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:

1. Remove the link from the party sheet after the XP is distributed.
2. Create a new instance of the encounter each time it is dropped onto the XP Tab.
3. 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?