Trying to create a TOD/WWII Squad Sheet

[Doswelk]

I am trying to create a Squad sheet for Tour of Darkness, I have got as far as skills.

I was manually creating a die box, a mod box (if the skill was d12) and then a text string for the skill name, but it was a little tedious and would not help for the "blank" skills.

What I really want to do I think is using the npc_skillentry window class and some clever scripting is create a list of skills (some of which are pre-populated with the required skill names). But I am thick when it comes to creating anything more complicated than a couple of extra text boxes here and there.

If the above is not enough of a challenge what I would really like to do as well, instead of having a text file with just names on it for the squad members is have a list that has a token "space" and the NPC and a button that when clicked would let me drag an NPC with the traits and skills from the squad sheet added in so I can drop onto combat tracker.

Any ideas on how I could achieve either of these?

[S Ferguson]

Gee, we're not asking for much are we?

I was thinking of the same thing, except based on the "party" window made for NPC's (In 'nam the average platoon was ten men and a squad was roughly 5 which is usually the number of players you have so it's useless for PC's). I'm a huge fan of ToD and would step up to the plate, but I have another extension on the go right now.

[Doswelk]

Here's what I did in the end (it works at least).

[Ikael]

I quess the first issue is resolved (how did you do it?) And for the second one if I have understood right, you could reuse some of the combat encounters code to implement it. However as I Don't know the deep purpose of the squad sheet could you enlight me slightly more?

[S Ferguson]

The Squad Sheet is used in TOD as a way to group multiple players & regional militias. It was designed to streamline combat encounters. the squad sheet would have to be enabled to be dragged into the CT, as per "quick" combat resolution between groups. If I was making it it would also include extra gear slots (during the Vietnam war, squads were 5-7 men, one of whom had leadership/experience, then there was the Heavy machine gunner, radio operator (if not on a silent long range recon), a "thumper" or grenadier, and two riflemen). Keeping track of ammo would be a plus. But I think he just wanted a squad sheet that could be dragged to the CT.

[S Ferguson]

Oh, and I think he wanted some means of dragging "combat packages" (in TOD your skills are dependent on your rank and file). onto an NPC squad sheet. In toto the squad sheet should be able to accept an aggregation of skills (as per the archetypes in the SW Deluxe Edition) in order to generate pre-generated NPCs, who would then be placed in a Squad Sheet, which could be dropped into the CT.

[Doswelk]

Dakadin has kindly offered to help me with this.

The current code is a re-write of my Ripper Lodge code, which was a re-write of my Slipstream/Sundered Skies Rocket Ship/SkyShip code, which was a hacked version of the NPC code.

Given the way that SW works with NPCs, my intent was:

1) Create a squad sheet and share it with the players (that works).

2) Have a pre-populated list of skills that you just add dice to, and the ability to create extra skills.

This "works" except you have to manually create all the skills

3) Instead of a list of names of the squad members, I'd like to be able to have a list of NPCs that can be dragged to the combat tracker, thus each NPC can have an icon assigned to them and when the NPC is dragged to the combat tracker it copies the weapons and skills and edges and hindrances with it.

This does not exist

The reasoning behind #3 rather than just dragging the Squad sheet to the tracker is that by being able to drag NPCs out you can add them to each PC using the grouping tool so that initiative can be handled "correctly"

The main aim is that it WILL NOT require Ikael's extension (great as that is) as I know someone who may one-day finish the WWII ruleset he is converting, and equally is someone else wants to do TOD they can contact me and I'll happily hand over the squad-sheet and the theme I have created for it.

(Obviously) the squad-sheet itself when finished I will share with any-one (but the TOD theme uses copyrighted artwork that will require release in an official ruleset).

[S Ferguson]

Sign me up. I'll gladly take those offerings.

Since when in TOD's Vietnam, fighting hordes of unseen horrors, do you have time for individual initiative? Historically, most of the combats were at a distance of less than 15 ft. and every just held down the trigger and prayed they wouldn't go down.

In TOD the rest just go insane.