Templating Program?

I'm A Banana · Apr 27, 2004

One of the most onerous tasks I have as a DM is sticking a template on things. When I've got over 2,000 monsters, of CR's 1/10th to 50 and above, I don't usually need 'em.

But sometimes, they're useful.

So I'm wondering if anyone's taken the 'gruntwork' out of templating.....some program or document or something that can take the template and apply it to monster stats? Perhaps with the capability to add stats and templates into the system?

It's probably too big of a task to ask for, or I woudl've seen one already....still curious.......

Olive · Apr 27, 2004

Maybe I do, maybe I don't...

but you'll only find out if you update that deity-a-week thread!

Actually, I gotta be honest, I don't have one. I'd still love to see you update that thread again tho.

Joshua Randall · Apr 27, 2004

Depending upon your tolerance for buggy, open-source programs, you may wish to take a look at PCGen. Despite the name, it can do monsters too, and add templates to them. There's supposedly a big overhaul going on, but I know from past experience that you are best off just downloading the latest release and diving in. If you wait for the "stable" version, you'll wind up old and grey (and without any templated monsters).

thundershot · Apr 27, 2004

If someone made the program, with SRD monsters already IN, I would have no problem putting all of the various templates in myself (and new non-OGL monsters) for personal use. I just need a program (this is something I've wanted for a long time, and is about to get worse with GR's Advanced Bestiary having all templates).

Thanks
Chris

Ankh-Morpork Guard · Apr 27, 2004

thundershot said:
If someone made the program, with SRD monsters already IN, I would have no problem putting all of the various templates in myself (and new non-OGL monsters) for personal use. I just need a program (this is something I've wanted for a long time, and is about to get worse with GR's Advanced Bestiary having all templates).

Thanks
Chris

Agreed.

I use lots of templates in my games. My personal favorite right now is Half-Illithid. Wow does that freak out PCs.

WizarDru · Apr 27, 2004

I use DM Genie, which supports the SRD templates, and allows you to create your own, although it takes a little work. The limitation is that you apply the template when you create the creature, not after. However, it's made adding templates to a creature very easy for me.

Nellisir · Apr 27, 2004

WizarDru said:
I use DM Genie, which supports the SRD templates, and allows you to create your own, although it takes a little work. The limitation is that you apply the template when you create the creature, not after. However, it's made adding templates to a creature very easy for me.

How easy is it to add new monsters to these programs? I often create monsters, and I'd be more likely to use something like these if non-programmers are able to cleanly add monsters (or feats, but that's off topic).

Plus, I'm working on a pdf monster book (yep...we all need more monsters!) and it'd be a nice bonus to offer monsters all...configured, or whatever, for one of these programs.

The Deluxe Book of Templates (pdf) is a must-have if you like templates. It's a great book.

Cheers
Nell.

Chacal · Apr 27, 2004

Nellisir said:
How easy is it to add new monsters to these programs? .

For pcgen, it depends on the monster/template. If you create a new ability that need some computation (like adding str bonus to int bonus plus level to perform some stuff) then you probably will have to take a look at the documentation.

For most uses, you just have to select a source (like srd or rsrd), then go to the Tools/Editors menu and select templates or race (for monsters).
You can create new races or templates from scratch, but it's usually easier to select a race or template that's close enough to yours and click copy, then change what's specific to your creation (e.g the name

).
Have a look to several templates before creating yours in order to be familiar with the interface.

Chacal

WizarDru · Apr 27, 2004

Nellisir said:
How easy is it to add new monsters to these programs? I often create monsters, and I'd be more likely to use something like these if non-programmers are able to cleanly add monsters (or feats, but that's off topic).

Take a gander at the attached screen capture. DM Genie can read stat blocks directly into the program, allowing you to import individual creatures or races. It's a tad finicky about the stat block format on occasion, but still very easy to use.

I commonly check some of the Rogue's Gallery threads, such as Blackdirge's excellent monster thread, and then simply cut and paste directly into DM Genie.

Creation of new templates is more work, and I haven't really attempted it, but it can be done with some modification of the existing templates, which are text files with documentation in them. The DM genie forums also have people (including Janik, the author) who will help with creating them.

Note: the astute reader will notice that the creature in question has a CR of 0. That's 'cuz I didn't fix the stat-block when importing it. It's a little sensititve to the line breaks being in the correct place, and so forth. I could correct it in a heartbeat, but...welll, I'm lazy.

Ankh-Morpork Guard · Apr 27, 2004

I use DM Genie, but for templates I can never really achieve exactly what I want. I was fighting with the program for a while trying to edit things...though I was a bit frustrated, so that probably didn't help.

Templating Program?

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