4E Module Generator - Offline compendium > Fantasy Grounds
Hello everyone,
This post is about a set of scripts that will allow you to generate Fantasy Grounds modules from the Offline Compendium data.
Foreword
https://i.imgur.com/dPtisxE.png
What is the Offline Compendium?
For those who never heard about the Offline Compendium, it was a way to access the Online 4E Compendium and with it, all official 4e content ever created without internet access.
It was great for us since we have a tradition of playing in a large farmhouse without wifi (+ it has way, way better research feature).
Nowadays since the online compendium has been shut down by WotC, it became the only way to access all 4E data and many DM made the migration before the shutdown.
Here is a video for more details https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNDze9Ok5fE).
But you know, there is several compendium existing, how do I know this is the right module generator?
Indeed, there is two compendium hosting 4e data these days. Or at least, two that I am aware of. These module-generating scripts will only work with the "Offline Compendium".
If your compendium looks like this picture below, you are in the right place. If it's not, you might want to check my other thread here https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forum...read.php?60524.
https://i.imgur.com/nGEYnOs.png
How does it work and which modules will I be able to create?
The scripts I bring here will allow you to generate modules sufficient to launch any campaign of the fourth edition in Fantasy Grounds.
We're talking about 5000+ NPCs for you DM and for your players of 9000+ Powers and 3000+ Feats ready to drag and drop in their character sheets.
Moreover, this can also generate modules including all non-magical base items, gear ready to take and armors/weapons available to be customized into magic items.
Installation & Usage
Ok so now how can I make it work ?
It should be easy, or I least I tried to make it easy.
First things first you need to download and unzip the module generation scripts here : https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Obt...p8NuuK0mATvKq/
And follow carefully the detailed steps written below.
1. Copy the armor, feat, implement, item, monster, power and weapon folders from "PathYoYour4eCompendium/4e_database_files/".
2. Then paste them inside the sources folder of the generator located at "4E Module Generator/sources/".
https://i.imgur.com/UbktET5.png
(Or you could go the barbarian way here and copy all the folders from within the "4e_database_files" of your 4E Offline Compendium into the sources folder).
3. Execute the "4E Module Generator/_run_all.bat" file (double clic should be fine). Then six executable will be launched and six consoles should appear (once per modules generated) with info of the parsing happening.
4. Each consoles will ask you to press enter to close them once finished.
https://i.imgur.com/4XygupA.png
5. Finally you will be able to find the generated modules in the "4E Module Generator/export" folder in each specific repositories (i.e. "4e_NPC.mod" in "4E Module Generator/export/npc")
6. Just copy these 6 modules from their export folders into your FG modules folder (default should be ".../Fantasy Gounds/Data/modules") and load them in your campain!
7. Don't forget to give access to your players to the basic items / feats / powers modules to ease character creation.
https://i.imgur.com/xwpRear.png
And voilą you should be done and ready to start creating colorfull characters and dreadfull encounters!
Last notes
I'm curious, how does it works?
Remember when you copied the folders at step one? Each of these folders cointain `dataX.js` files with X beeing a number always ranging from 0 to 19.
These files are the source information used by the Offline Compendium and are in fact the only thing you need for this converter to work.
Each individuals scripts (*.py files compiled as *.exe files) are called by the `_run_all.bat` executable to parse text (json objects) from the Offline Compendium into Fantasy Grounds Compatible data which is then exported (in xml) and bundled in a module (mod).
Since it's only a handfull of python scripts (not compiled language), anyone can open these to see more how it works.
Or even change them into other generators for those of you with enough motivation (licence availaple in COPYING.txt).
Yet it's far from state of the art code since it was done quickly and also part of the first experimentation of a friend with coding. But hey, it works! (or should, or at least it worked here? Tell me if it does not!)
Any known issues?
- Sublass of items are swaped with Class and therfore automation for ranged weapons and armors does not work properly, it's an easy fix for a future update.
- Recharge for monsters skills are not tracked, this is due to the source data not storing this info at the same place every time. An upgrade of the npc script should put things back in the right order.
I sincerely hope this can help many of you the way it helped me setting up my last campain!