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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Luke" data-source="post: 304030" data-attributes="member: 602">It's all about optionsThe central design for RPM is to offer you maximum calculation for time-saving, but always offer you options, and never force anything on you. Examples are:- Dice rolls are made automatically, but you can override any dice roll at any time, with a manual roll (or at least press a button to redo the roll, so you feel like you did *something* to make it happen before your eyes).- *Everything* is saved to the database, so you pick up exactly where you left off, at a later time.- Use of the BattleMap itself is optional. You can play quite easily without it if you want to use a physical mat (you simply select your target(s) from the available list).- If you do use the BattleMap, you can see how far you move the players/creatures, and RPM will record and show you whether you've moved or stepped etc. You can, however, ignore all these things, and do whatever you want.- When RPM calculates an "action" for you (attack, skill, AC, save), it will show all the modifiers. You can check/uncheck any defaults, and there's always a "DM's Adjustment" option, where you can apply any modifier you like.In a nutshell, the ultimate aim is to provide for the following:- Ultra quick generation of fully calculated encounters, as needed on the fly. For finesse work, use the integrated Jamis NPC generator.- Optional use of a BattleMap to play out the action (blank background, or imported map, or the very quick built in TileMapper).- Full calculation of all stats, starting with initiative, and incorporating modifiers of any abilities, feats, equipped items, racial traits, and current conditions (flatfooted, entangled, stunned etc), and even temporary spell effects.- Provide for quick and easy selection of actions (attacks, spells, etc) and prcess results (such as damage, sneaks, criticals).- Do all this with a minimum of keystrokes or mouse clicks, but allow override.- Allow for full flexibility at any stage. This is how AOO are done. It's an "out of sequence" attack by somebody, and you can verify their melee readiness in complex combats with a very quick lookup.All this must take less effort and time using a computer at the gaming table, than it would trying to do the calculations or paperwork scratching in your head. There's probably a trade-off in the time taken to do mouse-clicks vs calculation time. Certainly the computer can help make you far more accurate, which is of particular benefit when you have a largish encounter, and/or a high-level one. Remember that a statblock is a static picture of what a creature looks like at a point in time, with specific options chosen, and under specfic conditions.If the options and conditions change (dex/str damage from things such as poisons, spell effects such as doom/bless/bull's str,  flatfootedness, stunned, entangled etc etc), or even changing equipped items, your statblock can very quickly go out the window. Multiply this several times for a DM managing an NPC group, and it's a nightmare - if you want to play accurately, as per the books.Stop and think on this for a secoond. If you play NeverWinterNights, you get to see an often large set of personal conditions listed across the top of the screen, and this could be happening to everyone in the encounter. NWN automatically processes all this in realtime, accurately (given NWN rules variations), giving you an enjoyable realtime encounter, that could easily take an entire gaming session to resolve manually.I get reports to say that people are finding combats go much quicker and smoother. I hear the same thing from Todd with DMF users, and that doesn't even do any game mechanics calculation for you, so presumably having the game mechanics worked out for you makes it even quicker and easier...The bottom line seems to be that if you try out your computer at the gaming table with some decent software, you should get a plesing result...</blockquote>

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