[Par5e] Linking Monster Manual NPCs

[VenomousFiligree]

I'm trying to link a Wight from the monster manual, I have the following in story.txt:


#zls;
#zal;npc;Wight
#zle;

However when i click the link in the Par5ed module I get:


Could not open sheet with data from unloaded module. (*)

The Monster Manual is loaded in the campaign.

[kylania]

Did you have a Wight in your npcs.txt? If you wanted to link directly to the MM entry I think you'll need to edit the mod xml after the fact since #zl is intended to link to its own resources (npcs.txt) and not externally (the mm module) from what I can tell.

Or just make the mod with Par5e, then fix the NPCs after and export to get your final mod version.

[Thegroo]

Just a guess here, but i think you need to reference to 'referencenpc' as the monsters from the MM no longer populate the Campaign NPC List.

Or you can drag the Wight from the MM to the capaign npc list, then the link should work too.

[VenomousFiligree]

Kylania, no it's not in the npc.txt. I'm using #zal;, not #zl:


#zal; is used to reference content within one or more modules that can be open at the time the reference link is clicked

Thegroo, I missed the fact that there is a referencenpc, however when I change it to referencenpc, I get the follow script error:


Runtime Error: desktop: Unable to create window with invalid class (referencenpc : referencenpc.wight@*)

[Moon Wizard]

Referencenpc was an old windowclass originally used when NPC records were different in modules vs the main campaign. You should be using the npc windowclass in all cases now.

Cheers,
JPG

[VenomousFiligree]

OK, back to the first post then. It didn't seem to work.

[centerNegative]

Resurrecting this thread. Having the same issue. :bandit:

[Zacchaeus]

I'm pretty sure that you can't do this because the MM (and all of other WoTC stuff) is locked away. I believe linkage like this will only work for modules you have created your self; but I could be wrong.

[centerNegative]

All my modules are custom-made from scratch using Par5e. I've created a separate 5e PHB, MM, and am currently working on a DMG. I'm going through magic items right now (magicitems.txt in Par5e) and ran across this issue while trying to process the Deck of Many Things. I wanted to have the Avatar of Death produced by the Skull card properly formatted as an NPC that could be added to the Combat Tracker and work properly. So, I added it to my Monster Manual and linked it in the Deck of Many Things with:

#zal;npc;Avatar of Death
... but I get the same unresolved issue mentioned above by VenemousFiligree; the chat window error about an 'unloaded module' and such. But the module is definitely loaded, and the NPC name is definitely correct. Is #zal being used improperly or am I missing something? What is the current proper procedure for cross-linking between modules if it is different than described in the Par5e guide?

[Zacchaeus]

All my modules are custom-made from scratch using Par5e. I've created a separate 5e PHB, MM, and am currently working on a DMG. I'm going through magic items right now (magicitems.txt in Par5e) and ran across this issue while trying to process the Deck of Many Things. I wanted to have the Avatar of Death produced by the Skull card properly formatted as an NPC that could be added to the Combat Tracker and work properly. So, I added it to my Monster Manual and linked it in the Deck of Many Things with:

#zal;npc;Avatar of Death
... but I get the same unresolved issue mentioned above by VenemousFiligree; the chat window error about an 'unloaded module' and such. But the module is definitely loaded, and the NPC name is definitely correct. Is #zal being used improperly or am I missing something? What is the current proper procedure for cross-linking between modules if it is different than described in the Par5e guide?

You've got me. I've never tried the linking stuff. A couple of possible observations. Try avatar of death or Avatar_of_Death or avatar_of_death.

[centerNegative]

Tried adjusting case and swapping spaces for underscores in both the link and the Monster Manual entry and it didn't have any effect.

[centerNegative]

Interesting if ineffectual new result: I tried adding an npcs.txt to the DMG module with Par5e with just the Avatar of Death from the Deck of Many Things in it, and the link breaks in a whole new way by loading this blank template instead of the Avatar's stat block:

11890

Update: OK, interestingly enough, I decided to take a moment and populate that template with all the necessary values and it seems to have took. Re-loading and re-parsing the module doesn't reset it or break it in anyway, and neither does restarting FG. Link to the Avatar of Death works fine now with a #zl tag.

[Trenloe]

Update: OK, interestingly enough, I decided to take a moment and populate that template with all the necessary values and it seems to have took. Re-loading and re-parsing the module doesn't reset it or break it in anyway, and neither does restarting FG. Link to the Avatar of Death works fine now with a #zl tag.
Try it in a new campaign - it will display the blank NPC record.

This is because you filled in the blank NPC record within your campaign, which stores the data in the campaign database/campaign specific module changes. In a new campaign this data isn't there.

[centerNegative]

Well, I understand that it is a workaround and not a solution but no one was offering even such a workaround, much less a solution... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Believe me, I'm still interested in a proper resolution to these cross-linking issues.

[irish_carbomb]

I am working on a similar issue. Was wondering if this had ever been resolved. I have a custom made Par5e Monster Manual, and I want to grab monsters out of it and put them in an Adventure I am creating with Par5e. It seems pointless to do all this work if you cant grab resources from one custom made module to the next. Any update or suggestions would be great..

Thanks

[Zacchaeus]

There isn't a solution here since the public version of par5e is no longer supported. #zal really doesn't work at all well in the public version of par5e (it had many known issues before the utility ceased to be public). The only way to get a link to work from a story entry to an npc is to use #zl; and that requires that the npc be in the same module as the story.