Hero Lab - do you use it?

[jydog1]

yeah, the being expected to pay for every update isn't great, but the program itself is pretty damn good and well designed. It's terrific for examining possibilities for leveling up/magic items, as the skills or effects are added right in and let you see what you're contemplating to create.

The printouts are easy to read and I augment them with spellcard from Perriams.

 

[CRphoto]

I evaluated, then purchased Hero Labs for Pathfinder after finding this thread. I find it to be everything the WotC 4e char builder should be and more. On a related note, does anyone know of a source of templates for the Feeport Prestige Classes from the new PF Freeport companion? If that's not something that is allowed to be shared, I'd appreciate any hints on a starting point to add them to Hero Labs. (I own the Freeport book, and a licensed copy of HL)

 

[Nikmal]

I use Hero Lab for Pathfinder as a GM, as does at least one player in my group (he uses it in play to roll dice and track statuses too; I just use it for prep). It's excellent; I looked at the other electronic tools like PCGen and RPGXplorer and it is way, way better than either.

The only drawback is how they're charging for every additional bit of data. I got the core, APG, and Bestiary and then I said "no more, sorry." It's a shame because then when there's stuff I want to incorporate that's not in the tool I tend to not use the tool, but it's just way too much (I already paid for the book and the PDF...).

You have to remember though that you are able to enter the crunch from the other books on your own... not to mention there are some user created files here Hero Lab - Pathfinder_OGC. The benefit you get from buying the expansion packs that you do not have yet is the time that it would take you to enter the data or waiting for someone else to do it for you is that it is already done for 5 bucks for about 5 books per pack. This is not to bad. But that my friend is up to you.

The books themselves are useful to look things up and such but having it be part of the Hero Labs software while you are using it is extremely useful!!!!

 

[Twowolves]

The only drawback is how they're charging for every additional bit of data. I got the core, APG, and Bestiary and then I said "no more, sorry." It's a shame because then when there's stuff I want to incorporate that's not in the tool I tend to not use the tool, but it's just way too much (I already paid for the book and the PDF...).

Except for, say, all the AP-specific support, all the NPC statblocks from the Gamemastery Guide, the Traits and Pathfinder Society Organized Play support.....

 

[ShinHakkaider]

While I agree that it would be nice for multiple licensing to be available for groups would be awesome I disagree that it costs 125 though. While yes it does nearly cost $100 (semantics I know), but you do not HAVE to pay for the full amount though unless you value the time vs the cost of entering manually yourself. The thing is that with the exception of the Core Rules everything else can be done via user content. Meaning that ALL of it after Core can be done by you the user. So the checks and balances come from is it worth your time to do it that way or is it worth the money to buy the expansions?

This needed to be bolded because almost everyone who complains about the price of the add-ons seems to conveniently miss this part.

YOU can enter the stuff in that you want YOURSELF. You dont HAVE to pay for it if you donat want to. It'll just take up YOUR time. Me? I just prefer to buy the add-ons that I want.

 

[Zulithe]

This week I bought Hero Lab, the Pathfinder Ruleset and all of the currently available rules modules (using bundles where possible). I am very pleased with my purchase so far. While i primarily run Windows 7, my biggest complaint is the lack of a native Mac version. So far I've had no problems running Hero Lab through WINE... hopefully it stays that way. For any Mac users out there, I would recommend trying the demo through WINE and see if it suits you. I use Crossover but vanilla WINE should be fine, too.

You are given two licenses--one primary and one secondary--to run on multiple computers w/ all of your datasets. You can purchase additional computer 'slots' if needed (I think it's $10 for each computer after the 2nd?) Very nice for people who like to run two platforms. I mostly use my Windows 7 desktop at home for prep and research, and my Macbook when gaming at the table.

I'll concede that my second complaint is the price. It was around the quoted 125 USD previously noted. Did it save me lots of time? YES, particularly the Bestiary datasets. Was it a great value? Well, not really... especially since I already own some of this content in not just one but two formats, some of which I purchased separately, effectively having me buying some of this content 3x. It is a little annoying, and I think they should work harder on offering more discount package deals

At the end of the day though, I am happy to be supporting both Lone Wolf and Paizo. Doing my part to help ensure we see lots from both of these companies in the future.

 

[Olive]

A) does it support archetypes?
B) How easy/hard is it to import your own stuff?

 

[Maidhc O Casain]

It does support archetypes.

There's a learning curve for using the Editor, the main resource for creating your own house rules and stuff. That said, the ease of its use varies greatly depending on what you're trying to do.

I have a hard time being more specific than that, as some things I've thought would be quite easy to implement have been just the opposite, and some I've been sure I'd need tons of help with have been as easy as pie.

The developers and many very experienced users haunt the LoneWolf forums, though, and are extremely helpful!

 

[Remus Lupin]

I love herolab. I'm just waiting for them to come across with a Mac version, so I can use it on my laptop at the table. Right now I use the windows version at home on my iMac, but I can't run two operating systems on my laptop -- not enough hard drive space.

 

[HyrumOWC]

Rob Bowes, the owner of Lone Wolf has posted an update about the Mac version here:

http://paizo.com/paizo/messageboard...PG/licensees/heroLabSupportForMacStatusUpdate

Short version: The Mac version should be ready around summer.

Hyrum.