DCC Gongfarmer Extension (Random Level 0 Character Generator)

[digitalhobbit]

Here's an extension I built to generate random level 0 DCC characters, in order to significantly streamline the prep for running DCC funnels in Fantasy Grounds. This requires the official DCC ruleset.

Instructions are in the provided README.

Please enjoy, and let me know if you have any feedback or encounter any problems with this extension.

Edit:
Uploaded v0.8, which fixes a breaking bug caused by a recent API change.

[damned]

well done digitalhobbit

[Roach]

Hmm Just tried the ext - copied the .ext, started FG, created new Campaign - DCC - and started the table. Closed FG Intro screen, opened Characters, clicked on the white die... and:
Script Error: [string "scripts/chargen.lua"]:149: attempt to index local 'dcc' (a nil value)

The created character has no name and no equipment, not even a weapon - 32006

[digitalhobbit]

damned: Thanks!

Roach: Ah - that error suggests that the DCC module hasn't been loaded. After you start your DCC campaign, make sure to select the "Dungeon Crawl Classics Role Playing Game" module from the module list. After that, it should work as expected.

I'm not sure if there's a way for the extension to force load this module. I'll look into that and implement this if possible. Otherwise, I'll add a friendly error message with instructions to load the module.

Thanks for giving it a shot!

[digitalhobbit]

Roach: I just uploaded version 0.2, which checks to make sure that the DCC module has been loaded before proceeding with character creation. If not loaded, it prints an error to the chat box, rather than proceeding to create a broken character.

Also a minor improvement to how farmer types are handled, to work around a minor DCC ruleset issue.

[leozelig]

This is awesome, thanks digitalhobbit! I will have the farmer thing fixed soon...

[digitalhobbit]

This is awesome, thanks digitalhobbit! I will have the farmer thing fixed soon...

Great, thanks leozelig. This wouldn't have been possible without your excellent ruleset! :)

[digitalhobbit]

I just published a minor update, which fixes an issue triggering character creation on clients. Note that for the best results, GMs should load both the GM and Player version of the DCC module before character generation, whether on the host or client. Otherwise, Occupation links won't open up on clients (a minor issue, in practice).

[kleinksw]

Thanks for this! Worked great on FG Classic. Tried it on Unity yesterday, but it didn’t work. Should it? Maybe I did something wrong.

[digitalhobbit]

I haven't tested this on Unity yet. I do have a license, so will give that a try when I have a chance. Hopefully just a simple fix.

[kleinksw]

I haven't tested this on Unity yet. I do have a license, so will give that a try when I have a chance. Hopefully just a simple fix.

Hold up! I just gave it another try. It's working fine. Thanks again for this cool extension.

[digitalhobbit]

Oh, even better. Great - thanks for testing this! :)

[Dr0W]

Man, I would kiss you right now if I could!

I just got into DCC, and I've been using FGU and it seems to be working fine. My Covid sessions will be much smoother thanks to you (and I'll be able to kill more players, since I can make more with a single click!).
Now all I need is a generic blood splatter extension that works with DCC, so much fun!

Edit:

And I just ran into a bug, on the first character I generated.

Character has Stamina 16 (+2), the Hit Points added didn't take Stamina in consideration when the Occupation was added. (Using FGU, didn't try on FGC)

[digitalhobbit]

And I just ran into a bug, on the first character I generated.

Character has Stamina 16 (+2), the Hit Points added didn't take Stamina in consideration when the Occupation was added. (Using FGU, didn't try on FGC)

Glad it's useful - and thanks for the bug report!
I'll take a look at this tonight.

[digitalhobbit]

I just pushed version 0.4, which fixes the issue that Dr0W reported. The Stamina bonus should now be properly added when rolling HP.

[kleinksw]

I noticed that when I first open a level 0 character who has armor, it isn't automatically calculating the AC bonus and check penalty (probably the fumble, too). The armor is listed as equipped. When I un-equip it and then re-equip it, it then calculates things fine. It's not a big deal, but maybe it's an easy fix?

[digitalhobbit]

I noticed that when I first open a level 0 character who has armor, it isn't automatically calculating the AC bonus and check penalty (probably the fumble, too). The armor is listed as equipped. When I un-equip it and then re-equip it, it then calculates things fine. It's not a big deal, but maybe it's an easy fix?

Good catch! I can reproduce the issue. Will look into a fix.

[digitalhobbit]

I noticed that when I first open a level 0 character who has armor, it isn't automatically calculating the AC bonus and check penalty (probably the fumble, too). The armor is listed as equipped. When I un-equip it and then re-equip it, it then calculates things fine. It's not a big deal, but maybe it's an easy fix?

This should be fixed now in version 0.5. Give it a shot.

[kleinksw]

This should be fixed now in version 0.5. Give it a shot.

Just tried it out. It's fixed on Classic. The issue is still there on Unity - I've attached some screenshots.

32352 32353

[digitalhobbit]

Just tried it out. It's fixed on Classic. The issue is still there on Unity - I've attached some screenshots.

32352 32353

Hmm, you're right - I get the same behavior in Unity.

Unfortunately, I don't have access to the DCC ruleset code, which makes it very tricky to debug these things. I'll play with some ideas when I have a chance, but for now, you might have to ask players to unequip and re-equip each piece of armor once, as a workaround.

[kleinksw]

Hmm, you're right - I get the same behavior in Unity.

Unfortunately, I don't have access to the DCC ruleset code, which makes it very tricky to debug these things. I'll play with some ideas when I have a chance, but for now, you might have to ask players to unequip and re-equip each piece of armor once, as a workaround.

No problem at all. It's a simple step for the player to un-equip and re-equip. I'll keep an eye out for an updates you make. Thanks.

[HiLiph]

Fantastic extension - thank you so much!

[digitalhobbit]

I just uploaded version 0.6, which fixes a bug assigning some of the starting equipment. I believe this only affected sling weapons (as carried by the Smuggler occupation, for example), as well as coins as trade goods (e.g. Merchant occupation).

[Dr0W]

Thanks a lot for the update!

This is an FGU issue, and it's a really, really, minor one.
Everytime I start a new game session and I randomize a character I always get the very same name orders as if they weren't actually random. Elin Howel, Owein Beckerleg, Clywd Powell, Keresyk Gibbs are the 4 first ones, and so on.
The only problem I have is that people are actually getting some characters with the same name, which means they are loving the name generator, but yea, we can get new names for them.

Just letting you know that there's a weird behavior on FGU, if you might want to check it out.

[digitalhobbit]

Thanks a lot for the update!

This is an FGU issue, and it's a really, really, minor one.
Everytime I start a new game session and I randomize a character I always get the very same name orders as if they weren't actually random. Elin Howel, Owein Beckerleg, Clywd Powell, Keresyk Gibbs are the 4 first ones, and so on.
The only problem I have is that people are actually getting some characters with the same name, which means they are loving the name generator, but yea, we can get new names for them.

Just letting you know that there's a weird behavior on FGU, if you might want to check it out.

Oh, you're right! In fact, it's worse than you describe: Not only are the names the same, but they also have the same attributes, occupations, etc.

I believe I know the problem. I probably just need to seed the random number generator at the beginning, so it generates a different sequence of numbers on each run. Should have a fix shortly.

[digitalhobbit]

Oh, you're right! In fact, it's worse than you describe: Not only are the names the same, but they also have the same attributes, occupations, etc.

I believe I know the problem. I probably just need to seed the random number generator at the beginning, so it generates a different sequence of numbers on each run. Should have a fix shortly.

Dr0W, I just posted a fixed version. Turned out to be a one-line fix. :)
Thanks for reporting this!

[Dr0W]

Dr0W, I just posted a fixed version. Turned out to be a one-line fix. :)
Thanks for reporting this!

Thanks a lot. And I didn't notice it was not randomizing some things... That's why out of like 30 characters we didn't have any elves or dwarves. Haha!

[digitalhobbit]

Thanks a lot. And I didn't notice it was not randomizing some things... That's why out of like 30 characters we didn't have any elves or dwarves. Haha!

Oops... Sorry - I hope this didn't mess up your campaign too much.

[Dr0W]

Haha, no worries! I like them to be quite rare. Let's see if some of the players are dying to get some elves and dwarves. Literally.

[Nod]

Wow! this is a game changer for me. zero level funnel games can take forever to build out all those character. this makes the character creation take about 20 seconds. wonderful job!

[Checkyboy]

Hey guys … I'm new to FantasyGrounds and trying to get it to work with DCC … I see in the forums the words 'file attached' but I don't see how to click and download them … help?

EDIT: Never mind, switched to 'full site' and there they are ...

[pablomaz]

Thanks, digitalhobbit!
Is it working well on FGU?

[digitalhobbit]

Thanks, digitalhobbit!
Is it working well on FGU?

I haven't used it in a few months, but last time I tested it in FGU, it worked fine except for one bug: Armor isn't applied correctly until you manually unequp and re-equip it.

[pablomaz]

I haven't used it in a few months, but last time I tested it in FGU, it worked fine except for one bug: Armor isn't applied correctly until you manually unequp and re-equip it.

Yup, just tested, works fine! Thanks!

[parallaxion]

where is the extension folder for unity!?

[digitalhobbit]

where is the extension folder for unity!?

Depends on your operating system. But on Windows, it should be something like this:

C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\SmiteWorks\Fantasy Grounds\extensions

[Wargoth]

Thank you for creating this extension - It works great and it saves a lot of time. Excellent work!

[digitalhobbit]

Thank you for creating this extension - It works great and it saves a lot of time. Excellent work!

Glad to hear. Thanks for the shout-out, Wargoth!

[Kamicosmos]

Hmmm, I get just a blank PC sheet. the Cmd just returns the /? menu, not even a blank character.
I don't have a White D6 in the PC window. I have a green circle with + symbol. But that generates the blank PC sheet.
I have both player and GM versions of the rulebook and the module I plan on running selected in modules. I have also tried it without the module, and with only the GM rulebook, and even just the Player only rulebook.
Extension is in proper location (FGU). I even deleted and copied in a few downloaded copy of extension.
Updated my client and updater to versions current as of 1-16-21

[digitalhobbit]

Hmmm, I get just a blank PC sheet. the Cmd just returns the /? menu, not even a blank character.
I don't have a White D6 in the PC window. I have a green circle with + symbol. But that generates the blank PC sheet.
I have both player and GM versions of the rulebook and the module I plan on running selected in modules. I have also tried it without the module, and with only the GM rulebook, and even just the Player only rulebook.
Extension is in proper location (FGU). I even deleted and copied in a few downloaded copy of extension.
Updated my client and updater to versions current as of 1-16-21

I just tried the Gongfarmer generator with the latest FGU version, and it works just fine for me, both using the slash command in the chat window, as well as using the d6 button in the PC window.

Just to make sure: In addition to copying the .ext file into the right place, did you also select the "DCC Gongfarmer Generator" radio button in the Extensions list when you created or loaded your campaign? See the screenshot below.

42929

[Kamicosmos]

I just tried the Gongfarmer generator with the latest FGU version, and it works just fine for me, both using the slash command in the chat window, as well as using the d6 button in the PC window.

Just to make sure: In addition to copying the .ext file into the right place, did you also select the "DCC Gongfarmer Generator" radio button in the Extensions list when you created or loaded your campaign? See the screenshot below.

42929

Sometimes, it's the little things! Like my grandpa was always yelling at me "If that was a snake it woulda done bit ya!"

That's what it was, missed the extension option at startup. Thanks for the quick response! Now I can get back to making lvl 0s, but much more efficiently!

[digitalhobbit]

Sometimes, it's the little things! Like my grandpa was always yelling at me "If that was a snake it woulda done bit ya!"

That's what it was, missed the extension option at startup. Thanks for the quick response! Now I can get back to making lvl 0s, but much more efficiently!

Great to hear - have fun!

[Filthbeard]

Thank you I just ran the extension in Unity and it worked great! Thank you very much for taking the time to do the extension.

[digitalhobbit]

Thank you I just ran the extension in Unity and it worked great! Thank you very much for taking the time to do the extension.

Thanks, great to hear it's useful. Have fun!

[OlDie80]

Hi! I am new to fantasygrounds, a long time roll20 player. I don't the the directory (extensions) for this extension - where is it? Thank you!

[digitalhobbit]

Hi! I am new to fantasygrounds, a long time roll20 player. I don't the the directory (extensions) for this extension - where is it? Thank you!

The location depends on your operating system, but the easiest way to find it is to open the FG launcher. At the top left, you should see a folder icon (see screenshot below). Clicking that should open up that folder in Windows Explorer, Finder (Mac), etc. That's your FG data directory, which in turn should have subfolders for "campaigns", "extensions", "modules", "rulesets", etc. - so go to the "extensions" subfolder, or create one if it doesn't exist yet.

44591

[bayne7400]

Hey so your rando names are all Welsh.... I didn't know this and I found a group of 6 Brits (3 of them Welsh) to play. I apparently had guys with girl names and likewise! Was rather funny! Great extension for DCC.

[digitalhobbit]

Hey so your rando names are all Welsh.... I didn't know this and I found a group of 6 Brits (3 of them Welsh) to play. I apparently had guys with girl names and likewise! Was rather funny! Great extension for DCC.

That's awesome! :)

Indeed: I sourced the random names from these two lists of Cornish (https://www.random-generator.com/index.php?title=Cornish_Names) and Welsh (https://www.random-generator.com/index.php?title=Welsh_Names) names. I can't quite say why, but somehow these felt the most DCC to me. :)

[WindrunnerCGG]

Is anyone else getting errors using this extension? Not sure if it's related to any of the recent ruleset updates or not, but I get:
[ERROR] Script execution error: [string "scripts/chargen.lua"]:97: attempt to call field 'calcItemArmorClass' (a nil value)

Windrunner/Garner

[Tabarkus]

Is anyone else getting errors using this extension? Not sure if it's related to any of the recent ruleset updates or not, but I get:
[ERROR] Script execution error: [string "scripts/chargen.lua"]:97: attempt to call field 'calcItemArmorClass' (a nil value)

Windrunner/Garner

Yes, getting the same error. Though it still seems to create the character sheet, but does not generate a name.

[digitalhobbit]

Yes, getting the same error. Though it still seems to create the character sheet, but does not generate a name.

Thanks for the bug report, WindrunnerCGG and Tabarkus!

It looks like one of the APIs the module depends on recently changed. I adapted the extension accordingly and uploaded the latest version (v0.8). This seems to fix the problem, so give it a shot.

[PrinceThrommel]

Just wanted to pop in and say that we had our very first session of DCC last night and this thing was a game-changer. I don't know how long we would have spent manually rolling up farmers for all six players but this cut the process down to minutes. Should be included in the game core files IMO. Thanks for the hard work.

[digitalhobbit]

Just wanted to pop in and say that we had our very first session of DCC last night and this thing was a game-changer. I don't know how long we would have spent manually rolling up farmers for all six players but this cut the process down to minutes. Should be included in the game core files IMO. Thanks for the hard work.

Thanks for the kind words! Glad it helped!

[Dr0W]

Edit: Nothing to see here, I had updated the version but did something wrong now it's all working again. Sorry!

[Indarien]

Necro-ing an old thread here, but this extension works fine with the latest version of FGU. Thanks for having this here so I didn't have to write my own. :)

[digitalhobbit]

Necro-ing an old thread here, but this extension works fine with the latest version of FGU. Thanks for having this here so I didn't have to write my own. :)

That's great to hear, Indarien. Glad it's useful. Thanks for the shout-out! :)

[rathen45]

I think the most recent update for FGU screwed this up. The ability scores and occupations still fill nicely but it doesn't seem to add the items, lucky rolls or names anymore. Still useful though and thank you very much for developing it. It's awesome for running funnels

[digitalhobbit]

I think the most recent update for FGU screwed this up. The ability scores and occupations still fill nicely but it doesn't seem to add the items, lucky rolls or names anymore. Still useful though and thank you very much for developing it. It's awesome for running funnels

Thanks for letting me know.

I'm a bit swamped at work right now, but will try to reproduce this when I have a chance, and see it it might be a simple fix. I can't make any promises, though. The extension depends on minimally documented integration points with the DCC module and FG, which can be tricky to reverse engineer sometimes. I also haven't been using FG in the last few years myself, so I'm a bit out of touch.

[Indarien]

The extension depends on minimally documented integration points with the DCC module and FG, which can be tricky to reverse engineer sometimes. I also haven't been using FG in the last few years myself, so I'm a bit out of touch.

I saw this update, so I started digging into the code (BTW, Nice comments!) when a new update was pushed out for the DCC RPG/Core RPG. The upstream API call that was broken was fixed upstream. It works again without any modification as of this comment.

[rathen45]

I saw this update, so I started digging into the code (BTW, Nice comments!) when a new update was pushed out for the DCC RPG/Core RPG. The upstream API call that was broken was fixed upstream. It works again without any modification as of this comment.

Nice, I was digging into the code myself (though I have little programming experience myself) and couldn't figure out why it wasn't working. I did at one point try to rearrange the functions which restored the naming and lucky roll functionality but I couldn't figure out what the errors were referring to. Was it the new coin weight modification?

I was thinking of possibly digging into creating a MCC version of this extension that could work with the universal Module but I have no idea what I'm doing. Would you be interested?

[digitalhobbit]

Glad to hear it was just an issue with the API and things are working again! Thanks for taking a look at the code.

[Indarien]

Not a problem, thanks for leaving all those helpful comments in.

[Indarien]

Was it the new coin weight modification?

Correct, it was the coin weight modification.


I was thinking of possibly digging into creating a MCC version of this extension that could work with the universal Module but I have no idea what I'm doing. Would you be interested?

While I would be interested, I am very limited on time right now, so I wouldn't want to commit to something only to be unable to work on it.

[Durhazz]

Is this extension still being worked on? It does not show the stats on the character sheet after generation. Thanks

[digitalhobbit]

Is this extension still being worked on? It does not show the stats on the character sheet after generation. Thanks

No, unfortunately I'm no longer working on this. Truth be told, I haven't used Fantasy Grounds in many years and don't have it set up on my computer right now. The extension worked fine the last time I tried it (some time last year), but it's certainly possible that a FG upgrade broke something.

[Durhazz]

Dang. Well thanks for the extension none the less. It has been fantastic for my DCC games and the meat grinder there in.