Monsters in Combat Tracker / Map

[VegetarianZombie]

Hey everyone,

I'm new to Fantasy Grounds. I've been using Roll 20 for the past few months, and I'm in the process of switching to Fantasy Grounds. I'm having an issue wrapping my head around the Combat Tracker.

Here goes. My group is playing the Dungeon of the Mad Mage module in Roll 20. When I load a map, I see all the tokens on the map for the monsters. I bought the same module on Fantasy Grounds, but I'm not seeing monsters on the map. Instead, the monsters are found in encounters referenced in the room description. Is the idea to place monsters on the map once the players enter a room so they appear on the combat tracker? Or do I pre-populate the map?

I thought about adding all the monsters on the level. I just don't want the combat tracker filled with clutter. What's the fantasy grounds approach to this? Any guidance is appreciated.

Thanks!

[Moon Wizard]

Yes, you use the button in the encounter window to automatically add the the NPCs to the combat tracker and to the map when you need them.

Regards,
JPG

[VegetarianZombie]

Okay, I think I understand now. Thank you!

[Aiddar]

Also... as part of the setup for an encounter, you can place the tokens on the map. Then, when you add the encounter to the combat tracker, all the tokens appear where you specified. I spent a lot of time dragging tokens manually during a game until I figured this out :-) Most of the pre-bought modules already do this - you simply use the button at the bottom to add the encounter to the tracker, and hey presto, the bad guys tokens are placed on the map.

That said... I cannot remember if there is a default visibility mode to such pre-located tokens.. I *think* that until the combat tracker initiative "visibility" icon is selected, the tokens are by default invis to the players (though visible to the GM), and when the tracker initiative visibility icon is "made visible", the token switches to LOS visibility? I need to check that (or perhaps people with "minds immeasurably superior to mine" can let us know for sure :-) :-) :-)

Paul