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Creating new Arcane Backgrounds

K

Kiros

Active member
I'm taking a stab at adding the Fantasy Companion support to Savage Worlds. The first thing I've done is duplicated the SW game system into a new folder. The next thing I tried to do was add Sorcery as a new Arcane Background. I created a new data file, duplicated the Magic Arcane Background, renamed things etc. So far so good. I created the Spellweaving (Spirit) skill, and added a Backlash for the Sorcerer. The problem I have is with the Powers. The Sorcery AB basically uses all off the standard SW Magic Powers except Greater Healing, Healing and Succor. If I just copy those in I get a error for duplicate things etc. Do I really need to copy each power, and rename it's ID? i.e. powArmor becomes powSArmor? From a logical standpoint this seems broken. All of the other Arcane Backgrounds inherit directly from each one, so if one is changed they all change. Shouldn't that be carried over to a newly added Arcane Background?
I just bought Hero Lab today, so perhaps I'm missing something obvious. Thanks.

Kiros

P.S. Also, I can't seem to figure out how to add 'Sorcery' to the drop down list of Forbidden Arcane Types in the Arcane Powers tab.
 
By default, all powers are automatically available for all arcane backgrounds. Consequently, the sequence of steps necessary to add a new background is as follows:

1. Create a new drawback in the Editor. You can copy and existing one and give it new info.
2. Create a new background in the Editor. This can be done by copying the Magic background. You'll also need to change the Arcane Designation by adding a new tag for the background, plus you'll want to bootstrap the new drawback to the background.
3. Create a new edge in the Editor. You can copy one of the other arcane background edges for this purpose. You'll need to enter a new "short name" field, and select your new arcane background tag from the list shown. You'll also need to bootstrap the background to the edge.

Once you've done the above three steps (don't forget to splice each new thing after you add it), you should be able to add the edge to the character, which automatically adds the arcane background and drawback. Then you can go to the Arcane tab and pick the various arcane powers you want for the character.

Once you've got this working, then you can worry about making certain powers non-available for your arcane background. Let me know once you've completed the above and I'll outline the next steps for you.
 
Oh, and the "Sorcery" option automatically appears in the list of Forbidden Arcane Types. This is triggered by properly assigning the new tag for the background. You do this on the "Arcane Designation" field of the background, as I referred to in the previous post.

If you need me to spell things out in more detail, I can definitely do so. However, I got the sense that you were making some headway and that doing that would be unnecessary. Apologies if I'm wrong about that. :-)
 
rob said:
Oh, and the "Sorcery" option automatically appears in the list of Forbidden Arcane Types. This is triggered by properly assigning the new tag for the background. You do this on the "Arcane Designation" field of the background, as I referred to in the previous post.

If you need me to spell things out in more detail, I can definitely do so. However, I got the sense that you were making some headway and that doing that would be unnecessary. Apologies if I'm wrong about that. :-)
Click to expand...

Thanks so much for your help. This doesn't work for me, but I'll show my steps in case there is something amiss:

1) Launch Editor
2) File->New Data File
3) I named it FantasyCompanion and it is saved in the root of the game system folder (I copied SW and named the system SW_FantasyCompanion
4) Did all of the steps you mentioned above - created Drawback, Background, Edge. While creating the Background I selected New Tag under Arcane Designation. I entered Sorcery as the Tag Unique Id. I left the Name and Abbreviation fields blank. Clicked on Test Now! It says "You may now use "Sorcery" within Hero Lab."

The Sorcery background looks to be working fine in the Hero Lab app. I then went back to the Editor, opened up the 'thing_arcane.dat' file to modify Arcane Powers. When I select Armor, and hit the Forbidden Arcane Types button 'Sorcery' does not show up as an option.

Hopefully all of that makes sense. Thanks again for your help Rob.

Kiros
 
Doh! I gave you wrong information. In V3.6 (due out imminently), the Forbidden tags will be automatically created to match the tag you added for the arcane background. However, in V3.5 (which you're using), this hasn't been implemented yet. Sorry for the confusion. :-(

To get this to work in V3.5, you'll need to define the Forbidden tag on one of the powers the same way that you defined it on the background. When you do this, be SURE to use the exact same unique id as on the arcane background, since the two need to match up properly. Once you've defined the tag on one power, it should then appear as selectable for all the other powers where you need to assign it.
 
rob said:
To get this to work in V3.5, you'll need to define the Forbidden tag on one of the powers the same way that you defined it on the background. When you do this, be SURE to use the exact same unique id as on the arcane background, since the two need to match up properly. Once you've defined the tag on one power, it should then appear as selectable for all the other powers where you need to assign it.
Click to expand...


This does not work for me. I have Sorcery as the Arcane Designation when I created the new Arcane Background in the new data file. I then opened up thing_arcane.dat and added Sorcery as a new tag in the Forbidden Arcane Types drop down for a power. I save that power then select a different power. Sorcery does not show up as an option. BTW, when I am using thing_arcane.dat and hit Test Now! I get the error that it isn't saved etc.
 
I think you're skipping a critical step within the Editor that I mentioned above but didn't emphasize enough. After you modify a thing and save it, you *MUST* integrate it into the running database before all of its aspects become properly available within the Editor for subsequent use. In other words, after making the change in the Editor to add the new tag, you must either use the "Test Now" button or perform a Quick Reload. Once you do that, the tag will then be available for use. Until you do that, all that's happened is that the changes you've made have been saved to the file - nothing has been actively integrated for use yet.
 
There's another issue at play here that could end up causing some problems for you. You are using the Editor to modify the ".dat" data files directly. The Editor is designed for editing user-added content and not the core content. For game systems other than Savage Worlds and 4E, this isn't an issue, since the core content is not directly editable. However, with Savage Worlds, this can potentially lead to problems if you aren't careful.

In general, if you are editing ".dat" files, you should do so with a text editor (or XML editor). Once you've made changes and saved them, you can then use Quick Reload within Hero Lab to recompile your modified files and reload them for use. You can get away with editing the ".dat" files directly in many cases, but be sure to keep frequent backups, just in case something gets messed up.

If you are creating your own separate content that is stored in ".user" files, the Editor is ideally suited and usually makes the process much easier. One thing you CAN do is create new things that are copies of built-in things and then modify the copies. You can even have Hero Lab replace the built-in thing with your new one via use of the "Replaces Id" field within the Editor. You might find that this approach is more appropriate for the purposes of adding the Fantasy Companion content.

If you want more details about this process, let me know and I'll provide more details on it (including pointers to some documentation you can read for more info).
 
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