Character Generator

[RFisher]

I think what he means is he wants a game system that's not that complex that you feel you need a computer just to create a new character.

More or less. The suggestion of using software to help create a character should elicit the reaction of, "Why go to the trouble?"

I don't know that that necessarily means it can't be complex, just not complex in ways that make you want to use a computer. & I think a process could be designed with print tools that ease it while still getting more complexity.

But certainly the easiest way is to just keep things simple.

If nothing else, having both a basic system & an expanded system would be nice. 3e tried that with the--what did they call them?--starting packages. For whatever reason, though, they seemed to fail in practice. Maybe because they were more of an afterthought & not really a fully developed alternative.

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

I think things will be more simple - but having an electronic tool that helps organize and make things pretty is a good thing.

My biggest concern is storage of characters and NPC's - I use E-Tools extensively now, and I have over a hundred NPC's stored on my PC - I need the ability to store them on my own PC, or else unlimited storage on WoTC servers (although I like the implied idea of the NPCs I create being potentially usable by other DM's!).

The last I heard on this particular subject was that the Character Generator was a Windows utility, which implies to me the possibility of offline use. That would be a positive thing - not everywhere I play has network connectivity (though it is getting close to that point).

 

[Glyfair]

My biggest concern is storage of characters and NPC's - I use E-Tools extensively now, and I have over a hundred NPC's stored on my PC - I need the ability to store them on my own PC, or else unlimited storage on WoTC servers (although I like the implied idea of the NPCs I create being potentially usable by other DM's!).

The last I heard on this particular subject was that the Character Generator was a Windows utility, which implies to me the possibility of offline use. That would be a positive thing - not everywhere I play has network connectivity (though it is getting close to that point).

Most of the answers to your questions are in this thread (particularly the first and last post at this time).

In a nutshell: You will be able to save characters on your computer, but there will be advantages to saving them online (presumably better ties to the game table and other tools) and the online storage will be limited.

You will need to be online to use the Character Sheet.

 

[jontherev]

Pretty much everything I've heard about the character generator is that it will be very tied to online, since it will basically auto update with every feat, skill, spell, prc, etc that comes out. I gathered that it was likely all the information would be stored online and the character creator would check online for the list each time you clicked on the "feats" tab, as an example.

This way it would be able to see which products you had registered and give you full information on the books you paid the "registration fee" on.

And, given that it is pretty much the biggest part of the D&D Insider service from everyone I've talked to(both in terms of the amount of effort on WOTC behalf in order to get it finished and how much people want it), I doubt they'll let people pay once for a product that continually updates itself for free.

This is true (as far as I can tell) ONLY if you subscribe to D&DI AND also buy e-books. I have a big problem with paying a monthly fee to play a game that I've already purchased (that's one reason why I don't pay online games). I don't see what's so complex about giving players like myself an option to pay a one-time fee ONLY for a character generator and maybe for each supplement that we buy as well (separate fees). Also, making us buy e-books is a horrible idea imo that I can't begin to fathom...what is so difficult with registering a hard-copy? They didn't get this right with e-tools, and now they seem to be getting it all wrong again. I never used e-tools because of many reasons. I'm not happy because it looks like I will once again be forced to make my own character generator, or edit someone else's.

 

[DM-Rocco]

This is true (as far as I can tell) ONLY if you subscribe to D&DI AND also buy e-books. I have a big problem with paying a monthly fee to play a game that I've already purchased (that's one reason why I don't pay online games). I don't see what's so complex about giving players like myself an option to pay a one-time fee ONLY for a character generator and maybe for each supplement that we buy as well (separate fees). Also, making us buy e-books is a horrible idea imo that I can't begin to fathom...what is so difficult with registering a hard-copy? They didn't get this right with e-tools, and now they seem to be getting it all wrong again. I never used e-tools because of many reasons. I'm not happy because it looks like I will once again be forced to make my own character generator, or edit someone else's.

I'm with you and you are not alone. D&D will get a new audience with on-line content, but I fear many people will abandon the game or stick with older versions because they don't want to look at e-books or pay monthly for a game they already bought. Stick to your guns.

 

[DM-Rocco]

Oh, and check out DM Genie at www.dmgenie.com
It is not perfect, but you can try it out for 30 days and you can alter things in the program yourself to fit your needs, including making your own classes, feat, skills, etc.

For 95% of your needs, it will be perfect.

 

[Counterspin]

I expect that free character generators will be easy to find for 4e, just as they are for 3e. Given that, I don't see what the source of concern is.

 

[Jan van Leyden]

What do you mean? How can character creation benefit from software if it's following the same rules that are in the book?

Easily, if the software collects all, say feats, in one place instead of having it be spread over two dozen books. Do you like to peruse 20 books whenever your character is eligible for a new feat? I certainly don't like it.

D&D tends to offer huge amounts of rule items; I expect to be offered a tool to organize this stuff. I doesn't have to be the DDI CC, though.

Oh, and it's not about complexity, it's about the sheer amount of details one might want to consider when creating or changing a character.

---
Huldvoll

Jan van Leyden

 

[Patlin]

Oh, and check out DM Genie at www.dmgenie.com

I use OpenOffice.Org (basically a free office suite, including a speadsheet program similar to excel.)

Using a spreadsheet program to create a character sheet isn't for everyone, but it's extremely customizable. I set it up so that if I change the number in the level field, it updates *everything*. If the DM hands out xp during play and I level up, I'm ready to play again in less than 5 seconds... which is pretty handy!

 

[RFisher]

I have a big problem with paying a monthly fee to play a game that I've already purchased (that's one reason why I don't pay online games).

My problem would be paying a monthly fee for a game I don't play every month. D&D is only one of the TRPGs I play & 4e will be only one edition of (A)D&D that I play. If character creation is such that a software aid is worthwhile, then Wizards should provide an option for such that works well for the occasional 4e player, not just the dedicated 4e player. Because it's a lot easier for those occasional players to just drop 4e altogether.

Which is not to say that whatever they have in mind won't work well for the occasional player. There's not enough information to know yet. Just that I would hope this is something they're paying attention to.