Dragon Age RPG

[thefallen]

Hello all, I was just curious if anyone has a Dragon Age RPG ruleset that they have been using. I want to play using fantasy grounds, but the rules are different enough that I find it hard using the main character sheet. Any help would be appreciated.

[Stitched]

I'm working on one but it's slow going since I am having to learn Lua and the Ruleset code. Since I am using D20 as a base, a lot of the functionality exists to run a Dragon Age game; you just need to modify it to accommodate DA's handling of the rules (like using d6, etc.).

[thefallen]

I was able to get a simple character sheet made. I know it can be better, but I am just learning. You can see a picture of the character sheet here:

https://bearmeadows.com/?p=195

If anyone wants it, or is interested in helping me make it better, I'd be happy to send it to you or post it here. Just let me know.

[Stitched]

Nice. It's looking pretty advanced. I'm still working on mine and incorporating some automation for calculating bonuses. Does your mini sheet work as well or does it bug out?

[Kalan]

Looking good there :)

[drahkar]

I was able to get a simple character sheet made. I know it can be better, but I am just learning. You can see a picture of the character sheet here:

https://bearmeadows.com/?p=195

If anyone wants it, or is interested in helping me make it better, I'd be happy to send it to you or post it here. Just let me know.

Nice post. Might want to point out that a lot of the work in using FG2 is around building the interface. If you are using official modules or rulesets, its MUCH easier to get started. :)

[thefallen]

Hey guys, thanks for all the feed back!

@Stitched: No, my mini sheet does not work yet unfortunately.

@drahkar: Thank you, and great point. I did start out with one of the rulesets and modified it. It was much easier than trying to start from scratch.

What I would really like is to make the weapons portion similar to the way it is in one of the offocial rulesets. Drag the weapon over, it puts in all the stats, then you can just click it to role. That would be sweet, but I haven't even attempting any of the scripting yet. Right now, I am working on getting the rulebook working in the library.

[Stitched]

Mine neither. :P Buuuuut...I have all my drag and double-click dice-rolling working, as well as updating stats based on Race, Armour, etc. so far.

I think your approach makes way more sense. Place all your elements FIRST then work out how to get the mechanics / automation working. Setting up the elements is SUPER tedious and time consuming.

[thefallen]

@Stitched: Yes, I just wanted to get something basic out so that we could use it for the game I was running. I only had a couple days and didn't think I could get anything more fancy together. I will probably work this weekend on getting the weapons and rolls. If you don't mind sharing what you have, I'd love to see your character sheet.

[Stitched]

Not much to show. Yours is far more advanced, in layout, than mine. I am trying to do something closer to the Dragon Age NPC stat blocks since I will be using roughly the same format for both; although the PC one will be using the tabs for powers, talents, spells, equipment, etc. Luckily, I had some time today to work on it some more.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3919708/4e_Fantasy_Grounds_Files/DragonAge_Start.png

I finally got the adding weapons thing to work after fighting it all morning.

Obviously, still need to work out formatting and placement of elements but it's the cosmetic things that take time to sort out. For the most part, the sheet can be used as is to track stats and rolls but if I wanted to add automation, etc. it's obviously going to be a lot of work.

What is working:

* Able to enter in Ability Stats, Focuses, Combat Stats, and Weapons
* Dice rolls from Ability scores (rolls 3d6, applies modifier, displays proper text in Chat window)
* Race determines starting speed stat automatically (Elf = 12, Dwarf = 8, Human = 10)
* Speed stat modified by Dexterity automatically. Have hooks in place for armor modifier.
* Defense stat modified by Dexterity automatically. Have hooks in place for armor/shield modifier.
* Weapon attacks can be rolls (3d6) and can apply "Focus" bonus (+2).
* Weapon damage can be added dragging d6's into Damage Dice box. Damage Modifier can be set.
* By keeping most of the internal names of D20_JPG, most stats appear properly in Combat Tracker (AC, HP, Wounds, Init).

Wishlist (aka Need to do still):

* Dragon Dice check (roll doubles, check for success, reward whatever value the third dice is as "Stunt points" in combat OR level of success on checks).
* Adding Strength / Dexterity to attack rolls based on weapon
* Adding Ability damage bonus to Damage Dice rolls
* Adding handling for non-weapon proficiency attack and damage penalties (-2 to attack / half damage rounded down)
* Combat handling (targeting and pulling the right stat to roll dice against)
* Adding auto adjustment to Speed based on armor worn
* Adding damage reduction based on armor worn
* Shield bonus to Defense (AC)

Would be nice to have:

* Dragon Age friendly source book entries
* Drag and drop equipment lists
* Drag and drop weapon / armor handling
* Drag and drop Spell entries

...and probably a ton more I am not remembering right now.

[thefallen]

@Stitched: Looks really good so far. I'm impressed with what you have been able to do. I am actually working on the book right now, and hope to have it and the drag and drop lists done soon. Should have more time tomorrow and Monday.

[Stitched]

My fear, now, is the future releases and how that will impact the classes, focuses, etc. One of the conscious decisions of not including so much text on the front page because the main stuff is already taking a lot of space.

Would also a front page more like the Dragon Age PC game, where you have the full size picture on one side and the base stats on the other.

Saw a cool thing in a Savage Worlds ruleset - A tabbed window on a sheet. So where you have, for example, your abilities on the front page, you could have tab for that window to switch to Focuses.

[thefallen]

I'm getting really frustrated and think I may just have to give up on the rulebook. I don't understand why they wouldn't have a simpler way to do this.

[drahkar]

I'm getting really frustrated and think I may just have to give up on the rulebook. I don't understand why they wouldn't have a simpler way to do this.

Simpler way for what?

[thefallen]

Adding in a rulebook. Probably just my frustration speaking.

[Doswelk]

The creation of a library module is slow but not exactly hard, just boring.

Have you seen my videos on creating a library module?

They are aimed at Savage Worlds but the procedures will be the same just the name of the reference windows will be different, but it might help.

Part 1 (https://www.furiousdice.com/createamodule.html)
Part 2 (https://www.furiousdice.com/creating%20a%20module%20part%202.html)

Stick at it! :D

It's slow and boring but worth it in the end.

[Stitched]

Once the format has been established, would it be possible to use Tenian's Parser to convert documents into Modules?


The creation of a library module is slow but not exactly hard, just boring.

Have you seen my videos on creating a library module?

They are aimed at Savage Worlds but the procedures will be the same just the name of the reference windows will be different, but it might help.

Part 1 (https://www.furiousdice.com/createamodule.html)
Part 2 (https://www.furiousdice.com/creating%20a%20module%20part%202.html)

Stick at it! :D

It's slow and boring but worth it in the end.

[Griogre]

It would only be possible if the ruleset you are trying to parse from uses the exact same element names, structures and data arrangements. The 4E ruleset sits at the top of the heap with the Rolemaster ruleset as the the most feature rich and advanced rulesets for FG right now. Most rulesets out in the "wild" are still based on the original d20 ruleset.

Practically speaking unless you were using a ruleset that is a variant of the 4E ruleset you will probably spend more time modifying the xml done by the parser than it is worth - with the following big exception: Probably pure text without fancy formating might be worthwhile.

You might try DrZuess' tool for module creation then run the parser over it. I've considered trying that myself but haven't found the time. If you are putting a hundred page PDF into an FG module, speeding up the text input might be very worth while. Making the links and organizing the data are nothing compared to the grind of copy/paste of that much text.

[Stitched]

I don't see why you would need to input 100s of pages of text; The Players Guide and GM's guide are only 66 pages each.

4e and Rolemaster may be advanced and have a lot of great things about them, however, Dragon Age RPG is very rules and lore light; part of it's charm IMHO.

Since they boxed sets are taking so long in terms of release dates, it's not totally arduous to input the "crunch" by hand (weapon lists, armor lists, etc.) Tables, Powers, Talents, etc. are formatted text (no mechanic dice rolls usually) are not as arduous if you have the PDFs.

I feel the bulk of the work is core mechanics of the ruleset : Dice Handling, Combat, PC and NPC sheets (and appropriate mini-sheets). After that, the rest feels like gravy (unlike 4e where the gravy IS necessary for the game).

Drag and Drop data can be defined (from what I saw inside D20 and 4e) so that formatting shouldn't be too hard to match.

On the forums, there is a lot of recommendations to make rulesets using D20_JPG. Of course, this may now be changing as 4E is now an integral part of FG2, however, D20_JPG, doesn't have a lot of the bells & whistles of 4E, which I see as a strength - less code to delete and navigate through to make things work.

The underlying theme is that it is quickly apparent that we need better tools to create rulesets or at least a core set of mechanics that allows us to build/prototype the base of the rules quicker; instead of hacking someone else's code to fit another ruleset.

But I guess, in the end, I am just ranting. ;)


It would only be possible if the ruleset you are trying to parse from uses the exact same element names, structures and data arrangements. The 4E ruleset sits at the top of the heap with the Rolemaster ruleset as the the most feature rich and advanced rulesets for FG right now. Most rulesets out in the "wild" are still based on the original d20 ruleset.

Practically speaking unless you were using a ruleset that is a variant of the 4E ruleset you will probably spend more time modifying the xml done by the parser than it is worth - with the following big exception: Probably pure text without fancy formating might be worthwhile.

You might try DrZuess' tool for module creation then run the parser over it. I've considered trying that myself but haven't found the time. If you are putting a hundred page PDF into an FG module, speeding up the text input might be very worth while. Making the links and organizing the data are nothing compared to the grind of copy/paste of that much text.

[Griogre]

Hmm we may be talking past each other. I was talking about making library modules and the limitations of trying to use the 4E parser to generate such a module.

I don't think there is any doubt that ruleset creation takes much more time and effort than making a library module. Like Doswelk, I've made my fair share of them and there is nothing hard about it - it's just tedious - and if you do it all by hand fairly time consuming.

[Stitched]

Heh. Maybe so.

So, to dig deeper, the 4E Parser basically reads a text file with appropriate tags.

Are those tags specific for 4e or can they be changed ? I was under the impression that library tags or any xml can have its own unique tags.

I only ask because if you are not scraping data, it's way more friendly to work with copied/pasted text than xml directly.

About ruleset creation - Agreed, definitely not for the timid and an over abundance of tedium.



Hmm we may be talking past each other. I was talking about making library modules and the limitations of trying to use the 4E parser to generate such a module.

I don't think there is any doubt that ruleset creation takes much more time and effort than making a library module. Like Doswelk, I've made my fair share of them and there is nothing hard about it - it's just tedious - and if you do it all by hand fairly time consuming.

[Stitched]

Let us know how that goes. Even with one entry for each type of library entry would be a great test (weapons, equipment, spells, lore) to see if it's easier.

I tried using it before and didn't have any luck with it. Ended up doing it directly in FG BEFORE they updated the text handling code. Good exercise, though.




You might try DrZuess' tool for module creation then run the parser over it. I've considered trying that myself but haven't found the time. If you are putting a hundred page PDF into an FG module, speeding up the text input might be very worth while. Making the links and organizing the data are nothing compared to the grind of copy/paste of that much text.

[Stitched]

*BUMP*

The official playtest for Box Set 2 of the ruleset has been posted at Green Ronin.

Dragon Age - Box Set 2 (with bookmarks) (https://docs.google.com/uc?id=0B1INC_YO7Tz3MDI4ZmI2YWUtYTFlZC00NjE2LTljZTc tYjU3OWFjNzJmZDg5&export=download&hl=en)

While not a complete document, as admitted by the site admins, it contains a TON of new content, extra rules, spells, etc.

Also of interest is a compiled Bestiary; a user generated creation which looks to be pretty decent. They have 2 books out and, since posting Book 2, they are going back and updating the first book.

Dragon Age - Esoterica from Thedas Volume 2: Bestiary (https://nationaldinosaurmuseum.com.au/Staff/Warhammer/Esoterica%20from%20Thedas%20Volume%202%20Bestiary. pdf)

[Ctmega]

Has there been any more progress on this ruleset? There has been a revival of late and my group wants to play some DA and though I can do it with MoreCore... It would be nice to have some additional automation.

Thanks!

[damned]

Ctmega this is a 7 year dead thread!

[Talyn]

Ctmega this is a 7 year dead thread!

And so, I sadly relinquish my Necro of the Year trophy to @Ctmega…

[Ctmega]

I gladly accept the mantle as the Necro of the Year!

If by some miracle it leads to a working ruleset for DA it will have been worth it!

[Talyn]

I do wish someone would make an official AGE ruleset... Green Ronin is licensed and eagerly awaiting one, and they've got three different games that I'm aware of so far. Dragon Age, AGE Fantasy and now Blue Rose.

[Ctmega]

Agreed... I have been after an AGE ruleset since I first came over to FG from R20... If I were not so inept with programming (Or had time) I would do it myself but for now I am just working around it with CoreRPG and a few extensions but I miss the automation of the other rulesets.

[damned]

Dragon Age will never happen.

What extensions do you use currently?
Have you tried using MoreCore - it doesnt have any additional functionality for AGE (that I can think of) other than the red dice but it does allow you to save rolls and roll descriptions and use targeting (without resolution). Im happy to look at what other things could be added to MoreCore to support these games.

[damned]

I also contacted them and asked if I could make a free conversion of their Dragon Age quickstart rules (similar to what we did with City of Mist) which are free. I couldnt for IP/licensing reasons and they did not yet have one for Fantasy AGE but they were receptive to the idea...

[Ctmega]

Red d6 and Age Dice. Age dice suppresses the other dice and Red D6 is self explanatory. I think Age Dice is only for CoreRPG but I could modify the compatible rulesets list in the extension to make it show up for MoreCore. I'll test that today.

Thanks!

[Ctmega]

Correction... the Age Dice is actually called Age Stunt Die.

Thanks!

[Ctmega]

Thanks Damned! I appreciate your help!

[damned]

Unfamiliar with the mechanics.
No extension required in MoreCore unless the extension does more than add a red dice to the available options...
In MoreCore create a roll with this string: /die 2d6+1d1006 and t will roll 2 black and 1 red dice and sum them.
Somehow this dice isnt in /dicehelp

https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=20964

20964

[Ctmega]

The Age Stunt Die extension can be found here:

https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=14437&d=1466228888

Thanks!

[damned]

Yes I know that... the extension doesnt do anything other than add a red die...
What is the actual game mechanic? How are the dice used? How do you determine an outcome?

[Ctmega]

It also removes all of the other dice from the desktop:


-<die name="d6">

<icon>d6icon</icon>

<position>120,-68</position>

</die>


-<die name="dF" merge="delete">

<icon>d6icon</icon>

</die>


-<die name="d8" merge="delete">

<icon>d8icon</icon>

</die>


-<die name="d10" merge="delete">

<icon>d10icon</icon>

</die>


-<die name="d12" merge="delete">

<icon>d12icon</icon>

</die>


-<die name="d20" merge="delete">

<icon>d20icon</icon>

</die>


-<die name="d4" merge="delete">

<icon>d4icon</icon>

</die>

[damned]

Miscommunication - sorry.
How does the Stunt Die actually work in Dragon Age?
How and when do you roll?
How do you interpret the results?
What other rolls are required?

[Ctmega]

Outcome is determined by 3d6 +attribute +focus vs AC

Damage is weapon damage +bonus - Armor

[Ctmega]

Stunt die is used on all rolls... it triggers a "Stunt" when doubles are rolled. There is a table you consult and the Stunt die value generates points that can be used to perform additional actions:

https://dragon-age-rpg-1.obsidianportal.com/wiki_pages/stunt-tables

Thanks!

[Ctmega]

Double post (Sorry!)

[Ctmega]

Each check (Attack/Skill/etc...) you roll 3d6... one of the 3 is a different color (This is the stunt die). If doubles are rolled on any of the 3, you generate the stunt points equal to the number on the different colored die.

[Ctmega]

It is a 3d6 system... all rolls (except weapon damage) are 3d6 with one of the three being a different color for the purpose of stunt point generation. The only die type used is d6.

[damned]

Ill do a /stunt die for th next version of MoreCore

So if d1 = d2 or d2 = d3 or d3 = d1 then that number is reported as the Stunt number?

[Ctmega]

The off color die is always the stunt die. So in the scenario you provided above the stunt points = the d1006 value. The doubles can be on any die.

[Talyn]

I also contacted them and asked if I could make a free conversion of their Dragon Age quickstart rules (similar to what we did with City of Mist) which are free. I couldnt for IP/licensing reasons and they did not yet have one for Fantasy AGE but they were receptive to the idea...

Just curious why you say it will never happen? AGE is on the "looking for dev" list.

But given how rare ruleset devs are, it may be never indeed.

[damned]

I specifically wrote Dragon AGE will never happen. Green Ronin dont own the Dragon AGE rights - they are only a licensee. It would need BioWare approval and licensing too...

[damned]

Ok so if d1 = d2 or d2 = d3 or d3 = d1 then d3 is reported as the Stunt number... And the stunt number gives you several options - are they player choice, DM choice or random?

[Ctmega]

Whoever rolled it gets to choose the stunt. Either a PC or the GM (NPC).

[Ctmega]

It's a pool that you have to use right away... but you can choose an option more than once if you have the points... ie... a 1 point stunt plus two 2 point stunts for a total of 5 stunt points.

[damned]

Thanks. Ill let you know when I have something in place...

[Ctmega]

Thank you man! I know you don't have to do this stuff and I appreciate it!

[damned]

My first test rolls were pretty good!

4 stunt rolls in a row including 666!

Feedback or guidance on the required message output would be good...

https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=20969

20969

[Ctmega]

Haha... Nice! Once we get it working, I'll run a session for you guys if you want.

Thanks again man!

[Ctmega]

Thanks again Damned! I just tried it out with the new version of MoreCore and it is great. I still need to read up a bit on creating a proper character sheet but this addition is a big help in getting AGE system players off and running!

Cheers!

[damned]

Thanks again Damned! I just tried it out with the new version of MoreCore and it is great. I still need to read up a bit on creating a proper character sheet but this addition is a big help in getting AGE system players off and running!

Cheers!

Ahhh good - well done Ctmega sorry I forgot to post here as well!

[Drage Enzeru]

@thefallen Is it possible for you to send what you got of the ruleset over to me? Been itching to DM it for some of my friends lately, and I much rather use Fantasy Grounds than Roll20 for it.

Edit: Oops, only looked at the first page. Did anyone manage to make it work for a full on campaign?

[damned]

It should work fine in MoreCore.
I run plenty of stuff in MoreCore for short and long campaigns.

[Drage Enzeru]

It should work fine in MoreCore.
I run plenty of stuff in MoreCore for short and long campaigns.

Still kinda new to Fantasy Ground. Where is this "MoreCore" at? Currently looking at the rulesets I can pick when I create a new campaign, and I can't find one with that name.

[Zacchaeus]

Still kinda new to Fantasy Ground. Where is this "MoreCore" at? Currently looking at the rulesets I can pick when I create a new campaign, and I can't find one with that name.

You'll need to download the ruleset first since it isn't included in the program. You'll find all the information about it here https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?47382-MoreCore-Info

[Drage Enzeru]

You'll need to download the ruleset first since it isn't included in the program. You'll find all the information about it here https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?47382-MoreCore-Info

Thanks! Is it only the ruleset I need from it or should I download some of the other stuff too?

[Zacchaeus]

Thanks! Is it only the ruleset I need from it or should I download some of the other stuff too?

Start with just the ruleset and watch some of the videos on how to set things up so that you don't get overwhelmed with other stuff. I'm not familiar with MoreCore so I don't know what you'll need to do to be able to run the game you want; but it'll all be in damned's videos or the documentation.

[Drage Enzeru]

Thanks! I will check it out when I get the time.

[Ctmega]

Thanks! I will check it out when I get the time.

I have a character sheet for you if you want it. It is a modification of the one by Dave (The digital Dungeon Master). Please let me know in PM if you want a link to it.

[Tevinter Magister]

Hello, was just curious if there's still interest in creating a Dragon Age Campaign. I'm new to D&D and FG, but looking to eventually DM for a campaign setup during the Fourth Blight (about Four Centuries prior to the Inquisition).
It's a flexible setting and allows me room to setup a campaign. Please reach out to me if you want to collaborate on creating a campaign. Thanks!

[Sharra]

Hello, was just curious if there's still interest in creating a Dragon Age Campaign. I'm new to D&D and FG, but looking to eventually DM for a campaign setup during the Fourth Blight (about Four Centuries prior to the Inquisition).
It's a flexible setting and allows me room to setup a campaign. Please reach out to me if you want to collaborate on creating a campaign. Thanks!

Hi, I just started using FG. In fact, bought Unity and installed it two nights ago. I did it so my small group can use maps in our Dragon Age campaign. We are now trying to set up something for our characters and such so most of the game can be within FG. But, we also have an excel sheet my sister has set up with all the stuff that goes into a character sheet, kinda like an Excel version of DnD Beyond, but for Dragon Age. This is my first time DMing and so we are still in the adjustment period. If we manage to get something working well, I will try to remember to let you know, or you can follow up with me in a month or two. We only play every other week.

Great to hear other people playing the Dragon Age RPG. :D However, we are making some changes to how the game plays, cause we find some things stupid and clash with the game cannon. ;)

[Tevinter Magister]

Hi, I just started using FG. In fact, bought Unity and installed it two nights ago. I did it so my small group can use maps in our Dragon Age campaign. We are now trying to set up something for our characters and such so most of the game can be within FG. But, we also have an excel sheet my sister has set up with all the stuff that goes into a character sheet, kinda like an Excel version of DnD Beyond, but for Dragon Age. This is my first time DMing and so we are still in the adjustment period. If we manage to get something working well, I will try to remember to let you know, or you can follow up with me in a month or two. We only play every other week.

Great to hear other people playing the Dragon Age RPG. :D However, we are making some changes to how the game plays, cause we find some things stupid and clash with the game cannon. ;)

Awesome, glad to see other players are interested in playing Dragon Age!!! Please feel free to join the Dragon Age server some friend and I have setup for tabletop. You'll find a bunch of people willing to play there:

https://discord.gg/2DSQJ5

I myself run a Fourth Blight inspired D&D 5E campaign. But I can only manage two groups of 5 players. But, I am welcome to you running whatever setting or campaign you want. I just want to build a server for Dragon Age inspired tabletop. :)

Feel free to join the server, PM me or email me @ [email protected]. I look forward to any correspondence. Ma Serranas!