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Herolab Statblocks missing a ton of Information.

C

Cid

Well-known member
Click here and go to the fourth post.

No special abilities on the Paladin, and the Wizard is about as bare-bones as is possible. That's what the Statblocks look like in Herolab, too.

Latest version of Herolab, latest version of Realmworks. D&D 5e system.

Is there a setting i'm missing, or will it just not output statblocks for 5e?
 
The statblock output has never given the full information on any PC for as long as I can remember.

I think the issue is that the statblock format was primarily intended for NPCs and monsters and LoneWolf implemented it to only print out RACIAL specials and never CLASS specials.

That's why if you look at the NPC humanoids like Abjurer, Arcane Archer, Blackguard, etc., in the editor you'll see that they don't actually have any CLASS abilities, just RACIAL abilities that are bootstrapped to the base monster "thing." This includes the spellcasting block.

I know people have put in tickets in the past asking for the Class abilities to show up in statblock format but I've never seen a reply that they are in the works. I know this firsthand because I remember opening a ticket to add a spellcasting block to PC output and never got anything beyond the "we got it" reply.

I came to the conclusion that it's not a priority to extend the statblock output to include class information for the 5e system.
 
I can maybe just post the PDF's of the entire Character sheet... Or just use office...

Thinking, thinking, thinking...
 
You can also use the XML, either as a custom output in the program, or by using a scripting language to unzip the portfolio and read the XML. Not much help Realm Works, I know.
 
To be honest that was likely the original intent, but since they added sidekicks to 5e which are statblocks you add class levels to the format for statblocks is still convenient to have. Fortunately 5e is simple enough I just hand write most of the stuff as I go along.
 
RavenX said:
since they added sidekicks to 5e which are statblocks you add class levels to the format for statblocks is still convenient to have.
Click to expand...

When I programmed the sidekicks into the community pack, I realized their class features weren't showing up in their statblocks. I had to go into each ability and tweak them to show up. If I recall correctly, I had to designate whether they were Special, Action, etc., much like we do when making monster abilities.

I did it because I usually output the sidekicks as stat blocks and hand them to my players as such, instead of full character sheets. So this is doable. But it would require changes to the SRD content by LWD. And with the pushback I've received on some quality of life changes I requested, I don't think it'll happen.
 
Fenris447 said:
When I programmed the sidekicks into the community pack, I realized their class features weren't showing up in their statblocks. I had to go into each ability and tweak them to show up. If I recall correctly, I had to designate whether they were Special, Action, etc., much like we do when making monster abilities.

I did it because I usually output the sidekicks as stat blocks and hand them to my players as such, instead of full character sheets. So this is doable. But it would require changes to the SRD content by LWD. And with the pushback I've received on some quality of life changes I requested, I don't think it'll happen.
Click to expand...

SRD content is open game license material. Basically they can't just add all the mechanics to the data files. If its not in the SRD it crosses into copyright infringement. The pushback comes for a reason. They're not the official licensed character builder of WotC. So you can't expect them to go beyond the parameters of the open game licensing. And WotC isn't giving out licensing rights to a character builder while they are selling Beyond subscriptions to their own.

This is why I coded my own 5e file. It's not done or perfect but its come far on its own and has the content I need.
 
This is how my statblocks currently print, and this is a player character:

Name: Tom Nook
Race: Bugbear
Class: Rogue 1
Medium Humanoid, Chaotic Neutral
Armor Class: 14 (Leather Armor)
Hit Points: 9 (1d8+1)
Speed: 30 ft.
Attributes: Strength 16 (+3), Dexterity 16 (+3), Constitution 13 (+1), Intelligence 8 (-1), Wisdom 10 (+0), Charisma 12 (+1)
Saves: Dexterity +5, Intelligence +1
Skills: Acrobatics +5, Athletics +5, Deception +3, Intimidation +3, Investigation +1, Sleight of Hand +5, Stealth +7
Tools: Alchemist's Supplies (+2), Disguise Kit (+2), Poisoner's Kit (+2), Thieves' Tools (+4)
Senses: Darkvision (60 Feet), passive Perception 10
Languages: Common, Goblin, Thieves' Cant
Challenge: -none-

Sneak Attack (+1d6). Beginning at 1st level, you know how to strike subtly and exploit a foes distraction. Once per turn, you can deal an extra 1d6 damage to one creature you hit with an attack if you have advantage on the attack roll. The attack must use a finesse or ranged weapon.

You don't need advantage on the attack roll if another enemy of the target is within 5 feet of it, that enemy isn't incapacitated, and you don't have disadvantage on the attack roll.

The amount of extra damage increases as you gain levels in this class, as shown in the Sneak Attack column of the Rogue table.
Surprise Attack (1/combat). If you surprise a creature and hit it with an attack on your first turn in combat, the attack deals an extra 2d6 damage to it. You can use this trait only once per combat.

Actions
Unarmed Strike. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to-hit, Reach: 10 ft., one target. Hit: 4 bludgeoning damage.


Bonus Actions
-none-

Reactions
-none-

Equipment
-none-


Hero Lab and the Hero Lab logo are Registered Trademarks of LWD Technology, Inc. Free download at https://www.wolflair.com
TBD
 
RavenX said:
SRD content is open game license material. Basically they can't just add all the mechanics to the data files. If its not in the SRD it crosses into copyright infringement. The pushback comes for a reason. They're not the official licensed character builder of WotC. So you can't expect them to go beyond the parameters of the open game licensing. And WotC isn't giving out licensing rights to a character builder while they are selling Beyond subscriptions to their own.

This is why I coded my own 5e file. It's not done or perfect but its come far on its own and has the content I need.
Click to expand...

I understand where they're coming from, but I've looked through older posts from them where they're willing to walk the line a bit more in the past than now.

On the one hand, they won't do anything to help us create the Artificer. It's a new type of Half-Caster, and they won't do any backend work to help us get it in. That makes sense. The Artificer isn't SRD content and they have no obligation to do it.

On the other hand, there's a bug with bootstrapping spells to a character that recharge on a short rest. The Tiefling has spells bootstrapped that recharge perfectly fine on a long rest. When you do the exact same thing but set it to recharge on a short rest, the spells don't reset on a short rest. This is a bug. But because there are no SRD races that have spells that recharge on a short rest, LWD won't fix the bug. That's where saying "we can't because SRD" becomes a little more excuse, a little less legal requirement.

Here's a for instance. The SRD doesn't have any monsters with a CR>30, but a developer was fine making a change that would allow for a user to bump it up.
 
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Fenris447 said:
I understand where they're coming from, but I've looked through older posts from them where they're willing to walk the line a bit more in the past than now.

On the one hand, they won't do anything to help us create the Artificer. It's a new type of Half-Caster, and they won't do any backend work to help us get it in. That makes sense. The Artificer isn't SRD content and they have no obligation to do it.

On the other hand, there's a bug with bootstrapping spells to a character that recharge on a short rest. The Tiefling has spells bootstrapped that recharge perfectly fine on a long rest. When you do the exact same thing but set it to recharge on a short rest, the spells don't reset on a short rest. This is a bug. But because there are no SRD races that have spells that recharge on a short rest, LWD won't fix the bug. That's where saying "we can't because SRD" becomes a little more excuse, a little less legal requirement.

Here's a for instance. The SRD doesn't have any monsters with a CR>30, but a developer was fine making a change that would allow for a user to bump it up.
Click to expand...

Lone Wolf is a small team of codeslingers. They are divided up amongst different projects. Pathfinder and Shadowrun always get treated better simply because they're official files and the companies that make the products support the character builder. WotC has an official builder on their own website through D&D Beyond, so they'd never support a 3rd party product as that would detract from the profits. I used to code data files for LWD and it was a lot of work. I developed my own 5e file to work around the bugs because I knew they would be limited to the SRD when beyond announced its character builder. We're lucky to even have a character builder for 5e. They could have just not created an open game license for 5e and kept everything first party. I know there are bugs in the software, but I mostly use it to get pdfs and print outs of sheets to give my players. I don't bother using it to track things on my end. I used to do that for pathfinder and 4e but I find its just as easy to keep written notes for things in 5th because of how simplified the system is. I wouldn't expect any official bug fixes unless the SRD changes or they have time to dedicate to fixing them. Right now I'd say they have their hands full with other products and are less concerned about this product.
 
I'm not saying they have to do anything. In fact, I was saying I don't expect them to do anything to help with OP's request. You are correct that they are supporting other projects and are not really concerned with 5e; my example was to demonstrate that. For the most part, outside of SRD changes or major bugs, I don't expect LWD to support their 5e product further. That's what I was telling OP.

It's very nice that you have the time and expertise to code your own 5e file. Most people here cannot do the same. I have players who use the Hero Lab 5e SRD + Community Pack to track and play their characters electronically. My and their experience, use case, coding knowledge, and available time are not the same as yours. So we'll continue to use the official LWD-created version of the game.

I know LWD has their reasons for not prioritizing this system anymore. But it's not unfair for me to point that out. If I had a major problem with it, I'd stop using the product.
 
I am concerned with the product a bit too as Wildemount added the Hollow One which acts like a racial template... I'm not sure how this will get implemented in the current structure of hero lab since templates are usually seen as an NPC thing.
 
Hollow One is described as a Supernatural Gift, so it could be coded as a feat, adjustment or boon.

The DMG actually goes over Supernatural gifts (Blessings specifically) in Ch. 7, and I'm pretty sure the community added those as boons.

That's a lot easier than coding a bunch of race variants or subraces.
 
dungeonguru said:
Hollow One is described as a Supernatural Gift, so it could be coded as a feat, adjustment or boon.

The DMG actually goes over Supernatural gifts (Blessings specifically) in Ch. 7, and I'm pretty sure the community added those as boons.

That's a lot easier than coding a bunch of race variants or subraces.
Click to expand...

It was in the last release of the Community Pack as a Boon. It was pretty easy to program, since we'd already established Supernatural Gifts as Boons, like you said. And it doesn't actually overwrite anything about the character. So it was a simple thing to tack onto the hero.

Code: 
  <thing id="bn5CHollow1" name="Hollow One" description="Becoming a Hollow One confers these traits upon you:\n\n{b}{i}Ageless.{/i}{/b} You no longer age, and any no effects can cause you to do so.\n\n{b}{i}Cling to Life{/i}{/b} When you roll a 16 or better on a death saving throw, you regain 1 hit point.\n\n{b}{i}Revenance.{/i}{/b} You retain your creature type, but you also appear to be undead to spells and other effects that detect the presence of undead creatures.\n\n{b}{i}Unsettling Presence.{/i}{/b} You can use an action to unsettle a creature visible to and within 15 feet of you. The next saving throw it makes within the next minute is made with disadvantage. Constructs, undead, and creatures immune to being frightened cannot be unsettled by you in this way. Once you&apos;ve used this feature, you must complete a long rest before doing so again." compset="Boon" uniqueness="useronce">
    <usesource source="5eEGtWCP"/>
    <tag group="Helper" tag="NoAdvLeag"/>
    <bootstrap thing="ra5CHlwRvnc"></bootstrap>
    <bootstrap thing="ra5CHlwUnsPr"></bootstrap>
    <bootstrap thing="ra5CHlwClngLf"></bootstrap>
    <bootstrap thing="ra5CHlwAgel"></bootstrap>
    </thing>
  <thing id="ra5CHlwAgel" name="Ageless" description="You no longer age, and any no effects can cause you to do so." compset="RaceSpec">
    <tag group="Helper" tag="ShowSpec"/>
    <tag group="FeatureTyp" tag="Special"/>
    </thing>
  <thing id="ra5CHlwClngLf" name="Cling to Life" description="When you roll a 16 or better on a death saving throw, you regain 1 hit point." compset="RaceSpec">
    <tag group="Helper" tag="ShowSpec"/>
    <tag group="FeatureTyp" tag="Special"/>
    </thing>
  <thing id="ra5CHlwRvnc" name="Revenance" description="You retain your creature type, but you also appear to be undead to spells and other effects that detect the presence of undead creatures." compset="RaceSpec">
    <tag group="Helper" tag="ShowSpec"/>
    <tag group="FeatureTyp" tag="Special"/>
    </thing>
  <thing id="ra5CHlwUnsPr" name="Unsettling Presence" description="You can use an action to unsettle a creature visible to and within 15 feet of you. The next saving throw it makes within the next minute is made with disadvantage. Constructs, undead, and creatures immune to being frightened cannot be unsettled by you in this way. Once you&apos;ve used this feature, you must complete a long rest before doing so again." compset="RaceSpec">
    <fieldval field="abRange" value="15"/>
    <fieldval field="abDuration" value="1"/>
    <fieldval field="trkMax" value="1"/>
    <tag group="Helper" tag="ShowSpec"/>
    <tag group="abRange" tag="Feet"/>
    <tag group="FeatureTyp" tag="Action"/>
    <tag group="abDuration" tag="Minute"/>
    <tag group="abAction" tag="Action"/>
    <tag group="Usage" tag="LongRest"/>
    </thing>

Months-later Edit: I implemented a new Supernatural Gifts tab in release 2.5, and moved the Hollow One over to it. I also moved all the Blessings and Charms over to that Supernatural Gifts tab as well, to properly align them since they're not actually Boons. Just an FYI in case someone finds this in the future and wonders what happened.
 
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