E-Tools: Treasure System - some thoughts! (long)

[bitz]

Last night, I started tinkering with the Table Editor and Treasure Editor features of the program, to see what it can/cannot do.

First of all, talk about confusing! The help manual helps a lot, however, and you really need to sit down and go through the examples given in order to figure it all out.

I started by wanting to make a table to randomly generate for me some scrolls (More specifically, Table 8-4: Arcane Spell Scrolls in the FRCS).

First bug found: Minimum caster levels are incorrect. If the level of the spell is 4, it assigns 8 at the minimum, but should be 7.

Second bug found: It calculates the value of scrolls incorrectly. 9th level spells are calculated at 4,100 gp, but are listed in the DMG as 3,000 gp.

I started making my value ranges and used 'Text' as my result... Hey it worked great, my table worked and it produced... Text! But what if I wanted my character or monster to carry it? I had to go to the character, Purchase, and build me that scroll...

Well, that sucked...

So I figured I needed to make a custom Magic item. So then I went over to House Rules section and started to create my scroll in the 'Magic Items' section. Errr, you can't. Scrolls is not an option (nor are Wands, for that matter.)

Ok, so what the hell is going on? How can I make my scroll?!

So then I realized that I needed to make a .trs file for each scroll. So off to the Treasure Editor I go, and built my scrolls. Yay. Two problems:

#1 Cloak of Dark Power: This spell is only accessible through a Domain, and you can only pick spells that are accessible to a Class. I had to add Cleric to access the spell, make the item, then remove Cleric again.

#2 I cannot assign the value of the treasure I just created! Elminster's Evasion costs 28,825 gp (different from the default 3,000) and I can't know this unless I look it up in the book.

Okay, so then I built all the .trs files and I changed my table to use 'Treasure' and pointed them to the Treasure files I created!

Okay, so now I'm generating Scrolls that are treasures! Er, pointless! Argh! Same result as the Text that I had earlier. Arrrgh.

So I have to go over to my character, and like before, go to Purchase, New, Create my Scroll that I randomly rolled and give it to him.

Treasure (.trs) files are only helpful if you have more than one treasure to receive.

While I'm at it. The Generate Treasure button has one function, and one function only... Generate treasure based off of table 7-4 in the DMG. Thats it.

If you want to randomly roll something from the DMG (like a scroll), you will have to build the table yourself. Fluid put a nice version of the table in Access for its internal use, but there is no way I can just roll on the Scrolls table at all.

Soooo.... Who'd going to volunteer to build all the 8-* tables and hook them all together? Hehe...

 

[EricNoah]

I would like to see the Magic Item (and weapon and armor, etc.) customizer allow you to assign the new item to a table, like you can with new Gems.

I would also like to see custom spells get entered into the rotation, so to speak, in random treasures (scrolls, potions, wands).

I would like to see a "relationship" between the character generator/editor and/or monster generator/editor and the .trs files. Specifically I'd love it if I could save a bundle of items (coins, gems, magic items, etc.) as a .trs file, then later on when I'm in a character or monster I could go to the purchase screen, click "import treasure bundle" and voila the items in that bundle get added to the character or monster's inventory. Think of the possibilities -- you could build "starting packages" of equipment for characters, e-mail treasure bundles to your players (here's what you found in that ogre's lair last time), etc.

 

[bitz]

Eric,

You're right. The foundation is all there, its just adding support for it. At this point in time they are disconnected. =(

 

[Drawmack]

Gee doesn't sound very fluid to me.

 

[Chaz]

The table editor/generator was something i was real interested in before the program even came out. I hope we can get more information together on how to use them to full ability. I realy love the shareware program TableSmith. I am going to start playing with the table creation abilitys of ET more soon, been busy of late looking for work.
Maybe fluid will put out more instruction on its use then they have in the help file. We can hope.