So I just purchased Hero Lab. Its amazing. However I tend to use alot of Home brew/Conversion material.
Does anyone know of a guide to the Editor that lets you add material.
Specifically Im trying to add my Malconvoker Archetype for Summoners located here..
I don't know about something as complicated as a new Archetype, but I fould a youtube video that helped me make a Cloak of Charisma (a non-standard item) by looking at the standard Cloak of Protection and the standard Circlet of Charisma. I think this link is it.
Here's one I found on how to create a feat in HeroLab
YouTube Hero Lab Feat
I don't know about something as complicated as a new Archetype, but I fould a youtube video that helped me make a Cloak of Charisma (a non-standard item) by looking at the standard Cloak of Protection and the standard Circlet of Charisma. I think this link is it.
Here's one I found on how to create a feat in HeroLab
YouTube Hero Lab Feat
Thanks. I love the program. This will get me started.
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If you have questions on writing Hero Lab data files, head over to our support forums and post the questions there. Our in-house data file experts are available to help out, plus there are lots of other users who are happy to lend their expertise to those who are just getting started. :)
The tutorials included with Hero Lab ought to get you started adding most material you can think of. The forums are a great place to learn various tricks and get help with specific tasks that you are trying to accomplish.
Since this is a hero lab thread, I was thinking of buying it, but do you have to pay for each pathfinder book individually on it?
^precisely why I've not purchased it. I've already bought the books, why do it again?
^precisely why I've not purchased it. I've already bought the books, why do it again?
That's the case then? That's a shame, most of it's OGL. bah.
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There is a cost involved, but most of the books are "bundled" together...
To get every book, plus the initial program, it looks like it would cost a total of $85. However, you do not need to buy every bundle all at once, just the ones you are likely to use at first...
The benefit of buying the bundles is that all of the programming is done for you (otherwise, one would have to enter all of the information themselves bit by bit)...
As someone who has made the investment, it is well worth it in my opinion as it saves so much prep time as a GM. I am able to stat out NPCs and monsters practically on the fly...
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^precisely why I've not purchased it. I've already bought the books, why do it again?That's the case then? That's a shame, most of it's OGL. bah.
yes most of it is OGL but a living breathing human being has to manually program the data into the program.
Or if you just want to buy the basic package you can manually enter any of the data you want or make your own content, you do not have to buy the books if you do not want them.
What you are paying for are all the person hours of data entry, and coding you don't have to do your self to have a functioning coherent up to date NPC character and monster builder.
It is very cheep and you can run it on more than 1 PC. It is also modular so you only need to purchase the book sets you want.
If you don't want to pay people for their hard work then there are other options Erain 7's excellent excel sheet is available. As it is a community effort it is not 100% up to date and you won't see new books until months after their release.
What annoys me is people with a massive sense of self entitlement complaining that they can't get other peoples hard work for free.
If don't like it don't bomb a technical question thread with a tantrum about it. Go ask questions in the product thread or email the company I am sure they will be able to explain how the capitalist system works. You know you pay or trade for the goods others produce if you want them.
What you are paying for are all the person hours of data entry, and coding you don't have to do your self to have a functioning coherent up to date NPC character and monster builder.
It is very cheep and you can run it on more than 1 PC. It is also modular so you only need to purchase the book sets you want.
If you don't want to pay people for their hard work then there are other options Erain 7's excellent excel sheet is available. As it is a community effort it is not 100% up to date and you won't see new books until months after their release.
What annoys me is people with a massive sense of self entitlement complaining that they can't get other peoples hard work for free.
If don't like it don't bomb a technical question thread with a tantrum about it. Go ask questions in the product thread or email the company I am sure they will be able to explain how the capitalist system works. You know you pay or trade for the goods others produce if you want them.
What tantrum? All I said is it's a shame I'd have to pay for OGL content again.
All I said is it's a shame I'd have to pay for OGL content again.
That's a common misconception. What you're paying for with the add-ons is *not* the OGL content - that's free. What you're actually paying for is to have someone else to do all the work of entering the data, including writing all the scripts so all the rules get applied in the correct ways, and then test everything.
If finances are tight or you have more spare time than spare cash, there's nothing stopping you from adding the content you need yourself. You are welcome to add whatever content you wish to Hero Lab, including all the content from the various books. We make all the same tools available to users that we utilize in-house. And there are plenty of folks happy to help answer questions on our support forums if you run into a snag with something. :)
All I said is it's a shame I'd have to pay for OGL content again.That's a common misconception. What you're paying for with the add-ons is *not* the OGL content - that's free. What you're actually paying for is to have someone else to do all the work of entering the data, including writing all the scripts so all the rules get applied in the correct ways, and then test everything.
If finances are tight or you have more spare time than spare cash, there's nothing stopping you from adding the content you need yourself. You are welcome to add whatever content you wish to Hero Lab, including all the content from the various books. We make all the same tools available to users that we utilize in-house. And there are plenty of folks happy to help answer questions on our support forums if you run into a snag with something. :)
Thank you for clearing all that up for me. I think I might be making this investment, making npc's quick seems awesome.
It is worth every penny. The book content is greatly discounted, 10 bucks each.
Once you start to play with the editor it gets quicker.
^precisely why I've not purchased it. I've already bought the books, why do it again?
You're not buying the books again. You're paying for the work someone did to enter all that data into the program. I've been working with it for a while now and it's a lot of work. Some of the stuff is tricky and some of it currently can't be done at all without them actually rewriting the software (which they do with new versions).
It's not really all that expensive either. You don't have to buy everything all at once and you can often buy things in packages to save money.
If don't like it don't bomb a technical question thread with a tantrum about it.
Wow, holy black kettle batman.
The most expensive stuff is APG, UM, UC, Bestiary 1+2+3. Everything else is about $5, and you get a variety of other source books for that $5.
I have the bad habit of buying every data package for Pathfinder, but it's nice to have all the items, especially more so for a reference.
I also love the product, especially as a GM I can whip out any specialized NPC or monster with classes in a fraction of a second and have players think, "Wow, that guy was ACTUALLY written up in the book?"
I also have been making Pathfinder Gestalt classes (ie..fighter//ninja and such) as Fighter class with archtype of ninja and so on. I think I've made 14 so far. If you need help building an archtype pm me and I can help you as well.
I personally didn't buy the Beastiary pack, but did buy almost everything else. I like the product a lot, but ...
I like to convert characters that were originally created without HeroLab to HeroLab whenever they come up again for play (we rotate GMs and campaigns), sometimes I find mistakes in them in the process. Some of these characters use 3PP products.
What I would like to see is other 3PP producers of stuff, in my case specifically LPJ, include a link on the PDF to a file I can import into HeroLab so I can use the feat (or whatever) they've written without personally having to figure out the most elegant way to create it. I'm an old-school procedural guy, so if it doesn't look like FORTRAN or PL/SQL I've got to break out the books.
What I would like to see is other 3PP producers of stuff, in my case specifically LPJ, include a link on the PDF to a file I can import into HeroLab so I can use the feat (or whatever) they've written without personally having to figure out the most elegant way to create it. I'm an old-school procedural guy, so if it doesn't look like FORTRAN or PL/SQL I've got to break out the books.
Whilst I agree that it would be great to have greater 3PP support for Hero Lab, it's also true that then they would have to spend time figuring out how to create it in the HL editor. Just because they're publishers doesn't mean they're any more familiar with HL than you are. Maybe it behooves them to learn in order to provide a more attractive product, but then it's also reasonable for them to charge more for their pdfs in return. Is that something you'd be happy with as well? Would everyone? Would the loss of sales (based on the fact that not everyone uses HL) be compensated for by an increase in sales to HL users? Just sayin'.
What I'd like is some more comprehensive documentation on creating custom content. I don't really want to scrabble around on YouTube, or search messageboards for tips to find how to do the one thing I want to create (currently needing to set up Wee Jas owing to a planeshifted Greyhawk priest visiting Golarion). It's such an awesome product that I really feel it deserves a separate tutorial package. Maybe that would cost, but I, for one, would find it worth it.
What I would like to see is other 3PP producers of stuff, in my case specifically LPJ, include a link on the PDF to a file I can import into HeroLab so I can use the feat (or whatever) they've written without personally having to figure out the most elegant way to create it. I'm an old-school procedural guy, so if it doesn't look like FORTRAN or PL/SQL I've got to break out the books.
Whilst I agree that it would be great to have greater 3PP support for Hero Lab, it's also true that then they would have to spend time figuring out how to create it in the HL editor. Just because they're publishers doesn't mean they're any more familiar with HL than you are. Maybe it behooves them to learn in order to provide a more attractive product, but then it's also reasonable for them to charge more for their pdfs in return. Is that something you'd be happy with as well? Would everyone? Would the loss of sales (based on the fact that not everyone uses HL) be compensated for by an increase in sales to HL users? Just sayin'.
What I'd like is some more comprehensive documentation on creating custom content. I don't really want to scrabble around on YouTube, or search messageboards for tips to find how to do the one thing I want to create (currently needing to set up Wee Jas owing to a planeshifted Greyhawk priest visiting Golarion). It's such an awesome product that I really feel it deserves a separate tutorial package. Maybe that would cost, but I, for one, would find it worth it.
I know that Super Genius Games has hired someone to work on theirs. I saw Open Design was looking for someone on the Wolf Lair boards and I think someone volunteered. I think Rite Publishing has someone delivering some of theirs as well. I also know there are folks on the Wolf Lair boards that are doing their level best to add 3PP content, myself included. I will qualify and say that mine are a little short on the functional side, getting the pre-reqs in, but not necessarily applying the changes to the character.
With regard to other 3PP I don't know what they are doing in that regard.
I know that Super Genius Games has hired someone to work on theirs. I saw Open Design was looking for someone on the Wolf Lair boards and I think someone volunteered. I think Rite Publishing has someone delivering some of theirs as well. I also know there are folks on the Wolf Lair boards that are doing their level best to add 3PP content, myself included. I will qualify and say that mine are a little short on the functional side, getting the pre-reqs in, but not...
And those efforts are much appreciated. I guess it's just a case of reaching a critical mass with the product, so that such content becomes the norm rather than the exception.
I guess it's just a case of reaching a critical mass with the product, so that such content becomes the norm rather than the exception.
I think we've kind of reached that tipping point. If you do a search for Hero Lab on the Paizo forums, you'll find that 8 different 3PPs have already begun releasing products with Hero Lab data files. There are at least two more 3PPs that I know are working on their first data files for release in the near future (including the aforementioned Open Design). In addition, Paizo has publicly stated that they are in the process of migrating from their in-house "Spreadsheet of Doom" over to Hero Lab. So you'll definitely be seeing a lot more HL data files accompanying 3PP products in the months to come. There's just a bit of spin-up time involved that needs to be soldiered through, so please be patient while the freight train gets up to speed. :)
We've also got a new product in development that will be released late this year called Realm Works. It focuses on campaign development and management. So you'll be hearing a lot more about that in the months to come.
I guess it's just a case of reaching a critical mass with the product, so that such content becomes the norm rather than the exception.I think we've kind of reached that tipping point. If you do a search for Hero Lab on the Paizo forums, you'll find that 8 different 3PPs have already begun releasing products with Hero Lab data files. There are at least two more 3PPs that I know are working on their first data files for release in the near future (including the aforementioned Open Design). In addition, Paizo has publicly stated that they are in the process of migrating from their in-house "Spreadsheet of Doom" over to Hero Lab. So you'll definitely be seeing a lot more HL data files accompanying 3PP products in the months to come. There's just a bit of spin-up time involved that needs to be soldiered through, so please be patient while the freight train gets up to speed. :)
We've also got a new product in development that will be released late this year called Realm Works. It focuses on campaign development and management. So you'll be hearing a lot more about that in the months to come.
Will Realm works come with a VTT?
What I would love to see and you could start small using Pathfinder society scenarios as a test bed, is Paizo licensing adventures to a VTT so all a GM need do is hook up a projector or a TV at the table or play over the internet with people from all over the world.
I imagine a day where all a GM need do is buy the PDF from Paizo and buy the adventure datapack from Lone Wolf log in ping his players and off you go.
If you purchase the licence, and you put the herolab on two computers, but lets say one breaks, would you have to buy it again to put it on another computer?
Will Realm works come with a VTT?
A conventional VTT is not part of the initial plan, although we could go there if demand is sufficient. Realm Works is focused on the *content* of the campaign, as opposed to the tactical combat elements that a conventional VTT is optimized for. There are some solid VTTs available today, and we'd rather focus on parts of the RPG experience for which tools have *not* yet been developed. There are no tools out there doing what Realm Works will offer, so our hope is that we'll be filling a need that everyone will find compelling. :)
The brief info on our website is woefully out-of-date, but it should give you a basic idea of what we're working on. There are some much nicer screenshots in recent issues of Kobold Quarterly. We should be doing a major update of Realm Works on the website early next month as we enter the run-up to GenCon.
If you purchase the licence, and you put the herolab on two computers, but lets say one breaks, would you have to buy it again to put it on another computer?
Absolutely not! The licensing mechanism works such that each issued license number is tied to a single computer *at one time*. If you want to move a license number to a new machine, you can readily do that. So if you have a computer with Hero Lab on it and that computer dies, you can move the license to the replacement computer. The same applies if you simply decide to buy a newer, faster computer.
Hope this helps! :)
I guess I know what I'm spending a chunk of my next check on.
I really like it. It helps me build characters really quickly to see if my ideas will work as well on paper as they do in my head.
It is an easy way to keep character ideas.
I think we've kind of reached that tipping point. If you do a search for Hero Lab on the Paizo forums, you'll find that 8 different 3PPs have already begun releasing products with Hero Lab data files. There are at least two more 3PPs that I know are working on their first data files for release in the near future (including the aforementioned Open Design). In addition, Paizo has publicly stated that they are in the process of migrating from their in-house "Spreadsheet of Doom" over to Hero Lab. So you'll definitely be seeing a lot more HL data files accompanying 3PP products in the months to come. There's just a bit of spin-up time involved that needs to be soldiered through, so please be patient while the freight train gets up to speed. :)
We've also got a new product in development that will be released late this year called Realm Works. It focuses on campaign development and management. So you'll be hearing a lot more about that in the months to come.
I love the sound of this, looks very exciting.
The licensing mechanism works such that each issued license number is tied to a single computer *at one time*. If you want to move a license number to a new machine, you can readily do that. So if you have a computer with Hero Lab on it and that computer dies, you can move the license to the replacement computer. The same applies if you simply decide to buy a newer, faster computer.
Hope this helps! :)
And for me, this is a PROBLEM. I can only use HeroLabs at home. I can't put all my stuff on a thumbdrive to take it to work to monkey with stuff during lunch because
a) I won't necessarily have the same computer each time.
b) I won't necessarily have internet access.
c) I can't permanently install anything on the computer I'm using, as they get refreshed overnight from a central secure image.
Even if I bought a personal laptop to take with me I'm still limited by the company wireless connection. They screen out lots of sites as inappropriate, including www.lpjdesign.com for reasons I can't fathom.
I understand why you feel compelled to do things the way you're doing them. I don't really expect anything to change. The only real suggestion I can make would be to go to a web-service model where I can log into a website and have access to all my stored characters, but then were're closer to the DIABLO III model. I don't think I really want that ...
If you have questions on writing Hero Lab data files, head over to our support forums and post the questions there. Our in-house data file experts are available to help out, plus there are lots of other users who are happy to lend their expertise to those who are just getting started. :)
The tutorials included with Hero Lab ought to get you started adding most material you can think of. The forums are a great place to learn various tricks and get help with specific tasks that you are trying to accomplish.
Thanks for the advice. I will be taking a look at all the guides and such. I have to say I am loving the program. It is easily the the best character builder I have used. Very user friendly while still having all the bells and whistles.
Most of my friends are cheap, but I will still show them Hero Lab and try to sell them on it lol.
Last Question... Do you ever have specials? Weekends where you sell discounted bundles or anything?
Even if I bought a personal laptop to take with me I'm still limited by the company wireless connection. They screen out lots of sites as inappropriate, including www.lpjdesign.com for reasons I can't fathom.
Unfortunately, there's no single solution out there that will work perfectly for everyone. :(
I don't understand this particular concern. Once you activate your Hero Lab license on a computer, it does *not* need access to the internet to function. The activation process downloads a key file onto your computer that unlocks the product. After that, you can disconnect from the internet and use Hero Lab without limitation on your laptop. That was a critical design goal for us, since we want users to be able to leverage Hero Lab at the gaming table, including at Cons and other such places where internet connections are either expensive or unavailable.
So you should be able to put Hero Lab onto a personal laptop, activate it at home, and then take it anywhere with you. No internet connection is necessary at that point. If you ran into a problem attempting to do this, please contact our support staff so we can figure out what went wrong and get you running properly. :)
Hope this helps!
Once you activate your Hero Lab license on a computer, it does *not* need access to the internet to function. The activation process downloads a key file onto your computer that unlocks the product. After that, you can disconnect from the internet and use Hero Lab without limitation on your laptop.
My apologies. I was under the (apparently mistaken) impression that upon each launch of HeroLab, it "phones home", both to check for updates and to verify the license. If this is NOT the case, well, I still don't want to drag a laptop back and forth rather than just my thumb-drive with my PDFs on it. After all, I got the PDFs so I didn't have to drag the books themselves back and forth.
Don't get me wrong, I feel I got good value for my money, but it's a limitation that rubs me wrong almost every lunchtime.
Last Question... Do you ever have specials? Weekends where you sell discounted bundles or anything?
We have not done so in the past, nor do we have any plans to do so in the near future. We really do strive to keep prices as low as we can to begin with, so there really isn't much we could shave off for a discount if we wanted to.
Just to provide some perspective, the Advanced Race Guide add-on is due out next week. Implementing that entire book involved a total of roughly *six months* worth of work, spread across a team of a few individuals. We're asking only $10 for the add-on. So I guess the big question is whether you feel $10 is a fair price for six months of work. :)
Based on the number of units we expect to sell, we definitely anticipate making a small profit on it, but it's not a huge chunk of cash. And the profit we do make is being channeled right back into the development of Realm Works. So nobody's getting rich on this end. :)
We're gamers as well (I started with the original D&D boxed set in 1976), so we're not out to gouge anyone. Our goal is to create something highly useful for a hobby we love, and be able to make an honest living doing that. I like to think we're achieving that goal.
My apologies. I was under the (apparently mistaken) impression that upon each launch of HeroLab, it "phones home", both to check for updates and to verify the license. If this is NOT the case, well, I still don't want to drag a laptop back and forth rather than just my thumb-drive with my PDFs on it. After all, I got the PDFs so I didn't have to drag the books themselves back and forth.
Hero Lab definitely "phones home" to check for updates, but that's designed to quietly fail if there isn't an internet connection. The only time Hero Lab contacts our server regarding a license and access is when the user explicitly triggers it.
I can wholly understand choosing to not lug a laptop around. I just wanted to make sure you knew that you *can* do that if you choose to. :)
I have picked up most of the packages for HL over the last year as my finances have permitted. I will also soon be picking up the ARG.
A Package looks like this:
Pathfinder RPG Campaign Setting #1 US $4.99
Includes material from: Classic Monsters Revisited, Guide to Darkmoon Vale, Gods & Magic, Into the Darklands, and Dark Markets.
Warning: You already have one or more packages included in this option (in red).
The Bundles look like this
Pathfinder RPG Campaign Setting Bundle Owned
All five Campaign Setting packages for one low price! Buy four - get one free! Please see individual package descriptions below for more details.
Pre-Requisite Package: pathcore
Packages Included: pathcamp5, pathcamp4, pathcamp3, pathcamp2, pathcamp1
There is a Pathfinder Bestiary Bundle with all 3 books for US $29.99 (They are normaly $9.99)
The other core books are not bundled.
So with exception of the behemoth sized core books you are not paying for books individually... you get packages.
The AP Player guides are free (I am sure Rob will correct me if I am wrong).
Now if your group stops playing Pathfinder and Picks up Call of Cthulhu, Shadowrun, Mutants & Masterminds 2nd Edition, Mutants & Masterminds 3rd Edition, World of Darkness Plus Vampire / Changeling (I am not sure how 4E or Savage Worlds works but there are Authoring Kits) for a small price you have a character generator for those games as well.
Sadly not GURPS or ROLEMASTER but I can live with that.
Rob: My group loves Hero Lab. I won't run a game without it, and I love tinkering with my villains and PCs so effortlessly. I'm thrilled to now have the option to print an "abilities and gear description appendix" separately.
A few very minor things I do wish Hero Lab had:
A) When I equip a shield, there should be a checkbox that tells Hero Lab not to regard that as a weapon and thus not print it as one.
B) Similarly, I should be able to tell Hero Lab which weapons to list on the front page of the character sheet (my sword, dammit!) and which can come later (my dagger).
C) Hero Points should be shown with the expendable items and get their own check boxes.
