Init by Group; HP and Conditions by Individual
Submitted by granger44 on Tue, 2009-02-10 18:47.
I'd like to see an option of doing initiative for groups of monsters while still tracking hit points and conditions for the individuals. I tend to do one roll for a group (usually 1-6 monsters/minions). PCs always stay as individuals.
I tend to do homogeneous groups (i.e. group 1 is all goblin cutters, group 2 is all goblin warriors, etc.), but I could see a use for heterogeneous groups.
Bookmark/Search this post with:
Simple approach available on VCC 0.91
The simple grouping of similar combatants (same name and initiative bonus) has been implemented on version 0.91:
Version 0.91 is a patch to 0.90
Verion 0.91 implementatio
I have implemented grouping of combatant if they have the same name and initiative. This has been tested and works and I'll place it in the 0.91 (or next version).
The next version of VCC will use the highest roll of the group. This is to avoid having to fill in all the initiative in the group. I believe this will help a lot. Also the group goes together for all the sorting. So even if a PC ties with a group o monsters, the untie will apply to the entire group.
How to handle ready and delay?
I can see what you wish. First of all you don't have to roll any initiative. If you leave the value as zero, the software will roll for you. I have stopped rolling for monster completely. Now this does mean they get spread out, but this does not bother me.
If we implement a group rolling feature, how should we handle ready and delay. The entire group will not delay, this means your groups will end up being spread out through the sequence. Should groups be kept together? Does that mean that they don't delay or ready?
The current implementation is very strict in the initiative and sequence tracking. It follows the rule to the letter.
Delay, Ready, and Using Reserve
I'm fine with the individuals spreading out when they delay or ready. It's likely going to be one or two individuals per encounter, so it'll be manageable. I just find that individual initiative for the monsters slows things down; with the group init, I can move and roll attacks in groups.
And I did just experiment with just rolling init for one monster in a group and leaving the rest in reserve. Then all the monsters in a group go when the init comes up for the one not in reserve. It's a little slower at encounter start and it might be harder to track who is in the group, but it's workable.
Alternatives
I have been considering alternative, and I came up with some options:
One general question I have if I should let the DM inform the initiative of each group, this may make it harder to enforce: say two monster in the same group have different values, which should prevail?
Would any of these alternatives be enough for you?
Re: Alternatives
Sorry for the delay in replying.
Either of those alternatives works. I could occasionally see using mixed groups, but #1 should work for the majority of cases (say 95%+).
If two monsters in the same group have different values, I'd say use the lowest value.
Eh, I keep hitting post
Eh, I keep hitting post instead of "reply":
Is there a way to use player rolled initiative for the players and auto rolls for the monsters? I tried setting the 'roll' value in the initiative box but that doesn't seem to work.
I also tried to keep players in reserve until their initiative would come up, however, I can't see the monster initiatives to determine when they should act.
I prefer to let the players roll their own rolls, only because when it's automated it feels out of their control.
Also, is there any system as to how the the roster is loaded prior to combat? I was initially thinking it was alphabetically, but it's not.
That's how it works
I have been using it that way. What you have to do is change de Roll column. Just put the dice value. Init column gets added automatically. I use the Init column to change the value (the Warlord in my group give a bonus to those close by).
I tested on version 0.90, and the values are respected. However there is a little gotcha. If you are editing a cell and click on the Ok button the last value is ignored (a limitation on the UI). This is the only reason for this not to work, and I've seem my self do it.
As for the order they get loaded: there is no order. On the initiative dialog they get sorted by alphabetical order. But on them main grid they are not kept in any specific user. The combatant ares place in reserve without any specific order. This shouldn't be a problem, or do you have a user case for having them sorted?
Hmmm you're right. I'm not
Hmmm you're right. I'm not sure why I thought my testing wasn't working. I guess the Ok button issue was throwing me off.
I don't have much a case for sorting the reserve, only that it makes it easier to find things when you're doing first battle prep. We use miniatures, so I enter notes into the monster fields to describe the corresponding miniature (e.g., orc with axe, orc with sword).
Thanks for all of your work on this, btw. It's the best tracker I've used so far.
Lets discuss this further...
I suggest we discuss VCC and Mini in this thread