D&D Next

[dafrca]

Originally Posted by RavenX

5e isn't complicated enough that a character builder is really necessary though.

Thank you for sharing your opinion. I will stop asking for a 5e Hero Lab as it seems like a waste of my time now.

[Vilhjalmr]

Originally Posted by RavenX

5e isn't complicated enough that a character builder is really necessary though. Even with Pathfinder games I ran I did find Hero Lab taking more time to deal with than it's worth. My players were also not willing to drop a lot of money on the software (Pathfinder's licensing for Hero Lab is rather cost prohibitive for people) when the OGL content is available for free online. The only reason any of my players had hero lab was because I paid for the software licenses for them, a practice that has been halted.

Realm Works is much less cost prohibitive and allows me to organize game data in one place. Players can see the maps as they are being explored and data their characters have actual knowledge of. Realm Works is a one time purchase, players don't have to drop more money into it after that.

See with me it's the exact opposite. I use Realm Works exclusively by myself for organization, prep work, and lore/info depository... And all of my players have purchased Hero Labs for the systems we play.

They've been hounding me left and right for information as to when to expect 5E support, as if I'm some sort of insider... lol

Does 5E NEED a PC creation software? Not as much as previous editions. Would it help in enjoyment of the system? Immeasurably. I am ALWAYS toying with creation software coming up with future characters/NPCs. Something that is tedious and time consuming using books and tables alone. Therefor, creation software will ALWAYS be a boon to whatever system we are playing.

Hope to hear something soon.

[liz]

@dafrca and @Vilhjalmr, we think Hero Lab would be really valuable for D&D 5e players. From my own experience, it would be nice to see all of the options in one place while building new characters. Unfortunately, we would need a license to officially support the system (or an OGL).

[MNBlockHead]

Originally Posted by liz

@dafrca and @Vilhjalmr, we think Hero Lab would be really valuable for D&D 5e players. From my own experience, it would be nice to see all of the options in one place while building new characters. Unfortunately, we would need a license to officially support the system (or an OGL).

Even more so for us RW users. As much as I love DD5e, when I spoke to an old friend who is an avid gamer that I was considering getting back into role-playing and DMing, he strongly suggested Pathfinder. There are just so many more software products you can use with pathfinder and pathfinder content seems to dwarf that of every other system at the local game shops.

WotC has got to be losing potential players because of this. The news that they released content with Fantasy Grounds was welcome news and gives me some hope that they'll do the same with other products, including—I hope—hero lab and RW. (Though I find Fantasy Grounds to be an interesting first partnership...is VTT really that big of a market compared to us at-table gamers?)

I've been out of the gaming world for so long before I jumped back in, that I have no idea who the "big players" are in the industry, but Hero Labs seems like is has among the largest customer bases of any character generation software product. I would hope that it is at least on WotC's radar, though I hope even more that RealmWorks and WotC are in discussions.

[Vilhjalmr]

Originally Posted by liz

...Unfortunately, we would need a license to officially support the system (or an OGL).

Sorry, that's what I meant by "Hope to hear something soon." I should have clarified.

You all are rock-stars, I know where the bottleneck in this situation is. :P

Originally Posted by MNBlockHead

Even more so for us RW users. As much as I love DD5e, when I spoke to an old friend who is an avid gamer that I was considering getting back into role-playing and DMing, he strongly suggested Pathfinder. There are just so many more software products you can use with pathfinder and pathfinder content seems to dwarf that of every other system at the local game shops.

WotC has got to be losing potential players because of this. The news that they released content with Fantasy Grounds was welcome news and gives me some hope that they'll do the same with other products, including—I hope—hero lab and RW. (Though I find Fantasy Grounds to be an interesting first partnership...is VTT really that big of a market compared to us at-table gamers?)

I've been out of the gaming world for so long before I jumped back in, that I have no idea who the "big players" are in the industry, but Hero Labs seems like is has among the largest customer bases of any character generation software product. I would hope that it is at least on WotC's radar, though I hope even more that RealmWorks and WotC are in discussions.

I'm not quite sure what you're waiting for as far as Realm Works goes; it's already usable for just about any system out there. In fact, I use it for my D&D5e games already... Or are you referring to a pre-filled realm for it?

[ddaley]

Originally Posted by liz

@dafrca and @Vilhjalmr, we think Hero Lab would be really valuable for D&D 5e players. From my own experience, it would be nice to see all of the options in one place while building new characters. Unfortunately, we would need a license to officially support the system (or an OGL).

I would love to see 5e support in Hero Lab. What is the barrier to getting a license? Is it that WoTC is not willing to licensing the product?

I am on the verge of buying FG and the core class pack, just to have the character creator. I still plan to use RW to manage content.

[rob]

Discussions are ongoing and we still remain optimistic that a license can be achieved. I think it's safe to infer that the dearth of licenses that have been announced to date is at least partially reflective of the process involved in trying to secure a license in the first place. Anyone who wants to see Hero Lab and/or Realm Works support for D&D will need to remain patient. And I can wholly understand if that patience runs out at some point.

[ddaley]

Originally Posted by rob

Discussions are ongoing and we still remain optimistic that a license can be achieved. I think it's safe to infer that the dearth of licenses that have been announced to date is at least partially reflective of the process involved in trying to secure a license in the first place. Anyone who wants to see Hero Lab and/or Realm Works support for D&D will need to remain patient. And I can wholly understand if that patience runs out at some point.

Well, on the positive side... even if I end up purchasing FG to get the 5e character creator, I will still probably buy it for Hero Lab when/if it is available.

I know that the 5e rules are simpler and shouldn't require a creator, but I am trying to get my kids started on a campaign. The simpler rules are an appeal at this point over Pathfinder. We may begin with 5e and switch back to Pathfinder at some point. But, I think having the creator will make it easier and more enjoyable for my family to create characters and experiment with different builds.

To me, one of the best parts of D&D of old was the character creation process. But, I don't want to get bogged down in flipping through rule books. It has been a long time since I/we have played and am anxious to get back into it.

[MNBlockHead]

Rob, glad to hear that discussions with WotC are ongoing! Gives me hope.

DDaley, I looked into FG as well, but decided it was a lot of money to throw at something that I would not use most of the features of as I have no intention of running virtual games at this time. Also, despite the merits of competing tools, the integration of Herolabs with Realmworks is what would make Herolabs especially valuable to me.

Vilhjalmr, my post was not worded very clearly I'm afraid. What I meant to say is that DD5e players who are already using RW would especially find Herolabs useful because of the integration you can have with RW and HL. I am also using RW to manage a 5th edition campaign. I would also like to use HL in my game and hope that WotC and Wolf Lair can work something out.

[Vilhjalmr]

Anyone else check this section every day, even though if there WAS news on moving forward, they'd without a doubt announce it via an easier-to-access place? :P