Topic: ERA for Rolemaster - Creating characters and managing adventures

[markc]

I also think that Vorigg Kye siad in the past that if you know how to code a little you can adapt your own PC sheet to the program.
MDC

[Voriig Kye]

I also think that Vorigg Kye siad in the past that if you know how to code a little you can adapt your own PC sheet to the program.
MDC

I may have mentioned that the printable file is HTML with some CSS. So you can change it if you don't like it, but that is only AFTER generating it.

There is currently no way to configure the format of the printable character sheet. The only custom option that affects it is "Printed character sheet skills". This allows to choose between showing all skills, showing only those with positive bonus, showing only those with at least 1 rank developed.

[dndgamer5e]

Question, what is the lowest spec pc/laptop this will run on.  Also how heavy is the drain on the server when people access the mobile module.

[Voriig Kye]

The load on the server when accessing the character status module from the player's smartphones is no different from using other modules, such as the GM accessing the adventuring module.

To give you an idea of the power required to run the server: I normally GM directly with the server running on my netbook at the table.
The model is Asus Eee PC 1015PEM
Intel Atom CPU N550 1.50Ghz (32bit, Dual Core)
RAM 2GB DDR3
OS Windows 7 32bit, Resolution 1024 x 600

This computer is running the ERA server, Winamp for ambient music, an Opera Browser (Chromium based) with several tabs open, and some PDFs for reference.
Also, 4 players are accessing this server from their phones to check their characters.

Unless there is heavy combat (10+ participants) with 20+ rounds involved, the response is smooth. Maybe after 5+ hours of real-time involving a very long combat I have observed it slows down a bit in responding. And I intend to improve the performance in future releases.

[dndgamer5e]

Thanks for the reply to my previous question. 

I have been testing out producing a character and have come across an odd issue.  Within the character sheet module after generation, I have been adding additional weapon skills.  But the module only allows me to add 4 weapons skills, when I try to enter a 5th skill is clears off one of the others.  ie I have dagger & rapier in one handed slashing but when I add a club to one handed crushing is deletes a random one from the slashing catergory. Im extremely puzzled, is there a maximum number of weapon skill limit.  This does not seem to happen in other catergories. 

Thanks once again

[Voriig Kye]

I tried it with different rulesets and could not reproduce the issue you describe.

Up to the moment, the only very complex scenario that would look similar is this:
- Ruleset RMC or RMFRP
- Level up a character
- Apply the "Affordable" skill filter.
- 50 DPs remaining -> All skills are visible since they are affordable.
- Create a new weapon skill: One Handed Crushing - Club, with cost 3/6.
- Add 2 ranks to a previously existing skill: One Handed Slashing - Dagger, with cost 2/5. Total cost 7DP, 43 DPs remaining now.
- Since Dagger is no longer "Affordable" because you can't purchase more than 2 ranks per level, it will dissappear from the skill list, since you are filtering to show only affordable skills.
- If you change the filter to "All" or "Developed" it would appear again.

If your situation is like the one I'm describing, then that would be working as expected, since it's the filtering option doing its job.
In any other case, I have no idea.

Could you tell me the ruleset you are using, and give me a step-by-step of how it happens?
Thanks!

[Voriig Kye]

The first update of 2016 is here.

http://goo.gl/RHU3xF [Windows]
http://goo.gl/xXrjcu [Linux]
http://goo.gl/PyEuzs [Mac]

Just as last time, this version upgrades some internal stuff, so if you purchased the book files from RPGNow some parts won't work with this demo version, please install to a different directory.
If there are no issues reported in the next days, this version will then be sent to RPGNow, along with updated versions for those who purchased the book files for RMC and RMFRP.

Most of the changes are related to the 20 item list made by user Nexus Game Theory.

- All visual components allowing a D100 roll were improved with a butterfly icon next to them, clicking it will provide a random roll. This is available during initiative, attacks, criticals, stat gain, etc.
- A new tab/section on the bottom of the character sheet module will keep a history of level up information: ranks purchased, stats changed and training packages purchased, if any.
- After creating a character you now get 3 options: continue to the character sheet, start creating a new character, or go back to the module selection screen.
- A list of available background option tables can be displayed on the corresponding step during character creation. For RMC this will also provide the detail of the roll required to get each option.
- The RMC Stat generation step has been visually improved to allow selecting the last one even when the list of options is long.
- Added RMC buttons to filter primary/secondary skills during level uo.
- In RMC, purchasing ranks in body development will trigger a dialog after completing the level up, where the hit dice roll can be entered, after which it will be automatically added to the skill bonus.

Also, once we make this version available on RPGNow, there will be an upgrade to the Shadow World files, to include all spell lists published so far by TKA (Loremaster, Navigator and Unlife).

[Soulcleave]

Just started dinking around with the program again after the holiday and am creating a bunch of NPC's for my own use and I noticed something peculiar.

  Generic Shay (Shadow World) City Folk (Shadow World) Fighter is not getting the Profession Bonus for Light armor Category. Heavy and Medium Show up just fine.

This is just an Ultra Quick 50 Temp/pot NPC with no background options character.

Just re-downloaded the files from RPG Now yesterday...er the 14th.

Thanks in advance.

Eric "Soulcleave" Gibbons

[Voriig Kye]

Generic Shay (Shadow World) City Folk (Shadow World) Fighter is not getting the Profession Bonus for Light armor Category. Heavy and Medium Show up just fine.

I just tried creating the simplest possible character using those values, and the +10 to all armor categories is there, just as expected.
Did you try to re-download the RMFRP Character Law files? I can't think of a reason this might happen, and to my knowledge there was no previous version with this issue reported.
Maybe you can create the character again, re-check if this happens, and send me a PM with the .char.XML file for me to review.

By the way, I saw your request for Arcane Companion and Fire & Ice in another thread. This week we should be officially releasing the update with the reported RMC improvements, and the Shadow World spell lists.
Maybe I can find the time to prepare Fire & Ice after that. Arcane companion would be a little harder to do, and I'm not even sure what's its current copyright status.

[jdale]

Arcane Companion is still for sale, http://www.rpgnow.com/product/102901/RMSS-Arcane-Companion so there shouldn't be any copyright issues.

[rax]

Hello Voriig,

I just recently picked up ERA and have been trying out the RMFRP character generator. Overall, I'm well pleased with it, but I do have some issues with it that appear to be a combination of bugs, house rules or simply differing interpretations of the RMFRP rules. I hope you don't mind me posting them here. In no particular order:

1. When I assign costs to weapon categories in step 6, the reordered costs don't carry over to the Categories and Non-Weapon Skills list in step 9. This makes it so that I can't assign 2 hobby ranks to a weapon category if it's still listed as only allowing 1 rank/level, even though I've reordered the costs in step 6 to allow this.

2. Also in step 9, it's often (or perhaps even always) the case that adolescence ranks for skill categories that are gained from a character's culture aren't displayed. This makes assigning hobby ranks more of a chore, since I can't tell at a glance whether a given category already has "cultural" ranks assigned to it. 

3. In the Skills section of the character sheet, profession bonuses for skill categories have in some cases been missing. For instance, when I created a Fighter and a Rogue, both were missing their profession bonuses for two weapon skill categories. When I created a Bard, there was no profession bonus listed for the Awareness - Senses category.

4. When I begin levelling up a character, the ranks cell for Hiding (Subterfuge - Stealth category) becomes locked. No ranks can be added or removed, either using the arrows or through manual editing.

5. When levelling up from level 1 or later, the first thing that appears is the window for stat gain rolls. However, when I raise my stats and click Accept, this as no effect on the DP I get to spend. DP are still calculated using the old temporary stats. Since stat gain rolls are the very first thing you do when advancing a level (RMFRP rulebook, p. 37), this appears to be an incorrect implementation of the rules.

6. The stat gain rolls also includes the possibility of raising or lowering potential stats. I had a GM who used such a rule many years ago, but try as I might I can't find it in either the RMFRP or RMSS rules (i.e. both the core rulebooks and any supplements). Is this just a house rule or could you point me to where I can find the official rule?

7. In the Armor Composition window of the Characteristics section, the maximum and minimum maneuver penalties are listed in the "Fitted" column instead of the "Unfitted" column. This appears to be an error, since the exact same values are used in Armor Table T-3.3 for unfitted armor.

8. In the Description box of the Information section, it appears to be impossible to enter a character's height except in whole feet. I.e, if I have a 6'3" character, I can only enter a 6 in the Height cell. This isn't a huge problem, but it is annoying.

Hope you can find the time to address these issues and thanks in advance!

/rax

[Voriig Kye]

The update is officially online in RPGNow.

This means that if you use ERA for RMC, you get primary/secondary skills filters, and a box to enter your new hits if you purchased body development. Also, those who purchased RMC Character Law get to see the rolls for each background option (click the new "View Tables" button).

If you play RMFRP, then you get all the bug fixes related to culture category ranks being lost during character creation.

For everyone, stat gains include a random roll button if you want to use it (click on the butterfly to get the chaos into motion). This same feature is available during initiative, attacks, spell casting, fumbles, criticals, and resistance rolls.
Also, after creating a character you get the option to start a new one, continue to level up, or go back to the module selection screen.

And, as promised, the Shadow World package now includes Loremaster, Navigator, Unlife and some other spell lists created by Terry. This is both for existing customers (who should re-download) and for any new ones purchasing from now on.

Now, we continue with the usual troubleshooting.
@rax
1. Damn, you are right. Thanks for pointing it out. I will correct it in the next version.
2. This was corrected in this version, thanks to the information provided by Soulcleave.
3. This was also corrected in the new version released today.
4. This is intentional. Stalking and hiding are considered one skill, so they use the "rank binding" feature by default. If your group plays it differently, you can edit the skill properties (first click on the edit mode (pen) icon on the left of the row, then the options (cog) icon) and set "Rank Binding: -- No binding".
5. Hmmm, I thought you always spent the points from the stats as they were before leveling up. Maybe this is only in RM2/RMC? We could check with a separate post in the RMFRP section and see how this should really work.
6. Potentials are never lowered via stat gain rolls. You can, however, increase them in a very specific scenario, which I use in my group, but should be made optional (or disabled) in the public version of ERA. This is based on "Extended Stat Gains" (RM2 Companion IV, Section 5.1) with the special option to apply this only to prime stats.
7. Fitted / Unfitted is a concept that to my knowledge only appears in the Combat Companion, and the equivalent when not using those rules is to consider all armor Fitted to the character. I do not see a reference to these concepts in Armor Table T-3.3.
8. Height and Weight must be entered with a decimal point, in feet and pounds respectively. So a 6'3'' character would have a height of 6.25 (feet).

Thanks for the time you took to review the product, and thanks for sharing your findings. I hope these answers help you get by, and I expect to correct the bugs you mentioned in the next release.

[rax]

Now, we continue with the usual troubleshooting.
@rax
2. This was corrected in this version, thanks to the information provided by Soulcleave.
3. This was also corrected in the new version released today.

Excellent!

4. This is intentional. Stalking and hiding are considered one skill, so they use the "rank binding" feature by default. If your group plays it differently, you can edit the skill properties (first click on the edit mode (pen) icon on the left of the row, then the options (cog) icon) and set "Rank Binding: -- No binding".

That did the trick, thanks! (Also, now I know what it looks like when rank binding is in use)

5. Hmmm, I thought you always spent the points from the stats as they were before leveling up. Maybe this is only in RM2/RMC? We could check with a separate post in the RMFRP section and see how this should really work.

Getting the opinion of others is probably a good idea, but I will add that in my copy of the RM2 Character Law/Campaign Law book, section 5.3 Advancing a Level describes the process as beginning with stat gain rolls, before continuing with skill development. The wording is slightly different, bu the process is functionally the same as in RMFRP.

6. Potentials are never lowered via stat gain rolls. You can, however, increase them in a very specific scenario, which I use in my group, but should be made optional (or disabled) in the public version of ERA. This is based on "Extended Stat Gains" (RM2 Companion IV, Section 5.1) with the special option to apply this only to prime stats.

Thanks for this. I only have up to RM2 Companion II, so it's no wonder I couldn't find the rule.

7. Fitted / Unfitted is a concept that to my knowledge only appears in the Combat Companion, and the equivalent when not using those rules is to consider all armor Fitted to the character. I do not see a reference to these concepts in Armor Table T-3.3.

My bad, I failed to explain myself properly. You're right that Armor Table T-3.3 doesn't mention the fitted/unfitted concepts, but the box under the skill category descriptions in the left hand column does at least make mention of Fitted armor. It's the first entry under the heading Modifiers to Maneuver Modifications, where Fitted armor is noted as being able to modify the minimum and maximum modifications by up to +15. Under the next heading - Modifiers to Missile Penalty - the first entry shows that Fitted armor can reduce also the missile penalty by -5 to -10.

This leads me to the conclusion that Unfitted armor should be considered the default, unless Unfitted armor in the Combat Companion is actually inferior armor, which would make it the equivalent of the Poorly fitted armor noted in the RMFRP table.

In any case, adding the option to modify the armor missile penalty through the Armor box would be welcome.

8. Height and Weight must be entered with a decimal point, in feet and pounds respectively. So a 6'3'' character would have a height of 6.25 (feet).

I just tried this, with the result that Height cell is outlined in red, and the help text is prompting me to choose a valid number instead. It even suggests picking 6 or 7. Oddly, the help text also switches to Swedish (my standard language). Once I type in a whole number again, the normal English language help text returns. Any ideas as to what may be happening?

Thanks for the time you took to review the product, and thanks for sharing your findings. I hope these answers help you get by, and I expect to correct the bugs you mentioned in the next release.

Glad to be of assistance! 

/rax

[rax]

Hello Voriig,

Me again! I've run into a serious issue with the RMFRP character generator. I've been working on rebuilding a character I had previously built using ERA, but every time I reach Step 10: Choose Name & Create Character File, I get the following error message when I try to save:

That action was not accepted by the server. Please confirm that it is in accordance with the current rule set.
Status: 500
Response: <html><head><title>MessageNotUnderstood: Character>>-</title></head><body onload="onLoad()"><h1>MessageNotUnderstood: Character&gt;&gt;-</h1><p>Your request could not be completed. An exception occurred.</p><script type="text/javascript">/*<![CDATA[*/function onLoad(){};/*]]>*/</script></body></html>                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
Text Status: error
Error Thrown: Internal Server Error

I've deleted and re-installed ERA and all the purchased supplements. I also made sure to delete the previous version of the character from the RMFRP Characters file before beginning the rebuild. Just to be on the safe side, I even created a new folder for my remaining characters and moved them all there from the RMFRP Characters file. Nothing has helped - despite trying at least three times, I keep getting the same message.

Something else I noticed today is that in Step 9, ERA showed individual weapon skills in the Categories and Weapon Skills column that I hadn't selected during the character creation process. Instead, they were skills that I had developed in another character whose character sheet I had looked at earlier. In other words, it seems that ERA was adding in skills from the character sheet of a finished character during the creation process for a different, as yet unsaved character!

Any help would be appreciated!

/rax

[Voriig Kye]

That is some weird behavior. Thanks for pushing ERA to the limit and helping me improve it 

From what I understand, you have already created this character with a previous version of ERA. If that is so, I would like you to send it to me (PM, Dropbox?).

On the same topic, could I have a screenshot of each step in the process for the new one? I would like to see what you chose on each step (combat skills, hobbies, languages, name, etc.).
And if you have one, I would also need the file "Server\ERA-Support.log" to see if it contains additional information.

As for unexpected skills appearing during character creation, I have yet to find a way to avoid it completely. For now I do not find it that bad since you can just ignore it and not assign any points to them.

And just to finish with some good news, I can confirm that the next version includes better armor customization, avoids raising potential stats during level up, computes DP on the correct moment, and swapped weapon costs are considered when assigning hobby ranks to those categories.

[rax]

From what I understand, you have already created this character with a previous version of ERA. If that is so, I would like you to send it to me (PM, Dropbox?).

Argh, sorry! I deleted the original character before trying to rebuild him in the latest ERA version, so I have nothing to send.

On the same topic, could I have a screenshot of each step in the process for the new one? I would like to see what you chose on each step (combat skills, hobbies, languages, name, etc.).

Screenshots are on their way via PM.

And if you have one, I would also need the file "Server\ERA-Support.log" to see if it contains additional information.

I'd love to, but I can't find such a file anywhere. Any tips on where I should be looking? There's no such file in the Server folder.

As for unexpected skills appearing during character creation, I have yet to find a way to avoid it completely. For now I do not find it that bad since you can just ignore it and not assign any points to them.

Absolutely, working around it is no problem - it's just a bit confusing. 

And just to finish with some good news, I can confirm that the next version includes better armor customization, avoids raising potential stats during level up, computes DP on the correct moment, and swapped weapon costs are considered when assigning hobby ranks to those categories.

Very welcome news! (I must say, considering ERA itself is free, I'm very impressed with the time and effort you're putting into this. Thanks!)

/rax

[Voriig Kye]

A new update has been published to RPGNow.

For the base free product, you get:

[Thanks to @rax]
- Development points are computed AFTER stat gains, as should have always been for RMC and RMFRP.
- Disabled potential increase during RMFRP stat gains. This was just a leftover from my group's custom ruleset.
- Added missile and quickness bonus to armor. That had been missing for too long, it was time to make it happen.
- Swapped combat costs are considered when assigning hobby ranks in RMFRP. The fact that RMFRP allows categories to gain ranks still seems quite weird to me, but at least the bug is fixed.
- Background options total can be changed manually during character creation. Up to the previous version, if you wanted to change the total number of talent points/background options during character creation, it would not allow you to save the new character. Also the message provided was not really helpful for troubleshooting, and no support log was being created. So to improve on similar future situations, this new version also has improved support log generation. A message should notify you if the ERA-Support.log has been updated, so you can send it for reviewing.

-- New Feature: Creatures --
Please be kind with this, it's an early version.
When you add a new Hero/Enemy in the Adventuring Module, you can choose "Creature from template". Cobra and Killer Whale from the Creatures and Monsters book are bundled in the free package, so that you can get a feel for it.
This will create an NPC in the adventure with a lot of the work done for you. Attacks, defenses, etc. are automatically edited. Advanced stuff like poison, spells, or special skills are up to the GM to resolve.
As always, suggestions are accepted (and encouraged!).
If there is interest in this feature, we can begin thinking about offering Creatures and Monsters as an ERA package through RPGNow.
For the advanced users out there, you will see a new /Configuration directory where the XML's are stored, and you can guess at the structure and add your own creatures if you like.

-- Fantasy Weapons --
Also, and this will probably get its own post for visibility's sake, the Fantasy Weapons supplement, which includes basically a lot of attack tables for Shadow World specific weapons, is now a part of the Shadow World packages.
So if you have already purchased ERA for Shadow World (RMC and/or RMFRP), please download and re-install it to get your brand new attack tables at no extra cost!
For those interested in the Fantasy Weapons for ERA, just purchase a Shadow World package and they will be yours.

And... there may be something else, but let's wait for the official announcement.

[adanost]

Hello Voriig

I have been adding more herbs to the foraging system via the herbs.xml file. No problem doing that, but i have noticed that not all the climate and locale codes are available- Is there any way to quickly add them, or we have still to wait for the foraging module?

[Voriig Kye]

not all the climate and locale codes are available

I just checked and the system has all the climates and locales, as far as I know.
Which ones are you missing?

The foraging module should be working as intended. I have an animist in my group, playing the Emer III campaign every week, so it is used extensively.
The only missing part is that the "Forage" button on the lower right should offer the chance to add the herbs found to the character inventory, but this is still pending work.

[adanost]

I just reloaded the server and now all the codes are there. No problem in foraging module.

Thanks for your good work!