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Meatpuppet
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Old November 3rd, 2018, 11:05 AM
Hi LW,

My group and I happily restarted our PF game after a 7-year hiatus. I fired up my trusted old copy of Hero Lab on my win 7 laptop and everything went fine all my datasets worked like they used to in 2011. I went to the Hero Lab store and bought the add-on for our next campaign: The Rise of the Runelords.

I also planned on customizing some PF creatures my players will eventually meet in RotRL and on entering the non-ogl monsters in Hero lab myself (I’m a big fan of Mind Flayers, Beholders, Githyanki, etc.). The HL editor is definitely not my thing (I just don’t get it and it is not for a lack of trying, WTF is a bootstrap?) so I bought the Pathfinder Unchained add-on so I could eventually use the Simple Monster Creation rules as (like the description of the product said) they would be added later as a free update.

But now reading on the forums, http://forums.wolflair.com/showthrea...creation+rules, I see that this update is not likely to ever see the light of day. Wait what? I got the PU add-on for that sole purpose. Being a DM, the Simple Monster Creation Rules is the feature I was desperately looking for in Hero Lab, like since forever.

Don’t get me wrong, for an old geezer like me, HL is still a time-saving godsend. I really appreciate what you’ve done with it and I am proud to have supported it over the years (and with the CAN$ to US$ exchange rate I can tell you my wallet felt the pinch ).

I guess you are working hard on PF2. But as far as I'm concerned I could not care less about the new edition, I invested too much in 3.5 and PF, not to mention that our aging brains simply cannot digest (yet) another ruleset.

So c’mon LW give us the Simple Monster Creation update already! It has been more than 3 years. Or, at the very least, tell us it is not going to happen and remove it from the product description so as not to mislead other potential buyers.

Meatpuppet
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ShadowChemosh
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Old November 3rd, 2018, 03:08 PM
LW has a 60 day refund policy on its products. If your not happy with what the product has then ask for your money back.

Hero Lab Resources:
Pathfinder - d20pfsrd and Pathfinder Pack Setup
3.5 D&D (d20) - Community Server Setup
5E D&D - Community Server Setup
Hero Lab Help - Hero Lab FAQ, Editor Tutorials and Videos, Editor & Scripting Resources.
Created by the community for the community
- Realm Works kickstarter backer (Alpha Wolf) and Beta tester.
- d20 HL package volunteer editor.
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Meatpuppet
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Old November 3rd, 2018, 04:28 PM
I'm simply asking for what they advertise on their online store (since 2015) :

(Simple Monster Creation is not yet supported, and will be added later as a free update.)

Unlike you ShadowChemosh I suck at programming and rely on what LW has in store. But like I said, not only do I rely on Hero Lab I love that app: the interface is instinctive, making characters is fun, running a combat is a breeze, hell it makes one of the crunchiest ruleset ever, manageable and fun!

No, I will not ask for a refund cause I know these guys work hard.

I'm just disappointed that I've been offered every PF DM's wet dream about HL and it seems it is just not going to happen.
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ShadowWalker
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Old November 3rd, 2018, 04:30 PM
Bestiary Monster Creation is available as a race choice if you have the bestiary checked.
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ShadowChemosh
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Old November 3rd, 2018, 04:36 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Meatpuppet View Post
No, I will not ask for a refund cause I know these guys work hard.
Just providing an option for the only way I can think of to solve the issue. I do agree if they don't plan to add the feature the advertisement should be changed to reflect that.

You do know PF has the standard "Bestiary Monster Creation" part of HL works and that does not require the editor? You need just at least B1 to make it work. Then on the Background add the race called "Bestiary Monster Creation" which lets you build a fully compatible monster.

Hero Lab Resources:
Pathfinder - d20pfsrd and Pathfinder Pack Setup
3.5 D&D (d20) - Community Server Setup
5E D&D - Community Server Setup
Hero Lab Help - Hero Lab FAQ, Editor Tutorials and Videos, Editor & Scripting Resources.
Created by the community for the community
- Realm Works kickstarter backer (Alpha Wolf) and Beta tester.
- d20 HL package volunteer editor.
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Meatpuppet
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Old November 5th, 2018, 08:58 AM
Wow I stand amazingly well corrected. Thanks ShadowChemosh I did not know that!

(However, I still feel that LW should not put stuff on their storefront they can’t deliver.)

Now back to our custom monsters

Small question: once I made my homebrew race how do I turn it into a «*monster file*» ?

Another question: is there a way to know what adjustments and upgrades are included in the Add-ons we buy? I know about the feats, the classes and all the things related to character creation. But what about those special rules like say «*Spell attack roll*» from PU or «*Wounds & Vigor*» from UC, how does HL apply those during play?

If I click on details, I don’t get much details at all. Take «*Called shots*» for example : «*Enable the Called Shot rules from Pathfinder Roleplaying Ultimate Combat book*» OK sure… but what does that entail? I would initially think I get everything associated with the alternate rule, but how can I find out? By messing around with HL? By clicking every tab (feats conditions, etc.) and searching for a «*Called shot*» adjustment? Is there a Help or Read Me file I am missing?

Thanks again for your input it is really appreciated.

Meatpuppet
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ShadowChemosh
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Old November 5th, 2018, 11:58 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Meatpuppet View Post
Small question: once I made my homebrew race how do I turn it into a «*monster file*» ?
You save it in a .por file. Name it something like Base XXXXXX and then you open the .por file in the future or import from it to start any new race files. For all purposes HL treats the monster file as any other character.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Meatpuppet View Post
Another question: is there a way to know what adjustments and upgrades are included in the Add-ons we buy? I know about the feats, the classes and all the things related to character creation. But what about those special rules like say «*Spell attack roll*» from PU or «*Wounds & Vigor*» from UC, how does HL apply those during play?

If I click on details, I don’t get much details at all. Take «*Called shots*» for example : «*Enable the Called Shot rules from Pathfinder Roleplaying Ultimate Combat book*» OK sure… but what does that entail? I would initially think I get everything associated with the alternate rule, but how can I find out? By messing around with HL? By clicking every tab (feats conditions, etc.) and searching for a «*Called shot*» adjustment? Is there a Help or Read Me file I am missing?
Answer to all of this is you buy the license/package and try it out. If it does not have everything you want you ask for your money back. At least when you get to a book like Unchained. Other option is to see if anyone specifically used these subsystems and they speak up.

I have played around with Wounds and Vigor from UC so I know that works. I don't recall anything about Spell Attacks (maybe others have). Same for called shots don't recall what is or is not in HL for that.

Best way really is to try it out and see if it does everything you need. Sorry have no better answer...

Hero Lab Resources:
Pathfinder - d20pfsrd and Pathfinder Pack Setup
3.5 D&D (d20) - Community Server Setup
5E D&D - Community Server Setup
Hero Lab Help - Hero Lab FAQ, Editor Tutorials and Videos, Editor & Scripting Resources.
Created by the community for the community
- Realm Works kickstarter backer (Alpha Wolf) and Beta tester.
- d20 HL package volunteer editor.
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EightBitz
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Old November 5th, 2018, 12:01 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Meatpuppet View Post
Small question: once I made my homebrew race how do I turn it into a «*monster file*» ?
Add 12 GB of random text as a description. *cough*

Seriously, though, what do you mean by a "monster file"? You save it as you would any other portfolio, and load it up when you need it. If you're asking how to save it as a listing in a bestiary, you can't do that from there. For that, you'd have to create a .user file, either in the editor or by hand.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Meatpuppet View Post
Another question: is there a way to know what adjustments and upgrades are included in the Add-ons we buy? I know about the feats, the classes and all the things related to character creation. But what about those special rules like say «*Spell attack roll*» from PU or «*Wounds & Vigor*» from UC, how does HL apply those during play?
The add-ons align with a book or set of books as indicated in their names and/or descriptions. Ideally, any adjustments and upgrades that appear in the books should be present in the add-ons. You just have to make sure that after purchasing that add-on, you reactivate your license, restart Hero Lab, then select that add-on as a source.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Meatpuppet View Post
If I click on details, I don’t get much details at all. Take «*Called shots*» for example : «*Enable the Called Shot rules from Pathfinder Roleplaying Ultimate Combat book*» OK sure… but what does that entail? I would initially think I get everything associated with the alternate rule, but how can I find out? By messing around with HL? By clicking every tab (feats conditions, etc.) and searching for a «*Called shot*» adjustment? Is there a Help or Read Me file I am missing?
Normally, they're pretty good about including at least a practical description if not a full description. Sometimes, though, this isn't always reasonable. When a description in HL falls short, you can refer to the book in the description. Or if it's OGL content, you can look it up on an SRD. As you can see from the links below, the rules for "Called Shot" are too long and detailed to include a reasonable paraphrase in HL. The description field in HL has a length limitation.

http://aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?Name=Ca...Rule%20Systems

https://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemasteri.../called-shots/
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Silveras
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Old November 10th, 2018, 11:19 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Meatpuppet View Post

Small question: once I made my homebrew race how do I turn it into a «*monster file*» ?
Others have addressed this somewhat, but I am going to take a stab at the "for Dummies" version and assume you don't know what they're assuming you do.

So..

1
When you create a new Race in the Editor, it becomes available for selection as the "Race" on a new "Hero" (which can actually be a Monster).

New Hero + Race = Generic version of that Race / Monster.

The Bestiary Monster Builder lets you bypass the "Create the base Race" part of the process and skip to "Generic version of that Race / Monster". However, as it is set up, that's just like having a one-character Portfolio; it assumes the new race is a one-off and not intended for re-use.

What others have talked about is saving the file so you can open HeroLab later and import that "one-off" into a new Portfolio and use it as the basis for a new Hero or Monster.


2
The creatures that appear in the Encounter Builder are drawn from Stock Portfolios. A Stock Portfolio is just a regular .por file with the extension of .stock instead of .por. Placing them in the core data area makes the available to add the creature to Encounters in the Encounter Builder.

So... using the example name "MyMonster" take your "MyMonster.por" file, rename it to "MyMonster.stock". and move it to the appropriate data folder.


If you have a few, you may want to consolidate them into one portfolio file with an easy to recognize name like "My Custom Monsters - [Campaign Name].stock"

Hope that helps you and anyone else wondering.
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Silveras
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Old November 10th, 2018, 11:23 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by EightBitz View Post
Normally, they're pretty good about including at least a practical description if not a full description. Sometimes, though, this isn't always reasonable. When a description in HL falls short, you can refer to the book in the description. Or if it's OGL content, you can look it up on an SRD. As you can see from the links below, the rules for "Called Shot" are too long and detailed to include a reasonable paraphrase in HL. The description field in HL has a length limitation.

http://aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?Name=Ca...Rule%20Systems

https://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemasteri.../called-shots/
I would add that LWD does not expect HeroLab to be a replacement for the books. They assume you own the books and have a pretty good idea of how these optional rules change things before you select them.

Fortunately, Paizo makes the entire text of rulebooks available on the PRD for free. So my advice is that, when you see a short description that does not make sense, look for the book first and see if it is something too complex for a short description to really help with.
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