The 'What'This mod aims to bring the D&D combat into an easily manageable form via computer.The 'Why'Seeing as Dungeons & Dragons has never released their Dungeon Builder, I just wanted to try my hand at a small combat sim for it. While a tabletop is great, I tend to get a lot of slowdown in the normal game, such as where my gameplay board isn't big enough for an archer to be out of range, people constantly needing to recalculate their attack and damage roll bonuses, or the amount of space it takes up on my table. I hope that I can get this into a working state so that a DM (Dungeon Master) can use it simply on a laptop, maybe connected to a projector or a TV, etc. and have gameplay go a lot faster.The 'Crazy, rambling thoughts of what I plan to add'A lot of this should be 'module-based' so that a monster, race, item, or item-sets could be created and added separately, so that it can be updated bit-by-bit content-wise, and so that others could add to it as well
Main Menu:
Design Menu:
Design - Character Screen:- Race- Class- Stats- Skills- Feats- Powers- Items- Overall Play Info (non-editable)- - Shows all play info such as HP, to-hit with all of the powers, etc.Design - Monster Screen:- Overall Play Info (editable)- You can download and upload others' monstersIn-game Battle Screen:
- You can create a map with the "custom map builder tool", setting up all of the tiles with things like:- - difficult terrain- - impassable terrain- - walls- - pop-out notes- You can choose what player-created map to use, your own or others' that have been uploaded- Buttons to expand the battle area in a direction, so that if you need to expand into a new area during play, it can be added there and then- Working save/load functions- All rolls can be auto-generated or manually input at the time of rolling- Info Log, which holds the log of every roll, attack, effect, damage, etc.
- Units should have an image-based list of every status effect and conditional effects, which can bring up a panel with more details on the effects, such as:
- - On-going damage of whatever type and how much it is reduced
- - Prone, flanking
- - Base concealment and cover, maybe along with situational concealment and cover via other character
1. Place down your hero tokens at the start2. Begin the battle setup with the "Setup Battle" button2. a) Drag and drop units in or out of the battle roster. By default, all units on the battle board are in it2. Designate units that get a surprise round, and in what order3. Begin a battle session with "Initiate Battle" button3. a) Begins the initiative rolls, which can be optionally manually entered4. Surprise round units get their turn5. Units get their normal turns as per initiative order- On a unit's turn, they get 5 choice buttons with pop-out sub-options:- - Standard Action: attack, full defense, use item, -> Move Action, -> Minor Action- - Move Action: move, stand up, shift, use item, -> Minor Action- - - On a "move" Move Action, you will get a line drawn from the tile your unit resides on to the tile your mouse pointer is over. Valid tiles to move on shall be green, while invalid shall be red. You will need to hold shift to give non-straight moves. This shall also detect the terrain such as difficult terrain, etc.- - Minor Action: use item- - Free Action: drop prone- - Delay Turn: take turn after...
The first prototype will likely be the battle screen with a few "PC's" and a set initiative order, with only the attack command and preset to-hit and damage values, and the Info Log to show the results of attacks. Well, that is my plan at least. We shall just have to see what comes of it. This will only be after the combat portion of elemental comes out, so it will not be for a little bit =3
Audio Files Screen:
This will be located somewhere in the main menu. Basically, you will be able to setup a sound library that you will be able to call on during the game.
* note to self: reverse placement of playlist list and sounds-in-playlist list.
Audio Files Pop-out:
This pop-out menu will allow you to play the sounds/music during a battle. (Enemy taunts, creepy music for those undead battles, etc.)
Module Screen:
This screen is accessed through the main menu before you are in a game. The plan is to have it really accessible since all of the content will be added through modules, mainly for two reasons:
1) It really allows you to customize exactly what content you want running in your game.
2) It allows for anyone else to easily create content that anyone else could also use.
The "sort by" will have options like Date installed, creator, alphabetic, enabled, and such.
The search field will really help in some cases, allowing you to do a very quick filter.
We have the enabled and disabled modules in the lower left, with the highlighted one displayed over to the right. It will show the module image (should one exist) and the module description. Hm. I think that I forgot an enable button. Well, double-clicking should work, although I'll add an enable button as well.
Now, the download tab will only really work if I can somehow get it setup to download from a module repository in-game, so that would be much further down the road.
Well, it was dead simple to multiclass in 3.5. I read some odd rules, too, in some of the 4.0 books. Rust Monsters produced a dust that was of equal value to the magic item destroyed. If you give a magic weapon to a cohort, the book specifically says to ignore the gameplay effects. It was balanced to a point where it was difficult to make mistakes and that violated internal logic, methinks.
It's not so much that everyone loved half-orcs. It's more like Wizards was trying to make Dragon-people, Devil-people, and two types of elves without first covering the most basic races.
Magical flying barbarians that summoned fire I didn't think floated real well.
I just feel like Wizards staggered out 4e into oblivion. It wasn't a terrible system. But no one should have to buy two player's handbooks and four monster manuals to get classic DnD material. Why the heck did they put rust-monsters and ice giants into Monster Manual II when no one cares about Shadar-kai from Monster Manual I?
And besides, Pathfinder is just an awesome system.
I'm going to disagree here, 4e is the first DnD where multiclass works. In 3e, to allow spellcasters multiclassing in the end they had to add classes that would increase caster level (or nearly no one would multiclass and lose higher level spell slots, also related to the unbalance of magic in DnD).
You didn't have a player who had a pixie cohort with the Mounted Combat feat riding in his head so he could use the feat to avoid hits to him, right? (I didn't either, but I saw it and it's perfectly legal btw).
With more than the very basic books you have things as horrible as Pun-Pun the kobold:
http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Pun-Pun_(DnD_Optimized_Character_Build)
Mmm, I wouldn't say that half-orcs are a basic race (and the other race they didn't do were gnomes, and no one cared much about that). Draconians, tieflings and several types of elves are probably as old or more than half-orcs...
That's not true. I have players who played gnomes. Not my cup of tea but I see their role in the gameworld. It's not even so much which classes are "older" (half-orcs, btw, were in 1st edition, and beat out Draconians, tieflings, and several types of elves) but half-orcs and gnomes are certainly more established and have a bigger role in people's campaigns.
Now, I didn't say 3.5 was balanced. 3.5 character builds are infamous, but it's partially the GM's discretion to allow or disallow these builds. I personally wouldn't allow that unless the game was particularly silly.
You still haven't told me what you think about the new rust monster rules, btw. Do you think that's acceptable?
Well, if you could call it "multiclassing". I find the multiclassing rules in 4e just incredibly meek. The system in 3e certainly was not perfect, but it was simple and it was powerful.
You still haven't addressed what I think is the worst element of 4e: The staggering of material. How do you feel about having to buy two monster manuals to get all of the classic core monsters, or two players handbooks to get the classic core classes, or just to get half-orcs?
In any case, I no longer play 3.5 so I don't want to defend it. I use Pathfinder now which I find superior to 3.5.
Gnomes are not a very pretty race I think (even if they have their niche). About if half-orcs are older or not: half-orcs, draconians and several types of elves are all 1e (half-orcs as a playable race, not sure about the others). Tieflings are 2e (playable in Planescape). But then half-orcs were taken out in 2e as a basic race, kind of similar to what has happened here. Could be to sell more PHB2 books, or could be because they aren't very popular either, no idea.
I think I misanderstood you in the balanced point. Agreed 3.5 is very easy to break.
Yes, why not? The 3e rust monster comes from a tradition of monsters that are just designed to correct a problem with the GM (too many magic items in the group) and not because they are good monster themselves. There was another monster just designed to hit people listening through doors in dungeons (don't remember the name) who was just another nonsense to avoid people listening through all the doors (another GM problem).
4e rust monster is better designed as a monster itself. It continues to be a pain (as you have to recreate the magic item) but not such a pain as the 3e version.
3e system was simple in the rules, but not in the design implications, and that's why it never got to work well: multiclassing produced far more powerful (Pun-Pun and other broken builds) or far less powerful characters (spellcasters with non-spellcaster levels in general) than non-multiclassed ones, instead of more or less equal characters. 4e has some broken builds (I think that's impossible to avoid), but all characters have more or less the same utility, multiclassed or not.
I haven't addressed it because I don't see it as a problem (or at least is not for me). I got some material in 2e, another different material in 3e and another different material in 4e. For me classic core is human, elf, dwarf, halfling, fighter, cleric, wizard and rogue and I do get that, so I don't have any problem if they add further material in other PHBs or MMs (appart that I have an insider subscription, so I couldn't care less about the physical books ).
What is Pathfinder?
Pathfinder is basically DnD 3.75. Basically refines 3.5 and solves a lot of the problems I had with it. I like Pathfinder a lot.
Heres a link: http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG
You can also have a look at the Pathfinder SRD for free: http://www.d20pfsrd.com/
Ok so it is still basically 3.5 so I can use resources from both Pathfinder and 3.5 without having to change the game much?
That is what it boils down to, yes.
Pathfinder goal was to be retro-compatible with 3.5 and other OGL material. But it didn't achieve it really (although it's pretty easy to convert from 3.5 to Pathfinder).
There are also other 3.5 "fixes" around appart from Pathfinder (Trailblazer for example, from Bad Axe Games).
Why is it that every time someone mentions DnD a conversation about the new version springs up? I like both games.
I forgot Fantasy Craft too, from Crafty Games, although it departs more from 3.5 than Pathfinder or Trailblazer.
Added the Module screen mockup to the original post.
I am going with DND 4.0 for this one because it will just work so well with the module system and how I am planning to integrate everything, and since that is the version that I use. I will hopefully end up using this mod as a compact DM tool. Plus, since multiplayer should be able to work fine with it, it will allow for some nice internet-based DNDing with friends.
Awesome! I'll be excited to see your work!
Very nice Chirmaya. I havn't played DnD in years(with dice, etc.) but I know that anyone still playing would appreciate another tool to use in their rpg. I really like Elementals 2d map for this reason. Although I might make some of the 2d art 3d'ish like cities, mountains and forests.
Added the main menu and design menu. Not much, but at least it gives it some structure.
Now, I was thinking about voice packs. While you will be able to choose what voicing your character uses in-game (on their turn, when they attack, when they are hit, etc.), I am toying around with the idea of an announcer that calls out everything that happens (with the option to turn it off and use other announcer voices). So they would call out:
"<X> [has attacked] [a] [goblin]." "[The attack hit for] [19] [damage]."
or
"<X> [has succeeded on] [his] [death saving throw]." "<X> [has no healing surges left, so] [he] [has stabalized]."
That would be a giant project in itself (and I don't even know if it would be worth it), but I was simply pondering the idea =P The main thing that I want to do with voicing are those voice packs for players and monsters.
You could get some volunteers to help you with voices. My old man has an slight Kiwi accent and would be pretty good... I think he's got the temprament and sense of humor too... other than that I'm sure it wouldn't be difficult, especially if it's just someone shouting "CRITICAL HIT!" or something.
Added an audio files screen, and an audio files pop-out to the main post. Can't wait until I can start modding!
Oh I love to see that I am not the only one that sees the VERY REAL potential for D&D games using Elemental as a platform and the bonus is the tactical battles no longer does one have to imagine, we can actually do the battles and encounters on a separate screen. (Well that is if the DM (Dungeon Master is not so hard core that wants combat to be the PnP way (dice rolls). Maybe eventually tactical battles can have an option to do dice rolls for tactical battles. But the best is already in (from a Dungeon Masters point of view) and that is the map editor so very very very important the cloth map that turns into 3D for close ups just the best for PnP can't wait.
The plan is to have a button that you can click in order to roll the dice, or you can put in the numbers yourself from what you roll in real life Kyah, this is like the perfect game for it =D
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