View Single Post
charlieluce
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 1,321

Old December 26th, 2017, 03:27 PM
Okay, this reply is going to be somewhat long but I want it to be useful.

4e for Hero Lab is a Authoring Kit project, so you buy it by buying the Authoring Kit package (this wasn't an issue for our group, as most of us had already purchased the Authoring Kit to get Savage Worlds). Once you have the Authoring Kit for Hero Lab you can download and install the latest centrally developed version of the 4e game system from the Game Select screen or the Updates screen. As far as I know, the files (such as they are) do reflect the game's errata.

4e is not an officially supported system, it's a fan project with a convoluted history; this means that 4e for Hero Lab has significant limitations compared to an officially supported system like Pathfinder or even an OGL system like d20 (I'm not familiar with 5e, but given the SRD and the apparent size and activity of the 5e Hero Lab community and the fact that 5e is the current edition, I expect that things are better off there).

As an Authoring Kit project, you technically have full control over your copy of the game system and can use the Editor and the Authoring Kit tools to change pretty much anything and everything about it. That being said, for the most part this is not a simple process; we had people who were familiar with using the Editor in Hero Lab with Pathfinder and Savage Worlds and we have still struggled at times (and we don't have anyone who knows things to the level of the Authoring Kit; we've never tried to do anything that fundamental).

I also have to admit that although I know that Hero Lab 4e has tools for monsters I don't know anything about using Hero Lab for 4e as a DM. Our DM has the DDI-derived offline tools and uses that to run his games (though he does have a copy of 4e Hero Lab so that he can read the portfolios the players send him and enter the characters into the semi-official builder. This is admittedly a useful way for us to catch bugs in the Hero Lab files). We also don't use Realms Works, so I don't know anything about how they will work together.

If you'd like to go ahead with it, let me know here and I'll put up a link to a zip of our modified files and explain how to use them.

Currently Running: Pathfinder Second Edition
Currently Playing:
Pathfinder First Edition, Star Trek Adventures
Former HL Games: D&D 4e & 5e, Mutants & Masterminds 2E & 3E, Savage Worlds

Last edited by charlieluce; July 3rd, 2020 at 01:17 PM. Reason: Updated explanation slightly
charlieluce is offline   #5 Reply With Quote