FGU XML and Chatgpt

[Tooting Dog]

I'm playing around creating "5-room dungeons." I'll drag in the character XML and have gpt load it by typing out the details. It does fine with everything except SKILLS. It fights me on that one. Is it that super nested or something? Any tips on getting that part of the character loaded from the XML? I believe off-hand it is in <skilllist> or something like that. It's not a big deal, I just input the score when needed. But boy can GPT hallucinate (lie its butt off if there is too much for it to read.)

[Moon Wizard]

Every game system is different; and it's very unlikely that ChatGPT would have enough information to craft anything useful.

It's easiest to fire up a campaign with the ruleset you are interested in; create a PC record; go to the Skills tab of the PC record; exit FG; then look at the db.xml of the campaign and review the character details. (or export the character, and look at the XML)
(For example, in 5E, I've attached an example of what two skills look like in a PC record in the campaign XML.)


Regards,
JPG

[Tooting Dog]

Yep, I see Skilllist. But it chokes on that, either say it's not there or goes looney tunes making things up.

I popped an XML into GPT5 and it spat this out, see the images. It is quite thorough, even picking up on the notes I have in the Notes.

65473

65474

Oh, and once it spits that out, it has it in its memory for the session.

[LordEntrails]

Try the Character Sheet Printer, it might prefer the format (PDF) that it spits out rather than the native FG XML.

[deer_buster]

It's all about the prompt that you use. I was able to obtain this with a character I exported from 5E.

[Tooting Dog]

What prompt did you use?

I can get it to work sometimes and for some characters. My Ranger in the image actually works many times, but when I switch to my Warlock, it states that it can't find it or it gives me false data. At the present, after giving up, I have the prompt just ask me for any Skill Total when a roll is needed and then save it to memory. (BTW, I'm guessing the XML is real deep and exceeds its memory and GPT gets lazy and stops reading through before reaching the skilllist.)

[deer_buster]

What prompt did you use?

I can get it to work sometimes and for some characters. My Ranger in the image actually works many times, but when I switch to my Warlock, it states that it can't find it or it gives me false data. At the present, after giving up, I have the prompt just ask me for any Skill Total when a roll is needed and then save it to memory. (BTW, I'm guessing the XML is real deep and exceeds its memory and GPT gets lazy and stops reading through before reaching the skilllist.)
I am going to share the prompt I used, then provide suggested prompts that ChatGPT provided me to better articulate (and customize) what you want to do.

What I used
I am going to provide you with an export of a character from Fantasy Grounds for the Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition ruleset. I would like you to parse the file and present a printout of the various traits and attributes of the character in a nice readable output. Things like name, race, class, abilities, defenses, feats, features, skills, inventory should all be grouped appropriately and presented in name: value, or container: bulleted listitems.


Short and direct


Parse the attached Fantasy Grounds 5E character export XML. Read all fields without guessing, then normalize them into a clean, human-readable summary. Group the output into these sections and formats:

Character: name, race, background, class and level, subclass, proficiency bonus, senses, size, inspiration, passive perception
Combat: AC, HP with wounds and temp, initiative, speed, saving throws, resistances, immunities, vulnerabilities, conditions
Abilities: STR, DEX, CON, INT, WIS, CHA with modifiers
Skills: list trained and untrained with total bonuses
Features: class features, racial traits, feats
Proficiencies: armor, shields, weapons, tools, vehicles
Languages: list
Weapons: each weapon with type, damage, properties, proficiency
Inventory: equipped and carried with weights, coins
Encumbrance: carried weight, thresholds, max carry, lift-push-drag
Attunement: used vs available

Print using name: value lines or container: bulleted listitems. Do not invent values. If something is missing, write Missing. Keep the wording concise and neutral. No em dashes.

Detailed, process-focused


You will receive a Fantasy Grounds 5E character export XML. Perform these steps and produce a tidy, printable readout.

Load the XML and traverse nodes safely. Do not assume a fixed order. Handle absent or empty nodes.
Extract and normalize these groups:

Character identity: name, race, background, class with level, subclass, proficiency bonus, senses, size, inspiration, passive perception
Combat: AC, HP with wounds and temp, initiative, speed, saving throws per ability, resistances, immunities, vulnerabilities, conditions
Ability scores: STR, DEX, CON, INT, WIS, CHA plus modifiers
Skills: list all skills with final totals. Mark trained vs not trained if provided
Features: class features, subclass features, racial traits, feats, special powers with uses and recharge notes if present
Proficiencies: armor, shields, weapons, tools, vehicles
Languages: list
Weapons: name, melee or ranged, damage dice and type, properties, proficiency
Inventory: equipped and carried items with weight, and coins
Encumbrance: total carried, thresholds, limits
Attunement: slots used vs available


Do not fabricate data. If a field is not present, output Missing.
Preserve rules text and item notes as plain text. Remove duplicate whitespace.
Output format:

Use name: value lines for single values
Use container: bulleted listitems for lists
Keep lines short. No em dashes


At the end, include a quick data quality note that lists which major sections had Missing fields.


Ultra-precise template with acceptance criteria


Task: Read a Fantasy Grounds DnD 5E character export XML and produce a clean, print-ready summary without guessing.
Inputs

One XML file that may vary in ordering and optional fields.

Parsing rules


Traverse by element names and attributes rather than fixed positions.
Trim whitespace. Preserve meaningful punctuation.
Do not invent data. If a value is absent, write Missing.
If both computed and stored values exist, prefer stored values from the XML.
For numeric bonuses, include signs (+2, -1).
Preserve item properties text as plain text.

Output structure and formatting


Character

Name:
Race:
Background:
Class:
Subclass:
Proficiency Bonus:
Senses:
Size:
Inspiration:
Passive Perception:


Combat

Armor Class:
Hit Points:
Initiative:
Speed:
Saving Throws:

Strength:
Dexterity:
Constitution:
Intelligence:
Wisdom:
Charisma:


Resistances:
Immunities:
Vulnerabilities:
Conditions:


Abilities

Strength:
Dexterity:
Constitution:
Intelligence:
Wisdom:
Charisma:


Skills

Proficient:

bullet items


Other:

bullet items



Features

Class Features: bullets
Racial Traits: bullets
Feats: bullets


Proficiencies

Armor: bullets
Shields: bullets
Weapons: bullets
Tools: bullets
Vehicles: bullets


Languages: bullets
Weapons: bullets with damage, type, properties
Inventory

Equipped: bullets with weights
Carried: bullets with weights
Coins: bullets


Encumbrance: bullets
Attunement: bullets

Style


Use name: value or container: bulleted listitems only.
Keep it concise and table-ready.
No em dashes anywhere.

Acceptance criteria


All major sections above appear, even if some fields are Missing.
No fabricated values.
Lists are bulleted. Single values are name: value.
Signs on numeric bonuses are explicit.
Output is ready to paste into a PDF or Word renderer.

[Tooting Dog]

I used your prompt/instructions/contract for GPT. The first image will show a portion of it to show that I am indeed using it. This is a clean regular ol' GPT 5. I have no other prompts or instructions.

As with my prompt, my Ranger does ok with the Skills. It will find them most of the time. As you can see, it did with your prompt, too. But with my Warlock, yours, as with mine, can't find the Skills. I'm wondering if there is a thing with casters that totally buries or puts skilllist too deep past its memory. Weird.

[Tooting Dog]

formatting issue. Dbl post. Delete.

[deer_buster]

I used your prompt/instructions/contract for GPT. The first image will show a portion of it to show that I am indeed using it. This is a clean regular ol' GPT 5. I have no other prompts or instructions.

As with my prompt, my Ranger does ok with the Skills. It will find them most of the time. As you can see, it did with your prompt, too. But with my Warlock, yours, as with mine, can't find the Skills. I'm wondering if there is a thing with casters that totally buries or puts skilllist too deep past its memory. Weird.

can message me the xml for your warlock and I can take a look. I didn't have one available to test

[Tooting Dog]

The culprit might be that chatgpt has to be in Code Interpreter mode and not Chat mode. I still have to play around with things to verify this or not. But my one and only test got me results!