Best campaign tool

[Mercule]

I've looked at a whole bunch of tools and still am not sure I've found the "one Ring to rule them all", as it were. My needs seem to be many and maybe uncommon. I was using HeroForge, but after a year where I told my players, "My campaign is not officially supported by any tool", I tried PCGen (again, for the 8th or so time) and found that I could do a lot more with it and it was much better than previous versions.

I'm not sure I'm entirely happy, though. I'm spending a lot of time on PCGen, and not seeing the end in sight. I just have too many house rules. Also, before I get too invested, I want to make I'm going down the right path.

Here's what I'd like to see:

• User-friendly interface for PC creation/management
• A really nice character sheet built in -- HeroForge excels, here
• Some sort of editor for classes, etc. -- PCGen is on its way, but they don't work, in practice
• The ability to add/remove classes, feats, races, templates, deities, spells, domains, etc. and have the math work
• The ability to royally hork the house rules -- we use Weapon Groups, Spell Points, Class Defense, Armor as DR and all must be functional
• A way to easily export/import updates to the back-end data, so I can send stuff to my players
• A way to easily get copies of the character files from my players, say in a file small enough to email on dial-up

I'm a programmer, so a bit of complexity doesn't bother me. But we have some very non-techie types in the group who are frustrated by PCGen, for example. Also, I don't want a time-sync for myself -- the idea is to free up time so I can work more on NPCs, setting, and adventures.

If I'm going to pay money for it, it absolutely, positively has to look good. As far as what looks good, I'll just say that the WinZip interface doesn't cut it, nor does E-Tools, from the demo screens. RPGXplorer might, but I haven't seen the demo yet. If it's pay software, it's also going to have to be good enough to sell my players on, and they aren't exactly big spenders.

Yeah, I'm picky. I just want a nice, quality tool. So, what's anyone recommend? Are there any reps/coders here from any projects like this?

 

[IronWolf]

You may want to take a look at DM Genie. It is pretty nice once you get used to it and I believe a lot of the customization is done using VBScript. You can export feats, characters, etc and then import them back in or into another person's copy of DM Genie. Their discussions boards a fairly lively. There is a 60 day trial, so you can play with it for a bit and see if it will do what you need.

 

[Max]

You might want to keep an eye on Code Monkey Publishing's upcoming RGP Toolkit. Here's a link to the FAQ:

http://www.codemonkeypublishing.com/index.php?module=htmlpages&func=display&pid=18

Since you mentioned house rules, here is that part of the FAQ:

House rules - Well... what to say about this. Okay, try this on for size. You decide to make a game mode for a "universal RPG system" then decide you want to mix that with the SRD... then decide you want to mix THAT with HARP. Well, you'll be able to! (We're not going to comment on the lunacy of this, just the fact that you can do it! ) You want to mix and match rules from different game systems? Go right ahead, we won't stop ya. No, really, we won't! Of course, the end result of such a mixing is entirely your fault and your players may despise you for it, provided you still have players after making the "Kitchen Sink Stew RPG"

If it's in a database/rules file, you'll be able to edit it. You'll be able to make new entries/rules to your heart's content. In fact, you'll probably spend so much time in the editors that you'll forget you have a game, a job, spouse & kids, and possibly even food! It's going to be that cool! (Wll, okay, maybe not. But it'll be pretty spiffy!)

I believe they are aiming for a Gencon release, IIRC. There is an RPG Toolkit forum on their web site where they have provided additional information about their plans, if you can dig through the posts. Of course, you can post a question on their forums if you want to see if they will support something specific you're looking for.

Max