Add Portrait Images to SRD Monsters
 

I know the images can't be distributed, but as part of my own, local data, I would like to add the images for all the Monster Manual monsters. I love using the Encounter Builder. I hate having to click on each monster and manually add an image after the fact. How can I use the editor to add the images for all the monsters, by default?

I use Realm Works for this. Create the monster once in realm works and from that point the image is there.

The editor has nothing to do with Images.

Images are stored in a .por file or .stock file. These files are then placed in the \herolab\data\5e folder. These are what are read/processed by the Encounter Builder. If you are in 5e HL you can simply open up one of the .stock/.por files in the \herolab\data\5e folder and add the image.

The "problem" is that if these are provided by LW then the next time you update 5e your changes will be lost as the .por/.stock file is over written. :(

The only way to save these changes would be to save them with a different file name. The downside is that the Encounter Builder would find a race twice then and display it twice. Once from your file (with an image) and once from LW's file (without an image).

Note: adding the monsters into realm works with a hero lab snippet and including the picture in that snippet alleviates all of the issues mentioned above. The srd is also coming shortly to realm works.

Not everyone has both apps though.

I use both (HL/RW) but have the same issue where I have my own custom .stock files with images - the duplicate names are annoying and it would be nice if there were some royalty free/ open licensed images to attach to the community .stock file but that would also increase the size of the community file if you shipped images with it.

This makes an impact when you use the Tactical Console from Hero Labs to assist with initiative order and running the game. The players get an image reinforcing who is on top of the init order.

Is Realm Works going to add a tactical console type feature in the future?

We discussed adding pictures into the Community Pack in the early days but realistically there's just too much risk with the legalities associated to the pictures. We therefore won't be adding them ourselves.

Realm Works integrates directly into Hero Lab. You click a button from the monster within Realm Works and the monster gets added to the Hero Labs portfolio (pick qty) for use in the Tactical Console.

You can check out THIS VIDEO to see the process in action. I find it to be more efficient than picking the monsters from the encounter builder as the adventure text creates automatic links to the monsters that feature in the encounters I run.

Why I was trying to answer the question asked and not give an answer of "Buy RW" which is not a valid answer to the question. :)

That would be up to LW. The 5e Pack has no .stock files so the duplicates are coming from LW's files. The easiest way would be to just delete LW's .por/.stock files if you make your own stock files with images.

Just have to do that after each update but if you start your custom .stock files with a specific wording it would be easy. Plus 5e is not updated that often really.

On the other side as the Encounter Builder shows images in the list it would be easy to tell which monster to add to the encounter. ;)

I highly doubt that. RW is a campaign tool not a encounter/combat tool.

You need to mention your other video where you show the images being added to the monsters in your mechanics section of RW as you create or edit them. That video explains the problems with the associated images better. (RW vs HL)

This still means that WHEN the SRD drops - if it includes the monster entries as HL portfolios in the mechanics section, we users will still have to add images to each entry anyway. SO, still have to modify a lot of entries.

But back to the original thread, the only way to do this in hero labs as a standalone is by creating a new .stock file as the community/LW 5e files are not likely to get a blessing to include images.

It will. But yes they would need to be modified to include the pictures manually for the same legal reasons. As will the Realm Works articles themselves.

Hey, guys. Was just trying to deal with this issue so that I can have monster pics show up in my Tactical Console in Hero Lab.

For me, if the monster has a picture set up in Realm Works, it doesn't transfer over into Hero Lab when I send that monster to the portfolio via the button in RW.

Having pictures in the Tactical Console would help me dramatically when trying to find a specific monster during a fight, to apply damage, etc.

What I've done is made copies of the SRD & community .stock files in the hero labs 5e folder.

C:\ProgramData\Hero Lab\data\5e\ - anything ending in .stock that is SRD or COM (I ignore the KP stuff).

- SRD Creatures Aboleth-Doppelganger.stock (etcetera, etc.)

You CAN edit the .stock files and stick portraits on each creature in Hero Labs. I made copies because each program and community update overwrites these stock files and I lose my pictures every update otherwise.

The downside is that the encounter builder now shows two of every creature in the builder, one with a picture, one without. UNLESS, you get around that by MOVING the existing .stock files to a backup folder on your desktop, or somewhere away from the 5e folder.

The .stock files are exactly the same format as your portfolio files.

I guess I just figured out, via daplunk's vids, that I have to put the pic into the HL portfolio when I create it from within RW if I want it to have a pic in HL Tactical Console. Would be nice if the HL portfolio would automatically grab the RW pic if it doesn't have one. That may be asking too much.

I can't seem to get HL to edit the .stock files. How do you go about this?

Something to consider with all this. If I understand it correctly. Once Hero Lab Online arrives the Realm Works work around won't work anymore. Hero Lab snippets will be replaced by links that trigger the monster in Hero Lab Online so we won't be able to modify anything from the Realm Works end.

Hmm. Not sure if I followed that completely, but basically I think you are saying that Hero Lab Online will have it's own files and links that reside in the cloud, and won't be pulling from the local computer data anymore, right?

Sounds like a good justification not to use HLO. What would you do about custom content at that point?

Andy

From what I understand so far. And I don't have access yet so can't confirm this.

The Hero lab online files will be stored in the cloud instead of locally. Instead of having a local portfolio stored in Realm Works we will use links that when clicked trigger the monster to be added to you active hero lab online session. Customisation will need to be done within Hero Lab Online therefore. I'm sure there will be a way to do everything we do now. But it will be done from the Hero Lab Online end and not stored inside Realm Works like some of us do now.

Hmm, wonder if we can still put in the hero lab classic portfolio as a foreign object, forcing it to open Hero Labs "Classic" - it reduces the usefulness of having Classic and auto-editting/integration though.

This is beginning to sour me on hlo and realm works as a combo, I play in one of the rural states where wifi and internet connections are not a guarantee everywhere. My hometown is well connected but I regularly go to areas without even decent cellular coverage. Anyway, rant off.

Conandy, I just go to File.. and Open Portfolio... and can choose any of the .stock files. Not sure what you're doing different.

I very much doubt the Hero Lab Classic Snippets within Realm Works are going anywhere. They will leave them as they are for those people still using Hero Lab Classic.

The difference I imagine will be the official content will come with both versions and as users we can then choose which one to use and which ones to add.

Nothing to rant about here ;)