Feature Request: Select portfolio PCs for Encounter / Tactical console

[KungFuCharlie]

I have a large group of players in a single campaign. Sometimes they all show up, other times one or more is missing, and sometimes I run a mini-session for a limited number of the players. Currently I have to export the characters present into a new portfolio and then import them back into the campaign portfolio when the session is over. It would be a lot easier if I could just select the characters that I want to appear in the tactical console for any given instance.

Or is there an easier way to do this that I am completely failing at using?

 

[Paragon]

Why don't you just keep copies of their portfolios? You'd have to update them sometimes, but there's no need to keep re-inputting them.

 

[KungFuCharlie]

In the full portfolio, all of them show up in the tactical console. Is there a way to only have selected ones appear?

 

[Paragon]

In the full portfolio, all of them show up in the tactical console. Is there a way to only have selected ones appear?

If you keep separate Portfolios, you'll only get the one you select. Its a little annoying because you don't seem to be able to multi-select anymore (and I'd swear you used to, but neither shift-click nor control-click seems to do it) but you can then just remove the ones you don't want later.

 

[Farling]

Paragon, he was wanting a selection of PCs in his tactical console, but to be able to remove some of those easily. Multiple portfolios won't help for this.

 

[KungFuCharlie]

I believe Farling understood correctly. I'll provide a clearer description below. Hopefully it will clear up any confusion as to what I meant.

Problem Description
I have 9 characters in a portfolio, one for each player in the group plus one familiar. For this example, lets say that 3 of the players do not show up to one of the sessions (common for large groups). As the GM, I spin a tale about how they are off doing something else leaving the present 5 party members (plus the one familiar) to adventure on their own for the day.

At this point there is no way to select only the 5+1 characters in the portfolio when using the Encounter Builder or Tactical Console. If I open the Encounter Builder, the entire groups APL is calculated and shown. If I open the Tactical Console and start combat, all 9 of the characters are present. Both of these results stand to reason because there is no way (that I know of) to select just the 5+1 characters in the portfolio.

Current Solution
The current way that I have found to work around this is to export the characters that are present into a new portfolio and use it for the game session. Once the game session is over and all changes are made, import them back into the full party portfolio. While not hard, it opens the door to messing something up either by me making a mistake or data corruption.

Proposed Solution
What I think would be nice to have is a method for selecting a subset of characters in a portfolio for use when the Encounter Builder or Tactical Console are launched. For example, a check box could be added next to each character in the character list to indicate that the character should be used for all calculations. The APL is then calculated at the top of the character list for only the selected characters. After opening the Tactical Console, only the previously selected characters are present (to include any monsters / enemies added via the Encounter Builder).

 

[Paragon]

Actually, what I was suggesting would solve that, it just might be more work than he you want. I normally don't keep a single portfolio with everything, so I just import them in at the start of a session anyway, and its a non-issue; but that does require me to import them separately.

(It'd be a painless way to do it if you could select multiple portfolios for import at once, which I would swear you used to be able to do, and the text when you do an import implies, but there seems to be no way to actually do currently).

 

[nullPointer]

You can import multiple hero's from one portfolio, but not one hero each from multiple portfolios

 

[Exmortis]

Actually, what I was suggesting would solve that, it just might be more work than he you want. I normally don't keep a single portfolio with everything, so I just import them in at the start of a session anyway, and its a non-issue; but that does require me to import them separately.

(It'd be a painless way to do it if you could select multiple portfolios for import at once, which I would swear you used to be able to do, and the text when you do an import implies, but there seems to be no way to actually do currently).

Thats how we handle it as well. There is a time of setup when we all meet, so it isn't realyl a big deal, and your starting console has only those gaming that day.

 

[Paragon]

I think what may be confusing people about my suggestion is that I (and prior to this thread, I would have assumed the default case) only keep a single character in a portfolio. As such, there's never a need to peel them out (though I'm a little surprised if the delete hero option won't do that, but I've never actually had to check).

 

[mirtos]

I do the same thing as Paragon (I think) I have 8 portfolios.
7 for each player in the game (the character's portfolio... think of it as the masters)

and 1 "session" portfolio. At the begin of a session, I important all the individuals who are playing, and at the end, export back to their inidividual portfolios.

This is not only useful for tactical console (which i actually dont use due to a bug in the d20 version), but journals as well.

 

[Paragon]

I do the same thing as Paragon (I think) I have 8 portfolios.
7 for each player in the game (the character's portfolio... think of it as the masters)

and 1 "session" portfolio. At the begin of a session, I important all the individuals who are playing, and at the end, export back to their inidividual portfolios.

This is not only useful for tactical console (which i actually dont use due to a bug in the d20 version), but journals as well.

Mine is a minor variation (since my campaign usually has one or two set-piece encounters per game, given its nature, I prepare one portfolio for each encounter before each session) but is otherwise similar.