2020-02-26 Update: Build 4661D49
 

Client changes and improvements

• PCs that are owned by players now have a menu option to transfer ownership to the campaign in campaigns where Patron content sharing has been enabled
• Member-Controlled PCs now include a menu option for the GM to assign ownership of the PC to the player (such PCs will no longer participate in Patron content sharing)
• Adds a badge to unique NPCs on the cast view and related edit forms, to differentiate them from non-unique NPCs
• Removed an unnecessary link to the Select Character view from within the select character from personal folder dialog
• Tweaked the spacing and alignment of text input fields throughout the app
• Added portrait and Improved layout when importing characters from personal folders
• Displays all character types when in demo mode, disabling those that can't be used rather than hiding them

Client bug fixes

• While viewing the stage in the main panel with the side panel overlaid but not pinned open, clicking on a character (or any character side panel quick links) will keep the side panel overlaid, and go to that character/section in the side panel. Previously, it would close the overlaid side panel, which would need to be reopened.
• Fixes demo limits being incorrectly imposed on creation of PCs by apprentice and demo accounts in campaigns owned by someone else
• Fixed the choose form detail view back arrow (when using a narrow display) closing the choose form instead of returning to the list view if the previous selection was removed from the list due to only being able to be selected once
• Fixes the Characters/Campaigns tab saying "Not Found!" when that section was narrow enough for the tabs to become a dropdown menu

Game mechanics

• PF2/SF - on a character with a long skill list and a portrait, the Skill Modifiers list could be cut off.
• SR6 - Weapons that were switched to a firing mode other than Semi-Auto were not showing the correct Attack Rating in most of the tables where they were displayed.
• PF2 - For conditions that use a value, the Play tab's effects section now shows a control to change that value.
• SR6 - For status effects that use a value, the Play tab's effects section now shows a control to change that value.
• SF - The Checkbox for whether a boon was slotted or not is now visible on the Profile tab as well as that boon's details page.
• PF2 & SF - Factions now display their reputation tier and reputation on the Profile tab.
• PF2 & SF - The boon table now lists the number of boons from each category that you have slotted and the number you may slot.

One step close to what I have been waiting for for PF2... Being able to see my total Fame.. ;)

What does HLO recognize as being a "unique" NPC?

Without searching for it, I think I read something to the effect of: Unique NPCs retain their damage between encounters. Non-unique NPCs are cloned for each encounter.

"Unique" NPCs are typically for named individuals that are characters in your story: Gandalf, Bruce Wayne, Godzilla. They can only be added to the stage once as an individual. They have a property we call "Persistence" that determines whether things HP/spells remaining stay with them after they leave the stage, or whether they are reset. I forget what the default is set to right now (we don't let you modify it yet, but we hope to make that available soon).

Non-unique NPCs are reusable/recurring grunts/mooks, e.g. "Town Guard", "Orc Raider", "Corporate Security", etc. They can be added to the stage multiple times to form ad-hoc encounters, if the players do something unexpected that you don't have a Scene Script prepared for. Non-unique NPCs can never be persisted, so changes you make to them while they are on stage do not get retained on the cast member long-term.

So then, is the "unique NPC" tag (or something) generated by the system when you edit a name, or do they have to be part of the campaign cast?

It's one of the options you can configure on campaign cast when you edit their options (the "sliders" button on the right of each cast member on the cast members view)

Can we change the default to NOT unique? Find it a bit tedious needing to edit everything I add. Better yet, a checkbox next to the "create character" button to enable unique if that's what you need.

Your request is a bit worrisome, since either we've completely overlooked an important use-case scenario or there's some confusion with how things are assumed to be used. Whichever way it is, we need to make some changes.

So...

The assumption is that "global" cast members are primarily going to be individual NPCs that the party runs into on a recurring basis. For example, the BBEG, his lieutenants, the people that run the world (e.g. nobles), the local merchants (if you opt to spec them all out), etc. Each of those is assumed to a "unique" individual.

There are also generic townsfolk that you might want to prepare for re-use, such as bar patrons, beggars, guards, bandits, and the like. Those would NOT be unique, but our assumption is that those are much less frequent than the unique NPCs.

Cast members that only appear within a single scene are assumed to be created solely within the context of the appropriate script - as "local" NPCs. They're only used once, so they don't need to clutter up the reusable "global" pool.

Now that I've hopefully clarified what our assumptions were, please explain how you're actually striving to use CT. Either we need to better explain the above model or we need to better understand what you're doing so we can make appropriate changes to accommodate the unexpected usage pattern. Or both.

Thanks!

Really? I'm very curious why you would assume that.

Say the PCs are walking down the street in a town-- who are they more likely to bump into: the Mayor, or a common merchant or beggar? Or, say the party is delving into an evil necromancer's dungeon-- who will they likely spend more time fighting: the Necromancer himself, or his hordes of undead minions?

If you're prepping an encounter with a goblin raiding party, would you really spec out unique statblocks for every individual goblin? I certainly wouldn't... I'd make most of them generic "goblin warriors" and call it good. The leader of the band might be more powerful-- and he might even have a name and a backstory-- but even then he probably wouldn't need unique stats, just a generic "goblin lieutenant" statblock. Surely those kind of encounters are more common than ones involving unique monsters or NPCs, no? :confused: