What is the best D&D Assistant Software for me?

[Murrdox]

Thanks so much! You guys are both helping out a ton!

In terms of what I want to use with the program I get, I'm mostly interested in WotC stuff... the splatbooks, MMII, and specifically, Forgotten Realms. However, I do also have the Monsternomicon, and may buy the Revised Creature Collection as well. I don't know if these titles are planned for inclusion in PCGen.

I SOOO wish I could try out 3.5 on both of these guys before I decide.

So far... things I've run into.

-I like how it calculates hit points as you level up MUCH better than the way Etools does it.
-However, I can't figure out how you would "roll" ability scores in PCGen. I guess you just roll dice and input them in? It'd be nice to be able to use Point Buy if I wanted to create a balanced NPC using that method to face my characters. Looking through the documentation for PCGen, I'm not seeing a way to actually calculate out ability scores, so I'd have to use scratch paper to Point Buy my ability scores and then just input them into PCGen.
-I had a little trouble working with the inventory on PCGen... it wasn't showing me my equipment as I equipped it, but then I restarted the app and it works.
-PCGen doesn't automatically generate wealth for a new character based on level... I kinda liked that feature about etools.
-I created a Paladin in PCGen... I think I'll try a wizard next, because I really like the spellsheet that PCGen created!! One of the BANES of D&D for me, both as a DM and a player is that I WANT A SPELLSHEET that includes WotC and Forgotten Realms and Splatbook spells. Ema's Character sheet was the only one I found with a robust spellsheet like that, but she's not updating her FR sheet to 3.5, and as a DM, a huge character sheet for spells doesn't help much anyways. Spellsheet has tickers for how many memorized, brief spell description... I think I'm in love here. I'm guessing that once I add in datasets I can print spellsheets using whatever books I want.
-A minor mistake on the character... I gave my Paladin a cloak of displacement, and there is a "Miss Chance" block on the character sheet which is empty. The cloak is equipped...
-PCGen calculated everything perfectly for me... right down to a -1 to almost everything for a negative level due to possessing a Unholy weapon. It took me a while to figure out what was WRONG with him... I was going to give him Blackguard levels, but he was still lawful good when I printed him out.
-I love the weapon section printout. Gives you your bonuses for every possible way you could hold your weapon. I've also seen that PCGen has some other supplimental stat sheets you can print out for your guy while he's raging or enhanced and such. Looks really nice.
-After loading up a couple of Monsters into PCGen, I think etools might be better at simply generating monster stat blocks... I loaded up a Djinn into PCGen, and after figuring out to check the "use default monster" check box (although being able to build them from Hit Dice and build them from the ground up is a nice feature) PCGen didn't tell me ANYWHERE I could find the number of times per day it is able to use its spell like abilities, or the DCs for saves, and such. Does this make Etools a better source for plain old monsters that I don't want to edit? The goal is to cut and paste the stat block into a word doc, so that I don't need to open up my Monster Manual in the middle of gaming sessions to multiple monsters and such. With PCGen, it looks like I'd need to actually still look up the Djinn to check on its real capabilities.

Comments??

EDIT - loaded up a default Sea Hag... same thing... it LISTS the special abilities, but doesn't say anything about what they do, or the DCs for saves vs them. If I buy the WotC datasets for PCGen, as opposed to the stanard SRD sets that come with the program, will it properly document everything? The help file for PCGen says that information like this is intentionally absent so that PCGen can't be used INSTEAD of books.

But for me, if I want to use a Sea Hag, I just want to cut and paste the statblock for it into my adventure. I dont' want to have to THEN ALSO open up my monster manual as well during the session.

 

[Davin]

I SOOO wish I could try out 3.5 on both of these guys before I decide.

Start by trying out the 1.4 version of eTools, because many of the things you mentioned was on the fix list for it.

-However, I can't figure out how you would "roll" ability scores in PCGen. I guess you just roll dice and input them in?

IIRC, PCGen can't roll dice for you due to legal limitations. I think you have to do that part manually.

-I created a Paladin in PCGen... I think I'll try a wizard next, because I really like the spellsheet that PCGen created!! One of the BANES of D&D for me, both as a DM and a player is that I WANT A SPELLSHEET that includes WotC and Forgotten Realms and Splatbook spells. Ema's Character sheet was the only one I found with a robust spellsheet like that, but she's not updating her FR sheet to 3.5, and as a DM, a huge character sheet for spells doesn't help much anyways. Spellsheet has tickers for how many memorized, brief spell description... I think I'm in love here. I'm guessing that once I add in datasets I can print spellsheets using whatever books I want.

Either PCGen or eTools should be able to have all the spells you can load (or type) in, and both should soon have 3.5 stuff available.

-I love the weapon section printout. Gives you your bonuses for every possible way you could hold your weapon.

I think that same format is being worked on for eTools, but it may be later than v1.4 before it gets it.

The help file for PCGen says that information like this is intentionally absent so that PCGen can't be used INSTEAD of books.

eTools help files are supposed to be getting more and more stuff entered in them. You'd still want to get the books, but you'll probably end up with more information on-line than with PCGen.

Does any of that help at all (especially since I don't know too many details about PCGen)?

 

[Chacal]

- It'd be nice to be able to use Point Buy if I wanted to create a balanced NPC using that method to face my characters. Looking through the documentation for PCGen, I'm not seeing a way to actually calculate out ability scores, so I'd have to use scratch paper to Point Buy my ability scores and then just input them into PCGen.

You've got to "create" the point buy method first.
First, go to
Settings ->Preferences

In the "Abilities" part, click Purchase Mode Configuration.
A Dialog opens and shows a table with only one line : 10 -0
- Click twice on the "-" button after Purchase Score Min, then twice on the one for Purchase Score Max.

-Change the "-2" points to 0 to tell pcgen a 8 costs 0 points
Validate with "Enter"

-Increase the Maximum Score with the "+" button

-Edit the values for 15,16,17,18

-Click on "New" to save your method and the number of points you can allocate, (I use "standard 28" with 28 points, "Hero" with 32, and "You Munchkin" with 36)

You only have to do that once.

Hope this helps

Chacal
P.S: Rolling dice should be back, as they're dropping d20 licence IIRC

 

[Murrdox]

Interesting... again, thanks everyone for their continued replies.

I'm almost thinking of splitting my money at this point, and getting some things for etools and some things for PCGen.

Designing NPCs on PCGen really kicks ass, and I like that a bit more than Etools.

However, on BASIC monsters and such, I'm not very happy with the stat blocks generated by PCGen, which leave out saving throws for monster abilities, the times per day they use them, etc. I'm liking etools much better on this front.

Plus, it seems like a LOT more datasets are available for etools than there are for PCGen.

Are any planned improvements to PCGen going to get rid of the flaws I mentioned?

Otherwise, I might just update Etools to 3.5 for straight creatures (since I already own it) and maybe get the basic Monsters of Fearun expansion, MMII and Fiend Folio, and then I'd get everything else for PCGen, and use PCGen for characters, NPCs, and complex monsters, while using Etools for basic monster stat blocks.

However, it'd be much better if I could decide on one or the other. HELP!!

 

[mikebr99]

Excellent thread!!!


Mike

 

[Chacal]

However, on BASIC monsters and such, I'm not very happy with the stat blocks generated by PCGen, which leave out saving throws for monster abilities, the times per day they use them, etc. I'm liking etools much better on this front.

This is something you should ask the OutputSheet Monkeys (or whatever they're called) in the main yahoo group. They're quite reactive people and I 'm sure they would be glad to improve the statblocks (unless the info is missing in the monster files).
Be sure to tell them the monsters and sheets you've tested.

Are any planned improvements to PCGen going to get rid of the flaws I mentioned?

Unless you can't go there, the following yahoogroup is the good place for having your questions answered :
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pcgen/


Chacal

 

[kingpaul]

Plus, it seems like a LOT more datasets are available for etools than there are for PCGen.

This devolves around the whole closed/open content and volunteer/paid employee issue. CMP is a licensee of WotC, and, as such, can create datasets of WotC's closed content material for both eTools and PCGen. eTools, ATM, can only have WotC datasets for it; no 3rd party at all.

PCGen, OTOH, is an open source program. Our policy is to release datasets that publishers have given us permission to. As I mentioned in this post, there's a listing of what datasets came with 5.5.1. You can also get the WotC closed content datasets for PCGen by buying them from CMP.

So (and remember, I'm biased), PCGen has more datasets available for it then eTools does.

 

[Guido]

NPC generator software

Have you looked at Twinrose's Campaign Suite. They're into a major XML conversion at the moment. but basically the software will do everything you're asking for.

 

[Guido]

NPC generator software

Have you looked at Twinrose's Campaign Suite. They're into a major XML conversion at the moment. but basically the software will do everything you're asking for.

 

[Murrdox]

Again, thank you EVERYONE for your continued replies. This is all really helping.

I'm going to check out the Yahoo group about the stat block issue. There's a few more things I want to play around with using each program... it's a hard call to make.

I'm thinking that even if I decide not to use Etools, since I already BOUGHT it, I will most likely go ahead and at least buy the 3.5 datasets for it regardless of whether or not I decide to use PCGen for most of my things. At least then if I needed something I was having a hard time using PCGen for (such as basic monster statblocks) I'd have something to fall back on.