Beamdog and Fantasy Grounds
Corvino
Member Posts: 2,269
Beamdog recently partnered with the Fantasy Grounds virtual tabletop folks to release some Fantasy Grounds packs based on BG items and portraits. I'm wondering if the partnership goes any deeper though.
For those who're more computer than PnP gamers, a virtual tabletop is a toolset or app to make PnP games run smoother. It has maps, character sheets, inventory etc tracked on your laptop or tablet instead of paper. It also does a lot of bookkeeping like totalling up your AC, THAC0/to-hit and so on automatically. They can include battle maps with character placement, initiative tracking, automatic rolls etc. Fantasy grounds provide virtual tabletop packs for lots of RPG systems including D&D and Pathfinder.
So why is this interesting? Because a video game company partnering with a virtual tabletop company gives me hope that someday a cross-platform, multi-system successor to the Aurora toolset and engine will get built. NWN's best feature was the toolset, and something similar but able to handle AD&D, 5e, Pathfinder etc rulesets using the same underlying engine would be huge and great.
It could provide not only great games but a tool for wannabe DMs and storytellers to create content as NWN did, but not bound to a single ruleset. Done carefully (and with granular options of manual dice rolls, real-time with pause/true turn based etc) a single engine might be usable as a virtual tabletop for PnP groups and for single/multiplayer video gaming.
I don't think Beamdog partnering Fantasy Grounds is going to lead to this. But it would be bloody great if it did.
For those who're more computer than PnP gamers, a virtual tabletop is a toolset or app to make PnP games run smoother. It has maps, character sheets, inventory etc tracked on your laptop or tablet instead of paper. It also does a lot of bookkeeping like totalling up your AC, THAC0/to-hit and so on automatically. They can include battle maps with character placement, initiative tracking, automatic rolls etc. Fantasy grounds provide virtual tabletop packs for lots of RPG systems including D&D and Pathfinder.
So why is this interesting? Because a video game company partnering with a virtual tabletop company gives me hope that someday a cross-platform, multi-system successor to the Aurora toolset and engine will get built. NWN's best feature was the toolset, and something similar but able to handle AD&D, 5e, Pathfinder etc rulesets using the same underlying engine would be huge and great.
It could provide not only great games but a tool for wannabe DMs and storytellers to create content as NWN did, but not bound to a single ruleset. Done carefully (and with granular options of manual dice rolls, real-time with pause/true turn based etc) a single engine might be usable as a virtual tabletop for PnP groups and for single/multiplayer video gaming.
I don't think Beamdog partnering Fantasy Grounds is going to lead to this. But it would be bloody great if it did.
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