on Foundry VTT with a bit of workaround. I have a review on it compared to these other two here: ruclips.net/video/k-WkLRtM_rg/видео.html
You _can_ create your own rulesetts, character sheets, extensions etc. - there even are tons of community-built ruleets in the FG forums. And the ppl in the forums are very nice and helpful if you get stuck an need help.
Couldn't agree more. Found F VTT a month ago and it just blows R20 and FG out of the water. Can't wait to see how it develops after the full release date on May 22nd.
For me, the biggest reason to use Fantasy Grounds Unity, are the free online assets. If you buy the modules through their store, it’s expensive as fuck. Or you can go to The Trove, and online file sharing site, and download every official 5e module published. Plus several choice community modules, all for free. It’s pretty insane, I got The Players Handbook, Dungeon Masters Guide, Volos Guide, Xanathars Guide, and Three campaign modules, and I’ve barely scratched the surface.
Hello, I'm a new DM who started when our DM quit 6 months ago, and I don't know which VTT to get. I have a DNDBeyond Account, few books, and a subscription to share the content. My question is: is dndbeyond worth getting source books for as well as Fantasy Grounds Unity Ultimate License? Or do I need to get the Source Books from the FGU itself to use the assets? PS, Our old DM attempted VTT a few times, but most of it was a struggle, and I don't want to put that on my players nor do I want to spend 10 hours learning how to make a map (now that doesn't mean I can't toil away the night map building - I just don't want to be confused for 10 hours figuring it out).
Hi BCDM My group still plays ADND 2nd ed. In your opinion which of these programmes is better for 2nd ed? edit for additional question: which of these 2 is the most user friendly for the DM?
Clearly go for FG. Just look at each store with a ad&d search. I don't use R20 but I could say that if you play one game with an experienced FG gamemaster you are good to go (+ you can watch vids on youtube).
I watched your video on 1.75 speed and it improved the pacing considerably. I liked the content of your video but for me at least it was a slog at the normal playback speed. You might want to look at your delivery to focus putting the information out more quickly.
I'm guessing the Ultimate account is only worth it if you're the actual DM? Or can you share the resources to the point where the DM can also make use of them while creating the campaign and maps and such?
If you are never going to be the DM then an Ultimate license is pointless. The only advantage it gives is that you can host (I.e. DM) a game for players without a license. The host is always the DM. The real benefit of an Ultimate license is to someone who will almost always be a DM as then you can entice friends into playing as it is free for them. If you are in a group that takes turns being DM you really want everyone to buy a standard license. (I have an Ultimate license so that the campaign I run for a group of work friends doesn’t cost them anything).
John Haines has a good response to this but, if your the dm with the ultimate account, yes you can share your info with your players in game. Unfortunately, your players, if they want to dm in the future, will not have access to this compendium of information for their games. If you’re the forever DM or a content creator then the ultimate account is the way to go!
That's the one thing I hate about these online options. I think it's complete bullshit they force you to buy a digital version of a book you've already paid for and have the information of jsut so you can use it in your online campaigns. Especially the core books. I could understand maybe the modules or expansions. I know there is no way way to identify any individual book passed the ISDN number. And that only identifies it as the PHB for example. BUT, Wizards also knows that online play is becoming more of a staple, given all the different platforms that are cropping up now. So if they WANTED to they could create a new and unique coding system for all the books they print related to D&D. Some kind of system that ties the new code to the books ISDN, make it so that unique code has to be attached to a specific account to identify it as being owned by a specific individual to prevent people from letting their friends borrow their book and getting it for free. It can be done. But I'm sure Wizards is getting a cut of the profit from people having to buy several copies of the same book. I myself play in a campaign in person, one on Roll20, and I just joined a new group on Fantasy Grounds Unity. Which is why I'm here. To learn a little about it since I've never used FGU.
I can understand what you mean. At the end of the day it’s about whatever medium works for you. I hope they do project that out in the future to help those who bought hard cover books, but I also understand companies needing a way to make their money via online versions. Just the way it is for now but I’m always hopeful!
@@BlueCollarDM True. And they say they need to recoup the licensing fees they have to pay from Wizards. Which I guess I understand. But it just seems unfair to have to buy a digital copy of something you already own just to use it online.
Tyler Messer it’s a tough situation for sure. I’m patiently hiding my time and custom entering in everything I need to for now but life would be wayyyy easier for sure.
I've been using Roll20 for the past year and I'm quite disappointed by how long it takes to load a different map as well as all the lag and bugs. Some of the features are awesome, but waiting a minute to change the HP in combat really effects the flow. How's hosting games on fantasy grounds?
I know this is a 4 month old post, but I didn't want to leave it without an answer: I ran my first D&D game ever on Fantasy Grounds and we did some combat encounters. We ran 5th edition and I had quite a few DLCs like the player handbook and other things that automate a lot of things with combat, and holy crap dude it's easy AND fast! It's pretty much immediate, doesn't change HP directly but instead adds to a Wound number which is compared with HP to determine if the NPC dies. Still a bit of manual work you have to do here and there, like skip the unconscious/dead NPCs turn unless you delete their token from the combat tracker, but overall a much, much better experience than roll20 for dealing with combat.
Foundry hands down better than either of these. I have invested a considerable sum of time and money in Roll20, but I am in the process of moving to Foundry, which is surprisingly easy to migrate to and has a much better interface, lighting system, map system and many more things I have not had time to fully grasp. I have had a Pro account with Roll20, Member since 07/11/17 \/ G GM of 7 games \/ 2468 Hours Played. I have been looking for an alternative ever since the issues some of the RUclips GM and 5e content creators brought to light. Finally found it in Foundry VTT.
Aaron Musick I’ve been finding that to be the case too! Been working on a number of Foundry VTT tutorials myself recently trying to educated everyone how to use them. I’ll have a video soon to re-evaluate these comparisons in the near future!
FG is unquestionably the more capable platform IF you have an already established gaming group. However, not having a dedicated LFG system is a BIG downside to FG, especially if you play anything other than D&D5e (Pathfinder 2e, Starfinder). Expecting players to post in forums for game hookups is asinine in the 21st century. I say this because I just purchased FGU, and I'll likely request a refund.
Finding groups online isn’t optimized for the 21st century at all. Between looking on roll20, reddit, discord groups etc, none of them are even really that good, mainly because there are so many players to dms/gms. I’ve seen roll20 lfg’s get bombarded with 100s of player applications. Regardless of the system, there really needs to be a better application/method to finding groups, regardless of the game system or online interface. With that said, FG and FGU could do more. In this video I took that into consideration, but the software benefits and the interface of FG/FGU and cost just overwhelmed Roll20 in this comparison. At the end of the day, you have to make the decision that is right for you considering all the factors involved. What’s most important is that you are enjoying your online play experience. I hope you find the interface that works best for you and your situation! Happy gaming 😄
FoundryVTT does everything Fantasy Grounds does for significantly less. FG Devs alienate their community turning their back on all the resources of thousands of minds. Not only do you have to pay $150 for the FG application but you only get a fraction of the SRD rulesets and then have to pay more from Privateer mod developers who push the FG Developers not to fix the base program so they can continue to profit from 3rd party extensions that are often necessary just to make the system viable. Users are leaving FG like a sinking ship because they are tired of being ignored. Fantasy Grounds College will kick you out for just mentioning "FoundryVTT " or stupid things like not divulging private information such as your time zone. The base system is so profit-oriented you might as well go back to college and get a degree in C++.
man i really wanted to actually play with pen and paper but the way social distancing is going it probably makes more sense to spend $1M on this instead of $500K for the actual books lol
Fantasy Grounds, especially if your internet goes down and you still want to have access to your purchased digital books.
My thoughts exactly, especially while prepping for sessions. Nothing worse than getting stuck without your resources because they’re stored in a cloud!
this is exactly why my group switched from roll20 to fantasy grounds a few years ago and im so glad we did!
Eric DeSmet so glad to hear it!
Happy gaming 😄
@Robert Kemp what if your group rotates whos GM ?
I'm with you Laeron !
That intro gave me a heart attack
Vraisairs once I get a better mic, headphone alert will be off 😅
instantly scrolled down to make sure i wasnt the only one
Seriously bud your doing a good job :) keep it up!
I DM mainly in person but have been using FG for years and had to switch to Roll20 because new players assured me it was better. It was not. I understand the appeal from a lobby and device perspective. As a player it doesn't really matter. As a dm, fantasy grounds a million percent. No need for shortcuts, coding, scripts, and tracking combat is a real bugger on Roll.
Rob Felker definitely looked at this from a DM perspective. I do get the allure of roll20 and it’s features. At the end of the day it’s all about what works for you and your game. For me, FG is the platform I prefer. I still use roll20 when I need to because it’s still a great interface. Just depends on my needs. Thanks for watching!
Can you code your own stuff in fantasy ground though?
jason dads in what context are you asking? JS like you can with Foundry to make your own custom modules? Or do you mean like in roll20? There are ways to do so like roll20 but require greater knowledge than I would be able to provide here as I typically run with the vanilla versions of the interfaces.
The Blue Collar DM on, sorry about that. I was referring to features like roll20 since that was all I’ve had the chance to play with. You’ve already answered the question so, thanks!
jason dads make sure you check out some of the forums and test it out in demo before you throw money down to switch. I can’t say with 100% certainty the functionality or how to exactly compare the coding abilities between the two platforms. I just know you can in FGU but not to what extent.
As a new DM, I was wondering which one I should get, and now I have a clearer picture. I hope you gets those subs, you have earned them
Always glad to help the community! 😄
Thank you. I currently have 100 hours on roll20 but I'm edging towards purchasing FG. Your quick breakdown was very helpful.
Alignment Unknown youre very welcome! I have some tutorials on the channel if you need some guidance and I’m continuing to make more. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have questions!
I use Fantasy Grounds Unity and LOVE IT. I have a player that has used every VTT he can try and he LOVES Fantasy Grounds Unity too!
I'm a roll20 pro user and i love it. The API scripts are life savers, from group initiative to group damage rolls, makes running a fireball roll a breeze. The dyanmic lighting makes maps fun and full of suspense. i've not used the other platforms but i think roll20 is great if a bit laggy at times. However the best 700 hours ive spent on a service.
That’s awesome! Glad you enjoy it so much and found the VTT right for you! ☺️
Just wanted to clear up a few things that might not be clear from your video. When you state that you can share your Fantasy Grounds asset purchases with your group that is true ... but only those assets you have incorporated into your current campaign. Also, they can only access those assets through the FG interface while they are connected to the campaign instance you are currently running. The real intention is that your players have access to the material while “at the table”. What they will not be able to do is for example read the Player’s Handbook offline. I cannot speak for how the sharing works in Roll20 as I don’t use it.
John Haines that is correct. Thank you for including that clarification in this comment stream!
Great video - thanks. Exactly what I was looking for to understand the differences in these platforms, as I have only used Fantasy Grounds in the past.
You’re very welcome! I will say that I’ll have another video coming out evaluating these and Foundry VTT soon as it’s changed my outlook on these platforms. Keep your eyes out for that either Saturday or Wednesday next week! 😄
I am now playing for over 7 Years on Roll20 and have amazed over 1200+ hrs in it. I played in 5 campaigns, lead 2 myself and use discord for voice. I love roll20 and never paid a dime for it. Currently I am thinking of DM*ing more and maybe get one of the paid accounts but still a little bit unsure.
Roll20 Free does not give you really an amazing amount of options to work with BUT with the ability to upload elements from other sites you are quick to build everything.
I custom make all my maps/dungeons and I feel like a little kid building with Lego.
But yes, Roll20 Free or paid are great options in my opinion.
Thank you for your video. :)
DogOfBaskerville both systems are amazing options! Just depends on what works for you and your games! Happy gaming! 😄
Needed this video because I want to DM for some of my friends that leave in a different state
I like how my last name is a berserking dwarven barbarian that is an honor. lol Great Vid! FG's is the way to go and if you get it on steam they have sales throughout the year for books.
so much welcoming energy in the video i instantly subscribed
Wow! Thank you so much! 🥰
The FG Combat Tracker is the best tracker between all the online tools, once the players learn how to code their Class Features & Spells with coding effects & Unity will make it the best mapping software.
I couldn't agree more! I love the bells and whistles of the interface. It really is one of the best tools out there!
If you have steam, then during the summer or winter sale you can get Fantasy Grounds classic/unity and resource content for far cheaper. Steam often offers FG books, campaign, tokens, and other content for far less than most others.
Also FG has it's own discord channel for all the different games that FG supports. As well as support channels for any issues.
FGU is on sale right now, and I just picked it up! The amount of Tabletop games in general is insane and I love it!!
Woa that volume right off the bat terrified me.
TryHard Heroes yeahhhhhh. I’m better at that now. 😬 Headphone alert!
Thanks - should have watched this before I paid my subs for Roll20
I noticed R20 makes such a selling argument out of of 3-6 GB space for your data, sharable with 5-15 ppl. Compare that to... disk space is whatever is free on your hard drive , share your assets with as many ppl as you want, while they are playing on your table... Try DMing in a West Marshes campaign (e.g., 20 DMs, 150 players) with the limitations from Roll 20.
Wow, I see you're quite new here. Super quality video ! Thank you very much for all the information. I'm currently on roll20 DMing Curse of Strahd but always wanted to jump into Fantasy Grounds for any future adventures. I needed to see such comparison between these two platforms, which you made and executed it great ! Subscribed, keep up the good work 😁
ResistTV Thank you so much! Happy to help a fellow DM!
How much you pay for the game resources they offer is fine when comparing which one is superior from a financial point of view, for short-term use. What this video and most other sources I've looked at fail to consider or discuss is usability, feature quality, support etc.
Sure, you get 50 more tokens (for example) but in reality, you're only going to ever use 5 of those because 30 aren't appropriate for what they represent and the other15 look like crap. For example. The use (and ease of use) for dynamic lighting and maps, what can and can't be customised (you did touch on this with character sheets for roll20, could you do the same thing with FG for example).
I appreciate the explanation of what you get for your money, but that doesn't assist me in making a choice, as I said, providing extra assets I'll probably never use isn't going to help make a decision.
Blake Smith Thank your for leaving your comment. I can see what you mean from where you are coming from. I do make some assumptions here that cost is going to be a large factor and the goal is to generally aim this discussion towards the most used ttrpg systems currently in use. As such, I discounted the use customized character sheets for different systems as such because I’m hoping to help those trying to jump into the online gaming arena (especially now with this large influx due to the current pandemic) a general comparison of what you are going to get for the money you put down, if you even want to put down money.
There are arguments to be made both ways and, as such, I provided my viewpoint on the debate for the audience I’m looking to help out, and I can definitely see the points you are making as well. At the end of the day, the decision on which system to use is entirely up to you and what your comfortable with using. I definitely encourage anyone that hasn’t used or played with these systems to also try them out and see which one is also going to fit their playing style and is going to offer the most value to their experience. Thanks again for contributing to the debate!
A couples things I know for sure that is lacking from other or most VTTs is the sense of conmunity. FG has this. The Smiteworks customer service team is primo. The turn around on requests are usually fast. The feel of the platform seems like a DM made the platform for DMs, and not a group of web developers trying too hard to emulate the TTRPG experience in regards to feel, support, and flexibility. You cannot buy those qualities. Offline use, a more mature user base, and people willing to put in effort to help one another is huge with me. I'd pay nearly three times to be able to retain the IRL Tabletop experience over a web based or video game MMO feel experience.
@@FantasyGroundsAcademy I looked into FG, but to be honest there are two major hurdles that are keeping me from promoting it myself.
First: The ease of use. Comparing roll20 and FGU is like comparing a sharp knife and a baseball bat for how easily they cut an orange. FGU is very difficult to use from what I've tried, especially compared to roll20, which is pretty straight forward. Whether it's loading maps into the game, or adding the dynamic lighting, everything just seems harder to do in FGU for some reason and that's a big turn off for me. I'm already going to have to put 5 to 6 times more work into preparing for a virtual game than a live game, and making that prep work harder is a very big negative in my book.
Second: The subscription nonsense. The fact that they sell you a license one time for a large sum that lasts forever, but if you buy even one month of subscription you're throwing money away because it never accumulates towards buying the license. That means that rather than doing the morally right thing and saying "Oh, $150 is a large up front ask, here we offer a way (that is entirely open to us to do and doesn't negatively impact us in any way) to pay in installments so that you can use the license and at the end of payment unlock it in full instead", rather they say "Pay us, fuck you." That's an even bigger hurdle than their clunky system for me.
@@MysticVRB ease of use, I get it. Offline use, no internet service, that is where I can say I am not locked out of my content if I am not able to use the internet. I can take FG camping with me using a couple spare batteries and a laptop.
FG ultimate owner here- keep an eye out for FG’s license sales. The Black Friday/cyber Monday last year I think was 40% off! That’s when I got mine.
Yeah, when I purchased my Classic Ultimate license I paid about $80 on sale. I find it so good I jumped on the Unity Kickstarter to get the Ultimate license, and was able to buy a Call of Cthulhu bundle as a cheap addon, which I can use in Classic until Unity is ready
Roll20 is free. Fantasy Grounds has some interesting features but that first point is a mighty hill to climb and IMO no paid service has offered benefits strong enough to overcome that fact. If a DM happens to prefer Fantasy Grounds I'll use it but I'm not going out of my way for it.
Good commentary, kudos. thanks for the info
Briarios you’re very welcome!
Nice quick over view. Some thoughts; Roll20 still doesn't have the Dungeon Master's Guide. As well Roll20 never puts things on sale, where as FG has new stuff on sale every week. And though not relevant to most new players, Roll20 at Tier 1 (Plus account) doesn't allow any coding/macros, where the FG Standard account gives people full access to any extensions and customizations someone wants.
There are a number of these small features and aspects that puts Fantasy Grounds over the top for me. Glad you enjoyed the video!
You can do macros, but you don’t get access to the api sandboxes.
Imagine my surprise when I wanted to award a magic item from the DMG to one of my players on Roll20 and I could not find it, it didn't exist, and in order to do it I have to make a handout that is then "difficult" to transfer to other games. I was not happy and I wound up being so so so sad to find that out. Yes, I know it can be done on Roll20, but really??
Cool video. I use Roll20. No particular reason. It was the first I tried out some years back. It is interesting to see the other options on the market :D
Koroc DM Foundry VTT is another great option. I have another video on it compared to these two. It’s an amazing, community driven interface that is very polished
@@BlueCollarDM I will watch your viedeo on it. Sounds interisting :D
Thank you for the opinion, and also I noticed youtube allows you to segment videos with titles, mousing over the time bar
opinion and information*
Now do FoundryVTT
Fantasy Grounds is more professional
One of the things I did not realize is that I would have to purchase game books that I already have. Am I understanding that correctly? I understand that an "Ultimate" account would bypass that (in a sense) via shared materials. But I guess I don't understand why. It certainly makes the idea of playing online more expensive, which I don't need. I enjoyed your presentation.
Glad I could help!
I was looking for a battle between features...not price. If I'm a DM, which one is simpler? faster? Which one is better to play, not cheaper!! Thanks,
Victor Sangabriel try this one instead: Foundry VTT vs Roll20 vs Fantasy Grounds Unity | Which One Do I Choose? ruclips.net/video/k-WkLRtM_rg/видео.html I dive a little deeper than just $$ and cents
I like your intro ! Best of luck with your channel
Thank you so much! 😄
FG hands down is the way to go. As a DM, Unity is still not where it needs to be to run a campaign though (the way I want it to run). Optimization has not been completed and I've heard this won't be done until just before official release. The only reason to need Unity over Classic right now is the line of sight. If that is not a requirement for a group, stay in Classic for now.
Why is the license for Unity even available if it's not a finished product? Beta testing is one thing, but making people pay the full up front price of the product to do your grunt work in testing is questionable at best. Why is their "updated version" not working to the same standards as the "outdated version"?
You’ve brought up a very important factor that it is still in beta, and smite works is still working out the kinks for the platform. That and, it depends on what works for your game. Like you said, FG classic still works best for you and that’s great. Once FG Unity is optimized I’m sure it’ll be worth it though! Thanks for watching! 😄
Tim Brown I’m not 100% sure that is, but I’ve dabbled with the software, and I can see how great it’s going to be moving forward. I’m looking forward to full release, but at the end of the day, what’s most important is what going to work for you and you’re game. FG Unity isn’t quite up to what you need yet and that’s okay! I do wish the beta testing wasn’t behind a paywall like you said!
Do you believe Unity will be better than classic eventually? When does Unity come out?
Jose Rosa I honestly do. I’m not special enough to know when the full version will be released but from just dabbling with the software it’s definitely headed in the right direction!
It really depends on the rule-set you use. I own and use FG a lot, but for some games, like Runequest the FG support is abysmal.
Henry Korvus it really does depend on the rules yet you’re playing. This video was made with D&D and Paizo games in mind but I do get what you’re saying and where you’re coming from.
No matter what one will still need to analyze the system they’re playing and what works best for them.
The answer is neither; use Foundry VTT
Thank you for your comment, without you I would have never known about this.
How user friendly is it? I'm watching the video of features and it looks amazing, but also intimidating for a newer user
@@mrbastos It is incredibly user friendly for the baseline, with a few tutorials on youtube being able to show you how to use nearly all of the amazing features in it. You can download sheet packs for many tabletop games, so if you are playing D&D or Pathfinder there will be a plentiful array of tools, otherwise you will still have many generalist options available to you!
Well worth the asking price, and my friends have already stated they are never going back.
Great review - I will check out Fantasy Grounds now.
Kevin Travers happy time hear it! Also check out Foundry VTT! I’ve been doing some tutorials recently and is really good for being in beta!
Useful, but would have liked to see more focus on usability between the two. I have been exploring Roll20 and find it to be pretty quirky so far.
Cubeist Games it can be very quirky. Hoping to jump into another comparison video between the two and foundry VTT. I’ve had a lot of great experiences with it and feel it needs to be brought to the table for discussion
If I have an ultimate account on FG and have purchased all the relevant sourcebooks, will the players also have to get paid accounts to play?
Binge Watchers great question. If you have an ultimate account on FG, and you’re going to be the all time DM/GM, then no, your players do not need paid accounts to play in your games and will have access to your sourcebooks in games that you host.
If they ever want to DM or play in games not GM’d by you, then they’ll need to get their own accounts with resources etc if they want access to that content still.
Hope that helps!
No.
what about DnD beyond? i bought the books from them. i dont wanna buy agian, any advise?
My advice would actually be to use Foundry VTT. They have a way to import that DnDBeyond content into their platform, minus the adventures for now but that is in the works from my understanding.
@@BlueCollarDM thank you
@@huntermay8322 anytime. Feel free to reach out with any other questions!
roll20 pro has the API access wich is the best thing of that tier.
yeah, I got to play around with a pro account, API scripts can be fun.
Hi great video. Do you know if Can you upload your own system and create your own character sheets on fantasy grounds?
I do not know that. From my understanding you cannot upload your own system. You can do that on Foundry VTT with a bit of workaround. I have a review on it compared to these other two here: ruclips.net/video/k-WkLRtM_rg/видео.html
You _can_ create your own rulesetts, character sheets, extensions etc. - there even are tons of community-built ruleets in the FG forums. And the ppl in the forums are very nice and helpful if you get stuck an need help.
Neither, use Foundry VTT!
Couldn't agree more. Found F VTT a month ago and it just blows R20 and FG out of the water. Can't wait to see how it develops after the full release date on May 22nd.
@@bekradan458 How difficult is it to learn and how big of a party does it allow? Thanks.
For me, the biggest reason to use Fantasy Grounds Unity, are the free online assets. If you buy the modules through their store, it’s expensive as fuck. Or you can go to The Trove, and online file sharing site, and download every official 5e module published. Plus several choice community modules, all for free. It’s pretty insane, I got The Players Handbook, Dungeon Masters Guide, Volos Guide, Xanathars Guide, and Three campaign modules, and I’ve barely scratched the surface.
Hello, I'm a new DM who started when our DM quit 6 months ago, and I don't know which VTT to get.
I have a DNDBeyond Account, few books, and a subscription to share the content.
My question is: is dndbeyond worth getting source books for as well as Fantasy Grounds Unity Ultimate License? Or do I need to get the Source Books from the FGU itself to use the assets?
PS,
Our old DM attempted VTT a few times, but most of it was a struggle, and I don't want to put that on my players nor do I want to spend 10 hours learning how to make a map (now that doesn't mean I can't toil away the night map building - I just don't want to be confused for 10 hours figuring it out).
Hey I know this is old, but Foundry which is more similar to fantasy grounds let’s you port over your dnd beyond books
Used roll20 because of macros, saw all the comments, Foundry for LIFE!
Hi BCDM
My group still plays ADND 2nd ed. In your opinion which of these programmes is better for 2nd ed?
edit for additional question: which of these 2 is the most user friendly for the DM?
Clearly go for FG. Just look at each store with a ad&d search. I don't use R20 but I could say that if you play one game with an experienced FG gamemaster you are good to go (+ you can watch vids on youtube).
I watched your video on 1.75 speed and it improved the pacing considerably. I liked the content of your video but for me at least it was a slog at the normal playback speed. You might want to look at your delivery to focus putting the information out more quickly.
Thank you! Mind looking at some of my more recent stuff and tell me what you think? A lots changed since this video dropped. 😄
I'm guessing the Ultimate account is only worth it if you're the actual DM? Or can you share the resources to the point where the DM can also make use of them while creating the campaign and maps and such?
If you are never going to be the DM then an Ultimate license is pointless. The only advantage it gives is that you can host (I.e. DM) a game for players without a license. The host is always the DM. The real benefit of an Ultimate license is to someone who will almost always be a DM as then you can entice friends into playing as it is free for them. If you are in a group that takes turns being DM you really want everyone to buy a standard license. (I have an Ultimate license so that the campaign I run for a group of work friends doesn’t cost them anything).
John Haines has a good response to this but, if your the dm with the ultimate account, yes you can share your info with your players in game. Unfortunately, your players, if they want to dm in the future, will not have access to this compendium of information for their games. If you’re the forever DM or a content creator then the ultimate account is the way to go!
Yeah, that's what I figured, thanks guys.
Hi Howard as always, my name is dad!
Hi Howard as Always. I'm Kirk of Never, how do you do?
That's the one thing I hate about these online options. I think it's complete bullshit they force you to buy a digital version of a book you've already paid for and have the information of jsut so you can use it in your online campaigns. Especially the core books. I could understand maybe the modules or expansions. I know there is no way way to identify any individual book passed the ISDN number. And that only identifies it as the PHB for example. BUT, Wizards also knows that online play is becoming more of a staple, given all the different platforms that are cropping up now. So if they WANTED to they could create a new and unique coding system for all the books they print related to D&D. Some kind of system that ties the new code to the books ISDN, make it so that unique code has to be attached to a specific account to identify it as being owned by a specific individual to prevent people from letting their friends borrow their book and getting it for free. It can be done. But I'm sure Wizards is getting a cut of the profit from people having to buy several copies of the same book. I myself play in a campaign in person, one on Roll20, and I just joined a new group on Fantasy Grounds Unity. Which is why I'm here. To learn a little about it since I've never used FGU.
I can understand what you mean. At the end of the day it’s about whatever medium works for you. I hope they do project that out in the future to help those who bought hard cover books, but I also understand companies needing a way to make their money via online versions. Just the way it is for now but I’m always hopeful!
@@BlueCollarDM True. And they say they need to recoup the licensing fees they have to pay from Wizards. Which I guess I understand. But it just seems unfair to have to buy a digital copy of something you already own just to use it online.
Tyler Messer it’s a tough situation for sure. I’m patiently hiding my time and custom entering in everything I need to for now but life would be wayyyy easier for sure.
I've been using Roll20 for the past year and I'm quite disappointed by how long it takes to load a different map as well as all the lag and bugs. Some of the features are awesome, but waiting a minute to change the HP in combat really effects the flow. How's hosting games on fantasy grounds?
I know this is a 4 month old post, but I didn't want to leave it without an answer: I ran my first D&D game ever on Fantasy Grounds and we did some combat encounters. We ran 5th edition and I had quite a few DLCs like the player handbook and other things that automate a lot of things with combat, and holy crap dude it's easy AND fast! It's pretty much immediate, doesn't change HP directly but instead adds to a Wound number which is compared with HP to determine if the NPC dies. Still a bit of manual work you have to do here and there, like skip the unconscious/dead NPCs turn unless you delete their token from the combat tracker, but overall a much, much better experience than roll20 for dealing with combat.
Foundry hands down better than either of these. I have invested a considerable sum of time and money in Roll20, but I am in the process of moving to Foundry, which is surprisingly easy to migrate to and has a much better interface, lighting system, map system and many more things I have not had time to fully grasp. I have had a Pro account with Roll20, Member since 07/11/17 \/ G GM of 7 games \/ 2468 Hours Played. I have been looking for an alternative ever since the issues some of the RUclips GM and 5e content creators brought to light. Finally found it in Foundry VTT.
Aaron Musick I’ve been finding that to be the case too! Been working on a number of Foundry VTT tutorials myself recently trying to educated everyone how to use them. I’ll have a video soon to re-evaluate these comparisons in the near future!
FG is unquestionably the more capable platform IF you have an already established gaming group. However, not having a dedicated LFG system is a BIG downside to FG, especially if you play anything other than D&D5e (Pathfinder 2e, Starfinder). Expecting players to post in forums for game hookups is asinine in the 21st century. I say this because I just purchased FGU, and I'll likely request a refund.
Finding groups online isn’t optimized for the 21st century at all. Between looking on roll20, reddit, discord groups etc, none of them are even really that good, mainly because there are so many players to dms/gms. I’ve seen roll20 lfg’s get bombarded with 100s of player applications. Regardless of the system, there really needs to be a better application/method to finding groups, regardless of the game system or online interface.
With that said, FG and FGU could do more. In this video I took that into consideration, but the software benefits and the interface of FG/FGU and cost just overwhelmed Roll20 in this comparison.
At the end of the day, you have to make the decision that is right for you considering all the factors involved. What’s most important is that you are enjoying your online play experience. I hope you find the interface that works best for you and your situation! Happy gaming 😄
Thanks, Really helpful video. Anyone looking for a player to join their FG campaign? I'd like to try it out.
Do these systems support VOIP?
Your name is always Howard?
Sometimes it’s Howie. Sometimes it’s not. Lol
FoundryVTT does everything Fantasy Grounds does for significantly less. FG Devs alienate their community turning their back on all the resources of thousands of minds. Not only do you have to pay $150 for the FG application but you only get a fraction of the SRD rulesets and then have to pay more from Privateer mod developers who push the FG Developers not to fix the base program so they can continue to profit from 3rd party extensions that are often necessary just to make the system viable. Users are leaving FG like a sinking ship because they are tired of being ignored. Fantasy Grounds College will kick you out for just mentioning "FoundryVTT " or stupid things like not divulging private information such as your time zone. The base system is so profit-oriented you might as well go back to college and get a degree in C++.
Roll20 can be used on a reasonably new iphone or android, FG cannot. That makes it a no brainer for me since I use my phone to play
Interesting! I’ve never considered that!
man i really wanted to actually play with pen and paper but the way social distancing is going it probably makes more sense to spend $1M on this instead of $500K for the actual books lol
🤣😂
Im searching for a group
I honestly couldn't get past the 40 second mark. The stupid crawl and idiot screaming at me was too much.
This video seems like it really only talks about money. Was looking for info about actual gameplay.
This didn't seem like an objective review to me.
You really need to stop bouncing while you talk; it's super distracting.
Rather than listen to this useless review, you can run a screen reader on the 2 websites. Same value