It's my fault, but...

[Surge]

I've recently been able to get some of my real life friends to play using Fantasy Grounds (due to obvious requirement of a VTT), and I asked them to just make their characters in Hero Lab Online (free for level 1 characters). I then created a 'campaign' in Hero Lab and they joined it with their characters, allowing me to see how they made them (what decisions they made at every step of character creation), and I built all of their characters in Fantasy Grounds ahead of the first session (with the help of another rl friend who was familiar).

Then session 1 started with me showing them around the software - how to navigate their character sheets, and some other high level stuff like the chat, rolling dice, actions, the hot key bar, and combat tracker. Then I shared an image and away we went. Sure it was a little clunky at first as they were completely new to it, but we all sped up over the sessions. We've had about 5 sessions now, and today one of my friends who has never used Fantasy Grounds before decided to try and make a new action in his character sheet, to give himself some new options. I never told them how to do it originally, I just gave them the completed characters. Sure he had to ask me for help, but he kind of knew what he wanted to do and made a start. Now I've shown him, he probably won't need to ask again and will be able to sort out all of his future actions as they level.

[bkyrlach]

I've recently been able to get some of my real life friends to play using Fantasy Grounds (due to obvious requirement of a VTT), and I asked them to just make their characters in Hero Lab Online (free for level 1 characters). I then created a 'campaign' in Hero Lab and they joined it with their characters, allowing me to see how they made them (what decisions they made at every step of character creation), and I built all of their characters in Fantasy Grounds ahead of the first session (with the help of another rl friend who was familiar).

Then session 1 started with me showing them around the software - how to navigate their character sheets, and some other high level stuff like the chat, rolling dice, actions, the hot key bar, and combat tracker. Then I shared an image and away we went. Sure it was a little clunky at first as they were completely new to it, but we all sped up over the sessions. We've had about 5 sessions now, and today one of my friends who has never used Fantasy Grounds before decided to try and make a new action in his character sheet, to give himself some new options. I never told them how to do it originally, I just gave them the completed characters. Sure he had to ask me for help, but he kind of knew what he wanted to do and made a start. Now I've shown him, he probably won't need to ask again and will be able to sort out all of his future actions as they level.

The only option I see for adding actions requires it to be either a weapon attack (which doesn't track proficiency), a spell, or a focus spell. If you know of a way to add something as basic as Hunt Prey, then you're smarter than I am.

[damned]

The only option I see for adding actions requires it to be either a weapon attack (which doesn't track proficiency), a spell, or a focus spell. If you know of a way to add something as basic as Hunt Prey, then you're smarter than I am.

When you say "as basic as Hunt Prey" I wonder if you really mean "as basic"?

You designate a single creature as your prey and focus your attacks against that creature. You must be able to see or hear the prey, or you must be tracking the prey during exploration.

You gain a +2 circumstance bonus to Perception checks when you Seek your prey and a +2 circumstance bonus to Survival checks when you Track your prey. You also ignore the penalty for making ranged attacks within your second range increment against the prey you’re hunting.

You can have only one creature designated as your prey at a time. If you use Hunt Prey against a creature when you already have a creature designated, the prior creature loses the designation and the new prey gains the designation. Your designation lasts until your next daily preparations.


So first the system needs to know whom you have applied this to.
Then it needs to know that you get +2 for Perception but only when you Seek
Then it needs to know that you get +2 for Survival but only when you Track
Then it needs to know that there is no range penalty but only for ranges up to two increments

And its tied to concentration.
And its tied to being able to see or hear the target.

That is easy for you and I to understand - our brains are incredibly capable of such things - and completely non trivial to code.
And you have to do that for all the Actions.
Its doable. But it does not fall into "as basic as".

[bkyrlach]

Sorry, I was speaking a little too loosely. As is abundantly clear right now, there are many limits to the automation in place. I just wanted to be able to add something to the characters action tab that would let them know that...

A) Hunt Prey is something they can do, and that it costs them one action.
B) The textual description that we both know is attached to that action, so they can easily understand how it impacts what they want to do next.

In our game today, we use D&DBeyond. It has zero automation around things like this in D&D 5e (obviously Hunt Prey is specific to Pathfinder). However, my players can at least easily look at their D&DBeyond character sheet and understand what sorts of things they can do, and it explains how it impacts whatever dice they might roll next.

So, in short, automating all of that, totally hard (I also write software for a living)
But being able to add something to my players character sheet that lets them know this is a thing they can do, and what it does (with zero automation), should be something easy for me.

Again, my biggest issue is that it's half automated, but won't let me edit the things that are wrong. I don't care that it's not calculating my wifes longbow proficiency correctly. But it's both wrong enough to be useless, and completely un-editable. Here's an example I used in a PM with another kind forum user who's trying to help out.

Currently, for my wifes ranger, FG...

Does add her DEX bonus
Doesn't add her proficiency bonus
Does add (subtract?) MAP
Doesn't take into account Hunter's Edge - Flurry

To explain to her what she has to do in order to use the action on her character sheet to actually produce the right number in Fantasy Grounds, if this is her second attack against her hunted prey as a level 2 ranger.

She has to add +2 for TRAINED
She has to add +2 for her level
She has to add +1 to compensate for the incorrectly calculated MAP

Obviously, without FG, she has to do all of the number crunching herself. However, she doesn't have to balance the mental gymnastics of what stuff FG is or isn't doing correctly, and how correctly it is or isn't doing it.

[kaernunnos]

There is a box that you click on the weapon to set both proficiency and stat to use for attack rolls, as well as 3 different boxes to click for each MAP score. You can even make copies of said weapon that one has flurry MAP and one is normal very easily. There are several videos showing how these things can be done for PF2. There is also a wiki full of documentation.

[bkyrlach]

There is a box that you click on the weapon to set both proficiency and stat to use for attack rolls, as well as 3 different boxes to click for each MAP score. You can even make copies of said weapon that one has flurry MAP and one is normal very easily. There are several videos showing how these things can be done for PF2. There is also a wiki full of documentation.

Perhaps I misunderstood an earlier reply in this post (where it was said that players have to manually do that). I feel like I clicked every d*mn part of the UI earlier in an attempt to set the proficiency bonus. If you're saying there's a way, then perhaps I missed a pixel or two.

Since Steam refused my refund request (although they did refund my core rulebook), I guess I can experiment tomorrow and see if I can find which pixels to click on. After buying yet another copy of the CRB...

[damned]

Perhaps I misunderstood an earlier reply in this post (where it was said that players have to manually do that). I feel like I clicked every d*mn part of the UI earlier in an attempt to set the proficiency bonus. If you're saying there's a way, then perhaps I missed a pixel or two.

Since Steam refused my refund request (although they did refund my core rulebook), I guess I can experiment tomorrow and see if I can find which pixels to click on. After buying yet another copy of the CRB...

Hi bkyrlach,

Hopefully you bought the second copy from the store here and then you can refund it anytime in the next 30 days if you still cant get to a point you are happy with.

I dont play PF2E so I cant really comment on the specifics but others will if you post specific questions/issues.

I also know that the dev behind this is both pretty good at it, and continuously improving it.

Some of your issues are probably solvable with more familiarity/experience or a nudge in teh right direction, others will be being worked on right now and others will probably still be further down the track.

Keep posting feedback - constructive ideally - and the experience will improve - Im confident of that.

[bkyrlach]

Hi bkyrlach,

Hopefully you bought the second copy from the store here and then you can refund it anytime in the next 30 days if you still cant get to a point you are happy with.

I dont play PF2E so I cant really comment on the specifics but others will if you post specific questions/issues.

I also know that the dev behind this is both pretty good at it, and continuously improving it.

Some of your issues are probably solvable with more familiarity/experience or a nudge in teh right direction, others will be being worked on right now and others will probably still be further down the track.

Keep posting feedback - constructive ideally - and the experience will improve - Im confident of that.

Definitely intended for my feedback to be cordial, and I'm sure I fell short of being constructive. Been a rough day.

[kaernunnos]

On mobile so can't give pictures, but on the actions tab click the magnifying glass on the right side of a weapon to modify things. Most things that can be modified are accessed there. I highly recommend the wiki and those videos, as a software dev the wiki should be fairly useful to you, especially the PF2 effects script page.

[bkyrlach]

On mobile so can't give pictures, but on the actions tab click the magnifying glass on the right side of a weapon to modify things. Most things that can be modified are accessed there. I highly recommend the wiki and those videos, as a software dev the wiki should be fairly useful to you, especially the PF2 effects script page.

I'll take a look tomorrow when I'm more awake. Been replying from bed and annoying my wife. Thanks for all the kind replies.

Sincerely,

Ben.