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  1. #1

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    [Extension] Character Advances Tab

    Hi fellow savages!

    I wanted a way to track the advances my characters take. The players in my group also wanted something like this.

    The main tab holds only the highest rank edges (e.g. Frenzy is replaced by Improved Frenzy). Edges are nicely sorted, as are skills, and it's great during game play to know what your character has. But it doesn't indicate what was taken when.

    There is a large notes area, which I put to use, but it seems a bit messy to use for tracking advancement among backstory, contacts, quest notes, etc.

    There is, as yet, no real auditing of character advancement. Understandable, since this gets tricky when you account for setting rules. This extension, I hope, makes up for that to some degree.

    This extension for FGU adds a new tab to player character sheets entitled "Advances". The top section has expanding lines wherein you can type your starting abilities. A list under that is where you enter each advance.

    Currently, you have to delete rows using the right click menu. You can also add new rows that way. The add button auto-increments the advance and fills in the appropriate rank. If you add with the right click menu, it doesn't do that.

    I hope you find this as useful as I and my players do.

    Note: I don't own FG Classic, so I don't know if it will work in FGC.

    Version 1.44 Changes (2024-01-31)
    Minor code changes to address yesterday's text button theme change.
    Minor code changes to catch up on other recent CoreRPG UI changes.

    Version 1.43 Changes (2023-12-28)
    A minor bug fix for an error that happens on Attribute increases.

    Forge
    This extension is in the Forge an can be found here:
    Character Advances Tab
    Added "Feature:" prefix to name.
    Added buttons to taken advances to move lines up and down.
    Changed move buttons from arrows to triangles.
    Underlying code changes to keep pace with CoreRPG updates.

    NOTE: There are two copies of this extension; one set up under Savage Worlds and the other set up under SWADE. They're the same, so you need only one of them.
    The early versions of forge lacked some settings and I didn't know where the extension belonged, so I put it both places.
    I'll keep both updated, so don't worry about that.
    Last edited by Mike Serfass; January 31st, 2024 at 22:11. Reason: version 1.44

  2. #2

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    What Is It?
    This extension adds a new tab to the Savage Worlds character sheet which allows you to track your character advancements in detail. No more cluttered notes! It works with SWADE, Savage Worlds Deluxe, and Pathfinder for Savage Worlds.
    When characters gain something from an advance, the character's portrait is displayed with the advance message. The GM and party members are able to see how characters are progressing.

    Sections

    Buttons
    The topmost section contains a few buttons. They toggle the display of the Starting and Planning sections. This lets you easily hide the sections you don't use, and show what you do use.
    These settings are also under game settings near the bottom of the list.
    The right-most button links you to this forum so you can learn to use the extension, request help, share ideas, and make suggestions.

    XP Section
    For GMs who use xp, there's an optional xp section on the advances tab. When enough xp is awarded, characters will automatically advance.
    When the xp option is turned on, the Party Sheet gains an "Award XP" button and xp field for the GM. Type in how much xp was earned, click the award button, and all characters in the party sheet gain that much xp.
    If used, this section shows how many xp the character has, how many xp for the next advance, and how many xp are required per advance. These values can be changed, so the GM can control progression rate.
    This setting is under game Options near the bottom of the list.

    Advances
    This shows the list of what was taken each advance.
    When advancing, it automatically sets the advance number and rank of the new advance.

    Planned Advances
    There's an optional planning section for those who like to plan their character's career. When the character advances, the top planned advance is moved to the taken advances section for you.

    Starting
    The optional starting section allows you to track what your character started life with. Separate places for Attributes, Skills, Edges, Hindrances, and Abilities make it clear exactly what the starting point was.
    This is displayed by default.


    How to Use It

    Advances Section
    Drag and drop Edges, Hindrances, Special Abilities, Racial Abilities, Powers, Skills, pretty much anything to the Advances section and it will add that item as an advance. It creates a link on the taken advances line so you can quickly open the linked item.
    Dropped links will add the Edge, Hindrance, Special Ability, or Racial Ability to the Main tab in the appropriate section.
    When you advance, if you don't use the Planned section, or you haven't planned that advance, a blank row is added to the Advances section. You can drag an Edge, Ability, etc. to the blank row and it will add the ability to your character.
    You can change the advance numbers to re-order advances by typing or pressing control + mouse wheel.

    Powers and Skills
    Dropped Powers will add the Power to the Powers tab and assign it to the default Arcane Background.
    Dropped Skills will add the skill if the character does not already have it, or will advance the Skill one die type.
    Currently only one Power or Skill can be dropped per taken advancement.
    Typing Skills or Abilities into the Advances list won't update the Skill or Ability like moving them from the Planned list does.


    Planned Advances Section
    You can change the planned advance order by typing a new number or by pressing control + mouse wheel over the number box.
    Better yet, there are buttons on the left to move lines up and down with a click.
    When a character advances, the top-most planned item (the line with # 1) is moved to Advances.
    You can also manually move items from the Planned Advances section to the taken advances section using the arrow on the right side.

    Powers
    Powers are automatically added to the Powers tab from the Planned Advances list on Advances.
    A Power can be dropped to the Planned list, It will create a link to that power.
    Currently only on Power can be dropped per Planned line.
    To add more than one Power for an advance, or to link Powers to Edges like Arcane Background or New Power, put each Power name inside curly braces {}. Separate multiple powers with commas.
    Writing this on a blank Planned line
    Code:
    {Burst}, {Invisibility}
    will add Burst and Invisibility to your Powers list, linked to the default Arcane Background.
    You can add Powers with Edges. For example, drop New Power on the Planned list, then type the powers you want behind it.
    Editing the text to:
    Code:
    New Power {Burst},{Invisibility}
    will add the New Power Edge to the Main tab and the Burst and Invisibility Powers to the Powers tab, linked to the default Arcane Background.
    If you drop an Arcane Background to Planned Advances and change the text to
    Code:
    Arcane Background (Magic) {Burst}, {Invisibility}, {Deflection}
    it will add the Arcane Background (Magic) Edge to the Main tab, the Arcane Background (Magic) to the Powers tab, and the Burst, Deflection, and Invisibility Powers to the Powers list.

    Traits
    Dropped Skills work in Planned Advances as they do in taken Advances.
    Currently only one Skill can be dropped per taken advancement.
    If you drop a Skill on a planned line, when it's moved to the taken list, it will either add the Skill or increment it one die type. For linked Skills, don't add "+1d" or "=d4" to a linked Skill's name.
    To add multiple Skills, you must add a blank line and type them in manually.
    Separate Skills with commas.
    Behind each Trait name, indicate the die increase using one of these methods:
    Code:
    =dx
    where x is the die type (4, 6, 8). You can also type
    Code:
    =dx+y
    where x is the die type and y is a bonus.
    Examples:
    Code:
    Fighting =d6
    sets Fighting to a d6 from whatever die it was before, so be careful not to downgrade!
    Code:
    Fighting =d12+3
    sets Fighting to d12+3.
    You can increment a die type, as in
    Code:
    +xd
    where x is the number of dice to raise it by. Usually one, but it could be more for settings that allow it.
    Code:
    Shooting +1d
    will increase Shooting 1 die type. If the character does not already have Shooting, it will be added to the Skills list and set to d4.
    Normally two Skills are increased per advance. It would look like
    Code:
    Fighting =d6, Shooting +1d
    Note how you can mix nomenclature.
    You can also use this indicator to set a Trait to a specific die type
    Code:
    Strength d8

    Additional
    Arcane Background Edges are added to the character's Edges on the Main tab. They're also added to the Powers tab.
    Edges with Powers (e.g. New Power {Blast},{Burst} will strip the powers off when added to the Edges list, but will keep them in the taken Advances list.
    There's a small bug that I'm unable to fix. It's easy to avoid, and is a rare scenario, I think. Simply don't set a Skill to anything higher than a d4 starting out if it doesn't already exist on your character sheet.

    [B]Upcoming Changes[B]
    Multiple lines in planned and taken advances. This will allow you to add multiple Skills and Powers to a single advance, and to more easily link Powers to Edges like New Powers.
    Linked Gear. This will add the gear to the appropriate gear sub tab. This will be most useful for cyberware.
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Last edited by Mike Serfass; February 4th, 2023 at 20:48. Reason: Changed to "help" post

  3. #3
    Really nice and simple solution for tracking advances. Thanks!

  4. #4
    Valyar's Avatar
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    This is very very nice! The font looks weird on the stock SWADE skin though.
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Last edited by Valyar; February 18th, 2021 at 09:50.
    The past is a rudder to guide us, not an anchor to hold us back.

  5. #5
    Skellan's Avatar
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    This is awsome. We usually just use the notes section and it gets a bit messy.

    I'd love to see this as part of the core ruleset
    Ultimate License Holder - My games are free to play
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  6. #6
    Yeah, I was using the old Background and Advances extension, but found that the background section ended up with the lines going through the text instead of being underneath it so this is better as most players use the Notes for their background so I just wanted it for tracking advances. The only issue I have is that the font in the Advances Tab doesn't match the rest of them (I'm currently in Flash Gordon so I'm sure all the modules have different fonts so I suspect it's just something I need to live with...doubt it can be programmed to match the font for whatever module is loaded)

  7. #7
    I’ve been using the Background and Advances extension too, but I’m setting up a new campaign and will have to check this one out.

  8. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by Valyar View Post
    This is very very nice! The font looks weird on the stock SWADE skin though.
    The tab text is actually an image, not text. I'd have to make a different image for every theme and match the theme's font as close as possible. Which means I'd have to own the theme or get a screenshot good enough to work from.
    However, I think the theme itself must have an image for this tab. I don't know if there's a way to set the image from my extension based on theme. I'll research that. It would be nice if it could do that.

    In the interim, or in case it's not possible, I can change it to a thinner font and/or abbreviate it.

    Thanks for the feedback!

  9. #9
    Valyar's Avatar
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    I know it is image, I thought the extension is providing one with fonts matching the core theme. But it is easy to replace the text, I just need to find the right font for it.
    The past is a rudder to guide us, not an anchor to hold us back.

  10. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by Valyar View Post
    I know it is image, I thought the extension is providing one with fonts matching the core theme. But it is easy to replace the text, I just need to find the right font for it.
    If you know which font that is, and where I can find it, I'll change it to match the core theme. It's probably better if it matches the core theme's font. I tried various fonts, and that was the closest I had and still looked good at that size. Hopefully someone recognizes the font and it's one I can download.
    I'll look through my (limited) font list again. I can check google fonts too, maybe it's there.

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