PFRPG2 ruleset - Release 17 now "live"

[Trenloe]

There's a lot of changes being added to this release of the Pathfinder Second Edition ruleset (PFRPG2).

This is primarily around NPC ability automation (and a few other things). This release is aimed at the first steps in making the GMs life easier when running encounters.

Release 17 of the PFRPG2 ruleset is now in the "live" channel.

There's also an update to the PF2 Official Bestiary - where creatures of levels -1 to 6 have the new experimental automation added to their abilities. ShadeRaven is updating by creature level, so expect to see more updates over the coming weeks.

More info in this post and the next two.

Overview videos:

• Introduction to NPC ability actions

BUGS / GOTCHAS

[Trenloe]

The following is a summary list of what release 17 brings to the (virtual) table.

Updated:
- "and" in a NPC attack/damage string will no longer ignore damage data after the "and". Better handling of non-damage entries.
- object immunities corrected as per page 273 of the core rules.
- Minor improvements on chargen tracker messages around feats/features with automation.
- RE-work of PERS, Frightened and end of turn effect operations
- NPC abilities - only display the automation "A" if the automation text contains one of the predefined actions. This makes it possible to add notes which aren't flagged as automation, reducing confusion with what is automated and what isn't.
- Spell roll and spell DC calc shows appropriate sign (= or +) based off type.
- Changed order of success/failure entries for spells - now Crit success, success, failure, crit failure as per the order in the Core Rules.
- Deity grouped list to display data as per Lost Omens Gods & Magic Appendix.


Added:
- NPC abilities within the combat tracker.
- Reaction and Free action abilities will display in the CT when it is not the actor's turn. + All automatic and reactive abilities will be shown in the CT when it's not the NPCs turn.
- Experimental NPC action automation
- Spell Level option to damage/heal actions (migrated from Blackfoot's extension).
- Tabbed notes to the PC sheet.
- IF/IFT conditional effects recognise all conditions which give the flat-footed condition, when "flat-footed" used as the conditional check.
- Ancestry feat filter will auto populate based off class and ancestry records loaded when the session starts.
- Pressing ALT when copying a creature in the CT copies the whole creature data, including current effects. Normal behaviour without ALT is to delete current effects and rebuild based off NPC statblock info.
- Shoony ancestry (AP 2 part 3) to feat filter.
- Added dbstring option to experimental PC automation.
- PC shield raised flag resets at start of actor's turn
- Reaction used flag resets at the beginning of an actor's turn.
- USED effect to track abilities that can only be used again after a certain duration
- Action symbol replacement in NPC ability title and description
- Allow dragging of grouped list buttons to the hotkey bar
- Treasure by Level grouped list.
- CT entry Right-click reset used ability
- "Access" field to items (needed for Lost Omens Gods & Magic)
- Refblock frames #4 and #4 for PF blue, green and red.
- Drag/drop of Deity lookup data record to the PC sheet.
- Class features available via choice selections (alchemist, barbarian, bard, rogue, sorcerer and wizard - other classes to come).
- APG versatile heritages added to heritage selection list.
- Ancestries, classes and language names from the Advanced Player's Guide
- Language names from Bestiary 2
- Bestiary 2 and APG to "Core" modules campaign setup load list.

Fixed:
- FGU automation icons offset vertically.
- FGU level background colours not displaying.
- Issue with dragging lookup data from campaign data list to PC sheet (worked fine from a grouped list view).
- "Anc" ancestry feats button in the chargen tracker wouldn't show all available feats for half-orcs or half-elves.
- Issue with old NPC ability text not being deleted.
- NPC attack/damage strings with persistent damage now apply the PERS effect correctly.
- Issue with PERS damage effect containing + or - not being removed when flat check succeeded.
- NPC ability action name and traits not getting passed correctly.
- Flat check DC entry with space not being matched.
- Fix for nil error with spell damage roll
- RS2.096 NPCs can be type NPC, Creature or Hazard. NPC and Creature are the same.
- NPC weakness to area damage and splash damage now parses correctly when added to the CT.

[Trenloe]

Entries within the three NPC ability sections have a hidden "automation" field, which can be viewed by enabling the Experimental Development campaign option. This option controls the viewing of the automation field in the NPC statblock, it doesn't enable/disable the automation.

More details on this setting and how automation works in this Google doc (read only access): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...it?usp=sharing

An overview video is available here: https://youtu.be/EMKz_Z26WoQ

The above document goes into detail of each automation action available. These are:

1. Attack - carries out an attack.
2. Cooldown - tracks limited ability usage (i.e. cannot use an ability for a certain number of rounds).
3. Damage - applies damage.
4. Effect - applies an effect.
5. Heal - applies healing.
6. Permament Effect - details any permanent effects that will be applied to the creature when added to the Combat Tracker
7. Save - carries out a save action.
8. Trait - shows details of one or more trait.
9. Versus DC - carries out a save versus DC action. In development - limited use at this point (skills and effects aren't operational, for example).

The PF2 Bestiary in the live channel (as of July 28th, 2020) has the above automation applied to creatures from level -1 to 5.

An ability which contains automation is indicated with the usual automation "A" flag in the ability header:

[Trenloe]

Placeholder 2

[damned]

Yeehah! Well done Trenloe!

[Weissrolf]

Great looking improvements! One questions:

- PC shield raised flag resets at start of actor's turn

Is there any way to raise a shield other than clicking that rather small check-mark on the PC character sheet's Main tab? Some player keep their shield raised for several rounds and always going back there every round seems rather tedious. An option for the Action tab or CT would be useful. Or maybe that is already possible and I just don't know how?!

[Trenloe]

Is there any way to raise a shield other than clicking that rather small check-mark on the PC character sheet's Main tab? Some player keep their shield raised for several rounds and always going back there every round seems rather tedious. An option for the Action tab or CT would be useful. Or maybe that is already possible and I just don't know how?!

There are currently two places - the main and combat tab. I do have plans to add it in other places. If players want to avoid clicking the Shield Raised check box every round when they spend an action to raise shield, then they can use an effect to apply the circumstance bonus to AC and add/remove as needed.

[Weissrolf]

I get the impression that my players more or less exclusively only use the Action tab during combat. Raising a shield is one of the very few reasons to leave that tab, so having that switch on the Action tab could be useful.

- Spell Level option to damage/heal actions (migrated from Blackfoot's extension).

I noticed that you migrated a feature from an extension. Would it not make sense to also integrate SR's "Drag N Drop" spells or Alex Craft's Pathfinder "2E Spell Effects"? Especially for bought adventure path I miss NPCs offering more sophisticated spell actions. (AP 1 AoA, Voz Lirayne, Grim Tendrils: No bleed action in AP, but both 3rd party extensions offer these for the same spell.)

[Trenloe]

I noticed that you migrated a feature from an extension. Would it not make sense to also integrate SR's "Drag N Drop" spells or Alex Craft's Pathfinder "2E Spell Effects"? Especially for bought adventure path I miss NPCs offering more sophisticated spell actions. (AP 1 AoA, Voz Lirayne, Grim Tendrils: No bleed action in AP, but both 3rd party extensions offer these for the same spell.)

Two lines of code from an extension and thousands of lines of data from a module are two very, very different things.

There are plans afoot, but stuff like this takes time (and the original author's permission). SmiteWorks requires me to build official modules using their internal tools. So it's not just a case of copying a module made by someone else, the whole data needs to be converted/entered into the SmiteWorks required format.

[Trenloe]

Video overview of the NPC ability automation now available in post #1. Thanks @ShadeRaven!