[extension] Spell Tokens Extension

[bratch9]

v7.28 updated to now use shift/alt for controlling vision hide/show. With CTRL now been used to toggle the snapping mode use on the map for the drop, and drag.

-pete

[DevInstinct]

With CTRL now been used to toggle the snapping mode use on the map for the drop, and drag.

-pete

Awesome!

[nasman]

OK I just bought all of this stuff and am struggling to set it all up. I simply can't believe with a thread 111 pages deep there are not better instructions (or a video that would take 5 minutes at most). Yes I've seen the first posting, it doesn't tell me anything. I have both B9 core and spell tokens, I did the XML import thing and see all the pretty spell token things under a config window, but I see no way to get the character sheet action tab to show the token slot. Do I need yet another extension? Any help would be appreciated I'm about to bail on this and call it wasted cash and never buy an extension again. I am shocked FGU doesn't have this built in by default. Sorry if I sound cranky, but this is really frustrating. I have session prep to do and this stuff just eats up my time!

[MrDDT]

OK I just bought all of this stuff and am struggling to set it all up. I simply can't believe with a thread 111 pages deep there are not better instructions (or a video that would take 5 minutes at most). Yes I've seen the first posting, it doesn't tell me anything. I have both B9 core and spell tokens, I did the XML import thing and see all the pretty spell token things under a config window, but I see no way to get the character sheet action tab to show the token slot. Do I need yet another extension? Any help would be appreciated I'm about to bail on this and call it wasted cash and never buy an extension again. I am shocked FGU doesn't have this built in by default. Sorry if I sound cranky, but this is really frustrating. I have session prep to do and this stuff just eats up my time!

If you want to hit me up on discord I can get you set up.

[nasman]

Thanks again for your help tonight ... I was so close! I can't wait to see the PCs use these tomorrow night.

[bratch9]

Thanks again for your help tonight ... I was so close! I can't wait to see the PCs use these tomorrow night.

Hope you got it working, my guess is you added it to a campaign and did not re-parse the spells on the player sheet. ( As it sounds from the info you loaded the config file fine, just had a player sheet issue. )

-pete

[bratch9]

OK I just bought all of this stuff and am struggling to set it all up. I simply can't believe with a thread 111 pages deep there are not better instructions (or a video that would take 5 minutes at most). Yes I've seen the first posting, it doesn't tell me anything. I have both B9 core and spell tokens, I did the XML import thing and see all the pretty spell token things under a config window, but I see no way to get the character sheet action tab to show the token slot. Do I need yet another extension? Any help would be appreciated I'm about to bail on this and call it wasted cash and never buy an extension again. I am shocked FGU doesn't have this built in by default. Sorry if I sound cranky, but this is really frustrating. I have session prep to do and this stuff just eats up my time!

While you checked the start or the forum, did you not think to check the actual forge store page for the main information about the extension ?

Forge Spell Token Extension

[nasman]

bratch9, yes I did read that page and anything else I could find. Where I got hung up was simply at this part:

"With spell tokens configured by the DM, when a player adds a spell to their character sheet the spell token will be show on the end of the line for that spell. These can be 'updated' with the 're-parse' option on the radial menu. For custom spells that do not re-parse correctly holding down 'shift' while doing the 're-parse' option will just update the spell token."

I thought I had configured the tokens by loading the xml file you provided in this thread, but did not see the tokens in the character sheet and had never heard of re-parse before. So it was just one tiny step for me and MrDDT got on voice/Discord with me to help out. Not sure how you could make that more clear unless it was in a video. Would be hard to capture in a picture. I'm also still slightly confused on what would happen if I had a custom spell with the same name and did that ... I assume I'd lose it?

This was literally the first extension I have ever bought through Forge (believe it or not). Like, when I bought it I had no idea "where it went". No download/etc. I had to go find another video on youtube on how it was just in my inventory and then FGU would find it automatically (which it did but then told me I was missing your free core extension too so had to get that, adding to my confusion).

Now that I've done it once the rest will be easier. So I'm basically the "worst case" test case of a completely new user of extensions.

Thanks for the reply ... I can't wait to use these tonight! Once I get comfortable with them I'll switch to animated ones/etc :-)

[bratch9]

bratch9, yes I did read that page and anything else I could find. Where I got hung up was simply at this part:

"With spell tokens configured by the DM, when a player adds a spell to their character sheet the spell token will be show on the end of the line for that spell. These can be 'updated' with the 're-parse' option on the radial menu. For custom spells that do not re-parse correctly holding down 'shift' while doing the 're-parse' option will just update the spell token."

I thought I had configured the tokens by loading the xml file you provided in this thread, but did not see the tokens in the character sheet and had never heard of re-parse before. So it was just one tiny step for me and MrDDT got on voice/Discord with me to help out. Not sure how you could make that more clear unless it was in a video. Would be hard to capture in a picture. I'm also still slightly confused on what would happen if I had a custom spell with the same name and did that ... I assume I'd lose it?

This was literally the first extension I have ever bought through Forge (believe it or not). Like, when I bought it I had no idea "where it went". No download/etc. I had to go find another video on youtube on how it was just in my inventory and then FGU would find it automatically (which it did but then told me I was missing your free core extension too so had to get that, adding to my confusion).

Now that I've done it once the rest will be easier. So I'm basically the "worst case" test case of a completely new user of extensions.

Thanks for the reply ... I can't wait to use these tonight! Once I get comfortable with them I'll switch to animated ones/etc :-)

Custom spells are things like Rob2e pre-configured spell sets... Or for example if you change 'fireball' as a spell and want to do 'electric' damage as a special DM/Character agreement type thing... These spells will not 're-parse' by using the right click radial. In this case if you hold the 'shift' key down when you select the 're-parse' it will 'try' and update without breaking the custom changed spell. ( Not guaranteed, hence the warning. )

This is also why it does not just 'scan' the players and 'auto-update' the character spells, because it could totally break the spell... which then the player will give me '****' for doing !! ( Hence taking the safe option of allow the player to reparse for the spells you have added tokens for on a case by case basis. )

Or normally if this is configured before characters are made for the campaign, as the player adds the spells it will pick up the tokens during the spell add to character stage.

So its a bit of a balance act working with current/existing characters, the last thing I want to do is ruin a players character. If they re-parse the spells as they need a token, they can then 'fix' anything if it gets broken. To turn up to a running session, and suddenly find out that the spells they are using are broken or subtle changed is a problem.

If forge/fgu had the ability to 'depend' on a different extension, I'd pre-configure the extension to auto add the 'b9 common core' extension to stop this issue. The problem is you can not cause an extension to load from an extension. ( I can force a data module to add/load during an extension, like the players handbook... but not another extension. )

Again, if forge could hold a video I might add one.. But unless its within the forge with the extension I dont see a reasonable place to stuff it. ( Yes I know things like youtube could be linked etc.. ) And I'm surprised somebody has not made one.

While FGU does have a 'spell template' set on the forge which is the built in 'solution', this works by a player having to add a 'pointer' shape to the map and then the GM has to 'edit' the image map and find the required token asset and drag and place it into the edited map. Which is a real 'faf', hence my extension adds them local to the character/npc for the player/gm.

Hope you have fun, while the extension is far from perfect for every situation it gets the job done for many.

If you end up with suggestions, please feel free to add to this thread. Sometimes its the simple things people suggest that adds to the usage, sometimes its just not possible depending on the api access we have for fgu.

I'm glad and thankful of other members helping new members out with these starter issues.

Thanks, Pete

[nasman]

Pete,

That explanation all makes sense to me (especially after the fact). I guess my only two, small suggestions would be to update either the forge page and/or the first pinned message of this thread chain to include those two things? (1) the fact that people should get your free "b9 common core" extension too, and (2) a sentence or two about why the tokens won't show up automatically for existing spells because you don't want to break existing custom spells, hence the need for re-parse (with perhaps a things saying right click on the spell to get to reparse for THAT spell).

Again hind sight is 20-20, but those are the two things that could have prevented me from ever posting here, for what it is worth.

BTW when I didn't have the common core thing, FGU did indeed tell me I needed it, so somehow it knew ... which was terrific so I went and grabbed it. Whatever you did there to establish a dependency worked.

-Nasman