CUSTOM TECH TARGETING

INTRODUCTION
Well, this is something I first made when I was in the situation mentioned by the description. I did my little scan ability. All woes! Nice! BUT! Ugly Q/A window!
*You need to make conditions for dead enemies.
*It's ugly.
*If you have more than 4 enemies in battle, it's all pain in the ass... (1st, 2nd, 3rd, "next page"... 4th, 5th!).
*And I would like it better if the targeting were just like any other technique/magic/whatever you named it.

And well, that's the long description! So how are we going to solve it? We are going to have a regular targeting! Just as any other technique! Sadly we don't have flowers only, we have some little thorns... that I'll cover just after giving the explanation of how it works.

We have two solutions by now though. Read and select the one that seems to be in accord to your needs.

Using base statuses change
HOW IT WORKS
Oooowww, so we came to it. Well, it's easy.
Let's say we are going to make a scan ability.

1.Go to altered stats tab. There make a new state, and make it only to affect an specific statistic (Base Statistic Alteration). For our example, I'll double the Attack. I don't need by now that my monsters get an stronger attack (by instance, not DOUBLED). Also, check the "Susceptibility" percentages. If you like it like that, leave it as is.
2.Make your skill. Let's say, a scan. It's only effect will be to add the "Scanning" status to the enemy. One enemy as target.
--
Now, we go to Monster's tab to check something...

My mole, for example, has 50 attack points. My scanning ability will double that amount to the target, so when the mole is below "Scanning" status, his attack will be of 100.
It's getting clearer now, right?
=
Let's go then to the monster group tab.

First of all, condition. It's a little troublesome, but for anything to work under battle events, you need some kind of condition. In my case, I used the "Intro" switch, which I know will be ON always (after the intro sequence... heh).

So, we get to the "code"...

What we got here is this: first we get the actual attack of our monster, and we evaluate it with the default number (which is 50). If the actual value exceeds our known normal one, the scan condition is met, so our scan technique will start to make its "real" effect.

AND NOW TO OUR THORNS
1.You need to do this with every monster, every group, over and over (and over...).
2.You'll have to make sure that the monster never fulfils the condition by other means. So, in the example, it can't get more than 50ATK.
3.You know, monsters have only 4 statuses. There's a limit of 8 simultaneous techniques.
--Well, you can do another trick to do it 8 by character, and even more (using as condition "When HeroX uses CommandX command).

Using "enemy as target" condition
HOW IT WORKS
This is simpler in therms of functionality (at least I see it much more straightforward), and needs just a little more of "coding".
Again, with our scan ability...

Start making your ability. Make it just to target an enemy, and nothing more. No damage, no altered state. Nothing.
=
Now, go to the Enemy group tab, and into the battle event. This time, we'll need another page for it... the image is much clearer than what I can explain by myself haha. When it's turn 0 (the very start of battle), we'll update our MP variable for each character. In this example, I only have one.

Now, into the second page, same as before, set as condition a switch which you know will be ON from the start or the closest to it.
And into the code you'll use something like this:

What it makes is to check the change at a hero's MP when a monster gets selected as a target.

THORNS... THORNS... EVERYTHING HAS THEM
Some of these are too at the previous method.
1.You need to do it for every monster, AND for every character sepparately. Still, it leaves you the opportunity to make separate sets for every character, nice!
2.You can't do a tech that uses zero MP. Also, every tech needs "unique costs" (just as Darken said below).
3.There CAN be problems with other MP changes. Stuff like MP damage (it occurs near the "targeting event" I think), weapon's "cost" (a property that's not that useful anyway, or may I say I've never seen anyone using it --I'm short ranged though). These kind of situations can be pretty much RARE, very rare (sometimes not even 1%), but take it into account just in case.

FIN
And this is it. You can use these methods for any technique. You can, for example, put a normal animation, make it wait for that animation to end, and then apply a damage calculated the way you like, or even more! (a technique that deals random number of hits! etcetera etcetera).

All your techs are belong to you (?)