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Another question for the masses.. this one more mundane.
I have been using PC Gen for about a year/ year and a half and it really is a decent program, especially for being volunteer lead and free. I understand that there are problems with anything that isn't pen and paper and triple checked, but I am starting to get kind of annoyed with certain aspects of the program.
Namely, the fact that I have characters spread out over 4 different versions because the files don't always play well with the updates and the updates do not overwrite, they just add a new program file and start over. Moving things from one file to another may or may not work, and it seems to be a random decision on what does transfer, and how much I have to redo every time I try. (Case in point, Mikail is saved in an older version. When I try to move his file to the newest version, it reverts him 2 levels and throws up scores of error messages. I have to resolve all of that before I can level him.) The math always needs to be double and triple checked, and its not always apparent if things are computing correctly.
I know a lot of people use Hero Labs, and I have looked into this, but it seems incredibly expensive to get going even with their bundle packages. To cover all of my characters and GM'ing, I think I totaled up over $100 of purchases beyond the initial player pack to make the program serviceable for my needs.
What are yalls experiences with Hero Labs and other resources for digital character tracking? What are your opinions and thoughts? I almost exclusively play here through Paizo, so digital access makes my life so much easier than going back and forth between notebooks, binders, and my profiles.
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I started using PC Gen when I started playing PFS. I did like it and it has its moments, however the updates to it are slow due to being free and volunteer. I resisted Hero labs for a long time but finally caved in and "bought" into it after paying off some debt. Hero labs is great and easy to learn. it does update quite frequently which can get annoying. It is expensive if you want to have the info for every single PFS book or reference for your builds. You do need to look at it as spending money twice, once for the actual paizo material to play that material for PFS and then once for Hero labs to have it in your hero lab build.
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When Hero Labs updates, does it do so automatically and overwrite/patch internally? Or is it a manual update and/or new save file like PC Gen?
How accurate are the character sheets? I understand having to double check it just to be sure, but does it have the same glitches common to PC Gen?
So, despite the issues I have with PC Gen and Mikails file right now, I have a basic idea of what I am going to do. I am going to take the Exotic weapon proficiency with a masterwork scorpion whip (trip, reach), I purchased the circlet of Persuasion, and I dumped 5 of my 10 ranks into UMD, and have a +13 now to handle that.
Looking at the scrolls, I would like to focus on scrolls that buff all/the majority of the team like Haste, or targeted spells that do high output damage etc like create pit or bestow curse.
How does this sound?? Oh, and my sneak attack goes up another d6 this level!
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I haven't used PC Gen, but I find Hero Lab to be very smooth and easy to use, without the issues you describe for PC Gen. When it updates, it does so pretty seamlessly. There's also a downloadable add-on to it that lets you make adjustments, so if you've got a boon that lets you have an extra trait or there's some other reason you need to tweak the rules applied to a given character, it's pretty flexible in doing so.
I went in on Hero Lab with a few other people, getting multiple licenses (for 5 computers, I think), so it was less expensive, and when I buy new content everyone gets when they reauthorize their licenses. I didn't do the original purchase, so I'm not sure about the particulars, but it's worth looking into.
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Still out of town but will update in game play this afternoon before heading home.
Quick question for Hoshiko and Fera, since yall use Hero Labs: any clue how to add the rogue talents? And what tab will allow me to buy scrolls? I can't find them under the magic tab.. I went ahead and took the plunge.. spent 100 bucks between the program and the rulebooks!
-Posted with Wayfinder
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Hey guys, I've run into one hell of a real life snafu, and have basically been living out of my car for the last week or so. That means no wifi, and no access to my laptop. That makes leveling pretty damned hard. Hopefully everything gets better on the first, and I can actually have a house again. Anyway, I apologize profusely for being so absent. I'll still be posting, I'll probably just be a lot more scarse.
Dude, that sounds like a terrible twist of fate. Get your life together, we'll still be here. Thanks for letting us know!
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Unfortunately, my computer decided that it didn't want to work today, and is sitting at the repair shop. Hopefully tomorrow I will be back and rolling!
-Posted with Wayfinder
Bummer, man! I just had my son diagnosed with influenza, so my posting might be erratic as well.
Yikes! I hope it's less serious than it sounds and everyone is happy and well!
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Going off the grid until Sunday night. Zol will channel energy and use Life Link to heal.
-Posted with Wayfinder
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I believe that I owe all of you an apology for my erratic posting this week. It has been a rough couple of weeks on the homefront, and this week has seen a number of upsets to my normal schedule. Hopefully, things will have settled out and I can return to a more normal pace, both in life and in my gaming.
Dude, what Hoshiko said. Life happens and usually without warning. It's cool. We all understand priorities.
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I believe that I owe all of you an apology for my erratic posting this week. It has been a rough couple of weeks on the homefront, and this week has seen a number of upsets to my normal schedule. Hopefully, things will have settled out and I can return to a more normal pace, both in life and in my gaming.
No apologies necessary, Mika! We come here to have fun together, but real life has to take precedence over our little imagined world here. Hope things settle down for you - and that Mikail doesn't run into any more scary ladders in his current reconnaissance!
Mikail, where in Southern Indiana? I used to live in Washington, IN and Evansville for many years.
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HAHAHAHA!!!!!! No s%~#?! Unfortunately, I live in Evansville. I have tried to escape from here many times over the years, but keep getting sucked back for one reason or another. I have a couple of good friends up in Washington and in that area and travel through it frequently when heading north now that I-69 is completed.
So what brought you to this area, and what facilitated your escape?
My mom grew up in that area and we moved there when my Dad retired back in '94. Ended up graduating from WHS and went to UE, then returned there for a couple years later before going to IU for my master's. I live in the Quad Cities, Iowa now.
I still have many friends down there, from my college days. I need to visit again. Last time was a couple years ago. I was amazed at how much it's grown since I lived there. Like a tumor.
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Wow! What are the freaking odds??
My dad was transferred here when he was in the Navy in the early 90's and I have been in and out of town ever since. I graduated from Harrison here in Evil, but did my college down in Texas. I moved back about 5 years ago so that I could live closer to my son.
The city looks like its growing to anyone that doesn't live here. Yes, there are new buildings and projects all of the time, but there are very few decent jobs here. When I moved here the last time, I did so with 15 years of experience as an EMT and a firefighter and a great many certifications and positions that I had held over the years. The local ambulance company offered me 9.20 an hour, and the local hospitals refuse to talk to me. Unless you are working the line up at the Toyota plant, there really isn't that much left here.
Yeah, I hear from my friends about the job situation. Most of them work for the hospitals. Yeah, Toyota's like a darn city now isn't it? That plant just seems to build itself overnight. I think it's an alien outpost. Pretty soon they'll be terraforming Indiana into a habitable land.
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Hmm, let me read a bit more into it, since it's an area I'm not 100% confident on.
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Considering the outages that have been happening lately, I am passing out my Google ID in case anyone has Google Hangouts and wishes to add me for communication that doesn't involve Paizo trickeries :-) No offense meant to any lurkers!! I promise!!!
Anyways, if you wish to check up on the game or to contact me for any reason, I am on Google Hangouts, and my address is dragonthoughts83@gmail.com
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I will likely be unable to post for most of next week. I had planned to go camping with my family at a place I know there is cell signal, but the road to that spot is washed out. We're going to a different place where I understand there is no cell reception, so I will likely be unable to post June 19-22. My apologies, please bot me as necessary.