DPnP: Player Character Creator Development
Posted by: Ruel Knudson in Campaign Resource Manager, Developer Blog, DPnP, Player Character CreatorLately my blog has been filled with discussion on the development of the CRM. The CRM itself is the backbone of the DPnP suite. However, the CRM, from a user perspective, is a small component of what will develop into a large suite of tools for various purposes. Although the CRM is the backbone, what will probably get the most use is the Player Character Creator (PCC). The PCC is being developed, and its development has been in tandem with the CRM, however, to a much lesser degree of focus. Working on both at the same time to varying degrees may seem like I am spreading my energy to thinly. The truth is, it is necessary for both products to be developed together so that features that I believe will really set the PCC apart from other programs are smoothly integrated into the content creation of the CRM. In this article, I am discussing some of those features, and how the two programs work together for both players and game masters.
The CRM is kind of a rule-book creator. However, a GM is likely to need much more for their weekly campaigns. One of the most common things are NPCs. This is where the PCC comes in. It is a program for creating creatures, both for PC’s, and for GM NPCs and creatures. Therefore, it uses all of the content created by the CRM in different ways. A GM, for example, can use the PCC to create monsters such as dragons, orcs, etc. by using races they create with the CRM. They can add skills, magic powers, equipment, etc. while using the exact same interface that players will use to create their own creatures.
That is a nice, feature. However, one thing I think will be key is how this information is ultimately delivered to the the gaming table. One problem that customized campaign content provides is that players will want or need the content. This means that an ambitious GM could create a 100+ campaign resource package that every player would have to print out. When a PC only uses a very small fraction of those resources it seems like an unnecessary burden.
The key focus on the DPnP project is making things easier on the the players and the GM, both on the computer and at the table. So I am constantly thinking of ways to make things work better. A standard character creator is expected to print out character sheets for the players to bring to the table. We all know and expect this feature. However, a though occurred to me when I was looking over some of my old gaming notes. Everyone had some access to the Player’s Guidebooks. One thing I also noticed was how thin the character sheets were. This wasn’t due to a design element. It occurred to me that it has always happened in gaming. Most players will simply record the nuts and bolts of things and rely on the rule books to fill in the blanks. This is why you have to look up the description for that spell you hardly use. Or, worse, when a method of play is called into question the character that used the power, item, or spell had to go look it up.
That becomes a serious problem with custom campaigns. The E-RPG character sheets leave room for recording all the elements you will use to some degree. One thing we did was allow space to record the notes about your powers. In the Modern Sagas we encourage having Load Out sheets for different equipment configurations. To one degree or another they are used to varying effect. I see spells copied exactly as I see them in my book, or a simple note “X does Y when I do Z” type of notes that don’t explain very much.
Now imagine that you are using a campaign that a GM developed and created your character through the PCC. Did you get a printed copy of the Campaign Resource to bring to the table? Most will say probably not, and they should. I should expect them to carry that burden. Not when I can solve the problem much more easily programmaticly.
One of the key features with the PCC is that it will print out your character sheets, but it will also print out the content associated with your character as you see it in the rule book. These aren’t extra character sheets, these are laid out just like the rule books. It will have the name, level, descriptions, etc. just as you see them in a rule book printed in a separate sheet. That way, you don’t need to have a copy of the rule book with you. All you will need is your character’s print out.
It is ultimately real simple. You buy a spell during character creation. That spell is recorded in your character sheet, but the game’s rule-book description (modified for your character) is also printed in a spell book type format. You will have Skill Book, Inventory Book, Computer Book (for computers that your character has and their programs), Spell Book, Psychic Powers Book, etc.
Why is this important? Well, look at it like this: Your character may have about 6-20 skills and proficiencies as most. The Campaign Resource could have over 100. You would have to look through the printed copy of the rules to find your skill just to reference what they GM who developed that skill had in mind for it. Or, you could flip through 1-3 pages of skills that include only your characters skills. You wouldn’t have to ask your GM what the rules were for because you could actually look it up almost as quickly as it would take you to actually speak the words “I want to do this. How would that work?”
It seems like such a small idea, even as you read this you may be thinking “Should help”. What I don’t think is easy to punctuate is how much more effective gaming will be when you have the resource so readily available.
The same functionality is planned for future programs as well. For instance, with an Adventure Creator, the GM may have an option to separate items into individual print outs for handing over to players. So, if you kill monster A and get his armor, sword, and magic rod you won’t be copying the information from the GM. The GM will hand you 3 pages. One page for each item. The items may have been ported over directly from the CRM, but how much easier is it to have it re-printed when you print out your adventure?
Okay, sure, some people are thinking that it will gobble ink or waist paper, but think about this: How much note paper is waisted scribbling the not “got Bastard Sword” so that you could only add it to your inventory sheet later on. That piece of paper was waisted to remind you to do something. Alternatively, you could take a moment to look it up and copy it. But what if the GM is listing off the contents of a treasure box? Are you going to look over every single item? How much time are you wasting by NOT playing just to get the information already printed out?
The idea of the DPnP is to get you playing faster and more easily, but it can, if handled correctly, assist the quality of your playing. It can minimize looking up and copying notes by delivering as much information before hand as possible.
It takes a while for such features to develop properly. It is thoughts like this that keep pushing back the final release of the program. However, it is this approach to the quality and functionality of DPnP that will ultimately change a lot in the industry. I think, in the end, that more companies will be building their own software for gamers, and you will not be surprised to find DPnP features will be standards for these programs. Right now, you may be thinking “Why has no one thought of that” or even “I thought of that once too”. However, in the future, it won’t seem all that brilliant. It will seem normal and everyday and it will only be notable when a program does not have that feature.
Anyways, that’s enough for now. In the next article I am hoping to allow for more discussion on how the programs interact for the GM.
Until then, Happy Gaming!
