Starfinder Herolab Online, or other tools

[lastblacknight]

Hey guys, looking for the right tools moving forward.

I am seeing issues at the table with Herolab Online (Starfinder), requiring an always on connection (i.e. drawing bandwidth and data for hours on end).

So I am looking for a tool or app similar to what we have for Pathfinder 1.0 (one that works).

Anyone have any ideas? What tools are the best? Happy to pay for a product but not interested in subscription model sales approach - as I am I seeing less quality in what's being delivered.

[Wei Ji the Learner]

The only other one I've seen/heard about is PCGen?

Don't know a lot about it, though.

[Marc Waschle]

With HL online you can print right from your Ipad which is a feature I really like. I always print off a hard copy before going to a Con or game day just in case I have a poor connection. I really like the program and am glad I bought it! Plus they have the option to get the playtest online as well, with the purchase price applied to the final PF2 rule set when it comes out.

[trollbill]

Does the HL Society version allow for Boon Slotting? Given how much of a major element that is in Society play and how difficult it is to manage, having this might make it work if for me.

[Wei Ji the Learner]

HLO does not print well from Firefox, it has been inaccessible for most venues I've played at, and they are darn sure they get that sweet sub money.

I'm reconsidering my subscription in light of the above.

They'd have my money and future money for certain if they had done a Classic version.

Also, of last I saw the boon slotting is not an option.

[Sebastian Hirsch]

I have started to save pdfs of the characters I created with herolab, and it was a pretty good strategy so far since I mirror that pdf folder between all my devices.

[trollbill]

This is starting to remind me of a lot of the 4E Character Builder. Initially Wizards had an independent downloadable version that everyone loved. You paid a subscription to have access to regular updates. But people started cheating the system by signing up, downloading all the updated content, then cancelling their subscription after a month. Thus they only paid for 1 or 2 months of the service a year rather than the whole year. So Wizards changed it to an online subscription service that has all the problems that Herolab online seems to have, i.e. doesn't work as good as the stand alone version, frequent crashes, can't use it if you don't have internet access, requires printing the character sheet to run off if you aren't sure about access, etc. It's hard for customers to get behind "I'm going to charge you the same amount (or more) for an inferior product." At least D&D Beyond has the advantage of not having a stand alone version of itself for people to compare it to.

[Sovok, the Claw of Justice]

Wei Ji the Learner wrote:

The only other one I've seen/heard about is PCGen?

Don't know a lot about it, though.

PCGEN works fine, and works offline, for the parts that have been input.Which pretty much means core Rulebook last time I checked. If you want a Morlamaw or the new coral race, you are going to be having problems, and I haven't seen the Pact Worlds Archetypes. It makes a tolerable starting point, but I have to finish most of my characters on a fillable pdf.

[Nylanfs]

Pact worlds just got added with 6.07.09

[Sovok, the Claw of Justice]

Thanks for letting me know. I was on 6.07.06

[Wei Ji the Learner]

Has Alien Archive (1, I know 2 is just coming out) been added to PCgen?

[Nylanfs]

A team member made the files and uploaded it to the repo, but hadn't made a tracker for it so nobody noticed it. It should be in the next release. :)

[Kiylee Boughdancer]

[u]"YESSSS!"[/u]

[lastblacknight]

Yep, I am going back to excel and creating my sheets in the Dyslexic Studio stuff. (It's clean quality work they do)

It's easier than tracking everything in someones idea of what I need.

Herolab (the stand alone version), is probably the most versatile tool I have ever used, it's a shame it hasn't translated into Starfinder.

But them moving to a subscription model for PFS/SFS is a fail for me, I am not on board. I'll keep my eye on developments but the product they are currently selling isn't one that suits my needs or one that I am willing to pay any money for.