dnd and excel

[nickron]

i was thinking that using microsoft excel could greatly help DM's run a game. so far i have been able to create a spread sheet that can give starting gold by entering the characters levels. also more notable i have made it able to tell max cleric, wizard, and fighter level by inputting city size. also by entering a city size it gives max item value, full time soldiers, able bodied soldiers, merchant wealth, and traveling wealth. i am working on creating a function to tell an npc's mood towards players depending on alignment, impression, rumors, fame, and charisma. there are many other applications i can come up with for excel to "excel" a campaign (maybe be able to create a campaign in excel), but this is what i got so far. what do you guys think?

 

[kyonu]

Sounds pretty good, but it'd work best with a "pad" type computer. Like Apple's new iPad, or something similar. But really, players generally calculate this stuff, so this might be giving the DM a bit too much? Who knows.

 

[nickron]

i see what your talking about, but the city size based stuff and the level based stuff comes out of the dmg and arms and equipment guide. then for mood i came up with this equation:

[FONT=&quot]{[(cha score*5.56 )+(impression 1-100)+(appearance 1-100)+(race1 - 100)]/4} / (alignment difference) + (local reputation 1 - ?) + (global reputation 1 - ?)
[/FONT]
this gives npc mood as a percent and has flexible variables that can be decided in gameplay. it could find if an npc is hostile, unfriendly, indifferent, friendly, or helpful. then from there the bonus or penalties on diplomacy and bluff. just by typing in a few numbers.
​

 

[rgard]

Yes, it's a cool idea. I like the sound of what you've done so far.

Back in the mid-90s my friend did an excel spreadsheet that generated random NPC parties for 1e. If I can find it (buried on a 3.5" diskette some place), I'll email it to you. With a little tweaking it could maybe work for 3.5e.

I also made one (again for 1e) that was a spell selection spreadsheet that would print out lists of spells prepared by character. That one may be in lotus 1-2-3 though.

Anyway, I'll look for them and send you a note if I find them.

Thanks,
Rich