Fantasy Grounds is a virtual tabletop application, which contains a set of tools to assist players of

tabletop role-playing games A tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG or TRPG), also known as a pen-and-paper role-playing game, is a kind of role-playing game (RPG) in which the participants describe their characters' actions through speech and sometimes movements. Participants d ...

playing either in person or remotely.

History

Fantasy Grounds was first released in 2004 by SmiteWorks, originally based in

Espoo Espoo (, ; ) is a city in Finland. It is located to the west of the capital, Helsinki, in southern Uusimaa. The population is approximately . It is the most populous Municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. Espoo is part of the Helsi ...

, Finland. In 2009, the company was purchased by Doug Davison, after which it purchased licenses for content for several

tabletop role-playing game A tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG or TRPG), also known as a pen-and-paper role-playing game, is a kind of role-playing game (RPG) in which the participants describe their characters' actions through speech and sometimes movements. Participants d ...

systems. In April 2015, SmiteWorks acquired a license with

Wizards of the Coast Wizards of the Coast LLC (WotC or Wizards) is an American game Publishing, publisher, most of which are based on fantasy and List of science fiction themes, science-fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail game stores. In 1999, toy ...

for official ''

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) originally created and designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical ...

'' game content and began releasing products for the game's 5th edition on Fantasy Grounds; the same month, Fantasy Grounds became available to purchase through the

Steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

digital distribution platform. In December 2016, SmiteWorks obtained a license from

Paizo Publishing Paizo Inc. (; originally Paizo Publishing) is an American role-playing game publishing company based in Redmond, Washington, best known for the tabletop role-playing games '' Pathfinder'' and '' Starfinder''. The company's name is derived from ...

for content from their ''

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game The ''Pathfinder Roleplaying Game'' is a fantasy role-playing game (RPG) that was published in 2009 by Paizo Publishing. The first edition extends and modifies the System Reference Document (SRD) based on the revised 3rd edition ''Dungeons ...

'', which was released on Fantasy Grounds starting in May 2017. In May 2019, Fantasy Grounds ran a successful

Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

campaign to fund Fantasy Grounds Unity, a new version of their software built in Unity. In June 2024, it was announced that due to the acquisition of the digital tabletop role-playing toolset company Demiplane by the virtual tabletop company

Roll20 Roll20 is a website consisting of a set of tools for playing tabletop role-playing games, also referred to as a virtual tabletop, which can be used as an aid to playing in-person or remotely online. The site was launched in 2012 after a success ...

D&D Beyond D&D Beyond (DDB) is the official digital toolset and game companion for ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fifth edition. DDB hosts online versions of the official ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fifth edition books, including rulebooks, adventures, and other supple ...

founder Adam Bradford would be leaving Demiplane. Bradford then announced that he would join SmiteWorks as their new Chief Development Officer.

Features

Fantasy Grounds contains features typical of many

, such as virtual dice rolling,

character sheets A character sheet is a record of a player character in a role-playing game, including whatever details, notes, game statistics, and background information a player would need during a play session. Character sheets can be found in use in both ...

, and maps featuring line of sight with a grid system. Games are organized into sessions, which are started by a

gamemaster A gamemaster (GM; also known as game master, game manager, game moderator, referee, storyteller, or master of ceremonies) is a person who acts as a facilitator, organizer, officiant regarding rules, arbitrator, and moderator for a multiplayer r ...

and which other players may join remotely. Unlike many other virtual tabletop systems, the user interface of Fantasy Grounds is different depending on which game system is selected for the session through themes. Fantasy Grounds also contains various reference materials and rulebooks, as well as an integrated chat system. The program automates much of the dice rolling and other game systems, and allows the gamemaster to save a session to continue later. Fantasy Grounds officially supports over 50 game systems with over 3,000 products, making it the largest digital catalog of officially-licensed content. In addition to various editions of ''Dungeons & Dragons'' and ''Pathfinder'', support is offered for ''

Savage Worlds ''Savage Worlds'' is a role-playing game written by Shane Lacy Hensley and published by Pinnacle Entertainment Group. The game emphasizes speed of play and reduced preparation over realism or detail. The game received the 2003 Origin Gamers' Cho ...

'', '' Call of Cthulhu'', '' Traveller'', ''

Rolemaster ''Rolemaster'' (originally ''Role Master'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game published by Iron Crown Enterprises in 1980. The game system has undergone several revisions and editions since then. Description ''Rolemaster'' is a fantasy ...

'', '' Castles & Crusades'' and many others. The Fantasy Grounds community has also created unofficial versions for many other systems, and players can also create fully custom rulesets, as well as extensions that customize the play experience.

Reception

Fantasy Grounds is often praised by reviewers for its features and toolsets which allow players to fully customize their games. It is also considered one of the most reliable virtual tabletop programs. It was historically criticized for its complexity and cost, but SmiteWorks updated the pricing of the Core License to $20 and the Ultimate License to $50 in 2023 and introduced several user interface updates in 2024 to address those concerns.

References

External links

*{{official website, https://www.fantasygrounds.com Role-playing game software

History

Features

Reception

See also

References

External links