Action Points with 2.9 update?

[penlin]

Using and tracking action points seems to be trickier with the update. In previous FG, there was an entry on the Main character tab that showed the number of action points. Functionality was perfect. It incremented when you had a milestone, decremented when you used an AP with a check box showing whether you had used one this encounter. This seems to have disappeared now.

Is there a good way to track APs with the update? The only thing I see is on the Powers tab, and it is fairly clunky.

[khersheyjr]

It still works the same way except that it is more like a power now. You can specify the amount of action points through the preparation mode. They still increment up with milestones and decrement when checked off.

[someoneinatree]

It still works the same way except that it is more like a power now. You can specify the amount of action points through the preparation mode. They still increment up with milestones and decrement when checked off.

And although they're built as encounter powers, they also don't refresh when a DM applies a basic short rest without a milestone. :)

[penlin]

Thanks for the pointers, but it doesn't look like it is working as intended. I just ran some tests.

1) When I do short rest with milestone, the number increments (correct).
2) When I hit the circular check box to use an AP, the number does not decrease (correct?).
3) When I take a short rest, the check box with the AP does not clear (correct?).

Maybe (2) and (3) are working as intended, but it does complicate one thing: tracking whether you used an AP already in this encounter. When you have 2 APs and use one during an encounter, the character sheet still shows the remaining action point "available" though you cannot use it until next encounter. The previous system did not have this problem.

[Zeus]

1) When I do short rest with milestone, the number increments (correct)
Yes thats correct, although in Encounter play I run in Combat mode which just shows the tick boxes.

2) When I hit the circular check box to use an AP, the number does not decrease (correct?).Again, I am use Combat mode, which just shows a number of tick boxes. When ticked, they stay until an Extended Rest is taken, after which they reset to 1.

3) When I take a short rest, the check box with the AP does not clear (correct?).
Correct. Action points only reset after an Extended Rest.


Maybe (2) and (3) are working as intended, but it does complicate one thing: tracking whether you used an AP already in this encounter. When you have 2 APs and use one during an encounter, the character sheet still shows the remaining action point "available" though you cannot use it until next encounter. The previous system did not have this problem.

If you have used an AP, it should be ticked and remained ticked until an extended rest is taken. The number of tick boxes indicates the number of AP that can be taken, the ticks indicate which ones have been used.

[Griogre]

The problem with the current power system is you can't tell if you have already used an action point in the current fight, as penlin pointed out. In the old system you had one check mark to show if you used an action point in the current fight since PCs can only spend one AP per fight and a number box with the total number of remaining action points.

One of the big advantages of FG to me is I can stop sessions in mid fight, normally at the end of a round, since everything is kept on the tracker. The current system means the players/DM are going to have to keep track of if they have used an AP in the current fight manually, since they might not remember a week or two later whenever the next game picks up - since the check mark now just means an action point or two has been used since the last extended rest - they are being treated like special encounter powers with with multi-usage instead of a once per encounter use.

I'd like to see a return to APs having a only single check to show if one has been used in the current fight and the remaining total APs displayed somehow.

[penlin]

Yup. Griogre explained it exactly right. Although the current system works for counting over a one-day, extended rest cycle, it relies on the players/GM to remember and enforce the rule about using one AP in an encounter. I liked the previous system better in this regard.

[Moon Wizard]

Yeah, this was one of the trade-offs in moving to the more streamlined power display in the 4E ruleset. It's still something I want to add something for.

Cheers,
JPG

[someoneinatree]

One way around it in the meantime is to never have more than one Action Point available! Haha.

[Griogre]

LOL, yeah - but for some reason my paranoid players like to have one available for most fights so they tend not to spend one until they get another. ;)

[Moon Wizard]

I just added an AP Used checkbox to the Powers tab of the character sheet in the v2.9.1 test version. Please give it a try.

Regards,
JPG