Using Armybuilder to make RPG characters.

One fine day in the middle of the night, Blasted Soul
<blastedsoul@home.com> got up to write:

>I've just been sitting here revising a character for an RPG I play with
>my gaming group and I wondered if Armybuilder is flexible enough to
>actually be used as an RPG character generator.
>
>Colen, you up to the challenge??

It depends. If you mean 'generator' as in it makes up characters with
equipment, etc. by itself, no. If you mean some sort of thing that
just let you track the progress of your character, it probably could,
but it depends on the system and how you play it.

Which RPG were you thinking of? I've only played AD&D2nd.

--
Colen 'Not Colin' McAlister | License to Skrill
Email: demandred@skrill.org | Visit http://www.skrill.org/ today!
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what about a typical skill-based system? one where characters don't have
"levels" like in AD&D but rather just have a collection of skills that they
independently increase over time? character creation for those is really
just like building an army. Frex, in GURPS you have a set number of points,
usually 100, to build a character with; you purchase stats, skills,
advantages, etc.

-Dennis Groome V / "Amo Nympham"
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-----Original Message-----
From: Colen 'Not Colin' McAlister & The Skrills <demandred@skrill.org>
To: ab@support.wolflair.com
Date: Monday, November 29, 1999 6:09 AM
Subject: [AB] Re: Using Armybuilder to make RPG characters.


>One fine day in the middle of the night, Blasted Soul
><blastedsoul@home.com> got up to write:
>
>>I've just been sitting here revising a character for an RPG I play with
>>my gaming group and I wondered if Armybuilder is flexible enough to
>>actually be used as an RPG character generator.
>>
>>Colen, you up to the challenge??
>
>It depends. If you mean 'generator' as in it makes up characters with
>equipment, etc. by itself, no. If you mean some sort of thing that
>just let you track the progress of your character, it probably could,
>but it depends on the system and how you play it.
>
>Which RPG were you thinking of? I've only played AD&D2nd.
>
>--
>Colen 'Not Colin' McAlister | License to Skrill
>Email: demandred@skrill.org | Visit http://www.skrill.org/ today!
>-----------------------------+------------------------------------
>"Dovie'andi se tovya sagain" - Robert Jordan's Wheel Of Time
>
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<x-flowed>At 08:12 AM 11/29/99 , Dennis Groome V wrote:
>what about a typical skill-based system? one where characters don't have
>"levels" like in AD&D but rather just have a collection of skills that they
>independently increase over time? character creation for those is really
>just like building an army. Frex, in GURPS you have a set number of points,
>usually 100, to build a character with; you purchase stats, skills,
>advantages, etc.

Haven't tried it, but off the top of my head, any game with a true point
system (GURPS, Rolemaster, etc.) should work. It would just be a lot of
work to get the upgrades/options entered. Also, depending on the system,
keeping track of the basic stats (Strength, etc.) could be a fair amount of
work.

E



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</x-flowed>

> It depends. If you mean 'generator' as in it makes up characters with
> equipment, etc. by itself, no. If you mean some sort of thing that
> just let you track the progress of your character, it probably could,
> but it depends on the system and how you play it.

Of course I meant a tracking program which you could use to create your
character, not a generator which would do it for you. I've had a go at
building some data files, and understand the principles of the program. I
just felt like asking you because of your much more vast experience.

I play a variety of games, actually, and any given game is probably complex
enough that it might not be worth while. Of course, if you thought that way
about doing the 40k stuff, you might not have started those, so I won't go
down that road.

Most of the games I play are skills based RPGs where character advances are
done through increasing skill abilities and characteristics. StarWars RPG is
a good example of that. And it's probably one of the simpler games to create
an Army Builder datafile for, seeing as all characters are essentially based
on a template and/or customizable from the get go. It would just be a matter
of selecting skills and equipment at that point.

Hmm...I shall have to think on this. It might be an interesting endeavour.
Anybody interested in something like this, let me know, maybe if we put our
heads together...


Cheers,
Hivemind


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One fine day in the middle of the night, Dennis Groome V
<nallix@bellsouth.net> got up to write:

>what about a typical skill-based system? one where characters don't have
>"levels" like in AD&D but rather just have a collection of skills that they
>independently increase over time? character creation for those is really
>just like building an army. Frex, in GURPS you have a set number of points,
>usually 100, to build a character with; you purchase stats, skills,
>advantages, etc.

That would *probably* be possible. I've never played GURPS, though, so
don't quote me on that

--
Colen 'Not Colin' McAlister | License to Skrill
Email: demandred@skrill.org | Visit http://www.skrill.org/ today!
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One fine day in the middle of the night, Blasted Soul
<blastedsoul@home.com> got up to write:

>I play a variety of games, actually, and any given game is probably complex
>enough that it might not be worth while. Of course, if you thought that way
>about doing the 40k stuff, you might not have started those, so I won't go
>down that road.

Wargames are, I feel, different from Role Playing Games in one main way;
you need a Dungeon Master for RPG's, someone who can arbitrarily decide
to change things, give your characters equipment, etc., to help the
story along. The sheer volume of stuff in AD&D, and the complexity of
it's use, would make it extremely difficult to model using AB. The
author of the Blood Bowl files had the same problem - there were so many
extra rules published in White Dwarf, Citadel Journal etc., many of
which contradicted each other, that he had to provide several versions
of some teams to include them all.

>Most of the games I play are skills based RPGs where character advances are
>done through increasing skill abilities and characteristics. StarWars RPG is
>a good example of that. And it's probably one of the simpler games to create
>an Army Builder datafile for, seeing as all characters are essentially based
>on a template and/or customizable from the get go. It would just be a matter
>of selecting skills and equipment at that point.

Indeed. If you were sticking to equipment in 'the books', for some
definition of 'the books', it would be possible (depending on how much
equipment there was).

--
Colen 'Not Colin' McAlister | License to Skrill
Email: demandred@skrill.org | Visit http://www.skrill.org/ today!
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I see your point, because a GM can invent whatever he likes, after all. I
was thinking about that last night, in fact, and wondering how it could be
incorporated, if at all.

I'll continue to ponder this though.

Cheers,
Hivemind


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