Increasing access to a race's favoured class options
 

I'm experimenting with the race building options, both under the Background tab (using the ARG and related options) and in the HL Editor (which I don't find easy to use).

One thing that I'd like to change is which favoured class options are available to a particular race. For example, a half-elf could also draw upon both the elf and human options (likewise a half-orc could draw upon both the orc and human options), and an elf could draw upon both the elf and half-elf options and maybe the human ones too (humans always seem the get the best stuff). Basically, for each race I want to open the pool of options so that they can choose from two or three races' options.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to accomplish this with Hero Lab - without being a coding deity?

I think their may be some type of bug with the favored class options in the editor. In the past I tried doing what you listed. I copied the options and added the other races. It never would do anything. It should have worked but it didn't.

I seem to have got it to work now - I just had to change two things.

In the Editor: under the Class tab I found the Favored Class Optn tab, where I copied the Half-Elf Bard, re-named the copy (both name and unique id), then opened the "Available to Races ..." Edit button and added more races (my Elf variants in this case) and saved it.

In the Editor: under the Race tab I opened the Race (sub-)tab in order to access my Elf variants. In their records I opened the "Favored Class Options" Edit button and added the option which I had previously created/copied under the Class/Favored Class Optn tabs and saved it.

I then re-started Hero Lab, and the new favoured class option was available.

I have no idea right now if there is a way to do it with standard races. Maybe just by copying and re-naming them? Further testing is required, but I'm not about to launch into that right now.

There might be an easier way to reach the same result, but I have no idea right now as to how to accomplish that.

I tried copying and renaming for standard races but it just will not work. It tests fine but will not show in the races options. I forget the name of the feat but it gives you access to another race's feat, trait, and favored class options but it also will not give you the favored class options in Herolab. There is something in HL that is preventing this from working. I think it is a bug since I have read of others having problems with this.

Not a bug. You must get the FCB live on to the hero. The normal way to do this is bootstrap the FCB to the Race. If you cant do that then use a mechanic and bootstrap to the Mechanic.

Remember once you use a mechanic Test Now! will not work you need to do CTRL-R to reload the game system.

And this shows why I'm so bad at using the Editor. :)

... What is a "Mechanic"?

A mechanic is found in the editor on the tab General->Mechanics.

A mechanic is a Thing that is always live on the hero/character. So create a new one and give it a unique id of mechFCB. Then bootstrap your new FCB's to this mechanic and save your changes.

But you can't use Test Now! with a mechanic. Go back to the normal HL window and press CTRL-R to reload the game system.

Now sense the mechanic is always live anything bootstrapped to it will also be live. As an FCB is tagged to a specific race/class combo the FCB will only show when that race/class combo is added to a character. :)