Issue with Encounter XP in the Party Sheet

[Blackfoot]

I'm not sure how this works in other rulesets, but I imagine the ones based on CoreRPG work pretty much the same.

In PFRPG, when you drop an encounter onto the Party Sheet XP Tab it lets you distribute XP for that encounter to the party... easy as pie... works like a charm... saves lots of effort. The only issue is what happens next.
That encounter is then retained on the party sheet as a link to the original encounter in the Encounters Tab, primarily as a reference, I gave out this XP. Running a campaign where similar encounters can occur a number of times, it is easy enough to use the same encounter in the Encounters Tab over and over only modifying the number of creatures in the encounter at the time it is generated.
That encounter cannot be dropped a second time into the party sheet XP window. Modifying it only changes the encounter on the XP Tab (because it is a link to the same information). Yes, you can copy it to the encounters tab again... but this is actually not where it is needed, because at this point the encounter is pretty much complete and really you are only storing it for history purposes.

Am I the only one stumbling on this issue?

Resolution Options: Remove the link from the party sheet after the XP is distributed.
Create a new instance of the encounter each time it is dropped onto the XP Tab.
Some other option I haven't thought of.

[Moon Wizard]

It hasn't been an issue that I have heard of in the past. The party sheet is set up to simply link to the encounter, not create a copy.

If you need to track multiple encounters on the party sheet in this way, you could do this by creating a new encounter record in the campaign Encounters list. (i.e. drag link from encounter record to campaign Encounters list) Then, you could link this record to the party sheet as a separate entry.

Regards,
JPG

[Blackfoot]

Exactly as I said... but the thing is.. that is actually backwards to it's functionality. Creating a new encounter after the the encounter just to issue XP ... seems like it would be better just to create a new instance when dropped into the party sheet or just remove it from the party sheet after the XP is issued.

[Blackfoot]

I guess I'm not being completely clear as to why this is a problem.

When you create 'extra' encounters.. you clutter your encounters tab with lots of additional entries that actually serve no purpose. When you add instances of the encounter in the party sheet only.. it serves as a record of the 'transaction' for each encounter that has been passed in the campaign. A link obviously is the simpler way... but I'm not sure the other solution is that much more complicated ...

Currently there ARE work arounds for this.. but they are obviously that.. work arounds.

[Moon Wizard]

I'd personally prefer that the encounters and quests go away after being awarded. However, the original party sheet extension provided this historical capability. I'm hesitant to make a change like that, since it was apparently desired by at least some people.

Let me think on this for a bit, and put it on my list of items to look at long term.

Cheers,
JPG

[Blackfoot]

What if it transitioned to a simple text version after it was awarded?
Just the something like:
<encounter name><tab><CR><tab><XP>
...without any link info... Just a simple record of awarded XP.. maybe include the date?

One of the reasons I started this thread was to generate a bit of discussion as to the 'best' solution... maybe folks have some other ideas.

[Blackfoot]

BTW... don't get me wrong.. this is a terrific tool. I love it and use it all the time. Just thinking about ways to make it even better!

[Trenloe]

I have the same issue as BF - applying XP based off the same encounter entry. This happens for random encounters or for multiple encountering of the same encounter (e.g. a set of castle guards you might encounter many times). Yes, you can make copies of the encounter and drag that to the party sheet - but this gets unwieldy as the copied encounter entry has the same name as the original so you don't know which is the copy and so don't know which one to drag to the party sheet.

I just use encounters in the party sheet to assign XP and keep track of XP assigned through encounters (and quests). I don't need the link back to the original encounter (it's a nice to have, just in case, but I rarely use it). Something like BF mentions in post #6 would be good enough for me if it allowed dragging of the same encounter multiple times to the party sheet.

[Mistamichal]

This is what I do to award XP from the same encounter entry - like Trenloe's example above: set of guards you encounter many times - I untick the 'Aw?' next to the encounter, then I just award the XP again normally. Simple. :)

[Blackfoot]

Not much point as a log if you do it that way though... it might as well just clear the entries after XP is awarded. No?

[Trenloe]

This is what I do to award XP from the same encounter entry - like Trenloe's example above: set of guards you encounter many times - I untick the 'Aw?' next to the encounter, then I just award the XP again normally. Simple. :)
This works fine, *if* "the guards" are the same every time and *if* you award XP on an encounter-by-encounter basis. Neither of these work for me as the "same" encounters usually have different numbers of creatures and I normally award XP at the end of the session or at a suitable time during the session.

I use RTFallen's excellent auto XP calculation extension (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?21823-Auto-XP-Calculator-%28Extension%29) so that I can quickly and easily modify the encounter "2d4 castle guards" (for example) to have the correct number of guards based off a 2d4 roll, I add these to the combat tracker through the down arrow button and if the PCs prevail I can just drag the encounter to the party sheet - the auto XP calculation extension works out the XP for me. At present I either have to copy the encounter in the encounter list and work out which one is the copy to drag to the party sheet or I need to delete the previously dragged encounter in the party sheet and add the new one. The latter isn't a great solution as I usually award XP at the end of a session so I need to keep encounters in the party sheet until I award XP.

[Mistamichal]

Hey. You wanted other peoples' ideas. That's mine. Who needs to keep a log of duplicate random encounters anyway?

[Mistamichal]

This works fine, *if* "the guards" are the same every time and *if* you award XP on an encounter-by-encounter basis. Neither of these work for me as the "same" encounters usually have different numbers of creatures and I normally award XP at the end of the session or at a suitable time during the session.

I thought the OP was about duplicating the same encounter...

[Blackfoot]

Hey. You wanted other peoples' ideas. That's mine. Who needs to keep a log of duplicate random encounters anyway?
Well.. that's the question I guess. Who needs to keep a log of encounters at all? It can be useful for looking back at how XP was distributed... if you keep a log at all.. the log should be complete... no?

[Mistamichal]

You could just append a number onto the encounter name to show how many times XP has been awarded, perhaps.

[Blackfoot]

Like Trenloe, I tend to set up random encounters as generics.. like this:
Encounter - Bugbears
The number of creatures in the encounter varies, so the CR and XP for the encounter could be vastly different depending on the number of creatures.

I guess the question is, is the log all that useful. If it doesn't work accurately, then it seems like it isn't.

[Mistamichal]

Well, in that case, you're ALWAYS going to have to create separate encounters and that's not an issue with the log at all because they will all go into the log as separate encounters. I thought, by the wording in your original post, that you wanted something like: an encounter with 4 bugbears to be used multiple times - which is where my thing of unticking and re-awarding XP comes in. What you want: encounter with 4 bugbears, encounter with 6 bugbears, etc. means that you have to create each one as an individual encounter. Doing it that way and putting the encounters into the log will mean that the log WILL be accurate. I guess I'm just missing the whole point here because, I see nothing wrong in that case.

[El Condoro]

I am one who prefers the entries to remain after being awarded. I keep a base campaign and swap in and out modules and that list becomes a kind of journal of encounters.

What about adding the ability to add encounter XP to the Party Sheet from the PS, rather than needing to drag them from NPC encounters? So: right-click, add the encounter XP and details, if needed, award the XP in the usual way. The encounter could then be removed or retained as desired. In this way you could set up recurring encounters and just unclick the Aw? setting each time you wanted to use them. Each encounter XP could be modified before being awarded, too, so if an encounter varies from the template it can be accounted for.

[Blackfoot]

What purpose does an inaccurate log serve?

[JohnD]

I wonder if it would be possible to have a # field to the left of the encounter box. If you drag the same encounter to the XP window multiple times, it automatically increments the number in there which then acts as a multiplier for that line of XP. Or, allow the DM to simply change the number in the box manually.

Usually when I find my players (gosh giving away secrets here...) have way too easy of a go at something, I double up on an encounter. The way it doesn't work now, I just add in a quest XP item equal to the added encounter and type in the necessary XP there.

Or, add XP manually to each sheet after the session and players have disconnected.

[El Condoro]

What purpose does an inaccurate log serve?

I'm not sure what you mean. My list of encounters is completely accurate because I have one encounter link for each encounter in the Party Sheet XP list.

If you have a lot of encounters of the same type - from random encounters, for example - and don't want to keep them all (especially if they have the same name), my suggestion would allow you to either rename them, delete them or keep them as they are after the XP has been awarded. That would give DMs the options of how they use the XP sheet, rather than an all-or-nothing approach that is good for some and not so good for others.