Is there a list of language/text or else instructions on how to create effects.

[goonalan]

Sorry again for the ignorance but I guess this is easier to explain with an example- 4e game, Fighter hits target (or misses), and there's no effect link for me to mark the bad guy, so I get how to create one, but I don't get what I put in the effect line-

This may sound dumb but do I just set the buttons to TRGT and ALL and then write Marked in the tab, and END N?

That sounds right.

And it works, but the thing is- is there a list of vocabulary and how it should be used in this slot, I've seen TRGT, DEF, ATK, DAM, and a few others; is there a breakdown of all this somewhere, and what each word or acronym does?

Thanks again.

We played out our first encounter tonight, all went well apart from a few missteps with Marking (as above), although, there was one other thing- see my next question.

[Trenloe]

The user guide in the library covers most of these: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/userg...effects_4E.xcp

Check the sub headings in the left hand sidebar under "Effects": Overview, Examples, Label, Label: Conditions, Label: Modifiers, Label: Special Tags, Expiration & Other Attributes

[goonalan]

Thanks for that, I'd just like to take a moment to say I really appreciate the help you're giving me, and to apologise again if I'm asking stupide questions or else missing stuff which is obvious. I took 3-4 days to take a look around, watch tutorial videos etc, before I bought FG and started playing around with it- and made notes. If I can get this to work for me then FG is going to be a long term project for me, again I really appreciate the help.

So, I'm looking at a character sheet for a PC with the Feat Action Surge- you gain a +3 bonus to attack rolls you make during any action you gain by spending an action point.

I parsed (is that the right word?) these PCs in using the FGCharacterConvertor tool, anyway the effect line states-

TOP Button- SELF
Bottom Button- ALL
Effect- ATK:3
Expiration- blank (nothing in box)

According to the user guide (the Library) this means the PC gets a +3 bonus to all attack rolls until the effect expires, but there's no expiration; should it be END in the Expiration box?

The same is true of the Wand of Accuracy Power, the effect box states-

TOP Button- SELF
Bottom Button- ROLL
Effect- ATK:[+DEX]
Expiration- blank (nothing in box)

Does this one not need an expiration as it's designated to be on the next roll only?

The next question may not be an effects line, I'm not sure but here goes Burning Hands does 2d6+Int Fire damage with half-damage on a miss, is there a way of doing this, either in the same attack line, or else as an effect- or else do you have to just do it manually, if so how do you apply fire damage without having to check all the monsters resistances (manually)?

The same is true for Acid Arrow- Half damage on primary attack on a Miss, is that built in, or else do I have to input another attack line?

Last one, on Sleep the first effect line states-

TOP Button- SELF
Bottom Button- ALL
Effect- Slowed;FAIL:save;;Unconscious
Expiration- Save 0

I get what it's trying to do, I know how the power works and I can sort of see it but why the two semi-colons instead of just one between save & Unconscious.

Sorry again, I've no doubt there'll be more questions to follow, but I'll get it eventually... I promise.

Thanks as always.

goonalan

[Griogre]

For action surge, it should be set to one roll or once. Many feats don't parse right as well as a few powers. This is mostly because WotC is not consistent with their wording - they don't really have any incentive to be. Its the same for class powers like Wand of Accuracy.

For powers that do half damage on a miss like Acid Arrow and most dailies I've found it easier set the option Target: Remove on miss to Multi (which I believe is the default) to deselect targets the PC/NPC misses first roll the full damage for the targets hit. Then in the chat window then right click on the damage bubble and drag and drop the half damage on the PCs or monster's missed. If all targets are missed then just have the player (or the DM) drop the full damage in chat and half it and then drop it on the targets targets that take half damage.

Personally I've found it easier to drag and drop powers from the parsed powers library modules similar to what you want to do and see the effects and modify them. After you have seen a lot of powers you'll have a good sense of how the effects work. What you will run into are effects that can't be automatically applied, ie the Sword Mage power Booming Blade is a good example. If something is hit and then moves away its suppose to take damage. For things like that I have the players make an informational effect that just says something like: Takes X damage if moves away.

[goonalan]

For action surge, it should be set to one roll or once. Many feats don't parse right as well as a few powers. This is mostly because WotC is not consistent with their wording - they don't really have any incentive to be. Its the same for class powers like Wand of Accuracy.

For powers that do half damage on a miss like Acid Arrow and most dailies I've found it easier set the option Target: Remove on miss to Multi (which I believe is the default) to deselect targets the PC/NPC misses first roll the full damage for the targets hit. Then in the chat window then right click on the damage bubble and drag and drop the half damage on the PCs or monster's missed. If all targets are missed then just have the player (or the DM) drop the full damage in chat and half it and then drop it on the targets targets that take half damage.

Personally I've found it easier to drag and drop powers from the parsed powers library modules similar to what you want to do and see the effects and modify them. After you have seen a lot of powers you'll have a good sense of how the effects work. What you will run into are effects that can't be automatically applied, ie the Sword Mage power Booming Blade is a good example. If something is hit and then moves away its suppose to take damage. For things like that I have the players make an informational effect that just says something like: Takes X damage if moves away.

Apologies but I don't understand your answer, what does this mean-

it easier set the option Target: Remove on miss to Multi (which I believe is the default) to deselect targets the PC/NPC misses first roll the full damage for the targets hit.

If it means I should have the remove on a miss set to multi then I have.

Also with this-

Then in the chat window then right click on the damage bubble and drag and drop the half damage on the PCs or monster's missed.

What is in the chat window, and what is a damage bubble?

I understand what dragging and dropping is, I didn't know I could do this with things in the chat window, although I'm not sure from what you have said what it is I am dragging- to where, and what for?

I also don't understand this-

Personally I've found it easier to drag and drop powers from the parsed powers library modules similar to what you want to do and see the effects and modify them.

I understand that the parsed powers library module, I think is the stuff in the library parsed with valeros tool. I think you're saying I should look for powers in the library that are similar and then drag them in to the PCs character sheet and modify them accordingly to fit my needs. Is that right?

Sorry, and just to be clear Action Surge is right as it was, or wrong? Should I change the expiration to something, you said I should change it to 'one roll or once', I'm not sure what that means- my reading of the power is it applies to all attack rolls made with the Action Point, if I set it one roll doesn't it just do it for the first attack roll if I used a power with multiple attacks.

I went and looked around the library section for Effects, I've got to say that coming at it from the POV of someone who has no understanding of computer languages then... it doesn't make much sense.

Why I chose to buy Fantasy Grounds was purely to automate combat, I play a lot of 4e- roleplaying I can do, keep the rules in my head and not forget things in combat, not so good at that I'm afraid, I fell out of love with Maptools (after using it for 3-4 years) because every now and then something would happen and either my campaign file became so borked that it wouldn't work, or else it would throw up masses of errors, or else- well, something bad would happen, and seemingly for no reason, and then I'd either have to abandon it or else start again.

So, I'm looking for Fantasy Grounds to do as much of the hard yards as I can get it to do; I just need to understand it- I know I keep saying that but some of the library pages are at present too advanced for me, hence me keep on asking dumb questions.

Sorry for the long story.

Thanks again, much appreciated.

goonalan

[goonalan]

Okay, to rephrase the question, from the library section about effects-

Examples page-
Good Examples

ATK: 2 power

Do I need to put the 'power' in, or 'feat' if the +2 comes from a feat bonus- does Fantasy Grounds need to know this to do the maths?

DMGO: 2d6

This means ongoing 2d6 (generic) damage- yes?

DMG: 1d6 cold
RESIST: 5 fire; RESIST: 5 cold

I get these, but-

PC Power Effect Examples

RESIST: 2 [WIS]

Does this mean Resistance 2 x WisBonus, or something else? And resistant to what? All?

ATK: [-DEX]

Does this mean the attack roll has a penalty of minus Dex bonus?

DMG: 2d6+1 [CON]

Is this damage 2d6+1 x Constitution damage or 2d6+1 damage to Constitution?

If these are examples, why doesn't it say what they are examples of- what they do?

Sorry if I'm sounding a little churlish but I don't understand what I'm looking at- what do the examples do?

Application Attribute Examples

+1 to next d20 roll this turn = "ATK:1, DMG:1, SKILL:1, ABIL:1, SAVE:1" (Expires End, Apply Once)
+2 to your next attack and damage roll before the end of your next turn = "ATK:2; DMG:2" (Expires End N., Apply Single)

I get these because there's an explanation.

From the Labels section-

General Label Notes

Format = [effect component]; [effect component]; ...
Components can either be conditions, modifiers, or special tags,.
Effect components that do not start with a supported tag are treated as text only.

I've read the above sentence maybe a dozen times but I don't understand it- what is a 'supported tag'? I've read the Special Tags section below but that doesn't help me- ah, does it mean if I don't use a tag that is used by the Fantasy Grounds system it just prints as text, and there's no effect? If so is there a list of supported tags and their meanings somewhere?

Effects can only be applied to creatures in the combat tracker.
Effects on PC character sheet power tabs can contain sub-tags to indicate that a current ability bonus be added to or subtracted from the effect bonus.

I have no idea what a sub-tag is?

Condition Effect Components

Examples: Blinded, Marked, ...
Not case-sensitive
Condition modifiers do not stack if multiple conditions on same creature.

Is the above sentence meaning multiples of the same condition? So a creature cannot be Dazed twice for example, or does it mean that a creature can only have one condition affecting it (surely not). If it's the first one then how does Marking work- is the first Mark superseded by the second?

Modifier Effect Components

Examples: ATK, DMG, ...
Format = [tag]: [dice/numbers] [descriptors]

I take it '[tag]' means ATK, DMG, ...etc. Is there a list of all of the tags that Fantasy Grounds uses (supported tags?), with an explanation of what they do? Do they have to all be in square brackets? I guess not all of it needs to be in square brackets- which stuff does need to be in square brackets? What is a descriptor?

Case-sensitive
If colon missing, component is treated as having no dice, modifiers nor descriptors.
Only one descriptor of each descriptor type is allowed per effect component, except as noted.

Nope. no idea what this means?

Multiple range types are allowed.

Range for what- weapons, ranged weapons? I'm lost.

Multiple energy types are allowed for the DMG/DMGW tags.

What is DMGW? We're back to looking for a list of tags and what they mean.

Modifiers stack as long as their bonus type is blank or unique. If modifiers have the same bonus type, then the larger value will be used.

I think I understand this.

Special Tag Effect Components

Examples: FAIL, AURA, ...
Case-sensitive
Unique format for each tag

You give two examples FAIL, and AURA- how do you use them, from reading this I have no idea, and I've spent a good while looking at various powers on PC character sheets that I have parsed in, however some of these are done differently, sheet to sheet, for the same powers- or else powers that have very similar effects. Hence my initial question at the start of this thread. Also if each tag has a unique format- what are the unique formats for each tag?

Apologies but it's mighty confusing, I keep playing with them but I don't seem to understand how to construct the effects properly, I don't always understand what I'm looking at- I think I'm looking for a list, of all the tags and what they do- also examples of how they are laid out (each tag has a unique format- right?) and why?

Last bit, from what you have said I should apply conditions manually, or else by dragging and dropping them, I think that's what you said- how do I do this?

Sorry again, I should imagine you're sick of me by now- the thing is I'm the guy that needs to understand this because my players are only going to make the jump- and get accounts if I can persuade them that FG works, and makes things easier for us.

Cheers

goonalan

[Moon Wizard]

Hang in there. I'm on my phone, and away from house; so limited response capability right now. I'll write up a more definitive answer this evening.

For now, make sure to check out the left hand column navigation once you are on the effects doc page. There are actually a few more sections on effects that detail all the supported tags and conditions.

Regards,
JPG

[goonalan]

And then, like an idiot I turned to the next page... in truth I had been on these pages before but they just confused me- I'm talking about the pages called-

Label: Conditions
Label: Modifiers
Label: Special Tags

Which list all of the things I've been asking for, with explanations- this should hereafter be my forum, somewhere were people can come and have a laugh at my expense, oh the shame...

No doubt I will ask another dumb question in a bit, sorry- I am an idiot, I promise you I'd been to these pages before but not put 2 and 2 together...

Bye for a bit.

[goonalan]

I'm back, so I picked the next power that I thought needed an effect- Disrupt Undead (Cantrip) lowers one Undead creatures Necrotic resistance by 5 until the end of the caster's next turn, how difficult can it be... I thought LOL.

So, I've come up with-

Top button TRGT
Bottom button ALL
Effect TRGT; RESIST Necrotic; [-5]
Last button End N

How did I score?

Cheers goonalan

[goonalan]

Last one for tonight- I'm on UK time, it's just gone 1 AM and I'm up early, so just so that I know, is this right-

This is the effect exactly as written on the Mage's Sleep power, I didn't do this, it parsed this way-

TOP Button- SELF
Bottom Button- ALL
Effect- Slowed;FAIL:save;;Unconscious
Expiration- Save 0

So the Targets are all Slowed (save ends), those that fail their first saving throws are Unconscious (save ends).

I get that but why the ;; what's that all about?

I've just discovered right clicking on the damage bubble in the chat window, and a whole new radial menu I never knew about appeared, and you can drag things from the chat window- just wow.

From frustration to wonder- I have to make this work.

You are ace.

Cheers goonalan.