View Single Post
ShadowChemosh
Senior Member
Volunteer Data File Contributor
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Chicago, IL (USA)
Posts: 10,729

Old January 15th, 2012, 07:20 AM
Editor Questions:
Q1: Do I need the authoring kit to make changes to Pathfinder?
A: No. The authoring kit is for creating a WHOLE new game system like Dragon Age. Hero Lab comes with the Hero Lab Editor for free which is used to make any and all changes to the game system.

Q2: How do I learn about using the Hero Lab editor?
A: There are several good places to go for reference.
  1. Go to "Tools->Start Editor.." and then from inside the editor go to "Help->Help on using the Editor". Read this it is very useful.
  2. Mathias has put together some very useful articles about scripting in Hero Lab.
  3. Use the Search feature of this board as it works very well and more than likely your question as already been asked and answered.
  4. Go to THIS post and watch the 4 videos. The videos go over many of the important features of using the Hero Lab Editor.
  5. Check out Lone Wolf's official YouTube channel for videos on Hero Lab.
  6. Official YouTube video on adding content to HL.
  7. Once you are in the editor you can always do a "New (Copy)" against the different Things in Hero Lab to view there scripts. So think about a Feat, Spell, Class Ability, Magic Item, or Trait that does something similar to what you want to code and then go look at how it was done.
  8. Hero Lab Wiki - This is about very advanced concepts using Savage World as the example for using the Authoring kit. It can be helpful but it is NOT pathfinder specific.
Q3: What programming language does Hero Lab use and where can I find a book on it?
A: Hero Lab uses its own language but its very similar to other scripting languages. Using basic structures such as If and Else If logic. See the question "How do I learn about using the Hero Lab editor?" to see how to learn about Hero Lab editor and eval scripts.

Q4: How do I use others data files or .user files?
A: By default you should have Hero Lab installed to the program files folder. So you will need to place your .user file(s) into one of the following locations based on the version of windows you have.
Windows 7 - "C:\ProgramData\Hero Lab\data\pathfinder"
Windows XP/Vista - "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Hero Lab\data\pathfinder"
Note: You can always find the "data" folder containing the user files by going to "Tools->Explore Folders->Game System Data Folder".

Q5: How do I find the data files?
A: You can always find the "data" folder containing the user files by going to the Tools menu within Hero Lab and choosing Explore Folders->Program Data Folder.

Q6: I want to change the way a core feat works so how do I change the existing files?
A: You can not directly changing existing stuff in Hero Lab but you can do what is called a "Replaces Thing ID" found in the editor on the Right side of anything you click on. You make a copy of the feat, spell, or Thing in Hero Lab editor, by clicking on "New (Copy)" and then tell it to replace the CORE Thing using the Unique ID.

Q7: I need to create my own Natural Attack?
A: You can't. What you can do is use the new "Other Natural Weapon" which you can bootstrap, rename, and define yourself. This way when picking Weapon Focus or similar feats you can choose "Other Natural Weapon".

Q8: I want to add a new Sorcerer Bloodlines, Barbarian Rage Powers, Alchemist Discoveries, Rogue Talents, Bards Versatile Performance, etc.. Where in the editor do I find these?
A: These are all the same Thing in HL Editor. Go to "Classes->Custom Ability" tab and you will find all the above. The only exception is Cleric Domains because this was carried over from the old d20 3.5 mechanics so it has its own special tab in the editor.

Q9: How do I find the name of a field or tag or where a value is stored in HL?
A: From inside of Hero Lab go to the menu "Develop->Enable Data File Debugging". Then go to "Develop->Floating Info Windows->Show Selection Fields" and select the the Pick that matches to what you want to know. So if you wanted to know the fields on Armor Class you would select "ArmorClass".

Q10: How do I use custom expressions to build lists in Hero Lab?
A: Read my write up I did about Custom Expressions HERE.

Q11: I copied a Class (ie Barbarian) or Race (ie Orc) to make a new class/race but when I try to select Rage Powers or Alternate Racial Traits HL says "Nothing to Select". Why?
A: Because HL uses "Unique IDs" to know what something is not a "name". So when you did a 'new (copy)' you created a WHOLE new Race/Class that HL does NOT know is suppose to be an related to the original class/race. It has a different Unique ID so it is different Thing.

For races you let HL know its allowed to use the same ARTs by setting "Racial Traits Allowed" to the original race. For classes you setup the "Allow Custom Abilities" section to the original class.

Q12: I have bootstrapped a Feat or Thing to a Class ability and set the class ability to display at level 5. But the feat displays at level 1?
A: When something is bootstrapped it becomes "Live" (ie a Pick) as soon as the thing we are bootstrapped becomes a Pick. To prevent this from happening you must use a Bootstrap Condition. Read the Bootstrap Condition article for full details about making use of Bootstrap Conditions.

The short answer is to add a Condition coded like:
Code:
count:Classes.XXXXXX >= 5
replacing XXXXX with the correct tag for your class. You can locate this tag on the Class tab in the editor and clicking on the blue "Tags" button. Look for the Classes group and replace XXXXX with the "Tag ID" text. Capitalization counts so make sure its exact.

Q13: I have a brand new spellcasting class and I want to allow the class access to existing spells like Bless or Cure Light Wounds or Fireball.
A: You have to use the feature in the editor called "General->* Extend". See THIS post for details on using it.

Hero Lab Resources:
Pathfinder - d20pfsrd and Pathfinder Pack Setup
3.5 D&D (d20) - Community Server Setup
5E D&D - Community Server Setup
Hero Lab Help - Hero Lab FAQ, Editor Tutorials and Videos, Editor & Scripting Resources.
Created by the community for the community
- Realm Works kickstarter backer (Alpha Wolf) and Beta tester.
- d20 HL package volunteer editor.

Last edited by ShadowChemosh; November 15th, 2016 at 02:06 PM.
ShadowChemosh is offline   #4 Reply With Quote