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Some Questions and Observations of a newb

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by SolitonMan, Dec 19, 2011.

  1. SolitonMan

    SolitonMan New Member

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    Hello,

    I've run a few sessions now with d20Pro and for the most part I'm totally loving it! The accessibility is awesome, and it's making it possible to play frequently whereas without it, if we miss a session then it might be two weeks to a month until we can get together again. Now, if anyone/everyone is around any night of the week, we can fire up the VTT and get rolling! :)

    I have had a number of difficulties with effectively using the package. This is all a matter of experience, I'm sure, but I was hoping that there might be Wise Old Elders around here who can share their experience and help me become more proficient with d20Pro, and thus speed up my games.

    (1) Systemic Feedback - Some good information is presented in the Game Log, but it could be more comprehensive. A specific example - during a session last night an assassin vine used its Entangle ability on the players. I set up the effect via the ability interface, and used the burst pattern to map out the area of effect, as well as to select the targets. All the PCs were targetted, but only two of them were affected. I have no idea whether the two were affected because the other two made their saves "behind the scenes", or if there's a problem with the program and it's not correctly maintaining targets. Feedback in the log to tell me what the system is doing at each step would eliminate such confusion. In this case, a line stating that each of the targets had made a saving throw, and the results of that throw (numerically).

    (2) Effects - I'm still not sure how to use them well. I understand the basics of setting one up, but is there a way to add a creature to an ongoing effect? The previous example of the Entangle is a good case in point - once I set up the effect and determined who was and wasn't entangled, there was a chance that those unentangled creatures in the area might become entangled. Is there a way to add a new creature to an existing effect?

    (3) Conditions - Are they supported? Entangle is such a useful example, when I set up the effect, I could specify Dex -4 and Attack -2, but there was no option that I saw for cutting movement in half. It would have been much easier if I could simply have selected "entangled" from a tab of Conditions in the effect interface. Am I just missing something here?

    (4) Spells that result in attacks - Is there a way to handle this that is "recommended"? I know this isn't a video game - d20Pro Supports rules, it doesn't Enforce them, and that's the way it should be. Still, it would be nice if there were a standard mechanism for handling "attack" spells - rays, orbs, Produce Flame, etc. We use the Core Dice to roll the relevant numbers, and create an effect to do the damage, generally speaking. But it feels "wrong", as if we're missing something.

    (5) Grid overlay - An excellent feature, but it needs to be more flexible. Not every map I import is going to have a grid that matches up with the edges of the image, so the ability to "drag" the grid into a desirable position would be invaluable.

    (6) Initiative and creatures included - When I turn on combat mode and roll a new initiative, every creature on every map is included in that. Is there a way to limit the inclusion to creatures on the current map? I like to prepare multiple maps with encounters to come, so I'm not scrambling during a session to add things. But it kind of takes a lot of time to first lower the non-participants' initiative results lower than those of the creatures in the current encounter (so that their names don't show up in the log) and then go through and remove them from initiative. It'd be a LOT more convenient if they were never added to the initiative in the first place.

    (7) TOO MUCH INFORMATION SHARING - Related to the initiative issue is the security of information. Last night during the assassin vine encounter, I added the creature to the map dynamically - the players were already on the map, and I just dragged the plant from the library and dropped it. Then I wanted to reposition it and so dragged it to a new spot. Then the game log showed "assassin vine moves 15 feet". WHY?? I thought the broadcast button was there so that the judge could make changes to a map, add creatures, position things "just so", then PUSH those changes to the players when the judge is ready. But that apparently isn't the case. HOW can I limit what my players see to ONLY what I want them to see, and WHEN I want them to see it? This is a pretty big issue for me, the idea that the players are getting information before I'm ready for them to have it means I'll have to completely reconsider how I use this tool in order to present encounters. I'm not averse to altering my style to the limits of the software - my problem is that I'm not understanding WHAT those limits are, and I find the help to be less than thorough in answering my questions.

    (8) Better documentation - It would be great if there were more thorough documentation complete with step-by-step examples of how to accomplish particular tasks. While I think the help guide is a decent start, it's far too frugal in specifics to be a real user guide. I find myself searching the forums and Google to try to find the answers to a lot of questions. But then again, maybe I'm simply missing something in my examination of the content.

    I hope my analysis to date hasn't been overly critical. I would again like to emphasize that it is a result of my experience, which I can see from the sessions I've already run will improve over time. I'd just like to get a better handle on the appropriate (i.e. - most effective) way to handle certain situations. Thanks in advance for any feedback! :)
     
    #1 SolitonMan, Dec 19, 2011
  2. edwardcd

    edwardcd Administrator
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    I agree there should be a numerical value for each saving throw in case there are other enhancements for the type of effect.
    Currently, d20Pro will display if each creature in the effect has passed or failed the save with either a green or red astrix when the Judge is approving the effect. If creature(s) are affected by the effect, each one will have a star on their map token. You may view all individual effects by double clicking on the creature (pulls up the creature's mini window) and click on the Effects Tab. The Judge may view all effects by going to the d20Pro Icon/Menu then selecting Active Effects.

    To accomplish this, I would create an effect via the Abilities Tab for either a creature that has the ability (such as a spider using it's web feature) or using a GM helper creature with your most common effects. Then each time a character get's entangled you can simply press on the ability and select the creature and approve the effect - the effect description you entered will be displayed in their Effects Tab on their character's Mini Window.

    There is currently no way to add people to an ongoing effect (active effects). However, you can remove creatures individually from an ongoing effect (active effects) by clicking the "x" besides their name under the effect in the Active Effects Window.

    Yes, simply create an Effect via the Abilities Tab and apply them as needed. In my games, I have Fight: Defensively and Fight: Total Defense as abilities on each creature. Thus, if a player wants to fight defensively all the penalties to attack and bonuses to armor class are applied automatically. Conversely, the negative effects such as movement speed, reduction in actions (via Slow spell), or penalties to skills would be a description inside an Ability/Effect as an Ability under a GM tool creature (I use room markers as my GM creature tools with all the conditions that I would use in that encounter - all invisible to my players)

    If it's an at-will spell, simply create an attack option for it. In Pathfinder all 0th level spells are at-will, and thus I create the ranged touch attacks based on the spell involved as a simple attack.
    If it's a spell that has a per day component, and still uses an attack and damage that has no save... I still setup the spell as an attack, and put a counter for the spell in the Abilities Tab so we all know the remaining uses for the day.
    If it's a spell that has a per day component and an attack and damage roll that has a save for half or no damage... I create the attack using 0d0+0 as the damage. Create the spell counter in the Abilities Tab and create the effect / damage / save /etc in the Ability and have the player first choose the attack, then select the ability and target the creature if they were successful in the attack.

    I agree. Though, I usually create a map from a PDF or alternative image usually 2-6 maps per week, and find it pretty easy to use existing tools (other free programs) to manipulate the image before importing to d20Pro, I've done this so many times that I can get 99-100% perfect grid on each image I use.

    1) Make all your enemies Invisible to the players (select all your enemy creatures then press "V" - visibility change). When they should be visible to the players simply click on the creature again and press "V" again to change the visibility again. Also note, that invisible creatures do not make movement changes in the Game Log for the player side.
    2) Take all your enemies out of combat (select all your enemy creatures then press "ALT + I" - this will remove them from rolling initiative and take them out of the Active Roster.) When it's their turn to go into combat, simply select the enemy creatures then press "I" to add them to the Active Roster and let them roll an initiative when you select Combat Mode.

    Working on it. In the meantime, Google search is the best means to find what you are looking for. And if you can't find the exact solution or answer to your question... forum post.
     
    #2 edwardcd, Dec 20, 2011
  3. SolitonMan

    SolitonMan New Member

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    That is some great information, thank you! :) I knew I was missing somethings, it just felt that way.

    I use GIMP or Paint to manipulate map images, you're right, it does work fine. But a flexibly positionable grid would still be nice, because sometimes some non-tactical areas of the maps I use are still desirable to include.

    The info on visibility is great, I didn't find that information anywhere. But after checking it out it's clear I need to spend a bit more time perusing the context menus to find things I might otherwise be missing.

    I appreciate you taking the time to reply to my points! Have a great holiday season, I'll be back around here some time next week I suspect.
     
    #3 SolitonMan, Dec 21, 2011
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