Effects Coding (Is it in the material?)

[Sir Gitmo]

I want to know what is within the material such as Xanathar's guide to Everything, PHB, DMG etc. The effects that go with spells or abilities, are they already coded as part of the purchased content or do I have to buy an add on/make them myself?

[LordEntrails]

Spells generally are setup to automatically parse their effects as needed. i.e. for NPCs this is when the spell is in their spellcasting trait and they are added to the Combat Tracker, for PC's this is when the spell is added to their actions tab.

Now, that's not to say every spell will have automated effects. Some spells FG can't do an effect for or the effect may not have a good interpretation etc.

Racial abilities, no, I don't think so. But I believe Mr. Z has a thread around here with the racial and class effects from Xanathar's.

If their is a certain effect you are looking for, try searching the forums, it's probably already answered or specified somewhere.

[Targas]

I guess not, and that‘s why rob2e is offering the effects package on dmsguild?!
https://www.dmsguild.com/product/226590/?affiliate_rem=878507

[Sir Gitmo]

I ask because I know that some people take the base game and combine player extensions or make their own tables and such. I just want to know that if I spend on the materials I get these things already. Sometimes it is hard to parse the messages on this board because you don't know if what they are describing is DIY only or part of a book already offered.

[Zacchaeus]

Fantasy Grounds has an internal parser which looks at a spell or ability when it is placed in the actions tab or in the case of an NPC on the combat tracker and tries to interpret the wording. If the wording is recognised then FG will automatically create an effect. In some cases where the parser can't make sense of the wording the effects are 'hard coded' into FG.

Not every spell or ability will have or need to have an effect but the bulk of spells certainly will create an effect when drag/dropped into the actions tab. Now some of them might be a little 'off' and in some cases additional effects can be added by the user. However there is no need to purchase any additional content. There are packages available here and on the DMsGuild which assist with effects but there is no compulsion to use or buy those. Those packages really just save you time since you can add effects yourself once you figure out how to do them.

Bottom line is not everything is automated. How much time you want to spend looking into and creating effects yourself is down to personal preference, time available etc. Purchasing additional content from the DMsGuild is entirely optional.

[Sir Gitmo]

I guess not, and that‘s why rob2e is offering the effects package on dmsguild?!
https://www.dmsguild.com/product/226590/?affiliate_rem=878507

This is the exact package I was also looking at the prompted my post. Is this type of material for the DIY player. Can I just buy the Xanathar's and get this already etc. I know that people say "search the forum", but like I said, it is hard to know who is just DIY type person. While that is great, I'd rather jump right in with premade material and I don't mind buying. I just want to know what I'm getting.

[Sir Gitmo]

Fantasy Grounds has an internal parser which looks at a spell or ability when it is placed in the actions tab or in the case of an NPC on the combat tracker and tries to interpret the wording. If the wording is recognised then FG will automatically create an effect. In some cases where the parser can't make sense of the wording the effects are 'hard coded' into FG.

Not every spell or ability will have or need to have an effect but the bulk of spells certainly will create an effect when drag/dropped into the actions tab. Now some of them might be a little 'off' and in some cases additional effects can be added by the user. However there is no need to purchase any additional content. There are packages available here and on the DMsGuild which assist with effects but there is no compulsion to use or buy those. Those packages really just save you time since you can add effects yourself once you figure out how to do them.

Bottom line is not everything is automated. How much time you want to spend looking into and creating effects yourself is down to personal preference, time available etc. Purchasing additional content from the DMsGuild is entirely optional.

Zac, you seem to be implying that the answer to my question is that YES, when I buy Xanathar's, the material within already has pre-coding for effects if possible within the constraints of the program. Is that correct?

[Targas]

This is the exact package I was also looking at the prompted my post. Is this type of material for the DIY player. Can I just buy the Xanathar's and get this already etc. I know that people say "search the forum", but like I said, it is hard to know who is just DIY type person. While that is great, I'd rather jump right in with premade material and I don't mind buying. I just want to know what I'm getting.
Well, I had my players creating chars. One of them took a 5E Barbarian with the rage skill. I tried to replicate the effect action manually, but rob2e‘s variant was more comprehensive then what I could produce. So it saved me alot of time. Either I did something entirely wrong, or it is not present by default. At least by creating a char, it‘s not auto populated by default. That‘s what I can say.

[Sir Gitmo]

Targas, what material do you own? Are you using the base 5e modules or did you buy PHB, DMG etc.

[LordEntrails]

This is the exact package I was also looking at the prompted my post. Is this type of material for the DIY player. Can I just buy the Xanathar's and get this already etc. I know that people say "search the forum", but like I said, it is hard to know who is just DIY type person. While that is great, I'd rather jump right in with premade material and I don't mind buying. I just want to know what I'm getting.
Rob does great work. And I've bought his coding package myself. Not because I use it, but because sometimes I have players who want to. It makes it easier for those who are used to it.

FG used to not have a lot of spells and abilities parsed to effects and Rob's modules were one way to get them. Now the official sources do have effects that parse automatically, but I'm sure there are still a few things here and there (like I don't think Mirror Image has an effect, which can't really be given an automated effect, but I myself have an effect I use to keep track of the number of remaining images).

So, I don't think anyone is going to say that when you buy Xanathar's you get effects for 100% of things, you probably get 90% and those things that don't are things that RAW don't really need or can use. But, I suspect with Rob's you will find he has effects for things that don't even impact the automation of FG (like mirror image).

[Targas]

Targas, what material do you own? Are you using the base 5e modules or did you buy PHB, DMG etc.
Yes, I own PHB, DMG, MM, XGtE, VGtM, SCG...
I‘m using some premade adventures like LMoP, etc., but I often create own modules (e.g. for localization purposes, or to cover realms not common like Dragonlance). I‘ve to admid I‘m not a fan of some adventure paths and like single adventures instead. So it makes sense for me to use the core rules, instead of manually typing in those things.
I can second, racial feats are not in by default. rob2e‘s package has them. I guess you can do well with Zach‘s ‚complete class‘ package. But I don‘t want to fiddle around, search here and there and like it well organized instead.

[LordEntrails]

When it comes to effects for class abilities,you will find them all here under the "Complete..." series. https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?27296-Guides-videos-and-other-helpful-information

Racial abilities I don't think are shared on the forums because of IP concerns, but you will find them on the DMsGuild. You will also find racial abilities on the forums and in the wiki, but not in a drag and drop format.

[Zacchaeus]

Zac, you seem to be implying that the answer to my question is that YES, when I buy Xanathar's, the material within already has pre-coding for effects if possible within the constraints of the program. Is that correct?

The answer is yes and no. You will never get effects for everything but as you say within the constraints of the program effects will be produced for spells. Abilities are a whole different thing. The wording is often very complex and there can be edge cases everywhere and dependencies galore. So generally you'll find effects are not automatically produced.

Here's some videos to watch (and characters to looks at) since you are talking about Xanathar; this'll give you an idea of what you may want to do. https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?41546-Effects-for-Xanathar-Archetypes

[esmdev]

First off, Yes I own FG and all the core 5E books and I find that it functions well enough to get by.

That said, I also own the Rob2e effects and items coding modules that I find provide more automation (especially for items).

One thing that I find really useful in Rob's modules is it is a good guide on how to do your own stuff too. After looking at how he does things it makes it easier to do my own thing. For instance if I decide to write Alari's Exploding Easter Egg of Doom then I can examine similar spells and figure out what sort of effects to apply, damage and such.

Of course I would need to wait for Moon Wizard to add the damage type SugarShock but I could probably get by with daze.

[LordNova2]

Sir Gitmo you may want to take a look at the spells provided in the "SRD Data" as an example/demo.
What you see coded for say the Fireball spell in the SRD is the same in the PHB. When you drag-and-drop this spell onto the Actions tab of a PC sheet or onto an NPC sheet you will see what effects and actions the parser will add and populate in FG, like Zaccaeus is referring to.
There are some things that the that the parser does not always capture, in these cases you may have to manually add in these effects. And in some cases you still have to remember things from the spell's description.

But for a majority of the basic functions of each spell, such as Save DCs damages and most effects are parsed. And what functionality you see with the spell coding in the SRD is what you should expect to see in the PHB and XGE (and other modules).
In the case of the above example with the Fireball spell when you select your targets and have them make their Dexterity saving throw, Fantasy Grounds will keep track of who passed and who failed and will apply the damage accordingly when you roll the damage.
I believe you will find that most of the stuff you are looking for will be already there and ready to go.

For anything extra it may be a good idea to look into Rob2e's 5E Coding Package (https://www.dmsguild.com/product/226590/?affiliate_rem=878507), which covers the additional coding effects for spells, along with other effects for Classes, Races, Feats, and Traits. I would also suggest getting his 5E Coding Package for Items (https://www.dmsguild.com/product/226590/?affiliate_rem=878507), this includes all the effects (actions) for Rods, Staffs, Wands, Rings, Potions, Armor, Weapons...
Most of your players will love you for getting the Rob2e 5E Coding Packages, more so than the spells it will be all the other stuff for races classes feats and items ready to go.