You are welcome. If you find anything that needs to be updated or areas that need more information, just let me know.Quote:
Originally Posted by JRock
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You are welcome. If you find anything that needs to be updated or areas that need more information, just let me know.Quote:
Originally Posted by JRock
This is an amazingly helpful document. Thanks LordEntrails for your hard work.
I no longer subscribe to Microsoft's Office Suite, so Windows 10 defaults to Wordpad to open the .docx file. In WordPad there are highlighted "Examples" (see the screenshot below). Are these links to something somewhere else that Wordpad is failing to resolve? Or are they just placeholders (for future work I suspect)?
(Please know that no criticism is intended. I'm just wondering if my lack of succumbing to Suite extortion has finally produced a negative result - like I can't follow links.)
Thanks.
Attachment 23839
Glad it helps :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Minty23185Fresh
Those are actually images that word pad can't/doesn't show. the only hyperlinks are at the end under Resources.
I've added a PDF version to the first post so you can use that. I wanted the native file available to everyone in case in the future I'm no longer active on the forums, some one else can take over and maintain the doc without having to start over or worry about text extraction from a pdf.
(I'm not a fan of Office 365 either.)
I use OpenOffice (LibreOffice).Quote:
Originally Posted by LordEntrails
Thank you LordEntrails. "I can see clearly now..."Quote:
Originally Posted by LordEntrails
I am using something I just discovered, the ability to use the "Random" Encounter generator Form rather than the default set number of monsters in an Encounter Form.
You might want to include this in your document? But if you do I think the caveat (below) needs some emphasis.
I'm sure everyone already knows about this but for the sake of the newcomers (or my inability to express myself adequately), here's what I am talking about..
Screenshots are provided..
1) To create a "Random" Encounter, open the Encounters Library Dialog, then click the Random button.
Attachment 23842
2) Create a New entry and populate your "Random" Encounter (note the "Generate" button at the bottom of the encounter Dialog).
Attachment 23843
3) Here is the important caveat. If you test your new "Random" Encounter, by clicking the Generate button, it generates an encounter for you, but you'll probably want to ensure you remove all your randomly generated tests before final publication of your module.
Attachment 23844
I do need to update the document. Thanks for the details. I'll try to get it updated before too long.
If anyone else has suggestions for new areas, changes, or improvements, just let me know.
You can also use the Google Docs to open the .DOCX files. You can install offline versions of the Google suite, which is pretty simple to do:Quote:
Originally Posted by Andraax
Make sure you are online (you are, you are reading this right?) :)
Use Chrome and add the Docs Offline extension to Chrome: (https://chrome.google.com/webstore/d...nilnnbdlolhkhi)
that's pretty much it, and for the most part the Google suite works as well as Office does, although there may be some minor tweaking to some things needed. To be fair, the same issues occur with OpenOffice, LibreOffice, WPS and FreeOffice, the term '100% compatible' is a bit of a misnomer. Yes you can open and save in the .DOCX format, but it's not going to truly be 100% perfect.
How do i get to the document
It's attached to the 1st post in this thread.Quote:
Originally Posted by vooddoo69
Make sure you are not viewing the site with the mobile view otherwise you won't see the link. Find the drop down menu at the bottom left of the page and select FGResponsive or click on the view full site link.Quote:
Originally Posted by vooddoo69
Hi,
I've just started building my first adventure module (it's based around Cellar of Death but for 5th Level, to take my players from LMoP through to ToA) and I'm trying to minimise the number of modules I need open when running it. To this end I'd like to have copies of all the NPCs I need within the module, and not to need the original modules open (MM, Tome of Beasts etc). So, my question is this, do I need to make a copy of each NPC before dragging it to my module's NPC list, or should the act of dragging from say the Monster Manual to my Beyond Phandelver NPCs list automatically create a copy? In my testing it seems like I do need to specifically make a copy of the NPC before dragging that copy to my module, but was just wondering if I was doing something wrong to need this step, or whether this is in fact the best practice? I have been looking around for the answer in the forums, Wiki and manual but only seem to find the instruction to drag the NPC over, but this NPC, not being a copy, vanishes when I subsequently close the MM for example.
I hope this makes sense and thanks for your help in advance.
Simon
Manually create a copy first, then drag to your group. Dragging a NPC record to a new group just reassigns the group to the NPC record, it doesn't make a copy.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ludd_G
That's what I suspected, thanks load for the speedy reply!
Quick question - I recently saw a suggested "order" to enter things where the poster (I think it was a video, but can't remember for sure) said that would enter things, add NPC's, items, etc., go back through the story entries edit/add links for certain items. The order itself sounded like a bit of a flowchart - go back up and do this step again, etc. For the life of me, my Google-fu is failing me. Does anyone recognize what I'm trying to describe? Can you point me to it? Anyone have a step-by-step that they find useful to remember everything that needs to be done when entering an adventure/sourcebook?
Ppost #1 in this thread?
Rob2e/Rob Twohy has a YouTube video where he talks about this. No flowchart that I'm aware of though (he does talk about it like that). IMO, Rob's process is describing how to convert a published adventure. It's not necessarily the process for new content creation.Quote:
Originally Posted by pno_mn
When it comes to new content, the question to me is how are you going to create this? Do you create it in OneNote, Word, or straight into FG? I've done it several different ways, right now I usually enter it straight into FG, and that process is going to be very different than converting it from something else.
- Image file names should not contain special characters or have more than one consecutive space in them.
Added in response to the post; https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forum...l=1#post491562
still helpful after all these months...
Hi All, Looking for some advise wasn't sure if here or a new post would be better, decided here as people may benefit from it in best practices more than reading thru many pages of search returns.
Story/content ordering. I have used the recommended order of simple 0.0, 0.0.1, 1.0, 2.0 ... etc But having an issue when I to 10.0 and higher as they order after 1.0 and before 2.0. How can I address more than 9 sections of a topic or more than 9 topics ? screen shot to help explain where I am at:
Attachment 34011
Thanks for any help!
Cheers.
Number 01.01, 02.01 etc. And then 10.01 and up will be in the right order.
Thanks Myrdin Works like a charm.
For the guide if I may suggest add that in as an example. I had read that but at least to me it didn't register enough to make sense. Could just be me. Cheers.
Thanks, I added such an example in my copy. Did not update at this point. Usually wait until their are several significant changes.
I have been converting a 5e adventure and also its reference manual - just finished the adventure part and a bit of the reference manual - then I thought DAMN! I need to have the reference part as a separate module, since it can (and should) be loaded in situations outside of the adventure part. Is there a way to seperate the two at Export or will I have to start doing the reference part seperately?
Hindsight is amazing, should have made the reference book first and then linked the adventure to the material there as needed.
Re: Reference Part vs Adventure Part
I might be simplifying this too much but the reference part would include Spells, Maps and other Images, new Feats, etc. Whereas the adventure part probably includes mostly Story and Encounters. Do I have this about right?
If that’s the case, you just select the pertinent libraries at export.
Though I’m not sure this is necessary, you say you’re converting an existing module. It came as a complete package, I assume, so you’d probably want to export it as a complete package, wouldn’t you?
Yes, hindsight again, after I posted this I thought about it and decided it just comes as a bundle in the original PDF so why bother making life more complex!Quote:
Originally Posted by Minty23185Fresh
Thanks anyway.
I'm not sure how you would break out a Ref Manual to a different module, but a Player vs GM module would be easiest to break out by actually editing the xml itself. Make the whole thing, then duplicate the campaign and in the db.xml delete out the parts you don't want (assuming you can do this in large chunks) Then do final clean up in each campaign then export.
Hello,
Can you create a module with a Demo version?
Thanks
Not sure. I've never tried but I doubt it.Quote:
Originally Posted by DagBateway
FGC and FGU might also have different behavior. But from what I remember, FGC does not allow a demo user to save a campaign (only characters), so IF it allowed module export, then you would have to create everything in one session of FG and export it then. FGU does allow at least characters to be saved in a campaign, but I have no idea about other campaign data or the ability to export it.
Question: I'm running a PF AP that hasn't been officially converted to FG (Shattered Star). We are finishing chapter 1, and I just created a module for chapter 2, using a development campaign. How do I create the module for chapter 3? If I use the same dev campaign, it will include everything from chapter 2 and 3, won't it? Do I just create a new development campaign for each chapter?
I ran into a very similar issue running a complete season of Adventurers League modules (there are sixteen in the season). Unfortunately I’m a slow learner and I didn’t figure this out until about module six. I then created a shell campaign to house the characters and other items common to the overall arc. I also have “import” campaigns that I import each module or in you case chapter into. Once imported I export to an FG module and then add it to my story arc shell campaign. You can swap modules in and out as needed, load multiple chapters if needed. Hope this help and I hope I’ve explained it sufficiently well.Quote:
Originally Posted by coyote670
So Minty has good input.Quote:
Originally Posted by coyote670
I don't know how big those chapters are, or the total length of a AP. If each chapter is equivalent of only a few (~8) pages in a printed module you can probably put all the chapters into one Development campaign/Module. Think of how big the official modules are, and that's probably a reasonable size to set as your max.
Other things to consider, more modules and dev campaigns probably don't hurt, unless they have a lot of 'cross' or re-used content, like items or NPCs. In that case, you might want to take Minty's approach and have a central common module and then chapter modules.
Sorry I don't have specific advice for this AP, I just don't know it :(
I've created quite a few modules and I have found that creating a new campaign for each module works best. Therefore having a shell campaign to RUN the game in is a good idea. Once I finish exporting the module, then I move that developmental campaign into an archives folder right in the campaign folder. It doesn't seem to affect anything as FG seems to ignore it. I keep the original developmental campaign in the archives folder just in case I made some kind of mistake or until I am sure I won't be making any more edits to the module.Quote:
Originally Posted by coyote670
Okay, thanks folks. I like the idea of the archive.
Thank you for this guide. I've referenced it many times since I've started GMing. NPC, Item and Image development are pretty simple (for someone who's new to VTTs in general). A few questions though:Quote:
Originally Posted by LordEntrails
1. Story Entries. It's been easy to add those. But all my new story entries are Uncategorized. Is there a way to categorize them? Otherwise, I'm following a name convention.
2. Module Development Campaign. So, is the rationale for creating a Development Campaign is to create all the content, export it to a New Campaign, then run the live session in that New Campaign? What happens if I don't do that? I've just ran a few sessions with my current campaign, so I'm not THAT far into things I can't just start a Development Campaign.
Thanks for all this great guidance!
EDIT: So, I've reading the more recent posts, and one thing that confuses me is the use of the term "module", which can refer to an "adventure" or "adventure path" (which have been called modules) or the technical "widget" in FG that you can activate/deactivate in your Library (sorry if I'm not describing this accurately; I'm not a techie). Creating separate "modules" is really creating separate campaigns in the Launcher?
In reverse order (and keeping in mind I'm a newb at this stuff):
2. When you export the module, you give it a name; when you then activate it in New Campaign, it shows up as a category. So...
1. You create it in a development campaign, export it, import it in the game you're running, and the story entries will have the category of whatever you named that exported module. For example, I'm running Shattered Star; I entered all the stuff for book 2 in a development campaign, and exported it, naming it "Shattered Star Chapter 2: Curse of the Lady's Light". Now, in the campaign we play in, I can go to Parcels, Items, Encounters, etc, and the Group dropdown has "Shattered Star Chapter 2: Curse of the Lady's Light" as an option.
Modules you create get activated like any other module - once they are in the right folder, start FG, find the module listing in the Data Module Activation window, and click the Load button. (Not-pro tip: don't click to allow the players to load your adventure module. D'oh!)
A Fantasy Ground module is an individual unit of info that you can load into a campaign - it can represent a rulebook, an adventure (frequently known as "a module" in old school D&D), a sourcebook, someone's house rules, or any number of other things.
You can create categories in your development campaign (or any campaign). Click the edit list button and add anew line and then call it whatever you want. You can create entries in that category if you have it selected when you create new entries; or you can drag and drop existing entries into it. When you export your module these categories will export with it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ryuson
The rationale for a development campaign is so that the material you create in it can be exported and then used in multiple campaigns. If you are just creating the content and only intend to ever run this as a single campaign for one group then you don't need to worry about a development campaign. A development campaign allows you to add new things, edit existing ones or even delete things and then use that in any other campaign.
A module isn't a campaign. A module is something which you load into a campaign from the module activation screen. A module can be a complete adventure, a reference manual or just a list of NPCs or items. Modules are something you use in a campaign and are not a campaign in or of themselves.
One other reason I use development campaigns and then export into modules for use in my play campaigns is so I can more easily manage content in my play campaign. My campaigns tend to go a long time (years), and if everything I create I did straight in the paly campaign I would have tons of stuff in there. And I don't like to delete stuff. So for example, my current group started by delving into my own version of the Undermountain. Hundreds of maps and story entries etc. Then they moved onto Dragon Heist, but I also created a bunch of custom content for DH based upon the Alexandrian Remix. Then they did Storm Lord's Wrath, which I also have a custom module for additional content.
Had I not done that, managing all my custom content and saving it for potential future re-use, would be a nightmare!
Hi guys,
I am starting to create my own campaing and following the beatiful work pin on this thread I decided to split modules as follow (always are dev campaign):
1) World (Region, Faith, Religion, Group, Faction ...) for this campaign I use Worlbuilder extension I found very useful to organize the data
2) Story (all the plot of campaing)
3) NPC (all NPC not hostile)
4) Monsters (all monster/NPC hostile)
5) Items (any tipe of items and related shops)
6) Hazards (encounter, drop, parcels, traps ...)
7) Core (this is the campaign for the live)
I would take only necessary chunk of the modules above to add to a "session/chapter" module to load in the live campaign so in the future is possible to come back to a specific module so I have the following question..
How can I manage link from a module to another?? If I duplicate entry with drag & drog the system will ask every time the module to come from but if I copy the entry I loose the connection with the original module
Example: I have an entry like a place in World module and want to link to a NPC from the module NPC exported so drag & drop the entry then export this module.. so if I have understand correctly to open the link I need to load the NPC module?!?
Sorry if my question is trivial or silly but I am going crazy about this.
By the way I attach a sample (I have to link Brother Satarin if he is come from NPC modules)???
Attachment 48508
Thank you to all for the tons of info you give us beginner!!!
When linking to another module, there is no around loading the module it links to unless the data is duplicated within the same module. Personal use modules can be merged and streamline data to the same module. If this is being used for public use or commercial and it links to a paid product it would need to be linked and not duplicated.
Yes. Anything which you link that exists in another module needs the module linked to to be open in the campaign.