General RPG DiscussionDiscussion of all RPGs and non-system-specific topics. DM/GM/player issues, settings, etc. Rules discussion belongs in one the forums below.
Does anyone know of a website or application that provides tools for creating unique coats-of-arms?
__________________ On weird fantasy: "The Otus/Elmore rule: When adding something new to the campaign, try and imagine how Erol Otus would depict it. If you can, that's far enough...it's a good idea. If you can picture a Larry Elmore version...it's far too mundane and boring, excise immediately." - Kellri, K&K Alehouse
Thanks for remembering the project I've been working on. The site also has some heraldry info and some instructions/how-to's for using the software, but hopefully you can get a handle on it without those.
You can also contact me here or through comments/feedback on the linked site if you have questions or issues. Thanks!
Yes, thanks! It helps add some nice depth to our games!
__________________ It is the spirit of the game, not the letter of the rules, which is important. NEVER hold to the letter written, nor allow some barracks room lawyer to force quotations from the rule book upon you, IF it goes against the obvious intent of the game. As you hew the line with respect to conformity to major systems and uniformity of play in general, also be certain the game is mastered by you and not by your players. Within the broad parameters give in the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Volumes, YOU are creator and final arbiter. By ordering things as they should be, the game as a WHOLE first, your CAMPAIGN next, and your participants thereafter, you will be playing Advanced Dungeons and Dragons as it was meant to be. May you find as much pleasure in so doing as the rest of us do.
Do you know of a resource that looks like a page in a ledger/book of record in which heraldic devices would be recorded?
__________________ It is the spirit of the game, not the letter of the rules, which is important. NEVER hold to the letter written, nor allow some barracks room lawyer to force quotations from the rule book upon you, IF it goes against the obvious intent of the game. As you hew the line with respect to conformity to major systems and uniformity of play in general, also be certain the game is mastered by you and not by your players. Within the broad parameters give in the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Volumes, YOU are creator and final arbiter. By ordering things as they should be, the game as a WHOLE first, your CAMPAIGN next, and your participants thereafter, you will be playing Advanced Dungeons and Dragons as it was meant to be. May you find as much pleasure in so doing as the rest of us do.
Do you know of a resource that looks like a page in a ledger/book of record in which heraldic devices would be recorded?
I haven't been able to find anything along those lines to make sure we're talking about the same thing. Can you point me to a link as an example...? I'd would be happy to create a graphic that one could use to list a number of arms, but I'm not 100% sure I know what you mean.
I guess you could also just use a parchment background and place completed arms on top of that with notes on the noble/crest next to each. Is that close to what you're looking for?
BTW, I just (finally) got the new version of the software up. This improves "counterchanging" support, which is a cool way to alternate the colors of a charge based on the colors of a division beneath the charge. See the web page for a simple example.
__________________ On weird fantasy: "The Otus/Elmore rule: When adding something new to the campaign, try and imagine how Erol Otus would depict it. If you can, that's far enough...it's a good idea. If you can picture a Larry Elmore version...it's far too mundane and boring, excise immediately." - Kellri, K&K Alehouse
I haven't been able to find anything along those lines to make sure we're talking about the same thing. Can you point me to a link as an example...? I'd would be happy to create a graphic that one could use to list a number of arms, but I'm not 100% sure I know what you mean.
I guess you could also just use a parchment background and place completed arms on top of that with notes on the noble/crest next to each. Is that close to what you're looking for?
Yes, that sounds very close to what I was wondering about. I know heraldry was recorded, I imagine there was something of a standard as to how it was recorded, at least within one given book of recorded heraldry.
__________________ It is the spirit of the game, not the letter of the rules, which is important. NEVER hold to the letter written, nor allow some barracks room lawyer to force quotations from the rule book upon you, IF it goes against the obvious intent of the game. As you hew the line with respect to conformity to major systems and uniformity of play in general, also be certain the game is mastered by you and not by your players. Within the broad parameters give in the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Volumes, YOU are creator and final arbiter. By ordering things as they should be, the game as a WHOLE first, your CAMPAIGN next, and your participants thereafter, you will be playing Advanced Dungeons and Dragons as it was meant to be. May you find as much pleasure in so doing as the rest of us do.
indyjoe: your site requested I sign a java certificate. I rejected it at the time, but now I can't save any of the images. Don't suppose you'd know how to go about changing a certificate permission?
indyjoe: your site requested I sign a java certificate. I rejected it at the time, but now I can't save any of the images. Don't suppose you'd know how to go about changing a certificate permission?
Java is done by Sun Microsystems. I trust them far more than I trust any other major software company, and I ran a virus scan yesterday, a number of days after I "signed" the certificate, no problems related to Java, just the usual junk.
__________________ It is the spirit of the game, not the letter of the rules, which is important. NEVER hold to the letter written, nor allow some barracks room lawyer to force quotations from the rule book upon you, IF it goes against the obvious intent of the game. As you hew the line with respect to conformity to major systems and uniformity of play in general, also be certain the game is mastered by you and not by your players. Within the broad parameters give in the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Volumes, YOU are creator and final arbiter. By ordering things as they should be, the game as a WHOLE first, your CAMPAIGN next, and your participants thereafter, you will be playing Advanced Dungeons and Dragons as it was meant to be. May you find as much pleasure in so doing as the rest of us do.
indyjoe: your site requested I sign a java certificate. I rejected it at the time, but now I can't save any of the images. Don't suppose you'd know how to go about changing a certificate permission?
I actually don't know how to do that. I've asked on a Java message board and I'll let you know the answer when I see it.
Treebore's explanation is almost right, but let me clarify.
The certificate is needed because Java won't let an applet save a file or do some other things (like load graphics from another web site, which the coat of arms program does for the symbols and creatures) unless the program is signed.
The prompt occurs because I signed the program with my own certificate. A real certificate should be signed by a trusted 3rd party. Your browser and/or Java has a list of these third parties and I would go to one of them, pay a fee and they would confirm I am who I say I am and give me a certificate signed by them. Then I could sign my program with the certificate from the third party and your browser wouldn't prompt you because I'm saying I am X, the third party we both trust says I'm X.
This is designed to prevent a criminal type from saying download and run this program because "I" am Microsoft (or whoever) even though "I" is somebody who has a program to do bad things.
Working with a trusted certificate authority is something I should do, but I haven't been able to justify it yet. Also, some experts see flaws in this practice, mostly from a "social engineering" perspective.
I actually don't know how to do that. I've asked on a Java message board and I'll let you know the answer when I see it.
Treebore's explanation is almost right, but let me clarify.
The certificate is needed because Java won't let an applet save a file or do some other things (like load graphics from another web site, which the coat of arms program does for the symbols and creatures) unless the program is signed.
The prompt occurs because I signed the program with my own certificate. A real certificate should be signed by a trusted 3rd party. Your browser and/or Java has a list of these third parties and I would go to one of them, pay a fee and they would confirm I am who I say I am and give me a certificate signed by them. Then I could sign my program with the certificate from the third party and your browser wouldn't prompt you because I'm saying I am X, the third party we both trust says I'm X.
This is designed to prevent a criminal type from saying download and run this program because "I" am Microsoft (or whoever) even though "I" is somebody who has a program to do bad things.
Working with a trusted certificate authority is something I should do, but I haven't been able to justify it yet. Also, some experts see flaws in this practice, mostly from a "social engineering" perspective.
I had totally forgotten the purposes of certificates, I was just saying allowing it didn't cause me to have any virus, at least not one that my up to date Anti Virus program was able to catch.
__________________ It is the spirit of the game, not the letter of the rules, which is important. NEVER hold to the letter written, nor allow some barracks room lawyer to force quotations from the rule book upon you, IF it goes against the obvious intent of the game. As you hew the line with respect to conformity to major systems and uniformity of play in general, also be certain the game is mastered by you and not by your players. Within the broad parameters give in the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Volumes, YOU are creator and final arbiter. By ordering things as they should be, the game as a WHOLE first, your CAMPAIGN next, and your participants thereafter, you will be playing Advanced Dungeons and Dragons as it was meant to be. May you find as much pleasure in so doing as the rest of us do.
Oh, it's not that I have a problem signing it, the problem is that my automatic reaction was not to sign it 'cause I was browsing multiple sites at the time and didn't realise which one popped up the certificate.
Now that I rejected it, I can't find a way to unreject it.
Oh, it's not that I have a problem signing it, the problem is that my automatic reaction was not to sign it 'cause I was browsing multiple sites at the time and didn't realise which one popped up the certificate.
Now that I rejected it, I can't find a way to unreject it.
This is the best advice I got when I asked in a Java discussion area:
1. Go back to the Coat of Arms Visual Designer's web page with the program in it.
2. Open the Java Console. (Look for "Java Console" on your "Tools" menu.) Click in the Java Console and press "x". That should clear the loaded classes.
3. Restart your browser and go back to the page with the program in it. Hope that it prompts you about the certificate again.
Other ideas:
Clear your browser's cache.
If you have multiple browsers on your computer, try a different browser for this in the short term. When I put up the next version of the software I'll change the certificate a little and that should cause Java to re-prompt you.
I just got a better response to my question on the Java discussion area, so I'll post it now:
If Windows (XP) go to: Control Panel --> Java -->
Security --> Certificate --> Certificate Type: Trusted Certificates
If Mac (OS X)go to: Utilities --> Keychain Access
In Mac they can modify permissions for your cert, in both they can
delete it which will cause the dialog to pop up on init.
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