Power2ool Makes D&D Encounter Design a Critical Success
2011 May 31
by Michael Harrison
Power2ool.com, a Flash-based webapp that interfaces directly with the Dungeons & Dragons Compendium and lets you place monster, item and class cards onto a virtual tabletop.
Talk about this news here.
Not perfect, but great.
I like this kind of positive community value add to DDi! I've played around with this, and it is pretty neat. However, I am such stickler for creating professional looking advenutres that this just doesn't have all the functionality that I want. I hope it is just the tip of the iceburg in 3rd party development though.
I still write up all my adventures but I use this at the table to roll dice and track stuff. It actually saves a lot of time.
I like this kind of positive community value add to DDi! I've played around with this, and it is pretty neat. However, I am such stickler for creating professional looking advenutres that this just doesn't have all the functionality that I want. I hope it is just the tip of the iceburg in 3rd party development though.
I still write up all my adventures but I use this at the table to roll dice and track stuff. It actually saves a lot of time.
Ok. I see. I use Dungeon Master's Battle Screen for running my fights and roll old fashioned dice in to a dice boot in front of my players. I'd really like to see something that allows me to actually design encounters. That said, this is a nifty program and I am glad to see this kind of 3rd party development.
How much long do you think WotC will allow this to remain online?
Quite a while as long as it doesn't violate the ToS of DDI.
As long as people have a subscription, the tool isuseful. Once they no longer have a subscription, the tool no longer has access tot he compendium.
It falls into the same vein as iPlay4E.
When setting up an encounter using this tool and Masterplan, can either/both search the compendium for suitable monsters (levels, roles, etc) and allow you to select which ones you want and populate an encounter directly in this way?
Thanks
Blakey
How much long do you think WotC will allow this to remain online?
Quite a while as long as it doesn't violate the ToS of DDI.
Oh, in the same way that they embraced Masterplan? #notbitter
How much long do you think WotC will allow this to remain online?
Quite a while as long as it doesn't violate the ToS of DDI.
Oh, in the same way that they embraced Masterplan? #notbitter
This app doesn't download content to the local machine. Apparently Masterplan did. There is a difference and it should be obvious why one is okay and the other is not.
This app doesn't download content to the local machine. Apparently Masterplan did. There is a difference and it should be obvious why one is okay and the other is not.
You may be right, but the suggestion was that Masterplan violated the terms of use. It did not.
This app doesn't download content to the local machine. Apparently Masterplan did. There is a difference and it should be obvious why one is okay and the other is not.
You may be right, but the suggestion was that Masterplan violated the terms of use. It did not.
ToU requires you have an active account to access the data. Downloading that data to a local machine is a violation of ToU.
The relevant clause...
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How much long do you think WotC will allow this to remain online?
Quite a while as long as it doesn't violate the ToS of DDI.
Oh, in the same way that they embraced Masterplan? #notbitter
The fact that Masterplan enabled one to download the Compendium and easily share it with people who didn't have a DDI subscription *might* have had something to do with it.
ToU requires you have an active account to access the data. Downloading that data to a local machine is a violation of ToU.
Oh the data mining clause, yeah. It's not the same thing as what Masterplan was doing, obviously.
The fact that Masterplan enabled one to download the Compendium and easily share it with people who didn't have a DDI subscription *might* have had something to do with it.
I think you're on a slippery slope if you're suggesting that the actions of a user are the responsibility of the application!
ToU requires you have an active account to access the data. Downloading that data to a local machine is a violation of ToU.
Oh the data mining clause, yeah. It's not the same thing as what Masterplan was doing, obviously.
I mistakenly highlighted too much of the clause. It is a violation to download the data other than browser caching.
The fact that Masterplan enabled one to download the Compendium and easily share it with people who didn't have a DDI subscription *might* have had something to do with it.
I think you're on a slippery slope if you're suggesting that the actions of a user are the responsibility of the application!
You're being ridiculous. The application itself allowed downloading of the data that was not browser caching. It was in violation, like it or not.
You're being ridiculous. The application itself allowed downloading of the data that was not browser caching. It was in violation, like it or not.
In fact that's not how it worked, but I'll bow to your superior knowledge of the product. Hopefully we can agree that the current version of Masterplan does not contravene even the most stringent interpretation of the ToS!
You're being ridiculous. The application itself allowed downloading of the data that was not browser caching. It was in violation, like it or not.
In fact that's not how it worked, but I'll bow to your superior knowledge of the product. Hopefully we can agree that the current version of Masterplan does not contravene even the most stringent interpretation of the ToS!
Certainly. Which is why they are being left alone. Power2ool does nothing more than browser caching of information (and allowing it to be printed), which is expressly allowed by the ToU.
Masterplan isnt directly competing with any of DDi's Current applications while herolab is.
What bothers me is that masterplan got the boot while Herolab a character builder that does pretty much the same thing didn't.
Masterplan isnt directly competing with any of DDi's Current applications while herolab is.
Because HeroLab didn't build the download tool into their own product. You need an external tool to get the data. Such a tool is in violation of the ToU.
This looks like a good tool, too, but I'm a Masterplan convert.
-O
What bothers me is that masterplan got the boot while Herolab a character builder that does pretty much the same thing didn't.
Masterplan isnt directly competing with any of DDi's Current applications while herolab is.
Because HeroLab didn't build the download tool into their own product. You need an external tool to get the data. Such a tool is in violation of the ToU.
Hey Devereaux, Sounds like a sneaky way to get masterplan back on the track to downloadable content!
But anyways, herolab isnt built in but it is included in the download, you dont have to go anywhere for it. It is included in the package.
I wonder if this would run on an Android tablet PC...
Yup it runs on my Android 2.2 Tablet with Opera Mobile
Anyway, very nice app, I really like the way he manage to mine the compendium and make it look like a power from the books.
Warder