Pathfinder 1E [Pathfinder] Software Support?

[Papa-DRB]

Pathfinder final rules datasets should be available this Friday (we hope!).

-- david
Papa.DRB

I imagine PCGen is going to support Pathfinder eventually, because it also supported the beta, but what other software support is on the horizon for Pathfinder?

 

[Ed]

Good morning,

HeroLab has a Pathfinder module out on it's website right now. It was released pretty recently AFAIK.

I have used HeroLab for a year or two now with my M&M game. I will probably use it for my Pathfinder game as well.

Folks, the customer support from HeroLab has always been top notch and the crew over there seems very committed to pushing out new datasets and updates for DataSets on a regular basis.

I would encourage anyone out here to at least pop over and look at the software when they have time.

Regards,


Ed

 

[Theocrat]

Mixing d20/OGL with PRPG

Hi all -
Can either HeroForge or HeroLab allow me to mix and match?
We're playing Pathfinder Beta right now. This weekend, we'll convert to Pathfinder Core Rulebook. However, there is a Warforged Eurdite (Psion), a Catfolk Rogue, an elf Summoner (Accordlands) and an elf Wizard.
So there isn't a Bestiary yet for Catfolk stats for their Pathfinder adjustments so can I combine them?
What about "unofficial, fan made" data sets for things like the Summoner from Accordlands? Or Races of Ebboron? When eTools was out, they were able to officially do WotC data sets, but with the free "unofficial" wizards tool, you were able to do it yourself (I added the Greyhawk Languages as well as other Greyhawk only things like the various human cultural racial aspects). Do either of these products have something where I can enter my own adjustments?

So as I see it, any software needs to utilize the Pathfinder Core Rules as its background, but also have other classes from other sources. I do see how this could cause a problem with some classes - such as the Euridite, where it is a d4 hit dice and of course uses 3.5 skills. So I would either have to be able to "copy" the class and be able to make a EurditePRPG class changing the hit dice and skills. Of course, being able to provide this new class to others would be important (but I'd assume that aspect, since the Eurdite is from Complete Psionic so other fans would have already had to create the class and share it).

Of course all this is a fairy tale and very unlikely, but wouldn't it be great? I can't believe that our group is the only one that uses books other than the WotC list of books, but I can understand if the software company can't officially do do WotC books (and only other OGL products but not their IP). So can either of these two products do this?
Thanks for your help in understanding what I'm looking for.
Be Well. Be Well Programed.
Theocrat Issak

 

[Darkwolf71]

I've been a big fan of HeroForge over the years. So, I'm hoping it gets Pathfinderized.

 

[Johnny Angel]

I work on the Pathfinder version of sCoreGen, the distribution site of which was listed above at The RPG Engine. I am a big enthusiast of character generators and other computer aids for roleplaying games. You may remember me from my Star*Forge and SavageForge chargens, which have helped nearly a dozen people over the years. sCoreGen is intended as a core that can be adapted to any of the d20 sub-systems, though only version so far produced is the one for Pathfinder RPG. It's been around since Alpha 3 (really, Alpha 2, but they went Alpha 3 just as I was ready to release).

sCoreGen is designed for these specific advantages:

• Customizability is the primary design principle. It still requires some familiarity with Excel, but I strive to make it as easy as possible to figure out what's going on, and I have been very happy to see that a number of users crack the thing open and figure out how to add their own content.
• It generates stat blocks in multiple formats, including ones compatible with the markup used in BBSes and Wikis. I myself find this extremely handy.
• It can be set to metric units.
• The core could be stripped of content and used as a foundation for any d20-compatible chargen.

I am a little heartbroken that the clever people working on HeroForge do not intend to make a Pathfinder RPG version of their Excel sheet. PFRPG compatability is being saved for their commercial non-Excel version, because it is bankable after all. sCoreGen was never meant to be a substitute for HeroForge. It was meant to be a smaller, more mod-friendly option. I assumed HeroForge would bring their comprehensive implementation of WotC 3.5 materials to bear on the Pathfinder RPG. Hopefully, the commercial version will live up to this legacy, but if a commercial options suited your needs, you wouldn't go mucking with fan-made spreadsheets.

I would be interested, if anyone knows, how other chargens intend to handle integrating backwards-compatability. There has to be some level of interpretation involved, and who has the authority to make those decisions?

Also, as a side question, once I've gotten Pathfinder-sCoreGen up to Core Rules standards, how are people fixed for a Modern20 chargen?

 

[John Crichton]

I work on the Pathfinder version of sCoreGen, the distribution site of which was listed above at The RPG Engine. I am a big enthusiast of character generators and other computer aids for roleplaying games. You may remember me from my Star*Forge and SavageForge chargens, which have helped nearly a dozen people over the years. sCoreGen is intended as a core that can be adapted to any of the d20 sub-systems, though only version so far produced is the one for Pathfinder RPG. It's been around since Alpha 3 (really, Alpha 2, but they went Alpha 3 just as I was ready to release).

sCoreGen is designed for these specific advantages:

• Customizability is the primary design principle. It still requires some familiarity with Excel, but I strive to make it as easy as possible to figure out what's going on, and I have been very happy to see that a number of users crack the thing open and figure out how to add their own content.
• It generates stat blocks in multiple formats, including ones compatible with the markup used in BBSes and Wikis. I myself find this extremely handy.
• It can be set to metric units.
• The core could be stripped of content and used as a foundation for any d20-compatible chargen.

I am a little heartbroken that the clever people working on HeroForge do not intend to make a Pathfinder RPG version of their Excel sheet. PFRPG compatability is being saved for their commercial non-Excel version, because it is bankable after all. sCoreGen was never meant to be a substitute for HeroForge. It was meant to be a smaller, more mod-friendly option. I assumed HeroForge would bring their comprehensive implementation of WotC 3.5 materials to bear on the Pathfinder RPG. Hopefully, the commercial version will live up to this legacy, but if a commercial options suited your needs, you wouldn't go mucking with fan-made spreadsheets.

Keep on rockin'. Used your version recently and was impressed.

 

[Darkwolf71]

I work on the Pathfinder version of sCoreGen, the distribution site of which was listed above at The RPG Engine.

I was using sCoreGen for my Beta characters, nice sheet you did.

What I would really like to see is for some of you exel guru's to take the existing HF sheet and mod it for PFRPG. After all the guys who hijacked the name don't own the original work. Heck if I was any good at it I'd take it on myself.

 

[Quijenoth]

RPGXplorer has released a number of official Pathfinder datasets for 3.5 (available from Paizo Store) and while there has been no information about Pathfinder RPG support I would imagine they would be enthusiastic about supporting PathfinderRPG.

 

[Admiral Caine]

I have been a HeroLabs customer for a while now, primarily for M&M and d20. They do a very good product and offer in-game support. That is, it will keep track of initiative, hitpoints, in game conditions.

I've gotten the Pathfinder Data set, but I wanted to prepare folks who buy it.. they put it together quickly. They had the book about 6 weeks ago and only had that much time to prepare the dataset. Because Paizo was hyperlinking the PDF right up to GenCon, the Hero Lab developers had to prepare it from the book and hand key everything in (so it's a little short on descriptive text). I guess I'm saying if it's it's a little rough right now, they're committed to updating it for free as much as it needs. And that's how they do business. Heck, they still update the d20 dataset.

Now I'm torn, because I've used Johnny Angel's sCore sheet all through the Beta and been very pleased with it too. His work has never owed anyone any apologies.

Unbelievably, I've only tried PcGen briefly. I had performance issues with it and it kinda confused me with so many options to navigate. (But it was mostly performance that led me to try something else) That was some time ago.. at least a few years. I don't want to disparage it without knowing more, but I'd love to hear any objective comments on how it's doing these days.

 

[Papa-DRB]

PCGen

Upfront disclosure. I am one of the moderators for the PCGen Yahoo groups, and a sometimes minor Data Monkey. I was also the Admin 2nd several years ago.

I use PCGen exclusively for character creation and maintenance. It has the Pathfinder BETA data sets, and the Data Monkeys are working to release the Final rule set data sets soon.

Performance has improved, especially in the 5.16.x releases, but anything that is coded in Java so it is cross platform compatible will be slower than a compiled program, but it is pretty good now and improving performance more is one of the goals for the 6.x line.

For a new user, the first thing I suggest is looking at the character creation walk-thru since it is a bit confusing. I've been using it for so long that it has become second nature, but the GUI does need work and there is a team looking into it, but not much has been done yet.

If you, or anyone has questions, join the PCGen Yahoo main group ( pcgen : PCGen News and Notes ) and myself and others will be happy to answer any questions.

-- david
Papa.DRB

Edit: Oh, if you are using Windows VISTA, read the Help - FAQ - Java & Memory help files first.

Unbelievably, I've only tried PcGen briefly. I had performance issues with it and it kinda confused me with so many options to navigate. (But it was mostly performance that led me to try something else) That was some time ago.. at least a few years. I don't want to disparage it without knowing more, but I'd love to hear any objective comments on how it's doing these days.