Sunday 9 October 2022

Dragonbane/Drakar och Demoner fillable pdf character sheets (swedish, english and french)

 When playing online, I generally use Owlbear Rodeo VTT, Runehammer VTT or similar simples VTTs, using paper and pens for any information that I want to keep on hand. Some players seem to prefer to have their character sheet on the screen, so, I generally make some fillable character sheets that they can use alongside the program, in another tab.

I have recently backed the test drive rules of Dragonbane and they really look to be right up my alley in style and complexity (except maybe the rest rules, which are quite classical, but that's a discussion for another day and easily solved anyway).

So, I decided to make some charsheets, but contrary to my usual black background, I used graphic elements from the official character sheet, because I found them so gorgeous. 

Here is how the result looks like. Read further to find the files for your own use (files provided with the authorisation from Free League, of course).


There are three ways to use those files:

- simply open the pdf file directly in your browser (I use Chrome) and fill it, noting any changes during play and saving the result at the end of the session.

- or, if you want to replace the illustration by the portrait of the character, you can open the odt file with LibreOffice or OpenOffice and modify the image before exporting the pdf.

- and, finally, if you want to display an illustration set inside a border with the same style as those in the Dragonbane rules, you can prepare it with just a few clicks in GIMP or Photoshop.

Nothing complicated with those few steps to follow. Here is how to do that:


1- Simple PDF charsheets, without illustrations: open and use





This is a no-brainer. You open the pdf file (with Chrome or any other program that lets you modify and save modifications to a pdf file).





2. Charsheets with character illustration, open the ODT file and export to PDF



From that image, you can see that there is a space for an illustration of the character, which means that there is an image field in the odt form (obviously).

To fill that image field with an image of your choice (more or less square images are going to work best), open the odt file:

- odt file of the charsheet in Libre Office -

Check that you are not in design mode (Form Menu > Design Mode):


 
Double click on the illustration field and choose an illustration, ideally more or less square (to avoid empty space padding the image, but it will work with any proportions of image).




Export as pdf form (File > Export as PDF):



In the PDF option window that opens itself, verify that the button "Create PDF Form" is checked.

And that's it. If you open the pdf form in a tab alongside your VTT page, you have a charsheet as accessible as those imbedded in other online VTTs.





3. Placing the character illustration into a frame with the same style as the Character Sheet


If you want to take the Dragonbane style appearance a little bit further, you can make the illustration of the character in the same style as the rest of the character sheet.

To do that, you'll have to open a PSD file containing the frame with GIMP or Photoshop and export the portrait from there. I'll show how to do it with GIMP, because I assume that if you pay a monthly fee for Photoshop, you already know how to use it (and the steps are the same anyway).

Step 1: Open the PSD DoD-Portrait file with GIMP:




Step 2: Open the image of your character and select/copy it
File > Open
Select > All
Copy



Step 3: Go to DoD-Portrait window that you have already opened, select the -Place Image Here- layer and paste.


You can resize and/or move the image of the character within the frame with the transformation tools:


Step 4: when you are satisfied with the result, just export as a jpg (to export as a jpg, you have to manually write the jpg extension in the name of the exported file).


And that's all, you can place this image into your character sheet as we have seen before.


I hope you'll find those files useful. Let me know if there is anything wrong or unclear.

Happy gaming.

Saturday 19 February 2022

Online character sheets for Dragon Warriors - Fiches de Personnages online pour Dragon Warriors


When playing online, I generally use Owlbear Rodeo (actually the very best online VTT) , using paper and pens for any information that I want to keep on hand. Some players seem to prefer to have their character sheet on the screen, so, I have made some for the different classes of characters in Dragon Warriors.

Lorsque je joue en ligne, j'utilise généralement Owlbear Rodeo (qui est actuellement et de loin le meilleur VTT) , et, j'utilise du papier et un bic pour les notes que je veux garder sous la main. Certains joueurs préfèrent cependant avoir leur fiche de personnage affichée sur leur écran, aussi, j'en ai réalisé pour les différentes classes de personnage de Dragon Warriors.


There are two ways to use those files:
- open the pdf file directly in your browser (I use Chrome) 
- if you want to replace the illustration by the portrait of the character, you just have to open the odt file with LibreOffice or OpenOffice and modify the image before exporting the pdf.

Il est possible de les utiliser de deux façons:
- ouvrir le fichier en pdf directement dans un browser (j'utilise Chrome) 
- si vous désirez personnaliser l'illustration avec un portrait du personnage, il suffit d'ouvrir le fichier odt avec LibreOffice ou OpenOffice et de modifier l'image avant d'exporter la fiche en pdf.





Friday 11 February 2022

Using Custom Online Character Sheets

There is, of course, no obligation to use digital character sheets whilst playing online.

A simple sheet of paper on your desk can easily do the trick. It is certainly enough for my notes and for tracking PCs, NPCs, scenario info... but some players prefer to have their character's info on the screen, alongside the VTT display. So, why not?

Some of the most used online VTTs provide sheets that you can use within the program, more or less customizable, more or less limited and more or less available, depending on the VTT and the game played.

There are two BIG problems with those embedded sheets. The first one is that you have to fill lots of stuff on those sheets, because peoples designing them never think there is enough information on them.

The second one is that if you play one of the games for which no charsheets are provided, you are out of luck. You'll have to setup one yourself in a programming language that is generally not intuitive, and with almost no control on the look and usability of the sheet.

It can be quite frustrating, but, you don't have to use those. 

There is a far easier way to have online charsheets and in a very simple way: using simple PDF forms that you can generally find online for your favorite game, or that you can produce yourself by making a form in Open Office or Libre Office (in odt format) and export as a PDF form.

Making PDF forms is really easy: you make an image of the form you want to design. Set it as background in Open Office or Libre Office. And then place the fields you want onto it (bullets, check boxes, text, images...). Let's have a look at the result.

Here is the exemple of the charsheet I have made for Lamentations of the Flame Princess. As you can see, the page setup is in landscape format to be in the same orientation as a screen.

And there is a space for an illustration of the character, which means that there is an image field in the odt form (obviously).

To fill it, open the odt file (sample files are found at the end of this post to let you try it). Note that if you make charsheets where there is no illustrations to place, you can directly use the PDF in your browser without going through the odt first, but it is less funny...).

- odt file of the charsheet in Libre Office -

Check that you are not in design mode.

 

Double click on the illustration field and choose an illustration, ideally more or less square (to avoid black areas padding the image, but it will work with any proportions of image).

Export as pdf form (check that form is active).

And that's it. If you open the pdf form in a tab alongside your VTT page (on Owlbear Rodeo, preferably, it is the best one available -and free- at the moment), you have a charsheet as accessible as those imbedded in other online VTTs, but much more flexible, easier to produce, and adapted to YOUR game and tastes. And if you need special sheets to add for certain class of characters (sheets with lists of spells, for exemple...), you can always make one that the player can open in another tab.

Indeed, any information that a player may want to have available can be turned into a pdf, fillable or not, that can be opened in a different tab. The difference here, with the sheets offered by VTTs like Roll20 or Foundry, or .... is that here you only have what you want, in the way you want, and each player can have his own setting without having to use a predefined one.

CAVEAT: When you have finished using the form in your browser, don't forget to save it WITH the changes. If you just close it, they will be lost. It is probably a good idea to save regularly your progresses (yes, we all know that and still...).

If you don't want to go through Open Office or Libre Office to export PDF forms customized with an illustration of the character, you can just do it once and place the logo or the cover of the game as an illustration. And then use directly copies of the same pdf for every player.

But, above all, remember: it is not because something can be turned into a digital format that it must be, and papers and pencils are still the most versatile way to record information. But, of course, YMMV....

If you want to experiment a little, here are the LotFP sheets (english and french) in odt, and the samples in pdf that you can open directly and fill in your browser.



Saturday 21 August 2021

Portraits Tokens and attachments

I am generally using topdown tokens in VTTs, because they are not only accurate when seen on a battlemap, but also quite easily available those days, and some of them are absolutely gorgeous (my favorites ones, those from Greg Bruni and Devin Night for exemple).

I have been playing with the attachment tool in Owlbear Rodeo since its beta release. 

One of the use I have experimented is one I had used in Maptool in the past (with portraits as states, as there is no attachment in Maptool). 

Not sure if I'll use this frequently because I am mostly a topdown tokens GM, but maybe if I need to prepare a game in a pinch.

For the record, I imagined this because I need tokens that show orientation (I don't play D&D and derivatives) and because I hate when portraits tokens are jumbled with faces in any orientation.






Monday 15 March 2021

Owlbear Rodeo, OMG....

Since last weeks, I have been experimenting with  Owlbear Rodeo, a VTT that I had not encountered before... and it is the most amazing one I have used so far. Fulfilling almost (more on this later) all my needs from a VTT, in the most easy, fast and user friendly way. 

At the same time I have bought and tried Foundry VTT and I did found the result absolutely atrocious. Probably not because it is a bad VTT (its success and the comments about it are proof that I am in a minority of one on the subject), but simply because it is the complete antithesis of what I want in a VTT and more importantly because it is full of things I don't want...

There is no real reason to compare those two VTTs except that, side by side, they both showcase what I like and what I dislike in VTTs. Which should explain more clearly why I like Owlbear Rodeo.

Why do I like Owlbear Rodeo so far?

Because of what it does:

Owlbear Rodeo is a very simple and intuitive. You just open the a page on its website . Launch a game.

Input a password (or not). Invite players. It shall give you a link for your player.Give that link to your players. Done.

From there, you can already play with the default content by sketching your maps.

But, of course, you can import your own maps and tokens. Dices are already included to roll on a "drawer".

Reduced window to show the controls

Everything is saved on your computer, no hassle, no fuss.

At any time, you can export the maps (which means the whole scenes) and the tokens. And re-import them later. So you can prepare a session or save the situation at the end of a game.

Of course all VTTs do this, but never as easily. Connection: one click (no port opening or technical stuff), joining the game: one click, no account to set. Saving stuff: one click (no fee).

Owlbear Rodeo is tablet ready (and usable), I experimented on my iPad and there is no reason a player could not play this way. You don't have to wait until an app is released. Just join at the webpage.

It is easy, super fast to prepare, connect and play, and stable.

As it plays in a browser, I can open any document I want (fillable PDFs mostly) in another tab and save them at the end of the game. Easy, neat and convenient.

With it, using a VTT doesn't become an activity or a hobby in itself. What I really like is that the use of Owlbear Rodeo is unobstusive. You don't need to spend more time readying your session on your VTT than preparing the scenario.

But also because of what it doesn't:

That's where the comparison with Foundry VTT should make what I mean clearer.

I mostly need a VTT that takes care of just the visual part. Preparing the maps, saving them and having them ready when playing. 

Admittedly, I have not always worked that way. I did made some Maptool framewoks in the past (for Savage Worlds or MSPE, for exemple). But my conclusion was that this not only increased tremendously the preparation time, but also that it didn't speeded play at all during the sessions, which led me to more minimalistic frameworks

But, even those proved, in the end, too cumbersome and ultimately, not only useless, but completely counterproductives. I am speaking here, about PCs and NPCs management macros, graphic macros are something else.

Conclusion: It is not because something can be automated that it should be! (which is something that should be branded with a hot iron on every programmer forehead, alongside with "if it ain't broken, don't fix it").

I certainly understand that other peoples have other needs for their games.

Mind you, I think that anything, in a VTT, that is optional and on the side is fine for me. But with Foundry I found that to simply use it, I had to go the whole way, using, or rather coding a template (because I don't use D&D).

And then, I was expected to fill a form for any and every NPC, spell, weapon, whatever...

But... the data needed during games is in my notes, in the rules, on paper or in pdf, and I don't need to have a copy of it inside a program before being able to play.

If my hobby was forms filling, I would collect tax returns.

Here again, I don't have a problem with the fact that you can do it, only with the fact that you need to do it (or at least that it is completely geared that way, and that you are expected to do it).

The little things that I could want to have access directly during play can easily be made into a pdf and opened in another tab alongside the Owlbear Rodeo tab, or, simply kept on my notes. Online info is generally limited to character sheets sent to players before session.

What I prefer is a VTT where you can play from scratch if you want (import a map, a few tokens and go...) not one where you must prepare  for hours (hours which would better be used preparing your scenario).

This is, of course, completely subjective. But that's my opinion and I completely agree with it...

What I would like to see in Owlbear Rodeo

Mostly, and more importantly, I hope they won't change the idea behind the program, and stay with the visual representation only. Complicating the program or having a features bloat would make it just like all the other VTTs. This is certainly a case of "Less is More'.

My only regret, is that Owlbear Rodeo is not optimized for isometric gaming (meaning that there is not built in way to swap tokens to change their facing). After asking on Reddit, it seems that there is no intention to change that in the future. Which I can understand because only a very small minority of gamers use isometric views. But, well, there are workarounds, which, whilst not perfect, solve the problem.

And, that's all, which is not much new features needed for a new program. Almost perfect for me from the start... I hope the natural tendency of programmers to never stop adding features won't ruin it.

Anyway, Owlbear Rodeo is free, easy to use and fast to master. So, have a try, and, if after trying it, you still prefer forms filling to roleplaying, Foundry will be there.