Custom Entries in CB - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Custom Entries in CB

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
Phantymwolf
Mar 14, 2010 17:11:56
     Sorry if someone asked about this before, but I did some looking around and couldn't find any posts about it, but I admit that I may have just missed them.

Anyway I wanted to find out if there was anyway in the CB to add custom entries and actually have the mechanics get included. Like right now I add a custom race for my homebrew and it doesn't add the two +2 stat bonuses, it doesn't add in any skill bonuses that they may get and it doesn't add the power to the Power Cards if you choose that race to play as. Also same with feats, I can't seem to find a way for them to interact mechanically with the rest of the character.

As a side question, is there any way to add in regional bonuses like they have in the FR setting? I used the same format for my own because I liked the idea, so I would liek to add thos einto the CB if there isa way to do so.

TIA for any help with this.
#2
Dargurd
Mar 15, 2010 6:12:03

     Sorry if someone asked about this before, but I did some looking around and couldn't find any posts about it, but I admit that I may have just missed them.

Anyway I wanted to find out if there was anyway in the CB to add custom entries and actually have the mechanics get included. Like right now I add a custom race for my homebrew and it doesn't add the two +2 stat bonuses, it doesn't add in any skill bonuses that they may get and it doesn't add the power to the Power Cards if you choose that race to play as. Also same with feats, I can't seem to find a way for them to interact mechanically with the rest of the character.

As a side question, is there any way to add in regional bonuses like they have in the FR setting? I used the same format for my own because I liked the idea, so I would liek to add thos einto the CB if there isa way to do so.

TIA for any help with this.

Sadly at the minute there isnt a way of getting this sort of thing to work. Several posts and indeed forum threads have been made for similair requests but i'm not sure anyone from WOTC is listening.

Such a mod to the CB would take it from being a good programme to a great programme in my eyes. I have several 3rd party books that id love to load into the CB but until i can they just sit on my shelf as all characters are made using the CB.

#3
phoffman
Mar 15, 2010 14:24:59
The Character Builder needs to make it easier for customization. I feel your concern, I don’t know how much we can expect and I will make my determination on my subscription when Gammaworld comes out. The character builder should support Gammaworld with the ablity only display all items, only Gammaworld items or only display Non-Gammaworld items.

Races

There isn't really a way to do races. Stat bonuses, skill bonuses, and bonus powers need to interact with the rest of the character builder. They need to generate power cards, and show up in the correct areas of the character sheet.

Feats

Currently if you were to make a feet that added +2 to Fort and +2 to Will defenses these bonuses wouldn't be calculated on your character sheet automatically and the mini power card for your character. Custom feats that add attack, defenses, skill bonuses, and damage need to carry forward with the rest of the generator. There needs to be more fields that allow this customization.

Powers

You need to be able to make custom powers and have them display as power cards like the official powers. They need to display the correct attack modifier, range, and show the damage for each appropriate weapon.

Items

Ok so here is my biggest expectation that was dashed. It is reasonable to expect that even the most novice player would want to make custom items. Sure you can add a pre-existing item and then customize it once it has been added. Using this method you can have the Magic Item show its bonuses for attack and damage. This isn’t really intuitive though and forces you to stay within pre-existing items formulas.

What if you wanted to have a weapon that gave you armor class, and fort defenses? If you want this item to be used with Powers it is highly likely that it won’t be shown properly on the character sheet or power cards. That needs to be done to improve the character builder.

Rituals have item cards too. I like that they added the ability to add item cards for them, but they don’t display the Time, Costs, and Duration on the card. You may notice that the power cards for items can distinguish between weapons and other items. There needs to be a separate power card for Rituals to present the appropriate categories.   Even if you don’t use power cards for rituals on the character sheet your limited to the number of rituals that can show. If you are playing an epic tier wizard there is a pretty good chance that you have more rituals that the character sheet will show. The fields on the character sheet need to expand to allow more text instead of truncating information.

Classes

Classes are more difficult to customize, but the attempt should be made to make this available and interact with the rest of the generator.

~*~*~*~

I have purchased: Advanced Dungeons & Dragons CD-ROM Core Rules (1996), Core Rules 2.0 EXPANSION (1999), E-Tools (2002), and at present D&Dinsider subscription.

Advanced Dungeon & Dragons CD-ROM Core Rules (1996) was much like the existing Character Builder today. Except that today’s builder has a lot fewer errors and bugs. It wasn’t until Core Rules 2.0 Expansion (1999) that this tool became the ultimate electronic assistant. The ability to create any character and customize any element made this awesome. And you could also export your custom elements to share them with friends. There were several things that were not intuitive as part of this software package, but the ability to do the customization was there.

E-tools was ok. It got the job done and you had a good deal of control for custom items. For me the user interface was jarring. Making and reviewing your character sheet and printing it was a multi step process that could often get confusing. Todays Character Builder’s interface is appealing to the eye, and finding the character sheet and printing it is pretty easy.

I would like to have the D&Dinsider Character Builder have the level of customization of the Core Rules 2.0 Expansion (1999).   I want to be able to save my custom elements to use on multiple characters without having to re-create them. I want to be able to share these custom elements with others so they can use them with their D&Dinsider Character Builder.

#4
Dargurd
Mar 15, 2010 14:30:19 Like you ive also owned all the different builders over the years and you are right in terms of ultimate CBers then it was definately the 2ed version on the CDRom with its expansion - awesome piece of software.

If only the 4ed one could be as customisable as that then WOTC really would have created the greatest CB for any version of D&D !
#5
Dunaria
Mar 15, 2010 19:52:39

I would like to have the D&Dinsider Character Builder have the level of customization of the Core Rules 2.0 Expansion (1999).   I want to be able to save my custom elements to use on multiple characters without having to re-create them. I want to be able to share these custom elements with others so they can use them with their D&Dinsider Character Builder.

Omg You must be Telepath.

I agree with that, DDI tools should be able to deal with custom element as Core Rules 2.0 expansion was able to do it.
PS , I have that both tools as well DDI tools and Core rules and core rules expension.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Phantymwolf Mar 14, 2010 17:11:56	Sorry if someone asked about this before, but I did some looking around and couldn't find any posts about it, but I admit that I may have just missed them. Anyway I wanted to find out if there was anyway in the CB to add custom entries and actually have the mechanics get included. Like right now I add a custom race for my homebrew and it doesn't add the two +2 stat bonuses, it doesn't add in any skill bonuses that they may get and it doesn't add the power to the Power Cards if you choose that race to play as. Also same with feats, I can't seem to find a way for them to interact mechanically with the rest of the character. As a side question, is there any way to add in regional bonuses like they have in the FR setting? I used the same format for my own because I liked the idea, so I would liek to add thos einto the CB if there isa way to do so. TIA for any help with this.
#2 Dargurd Mar 15, 2010 6:12:03	Sorry if someone asked about this before, but I did some looking around and couldn't find any posts about it, but I admit that I may have just missed them. Anyway I wanted to find out if there was anyway in the CB to add custom entries and actually have the mechanics get included. Like right now I add a custom race for my homebrew and it doesn't add the two +2 stat bonuses, it doesn't add in any skill bonuses that they may get and it doesn't add the power to the Power Cards if you choose that race to play as. Also same with feats, I can't seem to find a way for them to interact mechanically with the rest of the character. As a side question, is there any way to add in regional bonuses like they have in the FR setting? I used the same format for my own because I liked the idea, so I would liek to add thos einto the CB if there isa way to do so. TIA for any help with this. Sadly at the minute there isnt a way of getting this sort of thing to work. Several posts and indeed forum threads have been made for similair requests but i'm not sure anyone from WOTC is listening. Such a mod to the CB would take it from being a good programme to a great programme in my eyes. I have several 3rd party books that id love to load into the CB but until i can they just sit on my shelf as all characters are made using the CB.
#3 phoffman Mar 15, 2010 14:24:59	The Character Builder needs to make it easier for customization. I feel your concern, I don’t know how much we can expect and I will make my determination on my subscription when Gammaworld comes out. The character builder should support Gammaworld with the ablity only display all items, only Gammaworld items or only display Non-Gammaworld items. Races There isn't really a way to do races. Stat bonuses, skill bonuses, and bonus powers need to interact with the rest of the character builder. They need to generate power cards, and show up in the correct areas of the character sheet. Feats Currently if you were to make a feet that added +2 to Fort and +2 to Will defenses these bonuses wouldn't be calculated on your character sheet automatically and the mini power card for your character. Custom feats that add attack, defenses, skill bonuses, and damage need to carry forward with the rest of the generator. There needs to be more fields that allow this customization. Powers You need to be able to make custom powers and have them display as power cards like the official powers. They need to display the correct attack modifier, range, and show the damage for each appropriate weapon. Items Ok so here is my biggest expectation that was dashed. It is reasonable to expect that even the most novice player would want to make custom items. Sure you can add a pre-existing item and then customize it once it has been added. Using this method you can have the Magic Item show its bonuses for attack and damage. This isn’t really intuitive though and forces you to stay within pre-existing items formulas. What if you wanted to have a weapon that gave you armor class, and fort defenses? If you want this item to be used with Powers it is highly likely that it won’t be shown properly on the character sheet or power cards. That needs to be done to improve the character builder. Rituals have item cards too. I like that they added the ability to add item cards for them, but they don’t display the Time, Costs, and Duration on the card. You may notice that the power cards for items can distinguish between weapons and other items. There needs to be a separate power card for Rituals to present the appropriate categories. Even if you don’t use power cards for rituals on the character sheet your limited to the number of rituals that can show. If you are playing an epic tier wizard there is a pretty good chance that you have more rituals that the character sheet will show. The fields on the character sheet need to expand to allow more text instead of truncating information. Classes Classes are more difficult to customize, but the attempt should be made to make this available and interact with the rest of the generator. ~~~*~ I have purchased: Advanced Dungeons & Dragons CD-ROM Core Rules (1996), Core Rules 2.0 EXPANSION (1999), E-Tools (2002), and at present D&Dinsider subscription. Advanced Dungeon & Dragons CD-ROM Core Rules (1996) was much like the existing Character Builder today. Except that today’s builder has a lot fewer errors and bugs. It wasn’t until Core Rules 2.0 Expansion (1999) that this tool became the ultimate electronic assistant. The ability to create any character and customize any element made this awesome. And you could also export your custom elements to share them with friends. There were several things that were not intuitive as part of this software package, but the ability to do the customization was there. E-tools was ok. It got the job done and you had a good deal of control for custom items. For me the user interface was jarring. Making and reviewing your character sheet and printing it was a multi step process that could often get confusing. Todays Character Builder’s interface is appealing to the eye, and finding the character sheet and printing it is pretty easy. I would like to have the D&Dinsider Character Builder have the level of customization of the Core Rules 2.0 Expansion (1999). I want to be able to save my custom elements to use on multiple characters without having to re-create them. I want to be able to share these custom elements with others so they can use them with their D&Dinsider Character Builder.
#4 Dargurd Mar 15, 2010 14:30:19	Like you ive also owned all the different builders over the years and you are right in terms of ultimate CBers then it was definately the 2ed version on the CDRom with its expansion - awesome piece of software. If only the 4ed one could be as customisable as that then WOTC really would have created the greatest CB for any version of D&D !
#5 Dunaria Mar 15, 2010 19:52:39	I would like to have the D&Dinsider Character Builder have the level of customization of the Core Rules 2.0 Expansion (1999). I want to be able to save my custom elements to use on multiple characters without having to re-create them. I want to be able to share these custom elements with others so they can use them with their D&Dinsider Character Builder. Omg You must be Telepath. I agree with that, DDI tools should be able to deal with custom element as Core Rules 2.0 expansion was able to do it. PS , I have that both tools as well DDI tools and Core rules and core rules expension.