Pathfinder 1E Pathfinder Character Generator

IronWolf · Jul 23, 2011

MadBrewLabs said:
I know this is an old thread, but I'm actually working on a free web-based character creator for Pathfinder: Venture Captain. It's still in beta technically, but it currently supports all the core class features, racial traits, feats, skills, magic weapons & armor.

I've seen this one popping up more in various discussions, I need to make some time to play with it. Looks quite promising at initial glance!

ForeverSlayer · Feb 12, 2012

MadBrewLabs said:
I know this is an old thread, but I'm actually working on a free web-based character creator for Pathfinder: Venture Captain. It's still in beta technically, but it currently supports all the core class features, racial traits, feats, skills, magic weapons & armor.

Needs a lot of work I'm afraid. I was building a character and it's not adding up all my armor and it keeps giving me a speed of 200.

Steel_Wind · Feb 12, 2012

Herolab for the win and it's not even remotely close.

I haven't a CLUE what "DRM" would have Perram upset. It's an extremely permissive licensing policy, allows for installation on 2 machines at the same time, (you can buy another 3rd install license for *very* cheap, not that I can really see who legitimately needs a 3rd simultaneous use machine, but whatever ) and it is, far and away, the best character software for an RPG ever made. On the one occasion I did a major upgrade to my hardware, auto-web based forms had my Herolab install back up and authorized in a few minutes. BFD.

Yes, it costs money. The demo shows you the entire package. You get what you pay for. For a full install of Herolab for Pathfinder + APG, it's $40. To add on UM & UC - it's another $20, bringing it to $60, total. If you are a GM and want to add on all of the Bestiaries 1,2, and 3, that's $30 more. If you want all of this stuff done at a professional level, it costs actual money to do it.

The cost is the only reason why Herolab might not be to your liking. In every other possible measurable metric, Herolab for PFRPG is not just the best -- it is light years ahead of anything else.

DragonLancer · Feb 12, 2012

Odysseus said:
or herolab Hero Lab - Lone Wolf Development

This is the one I would recommend.

TarionzCousin · Feb 12, 2012

ForeverSlayer said:
Needs a lot of work I'm afraid. I was building a character and it's not adding up all my armor and it keeps giving me a speed of 200.

Tell your DM "I can't help it--my character really is that fast!"

IronWolf · Feb 12, 2012

Steel_Wind said:
I haven't a CLUE what "DRM" would have Perram upset. It's an extremely permissive licensing policy, allows for installation on 2 machines at the same time, (you can buy another 3rd install license for *very* cheap, not that I can really see who legitimately needs a 3rd simultaneous use machine, but whatever ) and it is, far and away, the best character software for an RPG ever made. On the one occasion I did a major upgrade to my hardware, auto-web based forms had my Herolab install back up and authorized in a few minutes. BFD.

Hero Lab is great, I use it and have been for quite some time now, but I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss their licensing policies as for some people it is an issue.

Their policy is far from an "extremely permissive licensing policy". PC Gen would be an example of an extremely permissive licensing policy. Hero Lab is not. These days only two computers could be considered restrictive. I know I have considered it that and actually have two more computers I would like to install it on above the included two. Sure I could pay even more, but frankly, I've paid a fair amount for the software already.

To many, this licensing policy will feel draconian. Now I do understand that they need to protect their work, the tool itself is great. And I've come to terms with their licensing policy and the benefit of the tool does outweigh the con when I made my decision. But it is certainly something in the con column in my analysis of the software.

So yes, Hero Lab is a great character builder for Pathfinder, but I would not be so quick to utterly dismiss people's concerns over their license model.

Perram · Feb 13, 2012

Steel_Wind said:
Herolab for the win and it's not even remotely close.

I haven't a CLUE what "DRM" would have Perram upset. It's an extremely permissive licensing policy, allows for installation on 2 machines at the same time, (you can buy another 3rd install license for *very* cheap, not that I can really see who legitimately needs a 3rd simultaneous use machine, but whatever ) and it is, far and away, the best character software for an RPG ever made. On the one occasion I did a major upgrade to my hardware, auto-web based forms had my Herolab install back up and authorized in a few minutes. BFD.

Yes, it costs money. The demo shows you the entire package. You get what you pay for. For a full install of Herolab for Pathfinder + APG, it's $40. To add on UM & UC - it's another $20, bringing it to $60, total. If you are a GM and want to add on all of the Bestiaries 1,2, and 3, that's $30 more. If you want all of this stuff done at a professional level, it costs actual money to do it.

The cost is the only reason why Herolab might not be to your liking. In every other possible measurable metric, Herolab for PFRPG is not just the best -- it is light years ahead of anything else.

Steel,

Please be aware that my quote here about DRM is over a year old, dealing with issues that are over a year old and mostly not important as HeroLab exists today.

Edit: To expand, HeroLab does have a DRM system that you should be aware of before purchasing. It still does, to be honest. You get two license keys upon purchase, and each one can only be used once every 6 months. It also requires an internet connection to activate... but that is pretty standard these days.

Back when I had problems with HL, there was no way to reset a license if you needed to outside of contacting their customer support directly during business hours. You couldn't deactivate a license on your own or manage it yourself in any way. I got burned by this directly and I wasn't the only one.

Also, to frame things, the publisher of Hero Labs, at this time, was having quite the PR problems with the 'Army Builder' trade mark. A search here on these very forums will show you the epic threads on that subject.

Because of both of these issues, having concerns on how they would handle their DRM and licensing wasn't something to be dismissed easily. And they also weren't the only game in town. PCGen offered nearly as much data as they did, even if it was with a slightly rougher UI.

That said:

Over the past year they've really shown that they are committed to making HeroLab a great product, and have done much better with Customer Service and handling DRM bumps when they occur. They opened up about exactly why they had to use the DRM with solid examples and real numbers showing that they were very very hurt by rampant piracy of their products.

HeroLab also has more data sets available today than any of its competitors, and releases them much more quickly. The feature set has grown, and they've even made good on releasing a Mac version!

Today I would very much recommend the software. But that doesn't change that over a year ago... it wasn't as clear a choice.