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Damage to multiple models

A

athelu

Well-known member
Hello all,
Been using hero lab for RPG sessions for a while and am a big fan of importing the enemies into the portfolio for tracking during combat. I just recently found out about the tactical console (from the newsletter) and that is a great help in round management.

One thing that I would LOVE however is the ability to apply heals or damage to multiple models - ideally by faction (ally or enemy). Right now combat comes to a crawl when I have to apply damage from an area effect spell, or when a cleric channels healing to the party.

Maybe I just overlooked something?
 
You haven't overlooked something. You are right that there is no "bulk" entering of healing/damage. (At least this is the case for the Pathfinder data set.)
 
There is also no bulk application of adjustments, which has, in the past, slowed my combats to a crawl. I just use the Tactical Console for round management, otherwise I record damage and effects on a spreadsheet outside of the Tactical Console, which is quick and dirty. It totals everything for me and I just add that in to what the Tactical Console displays to get final values. Been working pretty well for me and has sped up my combats dramatically.

At one point I was thinking about creating a third party tactical console that could read the hero XMLs, but there were quite a number of issues with my first implementation, and I wasn't saving much time with combats. So I ended up doing the spreadsheet route.
 
yes. i do manage combat with hero lab, as the auto calculation for status effects and things is great.

A bulk apply would make this just about perfect.
 
I used the tactical console once and was already trying to figure out how to do this. It really needs to be added for those situations where the caster goes Fireball crazy.
 
I used the Tactical console all the time with my Pathfinder campaigns. Now that the Encounter Builder console is functional, and the Community has added most of the missing monsters, I have started doing so with 5e. :)

I have to start adding the module monsters so I can use them also.
 
Has there been any word on this? I manually make sure that Hero Lab is correct in terms of combat state, because I play online and I want to have all my data in a single place to make sure nothing gets misplaced between sessions in case we suddenly have to stop playing. I'd really like to be able to apply HP changes to multiple creatures (by shift or ctrl clicking) and also being able to call for saving throws from groups of NPCs quickly, especially when so many area of affects are in play, even at first level.
 
Zenith said:
Has there been any word on this? I manually make sure that Hero Lab is correct in terms of combat state, because I play online and I want to have all my data in a single place to make sure nothing gets misplaced between sessions in case we suddenly have to stop playing. I'd really like to be able to apply HP changes to multiple creatures (by shift or ctrl clicking) and also being able to call for saving throws from groups of NPCs quickly, especially when so many area of affects are in play, even at first level.
Click to expand...

AFAIK, no development has taken place on this, nor do I think it is going to get done. I could be wrong, but I haven't heard a peep on anything remotely related to grouping modifications with the exception of initiatives.
 
Resurrecting on old thread here.

Any news on this? I'd love to see this, too!
I'm rather new to HL but I mainly use it to run encounters as it so neatly couples with Realm Works. I was surprised that the tactical console is missing such an obvious feature.
 
We're planning a rework of the tactical console at some point - it's a long-term plan, so not something that will appear in the next few months, but once we do that we'll be able to implement much more robust "group" actions (like applying damage to multiple creatures, applying effects to multiple creatures, etc).
 
Colen said:
We're planning a rework of the tactical console at some point - it's a long-term plan, so not something that will appear in the next few months, but once we do that we'll be able to implement much more robust "group" actions (like applying damage to multiple creatures, applying effects to multiple creatures, etc).
Click to expand...

Great news, thanks!

Even though, I'd wish it came a little bit faster, it's good to know you're at it.
 
HL's biggest weakness is its lack of features in the console.

It is handy and dandy but could be so much more.
 
Certainly with the introduction of RealmWorks, GMs are using and relying more on the tactical console within HeroLab.

It would be nice to see a major upgrade soon so that people buying the new Paizo adventures on the Content Market can easily run the combats after loading the included portfolios into their "party" within HL.
 
Back in December, I had posted a list of potential improvements in THIS THREAD in the Pathfinder forums. Since most are Pathfinder-specific, I wont' list them again here, but I wanted to point out that it is there for Pathfinder users to add suggestions and comments.

EDIT: @daplunk ... I have used it. At present, it works well for Play-by-Post or Play-by-Email especially. At the table, the need to access each target separately when applying damage may be slower than some can accept, though.
 
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Silveras said:
EDIT: @daplunk ... I have used it. At present, it works well for Play-by-Post or Play-by-Email especially. At the table, the need to access each target separately when applying damage may be slower than some can accept, though.
Click to expand...

Indeed. I wish the UI was a bit easier to use. As it stands, I have to make a tad too many clicks, it opens new windows, when I want to add damage, adds a glass pane, so I can't switch to the monsters immunities when applying damage, yadda yadda yadda.

I'm not hating, just saying that one can see that HL is not a new program, but an old one that had a ton of additions over time. I bet the devs would design it quite differently, would they create the tool nowadays.
 
I agree its a pain for large combats but most small to average combats i don't find it to be an issue.

It does feel old and I personally feel they need to address that. The market is moving bloody quickly at the moment and part of Realm Works ability to significantly succeed will tie into Hero Labs ability to help DM's manage combat.

I would be sitting down and looking hard at Fantasy Grounds and Roll20 and trying to answer the question... how do we either supplement that experience or compete with that experience.
 
Well, Fantasy Grounds and Roll20 are both VTT applications. Just as Realm Works is not a VTT and is not trying to be a VTT, HeroLab is also not such an application.

HeroLab has exports geared for both d20Pro and Fantasy Grounds. It is, unfortunately, only uni-directional.

For a player at the table managing one or perhaps two characters, HeroLab is a very good tool that does a significant amount well. For a GM managing a large combat, it also does a stellar job of managing current state for each participant. Unfortunately, there are several things it does not do as well ... such as updating multiple targets for damage or applying conditions.

Some of the challenges were discussed in THIS THREAD in the Pathfinder forums a while back, in the context of a proto-VTT application.
 
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