[SeeleyOne]

I have played around with different mods as different settings and GM rules change things up quite a bit. I often test eval scripts and bootstrapping in both "Character Creation" and "Advancement Mode" as some things work fine in one and not the other. This has made me wish many times that I could have the eval script see what mode that the object that it is in was taken by the character. A simple "creation" field or tag would suffice, or something similar to what the "Creation Only" option looks at.

If I could fix the source code of Hero Lab I would do the following:

1) Make it so that there is a campaign file which then can pick and choose between contents of different source files. As it currently is, Hero Lab is not "mix and match" as sources are all-or-nothing and that is not how a great many people play Savage Worlds. This is taken from seeing posts on the Savage Worlds forums and the Facebook fan group. The lack of modularity is probably why very few people use Hero Lab for Savage Worlds.

2) Make the advancement system figure out when it applies. As it currently is, if you give your character XP in the Configure Hero window or in the Journal, it will make the character go up to the highest rank as determined by XP total value. This causes the requirements system, which is based on rank, to break immediately. I made a mod that fixes this, and I have shared it somewhere here.

3) Allow the campaign to be tailor made by the GM. This includes setting all of the fiddly bits in the Configure Hero. By selecting the campaign it will autofill all of the different settings just by picking it. A player just picks "John's Fantasy campaign" and that is it. There is no having to say "pick this, not this" or "use this default character sheet and re-save it as your own".

4) Allow for a player to add a "custom something" that does more than be an text space-holder. Give us some dynamic code! The custom magic items are a step in this direction, but this could also be done with edges and hindrances.

5) Allow for multiple arcane backgrounds. Allow for anything that can have its own resources be added to a character. You want a race that gets 3 items from this list? You can.

6) Campaign loot and leveling management. Instead of each player having to add in their XP and money from a session, let the GM do it all from a master file. The player's character then looks it up for the player. While at it, allow people to give out items from party treasure. "Jimmy gets the sword +1" and it is now on Jimmy's character.

Interestingly enough, since I cannot fix Hero Lab, I am making my own program that does all of the above. Basically, I am lazy and since it is possible for me to make a computer handle all of the logistics -- the point of a character management program -- I will do so. My program is designed for the power to be put in the GM's hands with a multitude of options. And since people need to share data anyway, it is web-based.

I have offered to help do the above with Hero Lab but was kindly told "no". I had figured that I could help to make an existing product better but they did not want my help. On the bright side, being the designer and coder for my project it meets all of my many requirements within its design framework from the beginning.