BACKGROUND
This section contains a summary of background information – for a randomly generated character it also contains a section of random Friends and Enemies according to the rules. A template image, depending on sex and species, is shown as a portrait – to change the image used, right click and select “Insert picture…”. The fields “Full size portrait” and “Achievement” may be changed in the same way. The proportions should be 80×100. The guild badge is selected in the drop down menu below the badge field.
This section allows the user to chronicle the character with date, region and what happened. To add a chronicle entry, edit the fields in the bottom of the window and select the button “Add chronicle entry”.
CHARACTER
A list of characters are shown, as filtered by the selected group. Each row shows an individual characters name, species, occupation, attributes and basic combat information. If a character is locked (see Character details below), then this is reflected with the tag [Locked] and the Character Information column shown in red.
In addition, there are five more indicators to the left of the Character Information column – one or more dots shows if the character is has steeds [H], is a Shek Pvar [S] and/or is a Priest [P]. An “!” signifies that the character has a followup, and a cross that the character is dead.
Clicking on a line will show the Character details for the selected character. Clicking on the deletion button in the leftmost column will delete a character.
For each character it is possible to add a Quest or Followup – this list shows ALL quests and followups. To add an entry, enter information at the bottom of the window and for which character the entry is intended for. Then select the “Add GM followup” button. After the entry has been added, it is possible to edit or delete the entry in the list of followups.
This tab provides a quick overview of a selected character. The attributes, skills, weapons and armour are summarized.
This tab provides a detailed view of the characters Birth/Family, Medical, Psyche, Appearance etc. All the information is editable. Some of the entries may be randomized by selecting the Dice icon after the entry field. Changing an attribute will immediately impact the skills depending on that attribute.
The section Character properties shows character properties, including an unique character identifier in the upper right corner of this section.
This tab allows the user to enter information that supports the FFF format.
This tab allows for entry of GM notes, dated Journal entries and Character Quests and followups for the character. Please note that the Character Quests and followups lists the current characters entries, not all of them.
COMBAT
This section shows Combat factors, penalties and injuries for a character. Penalties are calculated depending on amount of carried equipment and armour. There is a part for Special penalties – the penalties listed here does not impact ML’s etc. automatically.
The load summary shows how much the character is carrying depending on what set is selected. A set is a specific selection of armour, equipment, weapons, written works and esoteric objects – there may be up to three different sets for each category. A set could, for example, be the type of gear worn when in a city and another set the type of gear used in the wilderness. Also, there are a number of lines available for things that don’t fit into the five categories. Total weight is recalculated automatically as well as Encumbrance penalty.
This section lists all weapons the character masters. A weapon may be part of a set, as discussed in the Combat Factors & Penalties section. To add a weapon, select the last row in the list and start typing the name of the weapon you require. If the weapon is listed in the Weapon settings, then the weapon stats will be entered automatically. Character Tool will attempt to enter the ML of an appropriate skill in the ML column for each weapon – see Settings/Armour and Weapons to specify which skill is connected to which weapon.
If no ML is listed this could be due to no appropriate skill being entered in the skills section – it is possible to set the ML manually by clicking on the ML entry. Entering a value which is zero or leaving the field empty will substitute the ML with the corresponding skill ML (if any) – a value larger than zero will override the corresponding skill ML.
AML and DML will be calculated automatically for the weapon. The A/D column is required to be on the format “AML/DML” (e.g. 10/5).
At the bottom, the weight of each set is shown as well as the currently active set (as seen in the Load summary).
This section lists all carried armour pieces. To add a armour piece, select the last row in the list and type in the Material first. After this, select the Name field and select from a list of available pieces depending on the Material selection.
When a valid Material and Name combination has been selected, the Coverage field will be entered automatically based on data in the Armour settings as well as the weight of the piece. The weight is shown with the Size factor taken into account. It is also possible to enter an Esoteric Level as well as a Armor Quality for each piece.
It is possible to override the fields, entering other values than those available in Settings. In order for the Area protection calculation to work, the coverage must use the armour piece names defined in the rules, and be separated by a space character.
At the bottom, the weight of each set is shown as well as the currently active set (as seen in the Load summary).
There are a number of predefined armour profiles (defined in Settings) – by selecting a profile in the bottom of the window, it is possible to replace the current listed armour pieces with a predefined list.
This section lists the cumulative protective values (Blunt, Edged, Pointed and Fire) for the currently active set. To update this section, select the Update compound armour button. Although it is possible to edit each area manually, it is recommended that this is done automatically.
The protective values for each material type is specified in the Armour & Combat settings.
GROUPS
A normal group, or static group, contains one or more characters which are assigned to the group one by one. A character may be part of more than one group, but only one character may be added to a group at one time.
it is possible to add an character as a clone – a clone is a copy of a character which has the same stats with the exception of Initiative and Name. A Clone will be denoted with Italics in the group member list and also have a tag “[Clone of XXX]” appended to the name.
The possibility to clone a character allows for quick generation of a group of opponents to the characters. For example, the GM needs to create a group of bandits quickly – he already has a Major character bandit created and fleshed out, and adds this to the newly created group “Wilderness Bandits”. Then he adds seven clones of the first character and prints out the a combat list.
To create a new group, select the button “Add normal group” – this will bring up a dialog which asks for the name of the new group. The name must be unique.
To add a character to a group, select a group in the list of groups. Then, in the right hand part of the window, a character is selected in the list Character Name and then the button “Add to group” is selected. To add a clone, do the same but hit the “Add clone to group” button instead.
Deleting a Normal group in the list of groups will not delete a character from the application.
A dynamic group is similar to the Normal group with some differences – firstly, the members of the group are assigned dynamically depending on five parameters: Campaign name, Title, Species, Occupation and PC/NPC. Also, it is not possible to a character or clone to a dynamic group.
Thus it is possible to create a Dynamic group called “Player Characters” which lists all characters with the type “PC”. Or a Dynamic group called “Shek Pvar PCs” which lists all player character Shek Pvars. A Dynamic group is signified in the List of groups with a “D” in the list of groups. If a new Shek Pvar PC Major character is created, it will show up right away in the Member list.
To create a new Dynamic group, enter information into the parameter fields in the bottom left part of the window and then hit “Add Dynamic group”. This will bring up a dialog which asks for the name of the new group. The name must be unique.
Deleting a Dynamic group in the list of groups will not delete a character from the application.
EQUIPMENT
This section shows ordinary equipment. Weapons and armour should not be listed here, but under their respective headings. An equipment piece may be part of a set, as discussed in the Combat Factors & Penalties section.
To add an equipment piece, select the last row in the list and start typing the name of the equipment you require. If it is listed in the Equipment settings, then the weight will be entered automatically. It is possible to enter or edit equipment that isn’t listed in the Equipment settings.
At the bottom, the weight of each set is shown as well as the currently active set (as seen in the Load summary).
This section lists carried and available funds and jewelry. The origin of a currency is listed in the left-hand column and amount depending on type (gold, silver or farthing) in the appropriate column. The source of an Usurers note usually is listed in the Notes column. Gems and jewelry are listed in the rightmost field.
This section lists available written works. A written work may be part of a set, as discussed in the Combat Factors & Penalties section.
To add a written work, select the last row in the list and start typing the name of the work. For each work, the Author, Weight, Language, Script and amount of time read may be entered.
At the bottom, the weight of each set is shown as well as the currently active set (as seen in the Load summary).
This section lists available items of power etc. referred to as Esoterica. An Esoteric item may be part of a set, as discussed in the Combat Factors & Penalties section.
To add an Esoteric item, select the last row in the list and start typing the name of the item. For each item, the Weight and Location may be entered.
At the bottom, the weight of each set is shown as well as the currently active set (as seen in the Load summary).
MAGIC
This section shows background information for a Shek Pvar character such as Primary convocation, ran, teachers and peers etc. It also lists the convocational skill base and ML as well as a list of spell books.
These tabs shows all of the spells a character has learned, where each convocation has it’s own tab with only the corresponding spells listed.
To add a spell to the list of spells known by the current character, select a spell in the lower part of the window in anyone of the spell-tabs and then select “Add spell to character”. To edit spell information such as ML etc., select the spell in a list of spells and edit the information. In the lower right corner the currently memorized spell levels is displayed.
The last tab displays a description of each spell, as described in the rules.
MINOR NPC'S
There are two ways to add a minor character – either by random generation or by creating an empty character by selecting the button “Create empty minor character…”
Once selected, the basic characteristics & attributes may be edited by the user.
This is a list of all of the available minor Characters – to select a character, select the character in the list.
PRINTING
Four different types of printing is available – Character sheets, Book of Spells, Book of rituals and Groups.
Most of the types may be printed in German or English, depending on the Printer material language selection.
All of the printouts may print on A4 or US letter. To get more control of the printing, press the CTRL-button when selecting print.
Selecting this type allows the user to print Chronicles, GM notes, Character sheets, Steeds and Friend, Foes & Followers sheet for the currently selected character. The currently selected character is shown in the top section of the window.
The Major Characters overview allows the user to print one or more selected characters to an Overview page, which has room for two characters per page.
In this section, the currently selected characters spells (if any) may be printed by selecting “Character spells”. To print out all spells of a selected convocation, select one of the other selections (e.g. Savorya spells).
In this section, the currently selected characters rituals (if any) may be printed by selecting “Character rituals”. To print out all rituals of a selected deity, select one of the other selections (e.g. Peoni rituals).
This section allows the user to print out a number of characters, as defined in the groups section. There are two different types of printing – Combat cards and Combat order overview. The combat cards may be printed in colour or Black and white.
RANDOM GENERATION OF CHARACTERS
Two types of characters may be created in Character Tool 3 – a Major character or a Minor character. A Major character contains all the data needed to describe a character, while a Minor character is a simpler version with much less detail.
Although an empty character may be created by selecting the button “Create empty major character…”, it is recommended that the user rolls a random character and then modifies it.
To roll for a character, the user needs to select a number of parameters in order, starting with the species of the character.
If random is selected, then the species will be rolled according to HM3. Please note that Gargun characters may not be created when random is selected.
The available alternatives depends on the selection of Species. If random is selected, the culture is selected given Birthplace according to HM3 rules.
The available alternatives depends on the selection of Character Culture. If random is selected, the social class is rolled for according to HM3 rules.
Please note that if a Gargun culture is selected, then the social class is set to Gargun. This is an extension of the HM3 rules in order to allow for Gargun Characters.
The available alternatives depends on the selection of Character Culture. If random is selected, then the the occupation is rolled for according to HM3 rules.
Please note that if a Gargun culture is selected, then the different sub-species are listed as occupations – this is an extension of the HM3 rules to adapt the rules set forth in the Gargun article where each subspecies has their own starting skills and abilities.
The available religions, including Barbarian religion, are listed here. If random is selected, then the religion will be rolled for with equal probability.
Certain occupation choices may limit the selection of religion, notably a priest of specific religion but also Barbarian characters.
A more experienced character may be created by selecting the experience level. The rules for experience are partly based on the Veteran Characters section in Character 19 of the rules, but modified slightly.
As stated in the rules, a Veteran Character gets a number of Option points depending on activity level. In Character Tool 3, this is translated as being 12 skill development rolls for each Option point. Further, it is assumed that the activity level is Normal when adding experience.
A Veteran character is assumed to have eight years of experience, and an Experienced character five years. This yields the following number of skill development rolls given the experience level:
Green: 0 Experienced: 60 Veteran: 96
75% of the skill development rolls are spent on occupation skills (if possible) and the remaining on non-occupational skills.
If random is selected, a random name is picked given culture and sex.
If set to yes, Key attributes as defined by Character 7 of the rules will be rolled with 4d6, where the lowest is deleted.
If set to random, the Sex will be rolled as defined by Character 2 of the rules.
All rolled characters will be added to the group specified here, as well as the group “New random characters”.
Even if no group is selected, characters will be added to “New random characters”. Any previous characters in this group will be deleted from the group.
RELIGION
This section shows religious background information for a all characters, but also more specific information for Priest or Shaman characters such as fighting/clerical order, chapter house etc.
This tab shows all of the rituals a character knows. To add a ritual to the list of rituals known by the current character, select a ritual in the lower part of the window in the Invocation list tab and then select “Add ritual to character”. To edit ritual information such as ML etc., select the ritual in the list of rituals and edit information.
This tab displays a description of each ritual, as described in the rules.
This tab applies to all characters and describes their religions view on other religions.
SETTINGS
This section contains settings for Current year, update checking and URLs used in Character Tool. Do not edit “SETTINGS FOR LINKS AND URLS”.
It is possible to create a formula for Endurance calculation, which allows for user discretion. Also, the Automatic and optional skills for Priests, Shek Pvar, Tribal characters and Shamans are configurable. If these are edited, it is important to use the same syntax as in the default configuration, e.g. “SKILL ONE/4, SKILL TWO/3 etc, where 4 and 3 are the OML for different skills.
In the section it is possible to import characters exported from Character Tool. Valid character files resident in the Import folder are listed – to refresh, hit the “Refresh Import folder contents” button. To import, click on a character.
If the character already exists, you will be asked if you would like to replace it or not.
This section consists of tree tabs – Armour pieces, Armour sets and Weapons.
In the Armour pieces tab, all available armour pieces are defined. New pieces are specified in the bottom of the window. The protective values may be changed, and materials added – please note that current character armour will not be updated without updating the Armour compound data.
The Armour sets tab allows for definition of new armour set profiles. See Combat for more information. To edit an existing set, select the set in the lower left part of the window, and edit the armour pieces. To add a new set, use settings in the lower right part of the window.
Finally, the Weapons tab allows for editing weapons. Each weapon has, in addition to the weapon data, an assigned base weapon skill – this is used to automatically enter the ML (if any) of a weapon.
This section shows all available equipment, which is made available in the Equipment section.
This section has two types of data. To the left are all available guilds and their corresponding icons. If an existing guild is edited or deleted, it will impact the current characters guild settings and could cause the characters not to show guild icons properly. To the right is a list of names, used when rolling for random names based on Sex and culture.
This is a key section – in this section, all occupations are defined. It is highly recommended that all parameters are entered – editing an existing occupation will not impact existing characters.
The Occupation skills are entered using the following syntax: Skill one/x, Skill two/y etc. They need to be separated by comma and a space after the comma. Each skill name must have an exactly corresponding skill name defined in the Skills section. Valid expressions for X are SB2, 2SB, SB, 70+SB2, 70+SB, 70+2SB, SB+70, 2SB-70, 70-SB2 etc. A single numerical value is treated as “2SB”.
This section is one of the critical sections of Character Tool which almost all random generation of characters depend on.
Generarely it is a bad idea to edit the tables and the information in them.
The religion section defines Deity descriptions and Invocations. The Deity Names needs to correspond to the names of deities used in rituals. as well as Priest (and Shaman) occupation names. For a Priest Character to be created properly, the name of the occupation needs to be “Priest of deity” (e.g. Priest of Ilvir) and there needs to be a ritual skill named “Ritual – deity” (e.g. Ritual – Ilvir).
Under the List of all Invocation tab, all rituals are listed – to delete, view or edit any one of the rituals, use the corresponding buttons. The View invocations tab shows a ritual, and under Edit invocations the ritual may be edited.
Deleting or changing a ritual will impact characters who lists that spell.
The Convocation descriptions tab allows the user to edit the descriptions and other parameters for a convocation. It is not possible to add, rename or delete convocations. In the List of all spells tab, all spells are listed – to delete, view or edit any one of the spells, use the corresponding buttons. The View spells tab shows selected spells, and the Edit spells tab allows the user to edit spells. Deleting or changing a ritual will impact characters who lists that spell.
Finally, in the The Pvaric Code Tab it is possible to edit the Pvaric code.
The List of all skills tab shows all available skills – to delete, view or edit a skill, select the corresponding buttons. In the View skill tab, a selected skill is shown, and in the Edit skill tab the skill may be edited. When entering sunsign modifiers, they need to be entered using the sunsign syntax “SUNSIGN ONE/+3, SUNSIGN TWO/-1” etc. All sunsign modifiers need to be separated by a comma and a space. See occupations for how the OML field is used.
Changing any one of the parameters will impact everything except ML in characters who have the skill.
This section describes the available steeds for Character Tool. Here, in a simliar manner as for rituals, spells and skills, the steeds may be edited, or new steeds may be added.
SKILLS
At the bottom of the window, there are two buttons – the first button, “Add automatic skills”, will add automatic skills as defined by the rules. The second button will add occupational skills for the current characters occupation.
To edit a skill, select the row in the list and modify the entry. To add a skill, enter text into the fields at the bottom of the window and select “Add skill to character”. The contents of the OML formula field is restricted to a formula on the form “SBx+y” or “SBx-y”, where x is an integer and y is an integer. E.g. SB4+10, 10, SB2 etc.
This tab lists skill descriptions, as defined in the rules.
STEEDS
To add a new steed, select “Add new steed” button – a new steed will be added to the list. If the added breed isn’t correct, then the breed may be changed. To apply default statistics for the steed, select the button “Use default stats for breed”.
Steed templates may be edited in Settings.
To the left is a list of available steeds – a steed is selected by clicking on the correct row in the list, and then the steed may be edited – skills, birthdata, attributes, image etc. may be modified.
To the left is a list of available steeds – a steed is selected by clicking on the correct row in the list, and then the steed may be edited. Combat factors such as Initiative and move may be entered – if the Rider ML is entered, then the Riding EML is calculated.
The load summary lists total load given the selected equipment and weapon set for the steed. A number of weapons, such as bite, tear etc. may be listed in the weapons section.
This section shows the current set of armour carried and the cumulative values. This is done manually,.
This section lists all items carried by the steed. An equipment piece may be part of a set, as discussed in the Combat Factors & Penalties section.
To add an item, select the last row in the list and start typing the name of the item. For each item, the Weight and Location may be entered.
At the bottom, the weight of each set is shown as well as the currently active set (as seen in the Load summary).