Spell and Conferred Ability Adjustments - I'd appreciate help from the community

[Mathias]

knight.errant - ShadowChemosh is not an employee, he's a volunteer. The reason we have more than a few dozen spell adjustments in Hero Lab is because ShadowChemosh has created so many and given them to us to use - why not see if he can help you figure out how to add the ones you want by yourself? Maybe take on one of the books, like Ultimate Combat, that he hasn't gotten to yet.

[King Joey]

Hey guys. Total newbie to HL here, and I'm blown away by the work y'all have done (especially the volunteers -- you're a great guy, Shadow).

But I had an idea regarding the Polymorph spells. I'm not a real programmer, so there may be some issues that make what I'm thinking of impossible/impractical, but here goes.

If you take Beast Shape, for example, there are a fairly limited number of spell effect options despite the countless variations of forms. Each of the levels of the spell (I through IV) enable different size categories of animals and magical beasts, and different special abilities that can be gained from the form. All told, there are 10 possible size categories (Diminuitive Animal, Tiny Animal, Small Animal, Medium Animal, Large Animal, Huge Animal, Tiny Magic Beast, Small Magic Beast, Medium Magic Beast, Large Magic Beast), each with a specific set of ability modifiers that are not (as I read the spell description) dependent on the specific animal/beast form chosen. A large wolf form grants the same +4 Str, -2 Dex and +4 Natural Armor bonus that a large horse form does. Similarly, there are a total of up to 25 special abilities that can be gained from the forms (including elemental resistances and vulnerabilities, which would technically involve 5 or 6 more each to include every element).

If you added a set of pull down menus for the size categories, and a radio button menu of the 25 possible abilities, then the user could simply select from those options and customize the available modifiers and abilities to whichever form was being taken at the time.

Again, I'm not really a programmer, so what I've just described may well involve decades of coding. But it seems like a much more managable project that the compiling of thousands of possible animal and magic beast forms that Mathias seemed to be describing in the opening post.

Of course, if this would be managable, a similar process could account for all the (much fewer) variables in the Elemental Body series, and the Plant Shape series, etc.

Hopefully this sparks some helpful thoughts.

Good luck, and thanks again for the really incredible work!

[phloog]

This is going to sound really foolish, but I had no idea that the packages we were buying didn't have all the content until this weekend. Working on a PF Witch and had purchased the Core, the APG, and Ultimate Magic, and as far as I can tell there were less than ten 1st level spells available. Nearly every spell the player wanted to try wasn't there - looked like most that were there might only have been there because they were available in the past for other classes?

For the longest time I figured I was doing something wrong, but is it just that this was released with just those few spells?

I realize it's a lot of content, but is these some place where we can see how incomplete a package is BEFORE we buy it? I would have made some other choices had I known. If there's a page on the site I can go to that would be great...I'm going to hold off buying any other packages for HL until I understand better how this works.

Also, it seems like LW does NOT do all their own authoring, so is it possible that if they don't get enough volunteers this package I bought will be incomplete forever?

If not, my last question is: what is the normal time to complete a book?

[TehBagder]

Originally Posted by phloog

This is going to sound really foolish, but I had no idea that the packages we were buying didn't have all the content until this weekend. Working on a PF Witch and had purchased the Core, the APG, and Ultimate Magic, and as far as I can tell there were less than ten 1st level spells available. Nearly every spell the player wanted to try wasn't there - looked like most that were there might only have been there because they were available in the past for other classes?

Have you enabled them in the options for the character? Go to CONFIGURE HERO and make sure you've selected the appropriate packages in the list of options on the right hand side. Does that fix things?

[Aaron]

Phloog, if I configure a portfolio only to allow APG + Core, and add a level of Witch, I see 233 spells to add to the familiar. If Ultimate Magic is enabled, I see 335 total. Let me just verify that you have added the spells to your Familiar or if there is something else going on.

Create a new portfolio with APG & UM enabled, make a 1st level witch. Move to the Witch tab, and click on the "Spells Must be added to your Familiar's Spells before you can prepare them".

It should pop up an error that says "You must add spells to your Spellbook before you can prepare them. To add spells to your Spellbook, click the "Spellbook" button on the left side of this tab."

Does that pop up? If it doesn't and allows you to click through then you'll only see the few 0 level spells that are bootstrapped to all characters and that would be a bug.

Now click on the button on the left (It looks like a blue oval with a white book) that says "Familiar's Spells". That should pop up a new window with the default 0 level spells all witch characters have. Did you stop at this point before?

Now the next step is, in the same window that just popped up, click on the part that says "Add Spells to Familiar's Spells". It is below the listed 0 level spells, but above the "OK" button.

That should pop up another window with the 200+ spells to add. I just want to verify that you got to this point and see only 10 spells. If so, then there is something wrong we'll have to look into.

Now, after adding 3-4 1st level spells to the familiar, back out to the general witch tab, and click the "Add 0 Level Spells" button (the one that should have given you the error when you clicked on it last time). Scroll down to the bottom of that list that pops up, do you see the same spells you added to your familiar?

As for the rest of your questions, we generally get major books out within a few weeks of their release, although there may be pieces that are so troublesome to implement for so little gain that it might be delayed for a while. Even then we try to pay close attention to our customers. For example, 1 archetype in UM requires an overhaul of the Intelligent Item system, but since so many users requested it, I am working on that overhaul now. Regardless, incomplete content is not your problem in this instance as to my knowledge, the Witch content from those books is finished, and certainly all the spells are (as those are quite simple to add).

[phloog]

I think the issue may be what used to be described as PEBCAK or PICNIC...this thread with the authoring had me thinking it might be something else if spells weren't all (mostly) loaded.

I think we were trying to just add them, ignoring the familiar (which is truly stupid considering it's a witch, but we were rushing to get the game on)

I can now find them all (meaning the large number...not that I've confirmed 100% are there, but the ones we couldn't find I can now)

Thanks for the help,
JT

[Aaron]

Ah, I am glad that worked it out for you.

[King Joey]

Also, so long as we don't have a spell adjust feature for the Beast Shape spells (or the Druid Wild Shape ability), can y'all recommend any convenient workarounds for players to track their Druids' abilities while shapeshifted?

Thanks!

[blzbob]

Originally Posted by King Joey

Also, so long as we don't have a spell adjust feature for the Beast Shape spells (or the Druid Wild Shape ability), can y'all recommend any convenient workarounds for players to track their Druids' abilities while shapeshifted?

Thanks!

Someone did create one for Wildshape. I think you can find it at d20srd with Shadow's stuff. As far as I know, he didn't create. He's just hosting it

[ShadowChemosh]

Originally Posted by blzbob

Someone did create one for Wildshape. I think you can find it at d20srd with Shadow's stuff. As far as I know, he didn't create. He's just hosting it

Correct the file is called "PFRPG_druid_Wildshape.user" and is found in the zMisc folder of d20pfsrd. I have not actually tried it myself but a there are others who are using it and no one has reported any issues so I assume it works.

You could also use my Adjustments addon as it allows the ability to add natural attacks, grab, and poison attacks to any character by using adjustments.