@mforester Ooh! I've been learning Foundry too for a while (also trying to learn GMing). It's been surprisingly intuitive to use. If I want to do something or change a setting, all the basic things are pretty easy to find.
I think those 12 part series will tell you everything about how to build maps from scratch. If you use ready made modules, it'll be a lot easier.
@riikka yeah, I guess ready made modules would make my life a bit easier. 😅
I've created two scenes in maybe 1.5h hours and I'm kinda getting the hang of mapping things out.
But I haven't even looked at how to create or run an encounter.
I'd really love a "player simulator" where I can just GM and play the scene at the same time to get a feel for what it will look like.
@riikka I'm also a bit annoyed, because adding walls, windows, doors and whatever takes much longer than I'd like it to.
I've spent a lot of time on maps that I guess I'll have to use now, because I really don't wanna do this again. 😩
Maybe I shouldn't have started with a dungeon crawl either and gone mapless, but the whole point was giving the others an opportunity to improve their knowledge about combat rules. 😅
@mforester It'll get easier as you go, I'm sure. I also read that if you create your own maps in dungeondraft or something, there's an uploader that adds walls and stuff automatically.
Or so I heard. The mods are the overwhelming part to me, there are so many! I'm currently using exactly 2 😄
@mforester Hahah yes, there's a time for those later. Maybe.
I have Dice So Nice, where the dice roll satisfyingly clickety clack on the screen and DiceTray that allows you to roll any dice from chat by just pushing buttons. Those I can handle 😅
This reminded me that for some reason Foundry is set to run on 60 fps(!) You might want to bring that down a bit, not even the rolling dice need that much frames. My gaming laptops fans stopped yelling at me when I dropped it to 20.
@riikka I actually think we've got both of these installed too.
I took this installation over from another GM, so I'm not familiar with everything that's running on it. 😅
Buy we've got the clickety clacky dice for sure. 😁
@riikka OMG so many mods!!!!
I made the mistake of taking a peek. 😬
But I found a pretty simple mod called "Multilevel Tokens". I've only seen it work it's magic in a YouTube video so far, but it looks pretty straight forward. You mark an area and "clone" it to another level, e.g. imagine going up some stairs, but still being able to see the main hall in a building.
And it actually doesn't look like too much work either. 🙂
@mforester Oh no! 😅 I hear there's something like 1500+ different kinds 🙊🙊
I'm not really a fan of all kind of bells and whistles but it's really hard to determine where to even begin with these. One at a time maybe, and if you really feel like some functionality is missing.
@riikka yeah that's basically what happened with the Multilevel Tokens mod. I was wondering if there's a better way than "GM"-moving tokens between maps. 🙂
I went down a rabbit hole looking at "must have" mods and will try a few later. 😅
If you want some recommendations, I'll get back to you.
@riikka sorry, I'm a bit grumpy today. 😅
Overall Foundry is pretty intuitive. There's just so much to do that feels like busywork rather than being creative. I just didn't consider the time I need to learn Foundry when I announced I'd be GMing a "quick" session or two. 😅
I think I'll use this tool very sparingly in the future. Maybe no more combat encounters, so positioning isn't relevant? 😅
@riikka we're playing DnD 5e.
I actually thought of the "send yourself a link", but got hung up on the browser. 😅
If I open up Foundry on another tab it'll log me out as GM. But I haven't tried private tabs or a different browser yet.
@mforester We're learning Pathfinder 2e! Foundry really has some nice things for that one.
Do you have Foundry hosted somewhere? Mine's on Forge and there's a "log in as a temporary player" option in the game setting menu. When I run Foundry just from my computer, there's couple of links there that you can use to log in as a player. It didn't throw me out as a GM. But maybe incognito would do the trick too.
@riikka how are you liking Pathfinder 2e so far? I'm only familiar with the first edition and have played it for many years. I've heard they made a bunch of changes for the 2nd edition.
@mforester My TTRPG experience is about 3 months long so I have nothing to compare it to, but I do like it! I like that there's basically a rule for everything 😅 Also the game seems to encourage using tactics and team play in the encounters and there's a lot of options on what to do. I also like Golarion as a setting. Sure it has everything possible under the sun, but that's really inspiring to me. The adventure paths look super interesting too.
@riikka sounds awesome. I remember what a revelation TTRPG was when I first played it. Finally free from the shackles of computer RPGs. Free to do all the insane and wild stuff my brain comes up with...like Goomba-stomping an ork coming up a ladder like Mario would do. 😅
@riikka I love it. Especially when the GM leans into it.
I also like GMing every now and then, but I tend to overprepare and I'm rarely satisfied with my own performance. 😅
My players usually disagree, which is nice and we still end up having fun. There's just always this or that thing I could have done better. Like when you think of the perfect comeback to a comment three days later. 😅
@mforester As someone who uses FoundryVTT for GMing, it is not that bad.
In fact I'd say it is easier and more intuitive than Roll20. But I only used Roll20 for a one-shot once as a GM and a bit before as a player.
So depending on how experienced you are with Roll20 (or a different VTT) it might be harder to get used to FoundryVTT. (Just like switching from any other software you are used to).
@rakuno I've only ever used Roll20 once as a player and I've used Foundry for a while now also as player.
I think I'll be alright. Just need to figure out "the basics". 😅
I also have another GM to ask, although from what I've seen I don't think he's been as deep into Foundry as I'd like to go. 😅
@mforester
Right there with ya buddy!
I'm 54, and fairly computer savvy and that thing is way too complicated for my tastes.
Man do I hate and avoid things that make me feel dumb, and that's 1 of them.
@HipsterDM so far I've only used it as a player. It's pretty complicated, but after a few weeks I can find my way around well enough for all my rolls.
But I'm dreading the GM part that I promised I'd take over after the holidays. 😬
@mforester
Too many options, layers, files, what have you.
Man, I sound like a troglodyte.
I just wish it was more user friendly, on both ends.
Like, my tablet, or phone or the thousands of other things invented since the internet became a thing.
I tried watching those videos for roll20, they lost me in like 10 minutes and I had to start over. After many tries, still no retention.
I think it has to do with things I "have" to learn, had the same troubles in school.
@HipsterDM after having spent 1.5h messing around with it, I'm fully with you.
As a player I enjoyed Foundry, because it made all the rolling much smoother, especially in large combat encounters.
As a GM, I'm hopelessly overwhelmed by the stuff I need to do to prep even a small map. And so far I haven't found an option to look at it through a player's eyes, so whatever I made is probably hot garbage. 😩
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