Global Change & Replace Editing

[DeDiceManCometh]

I like to use published material (because TIME!) but I am trying to avoid having certain players read published materials to gain "an edge" in play.*

Is there a tool or technique by which I can easily do a global replace (every instance of "The Temple of Elemental Evil" changed to "The Sanctum of the Four Domains" or "Lolth" to "Ungoliant." for instance)?

I realize that names carried in image names and other elements might be a difficult thing to detect and change globally, but what about the story items at least? Is there an external utility that can operate on a module file?

*There's a lot of should/shouldn't wisdom about this, but, bottom line is: if you are posting in various LFG forums for pick-up games, there are players who are deliberately going to read ahead with no intention of separating player knowlege from character knowlege—while promising never to do so at the outset. Yes, I don't get it either. Yes, I have kicked them out when unmasked, and I'd kick them out beforehand, too, if Detect Lie and Scry spells worked in real life.

[Temmpest]

I like to use published material as well (until I run out of them, which I don't see happening anytime in the near future), and I also had a concern with players reading up on them. First of all, you have to have some trust that your players won't do that. But here's what I've done to mitigate this issue:

1. When creating the campaign, I never use the name of the published adventure. However, savvy players will figure out what you're running soon enough.
2. I hide the name of any images or maps that the players see that may give away information I don't want them to know, yet.
3. Don't be afraid to change up NPCs. You can change names and stats. I usually have to do this anyway to adjust the adventure to the current party size and level.
4. I insert side quests that are not in the published adventure. You can create your own or use one from another source. Storm's King Thunder is great for this because it's designed so that the party is never able to play every quest in the book. There are several good side quests to draw from.

I'm sure there are other DMs out there who have other tricks.

Hope this helps somewhat.

[DeDiceManCometh]

But for #3, do you do this manually throughout all of the adventure? That seems like a lot of work for adventures with many major NPCs (Out of the Abyss, for instance.) Or have you figured out a nifty way to do a global name-change?

[LordEntrails]

There is no way to do a find & replace on purchased modules. They are encrypted so that outside of FG you can not access them. Inside FG there is not Find and Replace capability. You can edit individual entities, but that can take some time and it will be campaign specific and overwritten if you ever Revert the module.

[Temmpest]

But for #3, do you do this manually throughout all of the adventure? That seems like a lot of work for adventures with many major NPCs (Out of the Abyss, for instance.) Or have you figured out a nifty way to do a global name-change?

There's no need to make a global change. You can change names on the fly. Fantasy Grounds makes it super easy to do. Just create a group for specific NPCs you change. They'll always be available for access.

[DeDiceManCometh]

I can understand why that wouldn't be able to be done on purchased modules. Too bad.

As a follow up,... can it be done with something I've written fresh in FGU? Meaning, can I export my own stuff to a file format that a normal editor with Find and Replace functionality can work with?

[LordEntrails]

I can understand why that wouldn't be able to be done on purchased modules. Too bad.

As a follow up,... can it be done with something I've written fresh in FGU? Meaning, can I export my own stuff to a file format that a normal editor with Find and Replace functionality can work with?
Yes, modules you create are saved in the module folder. You can rename them, unzip them and then edit them in any text editor you desire.

[Trenloe]

As a follow up,... can it be done with something I've written fresh in FGU? Meaning, can I export my own stuff to a file format that a normal editor with Find and Replace functionality can work with?
You could do a find/replace in the campaign db.xml file (make a backup before editing this file and only edit it while FG isn't running). Verify each change before making it, don't just do a replace all as this could impact links (database references).

[LordEntrails]

You could do a find/replace in the campaign db.xml file (make a backup before editing this file and only edit it while FG isn't running). Verify each change before making it, don't just do a replace all as this could impact links (database references).
Will the db.xml have names/references from the loaded modules if they have not yet been modified?
Wouldn't they need to make copies (in the campaign) of all the module objects before the db.xml will have them?

[Trenloe]

Will the db.xml have names/references from the loaded modules if they have not yet been modified?
Wouldn't they need to make copies (in the campaign) of all the module objects before the db.xml will have them?
What I mentioned would just be modifying the campaign data, not module data. It was in response to "can it be done with something I've written fresh in FGU".

[LordEntrails]

What I mentioned would just be modifying the campaign data, not module data. It was in response to "can it be done with something I've written fresh in FGU".
Got it :)

[DeDiceManCometh]

Thank you! Very helpful.