Using Hero Lab as a Character Sheet

[Waylorn]

I play PF with maptools and vent online. I switched to hero lab not long ago and while I enjoy the tool, I find it to be a bit harder to use as a character sheet. (i was using TOS+). It would be really awsome if you could add a summary tab to the tool. Now i am generating a pdf of my sheet, one of my spells and powers, and running hero lab. It would be really nice to have that INSIDE hero lab for us online gamers. I really hope you will take this under consideration as it would make the tool alot more functional as a character sheet. I find myself digging to find info that should be at my fingertips. (i have been using hero lab for about 1.5 months now).

[chiefweasel]

Have you checked out the d20pro product? it integrates the HL charachetsr into it for online gaming.

I am a bit confused though, are you saying that there is too much information displayed when you are playing online? What information are you looking for without having to dig for it? There are panels that can display various parts fo the charatcer, like skills, feats, weapons, etc.. You could also put the character on the tactical Dashboard which will allow you to do inititive and just list out the most basic information for the character, like AC, HP, saving throws, etc.

I use HL as i play. I find the ability to say the character is "Stunned" and the effects will casacde through the entire character. Also the journaling is very handy. I guess i am not 100% sure you would want a stripped down version of the character to use.

[rob]

You're going to need to provide us with more concrete information here in order for us to understand what you really want added. You ask for a "summary tab". What would you want on that tab? All of the content is available via the various tabs in Hero Lab, and all of the in-play support is centered on just a few tabs at the far right. So what content is missing or hard to access? The more details you can provide, the better we'll understand what you feel needs to be changed.

[Waylorn]

Originally Posted by rob

You're going to need to provide us with more concrete information here in order for us to understand what you really want added. You ask for a "summary tab". What would you want on that tab? All of the content is available via the various tabs in Hero Lab, and all of the in-play support is centered on just a few tabs at the far right. So what content is missing or hard to access? The more details you can provide, the better we'll understand what you feel needs to be changed.

Well.. I will try to explain a bit more. I would like to see something like the pdf character sheet inside hero lab. As it is now, I use Hero lab, the character sheet it generates, and the spells/feats sheet. Alot of the time I will get questions on "where did you get that +10 to hit bonus?", without showing how that is actually generated I find myself having to use the PDF output also. The creation of a character is great, and I like the product. But I find the lack of this inside the sheet cumbersome. I am not very good at explaining myself in text so I hope you understand what I mean.

[Mathias]

Tracking the history of the modifiers is on my to-do list. The problem is finding the time to implement it. I'm sorry it's not available yet.

[Yaourth]

In the Character sheet, it could be nice to sort the gear too... since the new features (custom location, drop area...), it's difficult to see where are items.

Is it possible to have a specific area for each location in the Pdf sheet ?

[Waylorn]

Thank you for the reply. Any ideas when this might be added, if ever? Just a tab with the formula's for AC, Saves, etc. Really it isnt that bad to generate the spell list and the character sheet, but for someone not playing a table top game there is no need. I have to use 3 applications to get all the info my "check everything" DM demands. I feel this would make the tool more of an "all in one" solution.

Great product BTW, and great support for the massive amount of content.

[Nikmal]

Originally Posted by Waylorn

Thank you for the reply. Any ideas when this might be added, if ever? Just a tab with the formula's for AC, Saves, etc. Really it isnt that bad to generate the spell list and the character sheet, but for someone not playing a table top game there is no need. I have to use 3 applications to get all the info my "check everything" DM demands. I feel this would make the tool more of an "all in one" solution.

Great product BTW, and great support for the massive amount of content.

Yea I need to open the PDF version of the sheet and the Spells and Feats sheet plus Hero Lab too and sometimes it is not always enough. So I agree with your assessments

[Shayd3000]

Maybe buying your GM a copy of HL so he can get comfortable that it is generating things correctly would help

Seriously though, I had all the players in my group generate their characters in HL (required it in fact) because I found it was easier for me to figure out what was going on, and because HL caught a lot of items that we usually mniss of flub up. I would assert that HL actually catches more stuff and enables easier enforcement of the rules than manually checking every sheet every game!

The fact that the HL crew is very responsive to issues and they tend to get corrected rather quickly makes it even more attractive. In fact, I've been encouraging all my players to get copies of HL and start playing right from their laptops, where HL really shines.

George

[Nikmal]

I agree that the developer team and HL crew in general have been extremely helpful and forthcoming at all times. I have tried to encourage my DM to get HL but it is kind of difficult to do that when he refuses to even use a Computer in general. He is 52 and has never even had a cell phone much less then a computer. We as a group are trying to talk him in to it though hehe.