Character Builder Update Announcement

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I really hope I don't have to wait a month but I'm guessing that'll be the case.

Why oh why wasn't the CB a nice XML place-holder sheet so everyone could build their own custom sets and house-rules instead of this proprietary .NET junk.

Well, .NET would allow you to use XML just fine, so it was probably a design and/or business decision. I suppose whatever database they are using internally could be tried to export to XML and import from XML, but it's not in their (current) design plans.

Besides, if you make an XML-place-holder sheet as powerful as the Character Builder and still entirely customizable, you are basically just creating a pseudo-(domain)-language that is not easier to use than just create your own app or Excel file

 

[gtoasnt3]

I found one small omission on the update: one of my PC's wants to play a dhampyr. I can't find the Vampire Heritage feat anywhere. All of the other "Blood Line" feats that accompany Vampire Heritage show up when you turn on the illegal feats, but not the prerequisite itself. I told them about it, so we'll see where I went wrong or maybe it was an oversite on their part.

 

[Klaus]

The portrait hiccup is still there.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I found one small omission on the update: one of my PC's wants to play a dhampyr. I can't find the Vampire Heritage feat anywhere. All of the other "Blood Line" feats that accompany Vampire Heritage show up when you turn on the illegal feats, but not the prerequisite itself. I told them about it, so we'll see where I went wrong or maybe it was an oversite on their part.

Hmm, When I tried the new version out the first time, I accidentally stumbled on the Bloodline Feats (I knew they existed, but didn't think of them), and it seemed to work.

It must be something more specific. (I am not sure, are these feats allowed after 1st level? When did you take the feat? Possibly the "House Rule" ability still missed this restriction or something?)

 

[Roger]

After examining the character-save (.dnd4e) files, I'm inclined to conclude that the application is generally XML-based.



Cheers,
Roger

 

[Obryn]

I asked in another thread, but does anyone know a good way to simply edit the character sheet that the Builder already uses?

The graphic design on it is poor, imho, and impairs readability. Specifically, the big, blocky header bars are unnecessary. Since the font is already bolded & all-caps, it's distinct enough from the body text that the black bar is just an eyesore.

So... in my ideal world, I could edit the base character sheet somehow, and then change that stuff around. Change the headers to black-on-white, either make the bars hollow boxes or eliminate them entirely, and maybe change the black spots on the sheet to lower-contrast grays, to help them stand out from the text better.

These seem like simple tweaks, and I could do them in short order in Publisher, Word, or Excel. But I simply have no idea what I could use to edit the sheet - much less where it is in the first place.

-O

 

[StormHarbinger]

Published books will be available for the CB on the 4th tuesday of the month. Dungeon and Dragon material is delayed a month. This has been clearly stated.

I hope this is true, and it makes a certain amount of sense. But where has it been clearly stated?

 

[Hawke]

I sent in a "suggestion" that they release the phb2 stuff on release days. Wotc's customer service rep replied back very quickly (and was very friendly!) stating that it was unlikely but that they would bring it up at the next meeting as an option for major releases (read: not going to happen) however he did state that the content is expected to appear on the fourth tuesday - so only a week lag. Enough I guess for me to go through the material, but man am I gonna wanna roll up some chars immediately!

 

[StormHarbinger]

I sent in a "suggestion" that they release the phb2 stuff on release days. Wotc's customer service rep replied back very quickly (and was very friendly!) stating that it was unlikely but that they would bring it up at the next meeting as an option for major releases (read: not going to happen) however he did state that the content is expected to appear on the fourth tuesday - so only a week lag. Enough I guess for me to go through the material, but man am I gonna wanna roll up some chars immediately!

That's great news! Assuming Customer Service knows what's up, the March update to the CB should be EPIC. The Shadar-Kai write-up, PHB2 and Dungeon Delve are all things to be really excited about.

Storm