How to test for Challenge Rating in effect for e.g. destroy undead?

[Elminster the White]

Hello,

I searched the forum for while and DMguild for a solution on testing for a challenge rating of a target to apply an effect but I have not found anything useful.

Do I am able test for a challenge rating in an effect/power/...? I would like to use destroy undead with a bit automation. Turn undead works fine but beginning with the 5th level the cleric is able to destroy undeads if the have a CR of 1/2 or lower. The power is getting more potent in the following levels.

[Zacchaeus]

No, there's no method by which you could automate this that exists currently.

[SilentRuin]

You would need to write an extension where you put in some override for the turn undead spell and make sure it did a source level check vs target "cr" check of the NPC before it was allowed to proceed.

[Elminster the White]

Thanks for the quick answers. It is not a big deal to just manually delete the enemies after the failed turn save in accordance to the CR. But it is good to know that it is not/not easy to script.

Thanks!

[A Social Yeti]

interesting to knwo that this DnD mechanic of higher level clerics are not processed by FGU, and GMs just have to manual process that still.

Is there any one convenient location of information provided by smiteworks, where someone could get informed upfront pre purchase, about what game system rules are and are not mechanically functional in FGU?

Just say'n, anyone that already knows 5e well will be finding out that "the hard way" what all they know the DnD logo means, and what FGU's use of that logo means does not mechanically 1:1 line up.

If you sell the 5e DnD rule books, but in FGU they do not actually do what all you can read the rules are...does that not seem like the kind of thing to be real crystal clear with customers upfront on?
You know, an honest compare list between what the source books say the rules are and what parts of that FGU does not do out of the box.


And that for all rule systems sold that will have discrepancies between the printed rules and the by default mechanically processed rules in FGU.

Does automatically
does not process mechanically, but GM can manually do on the fly in a session
does not do, and no manual functions to the effect are available
does not do, and mods might
doe not do, and no mod could


that's basiaclly all the options , why not spell it out for everyone upfront?


Summoners? Like all those printed spells that players use to summon creatures? nope never heard of em? that's not a mechanical function here. But hey the Gm can of course manually look up one in the NPCs for a player, and then manually drag and drop it onto combat, and then manually make it friendly to the party and then manually make it visble to the party, and then manually give control to the player.
See that took no planning time at all, right? You planed less bro. And all that dragging and dropping during the session, that's you playing bro. you played more.

Still as far as i can judge, FGU is the best option on the market for VTTs. I recommend it, but only with the caveats about what it does and does not do, as out of the box default functionality, that may or may not meet all RPers cost / expectations.

[LordEntrails]

Is there any one convenient location of information provided by smiteworks, where someone could get informed upfront pre purchase, about what game system rules are and are not mechanically functional in FGU?
I think we are all waiting for you to create and maintain such a list. It would be an incredibly time consuming effort, but one I'm sure would be well appreciated by the community.

[Zacchaeus]

Is there any one convenient location of information provided by smiteworks, where someone could get informed upfront pre purchase, about what game system rules are and are not mechanically functional in FGU?.

This would require dozens of pages of text since you’d need to cover every spell, ability, trait, feat, magic item and a lot more. As LE says, though, go ahead and make that list and maintain it for every DLC that exists.I’m sure everyone will be very grateful.

[Jiminimonka]

interesting to knwo that this DnD mechanic of higher level clerics are not processed by FGU, and GMs just have to manual process that still.

Is there any one convenient location of information provided by smiteworks, where someone could get informed upfront pre purchase, about what game system rules are and are not mechanically functional in FGU?

Just say'n, anyone that already knows 5e well will be finding out that "the hard way" what all they know the DnD logo means, and what FGU's use of that logo means does not mechanically 1:1 line up.

If you sell the 5e DnD rule books, but in FGU they do not actually do what all you can read the rules are...does that not seem like the kind of thing to be real crystal clear with customers upfront on?
You know, an honest compare list between what the source books say the rules are and what parts of that FGU does not do out of the box.


And that for all rule systems sold that will have discrepancies between the printed rules and the by default mechanically processed rules in FGU.

Does automatically
does not process mechanically, but GM can manually do on the fly in a session
does not do, and no manual functions to the effect are available
does not do, and mods might
doe not do, and no mod could


that's basiaclly all the options , why not spell it out for everyone upfront?


Summoners? Like all those printed spells that players use to summon creatures? nope never heard of em? that's not a mechanical function here. But hey the Gm can of course manually look up one in the NPCs for a player, and then manually drag and drop it onto combat, and then manually make it friendly to the party and then manually make it visble to the party, and then manually give control to the player.
See that took no planning time at all, right? You planed less bro. And all that dragging and dropping during the session, that's you playing bro. you played more.

Still as far as i can judge, FGU is the best option on the market for VTTs. I recommend it, but only with the caveats about what it does and does not do, as out of the box default functionality, that may or may not meet all RPers cost / expectations.

D&D doesn't automate anything. Everything is done by the players and DMs and they have to know the rules and systems to play.

FantasyGrounds is not a computer game that does all the dice rolls in the background like say Neverwinter Nights. It is a virtual table top. It should not and possibly could not do everything a human with a rule book and their ability to decide things on the fly.

Total automation would ruin the game and it would.not be D&D you are playing.

There are dice rolls, skill checks and saving throws etc. That is what makes D&D not automation. Applies to any and all RPGs. RPG is about human interaction.

[Kelrugem]

Total automation would ruin the game and it would.not be D&D you are playing.

While I agree that one can not automate everything (at least it would be a big task), I would not say that total automation (if possible) would be bad; on one hand one can then focus on other things when one can ignore the calculations (like RP), and on the other hand it increases accessibility for players struggling with certain mechanics :) And (good) automation also always allows manual procedures, too, for people who like that; especially then it is just an extra option for which everyone can decide whether one wants to do it :)

But I may misunderstand what you understand with "total automation"; when you mean automation in sense of computer games, then I agree of course, because the reason why computer games are "fully" automated is simply due to that they simply do not allow decisions which are not automated, that is certainly not desirable for P&P games of course :) (Like locked entries on the sheet, that is for me personally not a good design when one cannot manually change stats for example)

[Laerun]

I just made an effect with a damage roll of 200 HP of damage in the bonus damage area, and the effect link has the Undead table table in the effects description link.

[Laerun]

interesting to knwo that this DnD mechanic of higher level clerics are not processed by FGU, and GMs just have to manual process that still.

Is there any one convenient location of information provided by smiteworks, where someone could get informed upfront pre purchase, about what game system rules are and are not mechanically functional in FGU?

Just say'n, anyone that already knows 5e well will be finding out that "the hard way" what all they know the DnD logo means, and what FGU's use of that logo means does not mechanically 1:1 line up.

If you sell the 5e DnD rule books, but in FGU they do not actually do what all you can read the rules are...does that not seem like the kind of thing to be real crystal clear with customers upfront on?
You know, an honest compare list between what the source books say the rules are and what parts of that FGU does not do out of the box.


And that for all rule systems sold that will have discrepancies between the printed rules and the by default mechanically processed rules in FGU.

Does automatically
does not process mechanically, but GM can manually do on the fly in a session
does not do, and no manual functions to the effect are available
does not do, and mods might
doe not do, and no mod could


that's basiaclly all the options , why not spell it out for everyone upfront?


Summoners? Like all those printed spells that players use to summon creatures? nope never heard of em? that's not a mechanical function here. But hey the Gm can of course manually look up one in the NPCs for a player, and then manually drag and drop it onto combat, and then manually make it friendly to the party and then manually make it visble to the party, and then manually give control to the player.
See that took no planning time at all, right? You planed less bro. And all that dragging and dropping during the session, that's you playing bro. you played more.

Still as far as i can judge, FGU is the best option on the market for VTTs. I recommend it, but only with the caveats about what it does and does not do, as out of the box default functionality, that may or may not meet all RPers cost / expectations.

Other rulesets have even less automation. The DnD5e Ruleset is further along than most in development, support and popularity. There are too many ifs, ands, & buts, to cover all situations. The real frustration lies in not being able to see or understand how the actual ruleset in question is actually going to interface with the Virtual tabletop format, and that comes with time, trial, error, and some critical thinking. Automation, at the level in which the Dnd5e rule set provides, is NOT the FG standard, it is the exception to the rule or standard. Rob Twohy and Zacchaeus and even others have taken the time and over two years to actually think outside the box and refine how they use Fantasy Grounds larger potential, a not as it's requirement. WoTC gives the IP license out to Smiteworks, and other platforms to do what they can to adapt it to work with a given set of parameters and limitations to each ruleset.

So, nobody is being duped, or being mislead. VTT means just that, there is always going to be some form of manual intervention, and there are different ways to handle the same situations. It's almost like saying that WoTC or Smiteworks has not given you the time to learn the system or its nurances. The time put into it, and the level of understanding required to even know you are missing or breaking things is up to the end users. If a person NEVER knew that the automation was there, especially in the case of the more advanced situations, does that mean it's broken? How long have you been playing, how much time have new users put in? What ruleset are you using? These are all going to vary. Do you think people are going to read a mega list of exceptions or that level of detail when they won't even rad the Wiki guides or the given Manuals? Most people buy on impulse. Accessibility, how it looks, and like you were concerned with, the complexity. FGu is not for everyone. There are people that want or require instant satisfaction and that is not going to happen so much using FG.