I have been looking into 3 programs to use for Pathfinder.HeroLab, RPGXplorer, & PCGen. I was curious as to what the community is using and what they think of these programs?
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I've looked at hero lab, and found it quite confusing. I love rpgExplorer, but use Linux far too much to be satisfied with a windows only app.....
PCGen is nice, but being a java app that loads it's entire database into memory, well, it can run a little slowly at times.....
If you are running windows, rpgExplorer with the pathfinder data sets would be my favorite choice...Well, until I'm finished writing this ruby app in about 12.78 years.....
I've looked at hero lab, and found it quite confusing. I love rpgExplorer, but use Linux far too much to be satisfied with a windows only app.....
PCGen is nice, but being a java app that loads it's entire database into memory, well, it can run a little slowly at times.....
If you are running windows, rpgExplorer with the pathfinder data sets would be my favorite choice...Well, until I'm finished writing this ruby app in about 12.78 years.....
I was just about to order Hero Labs, so I'd like to hear what about it it was that you found confusing. As you're a Linux user and write your own apps... I mean that makes me a bit uncertain about how confusing I might find it?
GRU
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I've tried HL and RPGXP, and I think both are pretty decent. HeroLab seems to have a little less of a learning curve for customization, but it's hard to beat the export capabilities and sheet options of RPGXP (3.5 style, DMGII, PfRPG, PF Society, Monster Stat Block style sheet and IIRC, BB Code and HTML for online PbP games.)
RPGXP used to have a pretty devoted 3rd party support network that input datasets for some of the WOTC splatbooks, and they have had free datasets here for the first few PF adventure paths, but I don't honestly know if they've done a full dataset for the PFRPG yet, while I'm sure HL has.
Both have limited trials, though. Might be worth it to try both (or all three!) and see which one you find easiest.
I wish Redblade CG would hurry up and be finished! >_<
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I was just about to order Hero Labs, so I'd like to hear what about it it was that you found confusing. As you're a Linux user and write your own apps... I mean that makes me a bit uncertain about how confusing I might find it?GRU
Don't put *tooo* much weight in that, when I say "looked at" I mean, picked up the CD on FreeRPG day, and spent 5 minutes after installing it. It just works differetly to other apps I've used, and seemed to present too much information all at once. I'm sure if I'd given it a longer go, I'd have a better impression.
Is there a free trial you can download before purchase? That would be your best bet!
Disclosure: I am part of the PCGen team, Yahoo board moderator and minor data monkey.
I use PCGen only. Tried a few others, but always came back.
The Pathfinder data sets are there for the Core Rule Book, the Bonus Bestiary and the Character Traits Web Enhancement. They are in 'test' mode, ie. we know that some work still has to be done, but right now I am using it in my new campaign that is starting Monday night, and I have been verifying Ranger, Rogue, Paladin, Wizard and Cleric. Things look especially well for those classes.
As it is Java, it is cross platform, and yes, it does run a bit slowly. Our architecture and code teams work on speed issues a lot, and since earlier releases, it is good now. One of the things that I do is load only what I *really* need for the characters, rather than every dataset available.
-- david
Papa.DRB
I was just about to order Hero Labs, so I'd like to hear what about it it was that you found confusing. As you're a Linux user and write your own apps... I mean that makes me a bit uncertain about how confusing I might find it?GRU
Don't put *tooo* much weight in that, when I say "looked at" I mean, picked up the CD on FreeRPG day, and spent 5 minutes after installing it. It just works differetly to other apps I've used, and seemed to present too much information all at once. I'm sure if I'd given it a longer go, I'd have a better impression.
Is there a free trial you can download before purchase? That would be your best bet!
Thanks, Nevynxxx.
I'll check it out-GRU
PCGen: This is what I use for running 3.5 and Pathfinder as a GM. It's easier for me to add custom stuff if I want (it's not super easy, but it's accessible). I do get frustrated with its slowness, but it's a useful tool. AND IT'S FREE. Updates seem frequent, and while I don't communicate with the PC Gen folks myself, it seems like they respond to their community pretty reliably.
HeroLab: I bought this, but for use with Mutants and Masterminds, for which it is fantastic to help build characters with. I've not used the 3.5/Pathfinder stuff much--when you buy HeroLab, you can only "unlock" full usage of one of the games HeroLab supports, and I picked M&M (the other game systems are available in demo mode only, and you can't save characters). I'd have to pay $20 extra for 3.5 and for Pathfinder (or WoD or Savage Worlds, etc.). And pay more $ on top of that to customize with the Authoring kit. For my own personal purposes, I'd rather save that money for GameMastery goodies and stick to PC Gen.
However, if you just want it for Pathfinder, and you are a PLAYER and you really like the idea of not only a character generator but an advanced digital character sheet, HeroLab may be for you -- it's got a nice interface, and it does things for you like track conditions, add and subtract modifiers from spells, etc.
RPGXplorer: This I have not used. From chatter on their message boards, they have not updated for awhile due to one of the devs having various (understandable) personal life issues, and thus have not yet released datasets for Pathfinder final. So you won't want it (yet) if you're going to use it for Pathfinder final.
Now, I am watching to see if they ever do get around to updating. It looks like both player and DM tools are very useful; randomly I met someone (at jury duty of all places) who knows the devs and talked to them about how she needed a simple interface and was very pleased with how easy to use and streamlined it was.
For all of these--PC Gen is free and IIRC the other 2 have free demos, so you may as well download and try them out if you can't make up your mind.
I have HeroLab for pathfinder.
Things I like
It has Pathfinder Society support
You can get help very quickly on their Forum
They Fix bugs fast
Program is constantly getting updated.
Easy to use and very powerful. You can make a character with equipment and everything in a few minutes.
I would rate it B+ just because some features have not been added yet but they are working on them. I think they are ahead of the curve as far as pathfinder support compared to other programs.
My only major complaint. Familiars and animal companions are not in the program. If you play a wizard or Druid this is a big negative.
Some of the Traits haven't been added yet from some of the other source material but they do have web enchantment traits and pathfinder society traits from the free PDFs.
Has anyone explored the option of making a MS Access character gen using the built in VB? Just curious, I started one and it seemed to be doing fine, however, that was then, and I a sad little man who never has enough time.
But seriously, has anyone thought of this, and if so what discourges you other than time, and it already been done. The reason I did not finish was time, but Ias Pathfinder is new, i might try to get started on a new one soon.
I have been looking into 3 programs to use for Pathfinder.HeroLab, RPGXplorer, & PCGen. I was curious as to what the community is using and what they think of these programs?
I purchased HeroLab and use it for Pathfinder Society, Pathfinder RPG and D20 groups. There is a little learning curve as the program's function is unlike most others you will have used (e.g. there are no analogies to MS Word or Excel), but with a few minutes of using it I felt really comfortable with it. I have been particularly fond of its support for Pathfinder Society Rules. As others have said, its relatively easy customization options make it very usable.
I purchased RPGXplorer a while back, but I found its slow updates (if any) very frustrating. While it is generally decent, it has its share of bugs. I gave up on it and threw down the money for HeroLab after seeing it at GenCon. I didn't spend the extra lightly. From watching RPGX and the forums, it seemed as if this was essentially dead software. This is doubly true for for their long promised GM Xplorer.
I started out with PCGen and I have recommended it to several friends who do not have the means to purchase HeroLab. It is a bit more complicated than HeroLab, but in IMO it offers better customizability. My problem with PCGen was its slow performance, particularly with more than one character loaded at a time. I understand this is a result of its roots in Java. However, I did appreciate its cross platform support which is not offered by the other two. Ultimately, the performance issues drove my to pay for HeroLab.
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HeroLab has the ability to have multiple portfoilios open at once in a type of sidebar, so you can have your entire party and animal compantions/fmailiars/pets there too. While they are still working to add code for these, it'll be there soon enough for my tastes.
You can also output in several formats (three different character-sheet styles and a stat-block style) as well as saving in PDF format. You can make a lot of adjustments on the fly for in-play use (click a box, choose what is modified and by how much and go), as well as having an entire tab for temporary conditions (stunned, dazed, etc just click a box and the program updates your stats).
The authoring kit is NOT for editing a dataset and inputting your own houserules. The Editor does that, and it's not that hard. In fact, their messageboards are full of helpful people, many of whom may have already written the script for what you want to do and you can almost cut'n'paste your changes in. The Authoring kit (IIRC) is for building a whole new dataset for a completely new game, not for adding a feat or custom magic item. The d20 editor has a pretty through walkthrough/help document, and it shows how to add everything from a feat to a custom class.
I've used Timpani and HeroForge in the past, and while they were pretty good (and free), they were hard to edit and were mostly just character builders. HeroLab is more than just a character builder, and it's got a ton of houserule/source options you can use right out of the gate (Pathfinder Society, old d20 data, common houserules, and custom support (Lone Wolf created) as well).
I liked Herolabs. I brought the 3.5 module last years. I found the customization easy to use. I was in a high-level game, the GM had made changed to elves race, and it was easy to do in Herolabs. I was in another campaign with another GM and they had change Moridin Hammer Prc. Again, it was very easy to make a new Prc.
I have since bought the Pathfinder and Savage World modules and I love the program.
As a player using Herolab I rate this program A+ now. They have been updating the program pretty much every week. Animal Companions and familiars are in. Makes my life playing my Druid and Sorcerer easy now.
They have started adding in other pathfinder books.
As a player using Herolab I rate this program A+ now. They have been updating the program pretty much every week. Animal Companions and familiars are in. Makes my life playing my Druid and Sorcerer easy now.
They have started adding in other pathfinder books.
The started importing Council of Thieves data and report that all AP data will be in next weekend.
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Disclosure: I am part of the PCGen team, Yahoo board moderator and minor data monkey.
I'm a big PCGen fan, too. I've just started tinkering with characters using the new data sets. There are some bugs still, but loads of support on their boards, and the bugs you report help make the whole program better.
(I have to confess, the current Pathfinder data sets are called "Beta" and it took me a while to figure out that Beta referred to the status of the PCGen data, not to the Beta version of Pathfinder.)
Hey Papa-DRB - Any particular reason - other than lack of volunteer time - why nobody has created a data set for the Pathfinder Society stuff yet? Mostly traits, I think, but there aren't any Golarion languages or factions in the current data sets either. Is this kind of thing legally trickier to put in a data set than something that is totally OGL like Pathfinder?
EDIT - Oh, and PCGen is the only option for Mac.
I believe it is because no one has sat down and done it. I do data and Yahoo board moderation, so I am not involved in the "legal" stuff, ie. is it OGC or not.
Where would I get a copy of the Pathfinder Society rules, so I could take a look? If it is not too onerous a chore, it is something that I could work on in my spare (hah!) time, but more likely after I retire at the end of this year.
-- david
Papa.DRB
Hey Papa-DRB - Any particular reason - other than lack of volunteer time - why nobody has created a data set for the Pathfinder Society stuff yet? Mostly traits, I think, but there aren't any Golarion languages or factions in the current data sets either. Is this kind of thing legally trickier to put in a data set than something that is totally OGL like Pathfinder?
You can find it here.
I'll throw in another positive review of HeroLab, though like DeathQuaker I got the full M&M data set over Pathfinder. Though I'll be correcting that once I can scrape together another $20.
While I can't vouch for the others, I know HeroLab has a nice feature of alerting you when something you've done isn't legal in the rules, in such a way as to give you a clear idea on what you need to do to fix the problem.
I also find the interface very nice, with skills, feats, equipment, and class abilities (among others) separated into clear tabs.
And, as mentioned, you can download a free demo, allowing you to get a look at the program, and a basic idea of what it can do.
Does anyone know when PCGen will get the Bestiary data?
It is being added now (in byte size chunks).
-- david
Papa.DRB
Does anyone know when PCGen will get the Bestiary data?
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For those who don't know, PCGen has just released the 4th version of its Pathfinder data set. Data sets are MUCH easier to load now (just a menu command, no more manually burying folders in other folders), and it runs great. There may still be a few bugs in there somewhere, but I haven't found any yet. Great work code monkeys!
And again, it's free and it runs on Mac...
Disclosure: I am part of the PCGen team, Yahoo board moderator and minor data monkey.I'm a big PCGen fan, too. I've just started tinkering with characters using the new data sets. There are some bugs still, but loads of support on their boards, and the bugs you report help make the whole program better.
(I have to confess, the current Pathfinder data sets are called "Beta" and it took me a while to figure out that Beta referred to the status of the PCGen data, not to the Beta version of Pathfinder.)
Hey Papa-DRB - Any particular reason - other than lack of volunteer time - why nobody has created a data set for the Pathfinder Society stuff yet? Mostly traits, I think, but there aren't any Golarion languages or factions in the current data sets either. Is this kind of thing legally trickier to put in a data set than something that is totally OGL like Pathfinder?
EDIT - Oh, and PCGen is the only option for Mac.
I'm not so sure it's the Printed and Final PF rules, just created a human and the thing kept insisting I get a free "martial weapon prof" for being human. While other parts seem to be updated. Going to do more testing and fiddling, but it's being mighty slow today.
Then you are loading the wrong Pathfinder datasets. I am not near my personal laptop or I'd tell you which of the two Game modes to load, but human martial weapon proficiency is only true for the old Beta rules.
-- david
Papa.DRB
I'm not so sure it's the Printed and Final PF rules, just created a human and the thing kept insisting I get a free "martial weapon prof" for being human. While other parts seem to be updated. Going to do more testing and fiddling, but it's being mighty slow today.
Hi everyone,
I'm one of the developers for Hero Lab. As others have mentioned, we've been aggressively updating the Pathfinder data package since we released it at Gen Con this year. Here's some of the cool stuff you can take advantage of in Hero Lab:
- Award-winning tab-based interface guides you through character creation, without forcing you to follow a set path - ideal for newbies and veterans alike. Hero Lab guides you through picking a race, class, skills and feats, showing you all the information you need, when you need it. Even with all this information included, Hero Lab still loads in seconds.
- All classes include full details about their special abilities, including cleric domains, sorcerer bloodlines, paladin mercies, and more. Once you pick an ability, it appears in a consolidated summary list so you can instantly see everything your character can do. This is useful for when you're using...
- ... in-play support, which allows Hero Lab to act as an "electronic character sheet" at the gaming table. Track your current health, any bonuses / penalties provided by spells or other sources, and any conditions you're under, with just a few clicks of the mouse.
- Full support for Pathfinder Society (organized play) characters, including tracking your Pathfinder Society ID number, modified experience progression, Factions, and Traits. Additional traits from the web supplement are also included.
- Easily add custom content, from armor to classes to feats to races to spells – the Hero Lab Editor allows you to modify existing content or add your own from scratch. Once you've added content, you can quickly email it to others in your gaming group for them to use too.
- Animal Companions and Arcane Familiars are included, including the animal companion options from the Bestiary - these are treated like separate characters, allowing you to print out a full character sheet for them if you want.
- Many "Alternate Races" and "NPC Races" from the bestiary are included, including Orcs, Drow, Lizardfolk and more.
- Data from the Pathfinder Adventure Paths are included, including the new Council of Thieves adventure path. We also include some content from free web supplements, such as the bonus bestiary and the web traits supplement.
- Track your character background and even attach multiple portraits to a hero. Over 200 character images from a variety of genres are included for free with Hero Lab.
- Hero Lab's not just for players - dozens of Stock Portfolios can be imported to create instant NPCs with just a few clicks. Once imported, they're treated just like a regular character for you to edit.
- Once you've created some NPCs, the Tactical Console provides all the information you need to run encounters with the players. All the information you need is at your fingertips.
These are just some of the ways that Hero Lab will make your life easier. :) For more details and screenshots, check out our web site at http://www.wolflair.com/hero_lab/, or we'll be happy to answer questions here.
I've used PCGen for some time, it's not perfect but it does a pretty solid job and on a modern computer speed isn't a big issue. It is slow on my laptop but in general it's tolerable.
During my online games I use it as a virtual character sheet and it works fairly well, allowing me to apply buffs like haste and enlarge on the fly.
You can do some customization from within the app but it's kind of limited what it supports without editing LST files.
The LST files take a little learning but I've made custom character classes, feats, races, and templates.
PCGen is the only Mac/ Linux compatible character generator app so for now it's the only option I have.
I've used PCGen for some time, it's not perfect but it does a pretty solid job and on a modern computer speed isn't a big issue. It is slow on my laptop but in general it's tolerable.
During my online games I use it as a virtual character sheet and it works fairly well, allowing me to apply buffs like haste and enlarge on the fly.
You can do some customization from within the app but it's kind of limited what it supports without editing LST files.
The LST files take a little learning but I've made custom character classes, feats, races, and templates.
PCGen is the only Mac/ Linux compatible character generator app so for now it's the only option I have.
And it's free!
And it's free!
To be honest I wouldn't mind paying for a character generator if it were significantly better than PCGen and ran on OSX/ Linux but at this point it's irrelevant. The creator of Heroforge is talking about porting to OSX and maybe if he has a demo version I'll fall in love with it. Right now I'm a bit skeptical.
RPGXplorer is my go-to NPC character generator for when I'm writing something for 3.5 . I love its interface and its ease of adding basic new data and quick modifiers to existing characters. Now if it had PFRPG material, I would be set. For PFRPG material, I use the Excel sheet located here.
Then you are loading the wrong Pathfinder datasets. I am not near my personal laptop or I'd tell you which of the two Game modes to load, but human martial weapon proficiency is only true for the old Beta rules.
-- david
Papa.DRBI'm not so sure it's the Printed and Final PF rules, just created a human and the thing kept insisting I get a free "martial weapon prof" for being human. While other parts seem to be updated. Going to do more testing and fiddling, but it's being mighty slow today.
I had posted that after the new dataset on Sunday...so not sure why It still comes up in the list (doesn;t let me pick it, apart from for a cleric + human) anyway enough rambling from my end.
I Like PCGen, it's a little clumsy at times, but it does the job, it's free and all the dev's are great at updating things, what more could you really ask for?
Personally, I prefer PCGen, but that's because I know that I can zip it up and load it up 10 years from now in a VM and it will still run. I love the screenshots from Herolab, and would love to try their program, but the DRM on it is so restrictive that when they eventually go out of business or get bought by someone else (every company eventually goes under, or is bought by someone else) the program will cease to function when it can't talk to it's server to reauthenticate after a hardware upgrade.
Never looked at RPGExplorer, so can't comment on that one. PCGen's biggest fault, if you want to call it that, is that it is Open Source, so it means you have a long cycle of upgrade/test/fix/upgrade/test/fix. That's a blessing and a curse, of course. It means everything that's OGC will eventually be put in, and the bugs will get fixed eventually. It just means you may have to wait longer than you might have for a commercial company, since it's volunteer work.
I have been looking into 3 programs to use for Pathfinder.HeroLab, RPGXplorer, & PCGen. I was curious as to what the community is using and what they think of these programs?
The Only Sheet has been available for D&D3.5 for years, and recently updated to support Pathfinder as well. It is one of the most powerful and customizable workbook for D&D3.5 and [now] The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, with a complete implementation of the Stacking Rules, Dynamic support for Laptop users and a friendly community forum.
You can see some user comments in this thread on Paizo's forum or you can visit the Home Page for more information (and download a demo)
RiTz21
http://TheOnlySheet.com
And it's free!To be honest I wouldn't mind paying for a character generator if it were significantly better than PCGen and ran on OSX/ Linux but at this point it's irrelevant. The creator of Heroforge is talking about porting to OSX and maybe if he has a demo version I'll fall in love with it. Right now I'm a bit skeptical.
Lone Wolf is actively investigating a Mac/Linux port of Hero Lab as well. There is a separate thread about it over in this thread.
So it sounds like there are a number of new options that may be appearing in the relatively near future for Mac users.
I love the screenshots from Herolab, and would love to try their program, but the DRM on it is so restrictive that when they eventually go out of business or get bought by someone else (every company eventually goes under, or is bought by someone else) the program will cease to function when it can't talk to it's server to reauthenticate after a hardware upgrade.
That seems a bit over the top to me, but everyone is entitled to their own opinion. For the record, Lone Wolf Development has been around for more than 15 years, and we've been developing software for the tabletop gaming industry for about 12 years now. That makes us (I work for the company) a pretty old and venerable company in the eyes of most people.
We're still actively supporting our early versions of Army Builder - from more than 10 years ago. And there is absolutely no reason to assume we won't be fully supporting Hero Lab 10 years from now.
So I'll agree that it's possible we'll go under at some point, but that likelihood is pretty remote. And if we were bought out, there's absolutely no reason for us to stop supporting our existing products, especially since that's probably the very reason someone would buy us out.
Based on this, if you really like what you see in Hero Lab, you might find it worth risking the mere $30 cost for the product. Denying yourself access to a tool you think will improve your gaming experience over the possibility that we might go out of business someday seems short-sighted to me. Even if we went out of business in five years, you'd have invested $6 per year on the product. Given the number of hours you spend gaming, and the fact that your time and quality of life must have some sort of value, I think you'd still get more than your money's worth out of the investment. :-)
Just something to consider....
FYI: fellow Paizonian erian_7 has been working on an excel based character sheet with fields that auto-fill and auto-calculate.
You can download it on his profile page: link
It runs in Excel or Open Office (which is free).
It seems pretty comprehensive, although I did find it slightly overwhelming.
It's still underdevelopment, but he's constantly updating up.
I like to use it to easily calculate ability scores for NPCs.
Check it out.
I would like to thank everyone in the community for their opinions.
I appreciate the support from the DEV's at Herolab coming onto the boards and giving their 2 cents. If this is the type of support they give for their product, I will to give it a try. I have been a big fan of ArmyBuilder for years, and I am glad to see their efforts being spent on other parts of the gaming biz.
Thanks again everyone. Long Live Pathfinder!
That seems a bit over the top to me, but everyone is entitled to their own opinion.
A lot of folks thought Microsoft's Play's for Sure was a solid bet on an established company but turns out that was a fiasco.
If I had a PC I might drop $30 on it, as you say it's a small investment and in particular I like supporting small developers who support our favorite hobby. I just don't like DRM in general as generally it's a PITA for normal users and does a poor job preventing piracy.
If you port it to the Mac I'll definitely consider it and try it out.
FYI: fellow Paizonian erian_7 has been working on an excel based character sheet with fields that auto-fill and auto-calculate.
You can download it on his profile page: link
It runs in Excel or Open Office (which is free).
It seems pretty comprehensive, although I did find it slightly overwhelming.It's still underdevelopment, but he's constantly updating up.
I like to use it to easily calculate ability scores for NPCs.
Check it out.
Heh, thanks for the plug, Shadow! While the likes of HeroLab and PC Gen far outstrip my work, it should serve very well for folks looking for an automated character sheet rather than a full blown character generator. It's Mac friendly and I've got some great 3rd party companies (Alluria Publishing, 4 Winds Fantasy Gaming, and Super Genius Games) as well as the Legend of the Shining Jewel living campaign providing their OGC for inclusion in the sheet. I'm always interested in feedback and opinions!
PCGen, all the way, baby!
I've never noticed much in the way of speed issues, unless I loaded every data set under the sun.
I just don't like DRM in general as generally it's a PITA for normal users and does a poor job preventing piracy.
I agree that DRM is annoying for honest users, but it's an unfortunate necessity for us. With our Army Builder product, we literally had three pirated copies in use for every one that was purchased back about five years ago - with our old (read: lame) DRM. When we switched to our current DRM, ours sales jumped hugely, which indicates that a very large percentage of those folks were pirating it simply because they could get away with it. Our current DRM was introduced with our Card Vault product 7 years ago and it has not yet been cracked. Quality DRM has been the difference between having a company on life support (pre-DRM) and a successful enterprise that could invest in the massive development of Hero Lab.
Lone-Wolf Rob,
Here is some feedback I gave the guy who does The One Sheet, and I referenced your product as a base of comparision. I also think it's good feedback for you guys to hear as well.
I can only imagine Mathias groaning at the idea of the extra work.. but despite what the Bestiary depicts as possible PC races, and NPC races with character levels.. it doesn't always match the reality of what has been done in some of the APs.
And maybe you can't do anything about that, but I think it's a reality to be aware of...
*********************************
On another subject, I have started adding stuff from the Bestiary.Presently, the I added the 12 playable race from the Bestiary: Aasimar, Drow, Drow Noble, Duergar, Goblin, Hobgoblin, Kobold, Merfolk, Orc, Svirfneblin, Tengu, Tiefling
Once I add a few other items (like animal companions and monstrous feats), I will release another update to the Sheet...
Cheers!
RiTz21
I'm not a One Sheet Customer, rather I'm a HeroLabs customer..
But I'm always on the look out for new products. Here is some feedback..
Despite what the Bestiary lists as playable races, some of the adventure paths add character levels to the most damnable races.
Runelords Example (Warning Spoilers):
In HeroLabs, by next weekend, I might be able to build those races and add character levels to them. Thus far, as much as I love HeroLab, I don't find it all that easy to use the Editor. But to be fair to HL, not all of the necesssary functionality has been added to it yet, but will be shortly.
Getting back to your specific product.. a selling point to me is monster races that often have character levels added to them, regardless of whatever the Bestiary says. Tengu and Lizardfolk are great monsters, but neither has ever appeared in the big AP I'm running, but plenty of other monsters have been. In fact, it's been 20+ real world years since I used a lizardman in anything.
I don't know what you or your competitors can actually do about that, because I can appreciate the reluctance to add the whole damn Bestiary.. but if some character builder would actually look at the AP's and see what races are really getting character levels, that would be awesome.
I don't know what you or your competitors can actually do about that, because I can appreciate the reluctance to add the whole damn Bestiary.. but if some character builder would actually look at the AP's and see what races are really getting character levels, that would be awesome.
Speaking from the experience I have with my little excursion into the character sheet world (I call mine an automated sheet rather than a generator--it's not nearly as fancy as something like HeroLabs)...general users can help us out tremendously by pointing out the exact material you want. For instance, I have all of the APs, but I've not read them all and don't have the free time to track down the various "odd" races that might be useful for automation. However, if someone points me in the right direction with a request I'm more than happy to incorporate the material. I have, for instance, worked the gnoll into my sheet as I intend to run Legacy of Fire and also wanted a "test run" on how I might handle higher CR races with racial HD.
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Here's a question: as a freelancer and contributor I'm always looking for programs that will save me time by out-putting NPCs to a word doc or rtf file in the Paizo official stat block format. I have a tool I work with that's pretty close, but can Herolabs and or PCGen do that?
Also, what about monster design? Can I design a monster in either Herolabs or PCGen and output that in stat block format?
NOTE: Despite having the same avatar; I am not lonewolf-rob. :-)
I just don't like DRM in general as generally it's a PITA for normal users and does a poor job preventing piracy.
I never buy products with Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) on the principle of the matter.
NOTE: Despite having the same avatar; I am not lonewolf-rob. :-)
I just don't like DRM in general as generally it's a PITA for normal users and does a poor job preventing piracy.I never buy products with Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) on the principle of the matter.
About the only things I buy I can't use on any computer are video game discs. :) Those at least I feel comfortable I can buy a used console after the company goes out of business (like my dreamcast games).
Heh, thanks for the plug, Shadow!
No prob. I've been using your sheet a lot lately and I've found it to be quite helpful. Just wanted to give credit where credit was due.