Hints & Tips - Drag'n'drop Adventure Locations

[Tailz Silver Paws]

Hello folks,
In the past I have made some mini-adventure sites (I call them Compass Points (https://www.wyldfurr.com/index.php/all-portfolio-list/compass-points/)) in the form of maps, tokens and a location guide PDF. The aim was to create a "location" that a game master could "drag'n'drop" into their campaign - so no coding was required as I didn't aim at any specific software system - plus the material was made to be "added" to an already existing campaign, not as a stand alone campaign.

I've in the past released the mini-adventure sites via RPGnow.com, but of late I've been thinking about making these mini-adventure sites specifically for release through the Fantasy Grounds store. So I'm going to need to code up the Guide PDF into notes that can be used in Fantasy Grounds.

The problem is, I don't know how to do that, or what would be the best way to go about it as I still want the mini-adventure location to act as a "addon" to a game masters existing campaign. Think of it as a random encounter location.

So I am wondering if anyone can give me some hints and tips?

Currently I'm working on creating: Grunk's Lair. The lair of a large Ogre in the wilderness.

[Zacchaeus]

You can use par5e to get the story and NPCs into FG (I know the link is for 5e but you can use it to create CORErpg modules). Once you have those in par5e you can then add in the maps, encounters etc and then export to a module. Now the tricky bit is that whatever system you export out of will be the system that it can be used in. If you open up the .mod file you'll find a small file calle definition.xml. If you change the ruleset to 'Any' and zip it all back up then I think the module can then be opened in any ruleset. Now I know this works for maps but I've never tried it with story entries or anything else.

[Tailz Silver Paws]

You can use par5e to get the story and NPCs into FG (I know the link is for 5e but you can use it to create CORErpg modules). Once you have those in par5e you can then add in the maps, encounters etc and then export to a module. Now the tricky bit is that whatever system you export out of will be the system that it can be used in. If you open up the .mod file you'll find a small file calle definition.xml. If you change the ruleset to 'Any' and zip it all back up then I think the module can then be opened in any ruleset. Now I know this works for maps but I've never tried it with story entries or anything else.
I want to try and keep the add-on as generic as possible so anyone with any game system can use it. In the past I included some monster stats in the Guide PDF's before (D&D3.5e stats). But I want these to mainly be something anyone can just drop into their campaign.

Thus the monsters would be generic. The characters would be mostly a description with example stats maybe...

[damned]

You can use par5e to get the story and NPCs into FG

Par5e for CoreRPG wont work outta the box. You have to do a little post processing. I posted the required steps in another post somewhere...



I want to try and keep the add-on as generic as possible so anyone with any game system can use it. In the past I included some monster stats in the Guide PDF's before (D&D3.5e stats). But I want these to mainly be something anyone can just drop into their campaign.

Thus the monsters would be generic. The characters would be mostly a description with example stats maybe...

Id honestly do this for 3 or 4 rulesets being:
5e (using SRD monsters with your tokens)
Pathfinder (using PRD monsters with your tokens)
3.5e (using SRD monsters with your tokens)
and if you have it -
Castles&Crusades using the included monsters with your tokens....

I think you will find that doing them for 5e will prolly give you the best return on your time but funny things happen.... if you do the first one or two adventures like this you will hopefully gather enough info to know whether or not to keep doing all the rulesets or drop down to one or two...

[Andraax]

Create them for CoreRPG, then modify the ruleset tag to be "Any" in the output module. That should make it as generic as possible. You lose some of the bells and whistles, but nearly everyone can use it. Also, you can make the modules directly in the CoreRPG ruleset without using par5e (and it's required, steep learning curve).

[dulux-oz]

You might also like to consider using the entries from the DOELocations Extension - although, obviously, if you do this then your "customers" will need to use the DOELocations Extension as well.

Just a thought.

[Tailz Silver Paws]

Create them for CoreRPG, then modify the ruleset tag to be "Any" in the output module. That should make it as generic as possible. You lose some of the bells and whistles, but nearly everyone can use it. Also, you can make the modules directly in the CoreRPG ruleset without using par5e (and it's required, steep learning curve).
Do you mean: create the notes and images and other bits in a temp campaign in Fantasy Grounds, then export it. Then change the supported tag in the exported files?

I don't mind losing the bells and whistles. Those are options that are the domain of how the GM likes to organize their game. I'm just aiming to provide "content" they can use in their game, eg: a location setting in the form of artwork (maps and tokens) and ready made descriptions.

I looked at par5e and it did seem to be a steep learning curve for someone who only knows how to make pretty pictures.

[Tailz Silver Paws]

You might also like to consider using the entries from the DOELocations Extension - although, obviously, if you do this then your "customers" will need to use the DOELocations Extension as well.

Just a thought.
I'd like to avoid extensions that people will need. Maps, tokens, description, is the essence of the package.

[damned]

You miss a lot of the value of creating it in FG if you dont setup the encounters with actual monsters.

[Tailz Silver Paws]

You miss a lot of the value of creating it in FG if you dont setup the encounters with actual monsters.
Will that not tie it to a specific rule set?

[damned]

Yes it will. But you are adding limited value by not actually creating the encounters as usable encounters. If you use generic creatures they have to be replaced with the correct ruleset versions. Their places on the map will be lost.
PS I have a couple of the pdf versions of these :)

[Tailz Silver Paws]

Yes it will. But you are adding limited value by not actually creating the encounters as usable encounters. If you use generic creatures they have to be replaced with the correct ruleset versions. Their places on the map will be lost.
I suppose your right, and the tokens would have to be changed out too.


PS I have a couple of the pdf versions of these :)
Oh? You like em? I was thinking of converting those. But meh, I like to build new stuff.

Anyway, sleepy time. Continue discussion in the morning.

[Tailz Silver Paws]

Here is a little snippet of what I am planning:

Grunk’s Lair
Deep in the forest lives a grumpy old Ogre called Grunk. His lair is a ramshackle building made from stolen blocks of stone he gathered from a lost overgrown temple further in the woods. He lives there arguing with himself over the mundane and trivial things that trouble Ogres. Occasionally he ventures out from his hovel in search of food, which he usually finds in the form of an unfortunate farmers cow, or the farmer himself.

Grunk the Ogre
Your going to smell Grunk, long before he manages to get his grubby hands around your neck. He is a large hulking tub of overweight Ogre, well fed on stolen sheep, or anything else slow enough to catch (or stupid enough). But don’t let Grunk’s dumb expression get the better of you, he is a crafty Ogre when it comes to finding his next meal. Just hope adventurer, is not on the menu!

Grunk takes certain pride in his weapon of choice, a large club fashioned from a sturdy lump of wood. The handle has been rubbed smooth with years of use, then wrapped with leather to provide a good grip for a strong Ogre. Meanwhile the “talking end” as Grunk would say, is heavy with iron nails driven through the club to provide that little extra “Ouch!”

https://www.wyldfurr.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/token-promo-grunk-the-ogre.png

[LordEntrails]

I really like this idea. I was thinking of something similar myself, but I don't have the artistic talent you do so I'm sure you can do a much better job than I could.
Though very generic is good, I agree that being able to have rule-specific encounters with creatures would be very important (perhaps even a requirement). Perhaps it would not bee too much work to make a generic one (w/o encounters) and then to add 3.5, PF & 5E versions. Not sure what that would require though.

[leozelig]

Will that not tie it to a specific rule set?

Yes, I think that's what damned is suggesting. I personally wouldn't mind if I had to drop the monsters in myself, but if you want to market it as a drag n' drop adventure location, it might be best to have actual monsters and story entries prepped for the map. Maybe just do a 5e version, and see how it goes?

You should also sell your maps at the store - just the maps, no bells and whistles. :)

[Tailz Silver Paws]

Yes, I think that's what damned is suggesting. I personally wouldn't mind if I had to drop the monsters in myself, but if you want to market it as a drag n' drop adventure location, it might be best to have actual monsters and story entries prepped for the map. Maybe just do a 5e version, and see how it goes?

You should also sell your maps at the store - just the maps, no bells and whistles. :)
I was thinking that setting up the map notes and maps would be cross rule set compatible, but setting the combat tracker would be rule set dependant. Which would mean different versions I think.

Just the maps huh? No notes? No advenTure stuff?

[damned]

Maps and Story and even Tokens can be cross compatible. But NPCs and Encounters can not.

[Tailz Silver Paws]

Maps and Story and even Tokens can be cross compatible. But NPCs and Encounters can not.
Yes this is what I thought, so if I was to setup the combat it would have to be on a rule set by rule set basis as the NPC's in the combat would be tied to the rule set.

[Andraax]

Create the maps and tokens as a ruleset independent module. Then open that module in another campaign (one for each ruleset) and add NPCs and Encounters there. Sell each ruleset group as a bundle - the generic module packaged with a ruleset dependent encounter module. You can also sell the generic module as a standalone and let the GM add their own encounters.

[Trenloe]

Create the maps and tokens as a ruleset independent module. Then open that module in another campaign (one for each ruleset) and add NPCs and Encounters there.
This is a good idea. You could actually go one step further - include all of the system specific info modules, i.e. the modules with data for 5E, PFRPG, 3.5E, etc. all in the same package - and the GM just has to activate the system specific module. This is all possible because FG uses the module internal reference name for data links (like the link from an encounter to an NPC) and not the base module filename. Thus you could have 3 modules, for example: 5e_data.mod, 3.5E_data.mod, PF_data.mod all called "Grunks Lair System Data" in FG (the <name> tag in the module definition.xml file. Each of these system specific modules would have the <ruleset> tag specific to the system used and so only the relevant system data module would be available within a system specific campaign (5E, 3.5E, PFRPG, etc.).

This would allow a single product to cover multiple systems - something that will be very handy for those GMs of us who run multiple systems.