Newby Questions

[nyarlathottep]

So I am making my first stab at creating my own "Savage Setting", basically trying to make Hero Lab usable for a James Bond 007 RPG to Savage Worlds conversion I found online called SavageBond. I have been able to figure out most of it (adding new edges, hindrances and skills, mostly) but there is a Fame mechanic that I need to figure out.

I figure I should be able to make it where you can enter it like you can number of bennies, ammo, etc but can't figure out how to add in a resource like that. Could anyone point me in the right direction. I would appreciate it.

I also can't figure out how to keep a skill or edge from showing up in a particular setting. This setting would have no Arcane Backgrounds so I would want to have those not show. Since its entirely for my own use and that of my players, I could just instruct them not to take any, even if they see them, but I'd like to learn how to do it right.

Thanks in advance.

[Paragon]

I can't answer the first one (a bit above my paygrade) but the latter is done using the Preclude tab. This can get somewhat tricky, though, as you need to pretty much Preclude anything dependent on them (like other Arcane related edges and skills) at the same time. Make sure you also have a Source you're using for your new campaign or you'll find a lot of annoying problems where it won't let you do it. I did this for my XCOM campaign and remember having a considerable amount of trouble when I started out. As I recall, the key was to work your way up (Preclude everything dependent on another element first, then Preclude that element).

[nyarlathottep]

So you mean, for instance, that since the Wizard edge is dependant on Arcane Background:Magic that I would want to preclude Wizard first THEN Arcane Background: Magic?

[Paragon]

Originally Posted by nyarlathottep

So you mean, for instance, that since the Wizard edge is dependant on Arcane Background:Magic that I would want to preclude Wizard first THEN Arcane Background: Magic?

Correct. Otherwise you'll get an error message.

[zarlor]

Well, you'll want to preclude all those things, the actual order you do it in doesn't really matter (the list auto-sorts to alphabetical anyway) as long as they are precluded. For ABs that would mean the AB,the Edge and the Skill (you could also preclude the Drawback if you really wanted but it won't matter if you don't)

As Paragon mentioned it's very helpful to be sure you define a Source for your setting to help prevent the stuff you're using in this data file from showing up in your other SW games and it helps to use a 2 character designator on your UniqueIDs just to help keep them Unique. (See any of the free data files for some examples).

For adding a Trait just use the Derived Trait tab. You can find examples of Traits in data files for things like Hell on Earth Reloaded or Deadlands Noir (Dominion), ETU, which uses Academics, or even Pirates of the Spanis Main which has, ta da, Fame! Then, if your players need to modify it through something other than, say, an Edge or a Hindrance you would just use either a Temporary Modifier (on the In-Play tab) or a Permanent Adjustment (on their Personal tab) to make those adjustments.

[Paragon]

Originally Posted by zarlor

Well, you'll want to preclude all those things, the actual order you do it in doesn't really matter (the list auto-sorts to alphabetical anyway) as long as they are precluded. For ABs that would mean the AB,the Edge and the Skill (you could also preclude the Drawback if you really wanted but it won't matter if you don't)

The kicker is when you don't want to do it all at one session (I do a lot of my HL work piecemeal over time); if you don't, the items dependent on the Precluded ones will come up as errors. That can be annoying if you're wanting to use the same game system for other purposes before then, as it'll flag the error even if you aren't using the same source and drop you into--I can't recall what it is, but basically "repair mode".

Since Preclude can be a bit time consuming (as you have to manually enter each of the IDs for the items being Precluded)...

[nyarlathottep]

Hmmm, I tried it as a derived trait but the problem seems to be that it can go over 100 and it doesn't seem to want to allow any derived traits that can go that high.

[nyarlathottep]

Originally Posted by Paragon

The kicker is when you don't want to do it all at one session (I do a lot of my HL work piecemeal over time); if you don't, the items dependent on the Precluded ones will come up as errors. That can be annoying if you're wanting to use the same game system for other purposes before then, as it'll flag the error even if you aren't using the same source and drop you into--I can't recall what it is, but basically "repair mode".

Since Preclude can be a bit time consuming (as you have to manually enter each of the IDs for the items being Precluded)...

Seems like good advice since I have been working on mine on a "whenever I can find the time" basis.

[Paragon]

Originally Posted by nyarlathottep

Seems like good advice since I have been working on mine on a "whenever I can find the time" basis.

And there's no harm in doing it that way; it just requires you to approach it in an organized, non-alphabetic kind of way.

[zarlor]

Originally Posted by nyarlathottep

Hmmm, I tried it as a derived trait but the problem seems to be that it can go over 100 and it doesn't seem to want to allow any derived traits that can go that high.

Hmm.. I'd guess that would be a limitation in the base code someplace, maybe. Sounds like something maybe CC or Mathias would have to look into for us.