Author Topic: ERA for Rolemaster - Creating characters and managing adventures  (Read 88626 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Voriig Kye

  • Wise Elder
  • ***
  • Posts: 816
  • OIC Points +0/-0
ERA for Rolemaster - Creating characters and managing adventures
« on: February 23, 2014, 08:31:23 PM »
ERA is an application I've been developing for the last 9 years to use with my roleplaying group. It started as a way of having an electronic version of a character, to be leveled up and then printed whenever the player needed. Then over the years I started adding some features, mainly to speed up the GM's task of looking up tables in the pile of books. The unexpected surprise was that, apart from helping the GM and the players, it also helped in introducing new players, since the system would take care of all the rules and formulas involved. Last year, I decided to add the possibility for players to access the application with a smartphone / tablet, to check their character status, skills and spell descriptions, allowing even more paperwork to be done automatically. Every new feature lets the group focus more on having fun and less on flipping pages and making calculations.

So then, why not share it? Half or more of the system rests on the tables obtained from the books, and that's ICE property. Just like Merkir's Minion has tables for combat, ERA has tables for skills, spells, races, professions, and a lot more. But, after talking it over with the powers that be, we agreed to create some tutorial videos so that you can see how it works, and let us know what you think about it.

Character creation (9 min): http://youtu.be/tr1FpH7sN2A
Character sheet (6 min): http://youtu.be/_M5bfyGyqXs
Adventure (10 min) http://youtu.be/vW0wGjz5kfA

To sum up, you can:
- Create characters step by step, then level them up and keep them updated
- Manage adventures: handle combat, all skill resolution, spell casting, resistances, resting, and more, all using the characters in the system, or add custom NPCs on the fly.
- Watch each character status (hits, pp's, stun, bleed, penalties) and check skills and spells (including full descriptions) from a smartphone, tablet or laptop.

All the samples are for RMFRP with additional house rules my group uses. I also have the first steps for an RMU version, which I could show if there is interest.

Ok, now you know how ERA looks like. Do you think you would use it? It is quite a complex application, so just ask and I will help you better understand what it can do and what are the current limitations. Would you be interested in trying it out?

you can now download a free version of ERA, get it here:
http://goo.gl/NTMqH9

For more information, see:
http://www.ironcrown.com/ICEforums/index.php?topic=14144.msg182909#msg182909
« Last Edit: April 16, 2014, 01:02:50 PM by Colin-ICE »

Offline jdale

  • RMU Dev Team
  • ****
  • Posts: 7,091
  • OIC Points +25/-25
Re: ERA for Rolemaster - Creating characters and managing adventures
« Reply #1 on: February 23, 2014, 11:13:35 PM »
It seems like you have a pretty customized version of RM, with a lot of RMC/RM2 stuff mixed into RMSS. Can those house rules be turned on and off by the GM?

To what degree can the data be customized? Races, cultures, professions, languages, skills, spell lists, etc... Can you change the tables as well? (I am planning a pretty customized game myself, most importantly with different realms of magic.)

Is there a way to print out a character sheet? If so, what does it look like? The online lookup is nice but not all our players want a computer/tablet/phone in front of them (and it creates distractions in many cases).

I like the idea of integrating the combat tracking etc with character maintenance, that saves some steps. On the other hand, the combat side of things doesn't seem as fluid as Minion. The main display doesn't show any status/condition information, and setting actions for each character requires going into a separate view, which also means you don't get an overview of what you've already done. Personally, I want to be able to see an overview of how things are going in the main screen. Are the players winning? Losing? Doomed? That matters for what happens next.

It also doesn't seem to remember anything from round to round. And even though you say in the declarations what actions are being taken, you still have to select those actions again when they come around. That seems like there is room to streamline quite a bit.
System and Line Editor for Rolemaster

Offline arakish

  • Navigator
  • ***
  • Posts: 1,578
  • OIC Points +5/-5
  • A joy of mine
Re: ERA for Rolemaster - Creating characters and managing adventures
« Reply #2 on: February 24, 2014, 09:18:30 AM »
I am with jdale on the customizability of the software.  My biggest problem is most RPG software is not very customizable.  The same goes for spreadsheets.  At best, it seems the only customization available is the ability to add other species.  Most often, specifically the way magic/power works on my worlds, is quite different than the standard RM.  Especially for my new world of Onaviu.  Additionally, I have characters using a No-Profession with Skill Specialization, Skill Classification, and Skill Bonuses to alter the initial No-Prof closer to one of the archetype professions in RM.

However, what you have created looks very nice.  If my world were like your world, I would probably use the software you have created.

Keep up the good work.

rmfr

"Beware those who would deny you access to information, for they already dream themselves your master."
— RMF Runyan in Sci-Fi RPG session (GM); quoted from the PC game SMAC.

Offline Voriig Kye

  • Wise Elder
  • ***
  • Posts: 816
  • OIC Points +0/-0
Re: ERA for Rolemaster - Creating characters and managing adventures
« Reply #3 on: February 25, 2014, 05:50:52 AM »
You can easily customize:
-Skills
-Professions
-Races
-Cultures
-Attack Tables
-Criticals
-Talents and Flaws
-Spells

Then, with a little more work, a "power user" could tweak armor parts, maneuver tables, spell failures.
Changes to the realms are possible, but not completely supported. You could add a realm, create a profession for it, but allowing configuration such as casting and encumbrance penalties would require a bit of work on my part first.

A character sheet can be printed at anytime from the character module. In the video you should see a "file for print" button in the upper right corner.
I've uploaded the resulting file so that you can check it:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4VSGeZf5uqxQXJWdjBFSWd1LVk
(you should download it and then open it, the online view just shows the inner contents of the file)

During a combat you see the avatars of all combatants (heroes on the left, enemies on the right) with a red circle showing remaining hit points and a blue one with remaining power points. Downed characters show crossed bones over their avatar and dead ones add a skull on top of that. By hovering on an avatar you get a summary of stun and bleeding status. In the future I might add more visual clues for bleeding and stun, similar to what the characters see in their smartphones.

The need to select the actions performed by the characters in a round, despite having declared them during initiative is a work in progress. For now, clicking on the action portrait is just a way of helping the GM keep track of how the round progresses. There is a tooltip when hovering over an action that reminds the GM of the action declared, percentage used, etc.

As regards the logic of the rules, they are defined in a configuration file. You can switch between available predefined sets, which for now means RMU and RMFRP with house rules. I intend to add to that at least the official RMFRP rule set or RM2, starting with the one which generates more interest. Eventually, if enough people are interested, I could expose in the configuration files the different components of a rule set, so that you could mix them however you like.

Offline Voriig Kye

  • Wise Elder
  • ***
  • Posts: 816
  • OIC Points +0/-0
Re: ERA for Rolemaster - Creating characters and managing adventures
« Reply #4 on: February 28, 2014, 05:39:16 AM »
The tutorial videos show only a part of what the system can do, since there are also whole modules not shown.
I'd thought it might be good to add here a list of all the current features, so you can get a complete picture of what it does.

ERA Requires a javascript+html5 enabled browser (any modern one will do). Internet connection is NOT required.

Character creation
-  Create a character from scratch, selecting from all RMFRP professions including companions, any Shadow World race. Everyman/restricted skills included.
-  Pick any talent/flaw from any RMFRP book, all descriptions/costs included (the effects on the character are not automatic so far though).
-  Roll stats, assign temporaries and potentials.
-  Create combat styles using all RMC Combat companion rules if desired.
-  Choose culture, assign hobby ranks with all related rules included.
-  Assign language ranks, based on race and culture.
-  Recommended screen size: 14’’ or bigger.

Character sheet
-  Manage all skills, stats, resistances, and lots of additional information.
-  Level up.
-  Enter stat gain rolls.
-  Spend DP's, with filters for favorite skills, skills affordable with remaining DP's, etc.
-  Register purchased TP's (effects not automatic).
-  Assign armor parts to build customized armor.
-  Create HTML to obtain a printable standard character sheet to take to the gaming table.
-  Recommended screen size: 10’’ or bigger.

Adventure module
-  All done from a browser, customized to be usable even from a 10'' display.
-  Add adventurers and enemies (using the previously created characters).
-  Roll for moving maneuvers, resistance rolls, automatic spell casting, with all the table lookup done by the system, also PP's used are automatically subtracted.
-  Register individual and party rest/sleep, automatically recovers HP's and PP's.

Combat module
-  Also browser based, can be accessed at the same time as the adventuring module.
-  Cast complex spells (rules for spell preparation, armor encumbrance, overcasting, etc., are all considered).
-  Attack targets, deliver criticals, all handled by the system (current version uses RMC Combat Companion attack tables and criticals).
-  Defenses can be customized per character, with parry percentage and stun status also automatically considered.
-  Resulting damage, bleeding and penalties can be registered and considered on subsequent maneuvers.
-  Bleeding is automatically considered as rounds pass.
-  Cast force spells and let all the complexities of the Basic Spell Attack be managed by the system, the resistance result considers the target's modifications.

Inventory Module
-  GM can specify items carried by each party member, NPC, horse, etc.
-  Common items can be loaded before starting, with the official RMFRP weights and descriptions.
-  Organic/Inorganic composition can be specified, to help compute characters spell casting penalties.
-  Recommended screen size: 10’’ or bigger.

Mobile character sheet module
-  Any smartphone/tablet/etc. logged to the same Wi-Fi network as the GM can access his/her own character status.
-  Optimized for displays of 3.7’’ or more.
-  Allows a detailed status of any character in the hero party (left column) of the adventuring module.
-  Check rounds of spell preparation, bleeding, remaining HP and PP percentage.
-  Access and search all skill ranks and bonuses developed.
-  Access the description of all known spells.
-  Access personal inventory, with description and total encumbrance and spell casting penalties.

Of course, most of these features are not mandatory to use. You can ignore character creation steps, edit skill names and bonus, play directly in the adventuring module defining only hits, DB and OB, ignore all spell casting features and just keep track of power points manually, etc.

I'd really like to hear from you what features not listed here would be required in each of your gaming groups to make ERA a useful tool. It could be a house rule, some formula from a companion, information regarding a concept not currently considered, etc.
And of course, as soon as the RMU beta 2 comes out, I intend to prepare a rule set to match it, so as to help with playtesting.

Offline gandalf970

  • Seeker of Wisdom
  • **
  • Posts: 228
  • OIC Points +0/-0
Re: ERA for Rolemaster - Creating characters and managing adventures
« Reply #5 on: February 28, 2014, 09:35:37 AM »
This sounds pretty good.  I am not a fan of the mobile apps, but anything to make the game more streamlined.  I use the Combat Minion and as previously stated it works fantastic.  I also use the old Jonathon Dale spreadsheet and find it easily customized with races to my needs. 

Another tool to make my Rolemaster campaign easily flow would be appreciated.  I would pay for this as well.

Offline Hurin

  • Loremaster
  • ****
  • Posts: 7,344
  • OIC Points +0/-0
Re: ERA for Rolemaster - Creating characters and managing adventures
« Reply #6 on: February 28, 2014, 10:57:09 AM »
Thanks very much for posting that! It looks very useful.
'Last of all, Húrin stood alone. Then he cast aside his shield, and wielded an axe two-handed'. --J.R.R. Tolkien

'Every party needs at least one insane person.'  --Aspen of the Jade Isle

Offline LonePaladin

  • Neophyte
  • *
  • Posts: 36
  • OIC Points +0/-0
Re: ERA for Rolemaster - Creating characters and managing adventures
« Reply #7 on: March 27, 2014, 01:51:11 PM »
I would commit crimes to get my hands on a blank copy of this, so that I can add the data for Spacemaster: Privateers. I'm currently running a campaign, and anything that can speed it up would be an immense help.


(I just don't have the time to make my own tools any more.)

Offline Voriig Kye

  • Wise Elder
  • ***
  • Posts: 816
  • OIC Points +0/-0
Re: ERA for Rolemaster - Creating characters and managing adventures
« Reply #8 on: March 28, 2014, 08:14:22 AM »
I am currently working with ICE to finish a first demo version that will be freely downloadable for you to try out the application.
The initial ruleset will be for RMC, and will include some sample races, professions, spells, attack and critical tables, etc.
After your feedback we will surely follow with RMFRP and RMU rulesets.
You will be able to add your own tables by using a (hopefully) simple XML format. So the only real limitation to playing Privateers would be specific rules that might be missing from the offered rulesets. That is not to say that if there is interest, we could work afterwards on an ERA for Spacemaster and solve those differences.

Offline Moostik

  • Neophyte
  • *
  • Posts: 99
  • OIC Points +0/-0
  • Rolemaster GM since 1993.
Re: ERA for Rolemaster - Creating characters and managing adventures
« Reply #9 on: March 28, 2014, 12:09:46 PM »
I'm willing to spend time playtesting this, and money buying a rmfrp/rmss -compatible version, if it's half as good as it looks.

Offline seewhatsinmybrain

  • Apprentice
  • *
  • Posts: 5
  • OIC Points +0/-0
    • Im a Writer.  Here's some of my work.
Re: ERA for Rolemaster - Creating characters and managing adventures
« Reply #10 on: April 03, 2014, 09:49:19 AM »
Ditto - I'd love to playtest this and would pay good money for it if it does all you say...

Offline Voriig Kye

  • Wise Elder
  • ***
  • Posts: 816
  • OIC Points +0/-0
Re: ERA for Rolemaster - Creating characters and managing adventures
« Reply #11 on: April 12, 2014, 01:30:42 PM »
The time to download and playtest ERA has arrived!
Click on the following link to obtain the installer:
http://goo.gl/NTMqH9

This free version includes:
- 1 Ruleset: RM2 / RMC
- 2 Races: Common man and Elf
- 2 Professions: Magician and Fighter
- 2 Spell Lists: Fire Law and Spell Mastery (all the way to lvl 50, including full text)
- 3 Background options: Great strength, Infravision and Neutral Odor
- 3 Attack Tables: Broadsword, Composite Bow and Fire Bolt
- 4 Critical Tables: Heat, Krush, Puncture and Slash

Also all skills, armor types, movement maneuver table, specialized static maneuver tables, and possibly more stuff that I'm forgetting right now. Almost everything can be customized by tweaking XML files, so those curious enough can check them.

Now is your chance to download and give it a try. Even if you'd prefer the RMFRP/RMSS or RMC ruleset, I encourage everyone interested in roleplaying software to get it and let me know what you think, since a lot of the features are cross-version and your ideas might benefit everyone.

And now, the disclaimer. I've been developing and using the system for my own gaming group for more than 9 years. We play mostly with RMFRP rules, so the RMC ruleset I'm offering now might still have some details to review. Also, since I was the only user for a long time, the way to achieve some things in the application might not be obvious for others, so it's really important that you post your experience.
Remember that there are 3 tutorial videos to help you see an example on how to use ERA (the videos are done with a different ruleset, but most things do not change).

A special thanks to Merkir, markc, VladD and Wolfhound for being part of the first round of the playtesting, it's because of their comments that you get now an improved version.
« Last Edit: April 16, 2014, 01:00:07 PM by Colin-ICE »

Offline gandalf970

  • Seeker of Wisdom
  • **
  • Posts: 228
  • OIC Points +0/-0
Re: ERA for Rolemaster - Creating characters and managing adventures
« Reply #12 on: April 15, 2014, 08:12:51 PM »
I played around with it to roll up my character.  Then it went to a screen that said my characters name and adolescent.  None of my rolls for attributes carried forward so I was stuck.  I also couldn't find an area that said my development points, but of course all my stats were zero so I would have any.  It was clean and nice, need some better instructions for this old timer.

Offline DavidKlecker

  • Senior Adept
  • **
  • Posts: 697
  • OIC Points +0/-0
  • Everything is coming up Milhouse!
Re: ERA for Rolemaster - Creating characters and managing adventures
« Reply #13 on: April 15, 2014, 10:06:08 PM »
I played around with it myself. Very clean and linear. However I got stuck in assigning my stats. Nothing I did seemed to do anything. I can drag them around but when I try to drop them nothing happens. Also, I highly suggest tool tips for any of the buttons. They really help out for quick assistance for people who might not know what a particular button might do.  ;)

Offline Voriig Kye

  • Wise Elder
  • ***
  • Posts: 816
  • OIC Points +0/-0
Re: ERA for Rolemaster - Creating characters and managing adventures
« Reply #14 on: April 15, 2014, 10:23:49 PM »
Thanks for the feedback, let's see if I can get you unstuck.

The trick when dragging is that the mouse pointer should be inside the target box. This is due to the plugin I am currently using for drag & drop, I will improve this as soon as I find a better one.
Don't try to make the borders of the box fit, just release the mouse button when the pointer is inside the box. Also check if watching that part in the video tutorial makes it more clear. This link will take you to the exact moment:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=tr1FpH7sN2A#t=199

Also, remember that you can always change the temporaries and potentials after the character is created, and this will be considered when leveling up for computing the development points.

Development points are on the top right corner of the skill list while leveling up. This link points to the moment in the tutorial where this is shown:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=_M5bfyGyqXs#t=228

I will definitively add some more tooltips in the buttons, thanks for pointing that out.

Offline Voriig Kye

  • Wise Elder
  • ***
  • Posts: 816
  • OIC Points +0/-0
ERA for Rolemaster - Creating characters and managing adventures
« Reply #15 on: May 03, 2014, 02:20:20 AM »
ERA has been updated. It can be obtained as always from:
http://goo.gl/NTMqH9
It should be safe to overwrite your existing installation.

New tutorial video:
http://youtu.be/mZrOpsdtjak
Here you will get a quick glimpse at some of the changes from the last version.

New features:
- Feedback button: if you want to ask about a feature, make a suggestion or just rate the application, you can click on the button on the lower right corner and access a simple feedback form. This requires Internet connection.
- Active Spells: manually add spell effects to characters, or let them be automatically created when a spell is cast, by specifying a target and duration. On the upkeep of the round that it expires, all effects (DB, bleeding, bonus, etc) are cleared for you, and a log entry is created. Players can see the number of active spells affecting their characters from the mobile status module.
- Execute declared actions: after a round starts, the declared actions showing the initiative order can be clicked to execute it. For example, if an attack is declared, clicking on the action icon will offer target selection and afterwards open the attack window.
- More details in the mobile status module: players can get a rundown of stun remaining, and the cause of all their bleeding and penalties.
- Improved skill filters: the logic of the filtering buttons on the character sheet module has been changed to a positive criteria (i.e. show all favorite skills, instead of hide all non favorite skills).

Offline DavidKlecker

  • Senior Adept
  • **
  • Posts: 697
  • OIC Points +0/-0
  • Everything is coming up Milhouse!
Re: ERA for Rolemaster - Creating characters and managing adventures
« Reply #16 on: May 03, 2014, 09:08:06 AM »
Awesome, just a couple of quick things I'm noticing. I'm thinking you may want to rotate the feedback text 90 degrees so that it's in the box and not breaking out of it. This is just for aesthetic purposes.  :) On the Skills sheet for the character, you don't have a header for the table. I could probably figure it out but I think it would make it a lot easier if there was a header naming the columns.  8)

Offline Voriig Kye

  • Wise Elder
  • ***
  • Posts: 816
  • OIC Points +0/-0
Re: ERA for Rolemaster - Creating characters and managing adventures
« Reply #17 on: May 03, 2014, 11:35:25 AM »
Oooops! Thanks for pointing that out.
It was not working in Firefox nor Internet Explorer.
I've just uploaded a new version to fix this.

Also, as a bonus, I've included a new feature:
- Random rolls for temporaries and potentials. This should speed up the creation of characters when you don't want to do all the rolling.

Offline Voriig Kye

  • Wise Elder
  • ***
  • Posts: 816
  • OIC Points +0/-0
Re: ERA for Rolemaster - Creating characters and managing adventures
« Reply #18 on: May 19, 2014, 07:57:01 PM »
A new version of ERA is available
http://goo.gl/NTMqH9

Don't forget to click on the "Feedback" button to the lower right of the main screen, it allows you to give your opinion on the content and also to ask for new features.

In this version Firefox users will find that they can now correctly drag and drop stats during character creation.
Also, for users of all browsers, a visual cue was added when dragging in steps 5 and 7 of character creation. I hope you find it useful.

When loading a character sheet (and also after finishing a newly created character) you can click on the avatar in the "Characteristics" tab to choose an avatar. It can be almost any image file, although a 100x100 transparent png is recommended. This avatar will then be used during the adventures as well.

You might notice that the Inventory button seems to be missing from the module selection. It was moved inside the adventure module. You can find it by clicking in the adventure options (the cog icon to the right of the adventure name) and then selecting "Inventory".
Once inside the inventory, there is a new button to the lower right, which will fill the list with some common items that the adventurers might be carrying. Once loaded you can assign carriers to the different items.

The Recover and Party Recover actions offer a new option: to pass the time while the characters are active. This implies that a small amount of hits might be gained. But the most important feature here is that no matter if you declare a sleeping, resting or active period, the passage of time will be considered also for any bleeding, stun, and active spell effects.
Although the default unit is hours, you can enter text like "8 min" or "2r" to indicate minutes or rounds as well. There are many time unit shortcuts.
The spell casting window has also been prepared to receive this time unit shorthand, with a default unit of rounds.

And, maybe leaving the best for last, this version includes a brand new "Herald" module. You can now send direct messages to any player using the mobile character status.
During an adventure, press the options button (the cog icon to the right of the adventure name) and then select "Herald". From there you can write what only one of the characters should know/perceive. Since the mobile status refreshes in their smartphones/tablets every 10 seconds, they will soon see a message icon appear, which can be clicked to get the text sent by the GM.

As a side note, I remind you that in the current download the server must be launched from a Windows installation, while the GM and character applications can be accessed with any browser in any device/platform. In case you are in need of a download for Unix or Apple installation, let me know so I can  increase the priority for that development.

Offline Thot

  • Senior Adept
  • **
  • Posts: 610
  • OIC Points +0/-0
Re: ERA for Rolemaster - Creating characters and managing adventures
« Reply #19 on: May 21, 2014, 02:01:49 AM »
I mean no offense, really, but could you pack the file on some website that reveals who you are and gives this random stranger' .exe some kind of authenticity?

I' rather not execute a random .exe on my PC without knowing anything about the author...