Topic: ERA for Rolemaster - Creating characters and managing adventures

[Soulcleave]

...How do I get to where I can actually use the Treasure tables...

...Nevermind...I'm just blind, Awesome Functionality.

  And rather late in the day but is it just me or do the Character Icons for the Default Magician and Fighter seem to be swapped?

  And on that note how do I add custom portraits for default Beasties on the GM Controlled Side of the conflict?

   Also is the Master Character Table in here somewhere yet (RMFRP pg.61).

  Just me picking Nits

  AWESOME program.

[Voriig Kye]

...How do I get to where I can actually use the Treasure tables...
...Nevermind...I'm just blind, Awesome Functionality.

Once I get some feedback on the features, I intend to do a YouTube tutorial for the new module.

And rather late in the day but is it just me or do the Character Icons for the Default Magician and Fighter seem to be swapped?

If you mean the two characters that are provided as examples, they are not swapped at all. They are based on "real" characters from one of my campaigns (Shadow World + RMFRP + Combat Companion). You can check their full drawing here (they were created using Hero Machine).
Aiedail is a Shay Swashbuckler from a Mining culture, with abilities focused on Light. So she was a natural choice for a sample "combat" character.
Lavan is a Talath Runemage from a Highland culture, with abilities focused on Turtles. He seemed alright as the sample "magical" character.

And on that note how do I add custom portraits for default Beasties on the GM Controlled Side of the conflict?

To ensure that all creatures had at least a basic avatar I had to make ERA use a single image file. If I were to develop a Creature Crafting module, you would be able to start from one of the creature templates included in the packages, then adjust the avatar, name, and other information. In the meantime, you could edit the adventure file and change fileLocation="GenericCreature" to fileLocation="IMAGE NAME" . You should change IMAGE NAME to match an image file (preferably a 100x100 PNG) that you should put in /ERA/Server/Resources/Avatars/IMAGE NAME.png.

Also is the Master Character Table in here somewhere yet (RMFRP pg.61).

That table is not in any of the packages nor features. You could of course create them as characters and have them stashed to be used when required. You could also create creature files for them, but that would only allow for combat skills.

AWESOME program.

Thanks!!!!

[Jenkyna]

I had some more time to play around with this, and it's pretty cool. I wish I had it back in the old days. I've added in all of the RMC Books, and I'm liking all of the options. One thing I am noticing is that you don't seem to have implemented the Very High Stats rules from RMC1. Was this a deliberate omission? I only noticed it because I started to input a First Age Elf named Curufin from the Middle Earth setting, and a few of his stats are above 102. Probably not a huge deal from the perspective of normal character generation, but I would like to use this for Middle Earth games in the future, and I am big on the First Age.

Secondly is there an updated ERA RMC Optional Rules document? The one at this link http://goo.gl/xdMHbd is dated for ERA 2014-12-25. I don't mind creating new stat tables when I am ready to run a ME game, but I'm not even sure if it's an option. I read through this thread looking to see if there was one, and didn't find anything.

[Voriig Kye]

One thing I am noticing is that you don't seem to have implemented the Very High Stats rules from RMC1. Was this a deliberate omission? I only noticed it because I started to input a First Age Elf named Curufin from the Middle Earth setting, and a few of his stats are above 102.

If you want the bonus to keep increasing, that is allowed under the "Smoothed Stat Bonus" house rule. You must click on the About button on the lower right of the module selection screen, choose to customize the rule set, and change "Calculate Stat Bonus" to the Smoothed option. After applying the values, when you load characters, they will have stat bonuses according to Section 4.4 on RMC Companion I. Those bonuses are combined with the High Stat option, so they will increase by +5 from 100 onwards, as indicated in Option 2.
Let me know if that covers your need.

Secondly is there an updated ERA RMC Optional Rules document? The one at this link http://goo.gl/xdMHbd is dated for ERA 2014-12-25. I don't mind creating new stat tables when I am ready to run a ME game, but I'm not even sure if it's an option. I read through this thread looking to see if there was one, and didn't find anything.

That document was a first attempt at explaining all there was to know about configuring and using ERA. In practice, I never got enough feedback to confirm it was useful, so I switched to YouTube tutorial videos instead. For the odd configuration question, it seemed that the forum was still the preferred choice, so the document was never updated.

[Jenkyna]

Let me know if that covers your need.

I'll play around with it, and see. It sounds exactly right though. I knew about the house rules function, but never connected smoothed stats with the high stats rule. I guess it does make sense because of how stats work 120+. Thank you.

That document was a first attempt at explaining all there was to know about configuring and using ERA. In practice, I never got enough feedback to confirm it was useful, so I switched to YouTube tutorial videos instead. For the odd configuration question, it seemed that the forum was still the preferred choice, so the document was never updated.

I kind of like having a manual of all customization options, but as an IT person knowing all the possibilities is what lets me create solutions. I also prefer to read a doc to watching videos, because I can right go to an answer I need. That doesn't work for everyone, youtube can definitely be useful for complex topics, and I can understand it may not be worth maintaining a document if no one is using it.

[Jenkyna]

Everything looks good except the power point calculation. The PP per level stops at 4.

[Voriig Kye]

Everything looks good except the power point calculation. The PP per level stops at 4.

Hmmm, there is another house rule option to define the power point calculation, but none of the options are the one you need.
I've made a note to create additional formulas for the next version.

[Jenkyna]

Everything looks good except the power point calculation. The PP per level stops at 4.

Hmmm, there is another house rule option to define the power point calculation, but none of the options are the one you need.
I've made a note to create additional formulas for the next version.

Awesome, thanks. For now I just fudged it with the multiplier function, but an actual RMCI PP calc will be way cooler.

[erjohns]

Hello,

First, thanks for ERA I've been playing with it on my own to test it out for a while now, when my current 5e campaign ends I'm going to start work on a RMSS/FRP game.

I do have a question though.  Is there a way to modify the  PP Progression with regards to Aura?  It's not happening automatically and I can't seem to find a way to adjust it manually.

[Voriig Kye]

Is there a way to modify the  PP Progression with regards to Aura?  It's not happening automatically and I can't seem to find a way to adjust it manually.

There are 3 things you can do:

• Manually edit the number of power points: you must click on the wand next to the number of power points in the Characteristics tab of the Character Sheet. Change the "adjustment" field to add as many as needed.
• Manually edit the special bonus of the Power Point Development skill: you must click on the pen icon to the left of the skill row, then adjust the special bonus column to be equal to the number of ranks (or more, depending on the Talent chosen).
• Advanced customization: open the character file, and change the <powerPointProgression> element to contain the correct value. The next time you load the character, the power points will be correctly calculated to your needs.

[Voriig Kye]

A new version of ERA is available!

As you might have read in other threads, the most prominent feature is the new, improved, redesigned and overall better printable character sheet.
After updating, you can load your character in the character sheet module, then click on the "File for Print" button on the upper right.
The generated document will contain a notes section if you have notes for your character, inventory section if you have items declared, separate sections to summarize your languages, a detail on hits and power points recovery, plus many more. Give it a try!

Also, when viewing your character in the character sheet module, the skills that represent spell lists will have a book icon next to them. Clicking it will open a detail of all the spells, with a darker color for the spells already known (depending on the ranks developed).

Characters can now specifiy a factor to their power points recovery rate, in the same dialog where you indicate your power point multiplier (the wand icon next to the power points).

RMC will now compute the correct bonus for temporary stats below 21, and supports stats over 102 (as detailed in RMC Companion I Section 4.8, Option 2).

There is also a new advanced feature for those wanting more control on the server side: you can specify the port number used by the ERA server. THe default is still 7777, but you can change it by adding:

Code: [Select]

ServerPort = YOUR_PORT_NUMBERto the configuration file of your ruleset (ERA/RMC/ERA-RMC-Settings.conf or ERA/RMFRP/ERA-RMFRP-Settings.conf).

I hope you find the new features useful 

[Jenkyna]

Thanks for the update. The PP calculation seems to work perfectly. Whenever people ask about ERA I've been giving it props, and pointing out how responsive you are to questions on the ICE forums. That really helps and a lot, and to me it's a selling point.

[nwatters]

Ok I got ERA and i'm happish about it and this might be an old question i missed, but were is the priest class. I can't use the program because my son is playing a priest and another player is running a gnoll (I hope underground races will show up soon). I hope your not going to tell me i can make it and place it in the program, because i'm not computer savy. Again if i missed this conversation I'm sry.

[Voriig Kye]

but were is the priest class.

Ok, don't get mad at me. My logic was that there is no Priest profession in the Channeling Companion. You have "templates" for priests of different religions and arms/magic combinations in the book. But to include any of them would be forcing you to apply the costs of the template, when in fact each Sphere of Influence further configures the special skills, bonus, spell lists and even the prime stats.
With that said, I realize that it would be better to at least have all the "templates" as available professions, for players to then customize on each specific character. I can't promise to do that for the next version, but let me know if that would work for your group.

In the meantime, you could choose Cleric as profession, adjust the prime stats if required during the character creation, and then after the Level 0 character is done, manually adjust the costs and bonus of skills as needed (that doesn't require any advanced customization, it's just part of the normal use of ERA in the Character Sheet module).

another player is running a gnoll (I hope underground races will show up soon).

Checking at RPGNow, it seems that RMFRP Underground Races and Cultures is not available for sale. This would normally mean that I won't be able to secure the copyright from ICE to create a package for ERA. I will check with the powers that be just in case. But even if it gets a green light, I doubt there is a digital version of the contents, so that would mean manually entering every scrap of information in the book to create the package, and that would take a lot of time and effort. Once I check if it can be done, I will make sure to include it in the next poll I create to determine the future packages for me to work on.

[Voriig Kye]

another player is running a gnoll (I hope underground races will show up soon).

Checking at RPGNow, it seems that RMFRP Underground Races and Cultures is not available for sale. This would normally mean that I won't be able to secure the copyright from ICE to create a package for ERA. I will check with the powers that be just in case. But even if it gets a green light, I doubt there is a digital version of the contents, so that would mean manually entering every scrap of information in the book to create the package, and that would take a lot of time and effort. Once I check if it can be done, I will make sure to include it in the next poll I create to determine the future packages for me to work on.

Just a quick update to be the bearer of bad news, again.
The current copyright status of Underground Races makes it impossible for me to offer it as a package for ERA.

Reviewing the book, I see that the most convenient way to choose one, without creating a custom race file, would be to choose a similar race in terms of body and power point progression, then manually adjust the stat bonus. Choose the Unknown culture, then manually assign the ranks before the first level up. Afterwards you should check the total hits and power points to adjust for the difference in the progressions.

Even without the race, all of these differences could be adjusted by manually editing the character XML file. Let me know if you need any assistance with that.

[rax]

I'm interested in adding in the professions from School of Hard Knocks, and reading through some older threads I'm under the impression that this level of customization should be possible in ERA.

But how do I go about it? I tried simply copying, altering, and renaming the Fighter profession sheet in the RMFRP professions folder, but my new Swashbuckler profession didn't show up in ERA. I then noticed that - despite being saved in XML format - Open Office had given the file a .txt ending, so I tried saving it again with a .XML ending. That just caused an error when starting up ERA.

So... what am I doing wrong?

[Jenkyna]

So... what am I doing wrong?

Not sure what your level of xml skill is so forgive me if I suggest stuff you already know.

If you are getting a specific error I would post it here. That will help Voriig troubleshoot the issue.

I'd suggest using Notepad or better yet Notepad++ (maybe with it's xml plugin) for edits.

Also I would suggest start with a very simple edit like renaming the profession within the xml, save it as a new file, and see if it opens. Then make another simple change, and open it again. It's a lot easier to troubleshoot when you are starting out if you only have one change you need to go back and correct or troubleshoot. You will eventually get used to the errors ERA throws when it doesn't like your files, and they give pretty good clues as to what file is messed up or missing data.

I did a lot of customization to add Spacemaster, additional Rolemaster professions and skills, and Tolkein races. I kept three working folders:

Original Files (Basically unedited files in case you need to go all the way back to square one)
Last Known Good (Last edited files that opened without errors)
Current Working Files (Basically the ones I am modifying and aren't tested in ERA yet.)

To add professions and skills from the companions you will have to edit multiple files and they all interrelate. It's really important to keep backups of the files that work.

I've gotten used to customizing, but I still tend to make a small block of changes then test, rather than doing a ton of stuff all at once. It's just so much easier to fix errors, and I am not exactly an xml expert so I make them, if I know where to start looking. ERA is so fast to startup it's not like it takes a lot of time to test stuff.

Lastly, backup all your work, and even when you are done keep those "last known good" files. If you overwrite ERA during an update you can just drop your mods back in. If you don't have the files you're going to cry.

[Jenkyna]

Also I would suggest start with a very simple edit like renaming the profession within the xml, save it as a new file, and see if it opens.

Should clarify this a bit. See if ERA opens with your new file installed, and check the edits by creating a test character.

[rax]

Thanks for the reply, White Wolf. I'm afraid my xml skills could kindly be described as "basic", so if adding a profession requires as many steps as you say, it's definitely out of my league. 

I'll give some of your tips, e.g. using Notepad, a try, but if that doesn't work I'll just have to do without the extra professions. Thanks again for the tips, though! 

[Jenkyna]

Adding professions is one file, and you basically edit the name, prime stats, and skill costs. Adding in new skills in the Skills file can mean editing several files, because you may need to edit the Categories file to add in new categories, and then you need to add the skills and their costs to the profession's file.

The reason I suggest doing it in small steps as you start out is so you can learn how the files are structured and how the data in one file links to another without spending a lot of time troubleshooting.

My skills are pretty basic as well, but I managed to add in a ton of stuff and it went faster as I got more familiar.

The hard part is really the tedious nature of adding in stuff like spell lists with spell descriptions if you want to add in stuff from the companions.