Introducing DM Minion 2.0

[goathead82]

D&D 4E DM's and Players,

Goathead Software has completed development on version 2 of its DM Minion software. We are looking for any DM's that use software to manage thier D&D Adventures to evaluate and playtest this version with there gaming group.

If you were a user of the 1.5 version we know you will enjoy the new features and updates. If you are new to the DM Minion software we hope that you find it to enhance your DM and player expierence.

You can download the PDF documentation and MSI Installation package at <A href="http://goatheadsoftware.com/dm-minion-20.html">goatheadsoftware.com/dm-minion-20.html

Also, if you would like to stay up to date on updated for this project join us on facebook!

Thanks,
Goathead Software and the DM Minion Team!

 

[goathead82]

Anyone give this a try yet? We would love some feedback!

 

[BabyBackRibs]

Could you give us a quick overview of the software?

 

[goathead82]

Could you give us a quick overview of the software?

Sure!

The software at its core is a D&D 4E combat manager for DMs and players. The UI is alot different from all of the other tools that are out there. The is used to track players, monsters, encounters for an Adventure (module) you can then take those entities and run a battle (combat). Tracking conditions, healing, temp hp, damage, and powers. You can also manage your players out side of combat with the for short and exteneded rests or dealing damage/healing that doesnt come from a combat related scenario (single traps and the like). All of the screens are written in a way where I think it is the easiest to manage all of these aspects with as few mouse clicks as possible. Players and Monsters can be imported using the DDI and Adventure tools and you can save all of these aspects into what we call and adventure for easy loading and continuation of running your campaign. The combat supports a remote view for players so they can view it using a projector or second monitor.

The software is written in C# and requires the .NET Framework 3.5.

You can view screen shots and the documentation @ DM Minion 2.0 - Goathead Software

 

[Arlough]

Looking into it, but I like what I am seeing so far.
The organizational structure (tabs) seem to be well organized, and conducive to a productive session flow.

I am going to test this back to back against:

• 4e Turn Tracker
• 4e Combat Manager

I'll let you know how this compares in a week or so.

 

[goathead82]

Looking into it, but I like what I am seeing so far.
The organizational structure (tabs) seem to be well organized, and conducive to a productive session flow.

I am going to test this back to back against:

• 4e Turn Tracker
• 4e Combat Manager

I'll let you know how this compares in a week or so.

Arlough, looking forward to your comparison!

 

[Ferghis]

I'll look into it. The screenshots look really great. And the player screen is a great feature.

 

[Ferghis]

This is very polished. I don't mean to put it down by offering the following suggestions.

As a DM, I like putting a player in complete charge of tracking initiative, conditions and effects. This would be easier if they could add and remove enemies from the initiative list more easily. I suggest the option of adding "dummy" enemies in the battle screen. I realize this program is for DMs, so I understand if you want to ignore this bit of feedback.

Also, PCs have a ton of oddly-detailed effects. I'd like them to be able to specify these before hand, and just apply them onto an enemy with one or two clicks. For example, if the cleric has a power that applies a -2 to all of that enemies' defenses until the end of his next turn, I want him to be able apply that effect by dragging Astral Seal onto an enemy.

 

[goathead82]

Ferghis, thanks for comments and feedback. I do see adding some sort of condition application in the powers would be nice. I will add this to the request list.

I have also just posted a new update that adds a few small changes.

Power descriptions can now be set when adding players and monsters
Power description are imported when importing players
Power descriptions can be viewed by hovering over the power icon in the power list
Fixed a few bugs
Packed a sample adventure file with the installer

 

[Ferghis]

Are .monster files produced by the old (downloadable) monster builder? Is there a way to export such files from the online monster builder?