- TL;DR Fantastically useful and powerful application with a confusing, outdated, counterintuitive, and inconsistent UI which absolutely requires the user to seek support to accomplish even the most basic tasks and has a ridiculously steep learning curve. **************************************** PCGen is possibly the most powerful RPG tool I've come across. I've only just begun to explore the world of possibilities but I have been fantastically impressed with its capabilities. From a player standpoint, it's even better than Pathbuilder for how quickly one can build a character and that app is outstanding. I've never built characters as quickly as I have with this app. User support is amazing, even more so if you are using Discord. New content is being added all the time from ALL of the major systems, both 1st and 3rd party. It supports homebrew content and the users themselves can create content, as all of the sources are in plain text, tab-delimited files. If you're a GM, there's even more: it's also a combat tracker, monster creator (and customizer), encounter planner, die roller, experience tracker, random name generator, and more things I haven't discovered yet. Oh, and you can use it to run games over a network, similar to Fantasy Grounds or Roll20. I haven't explored the GM options yet, so I don't know if there is also map and token support, but even if it doesn't, it is still a fantastically useful app. The Devs are constantly working it and eliminate bugs on the regular. If only major software companies were as conscientious with their own products. But.... The design, interface, UI/UX, and every thing about using it is painful. User experience is not even a concept. The UI and interface is straight out of the 90s, and takes little into consideration for inexperienced computer users. It is embarrassingly, painfully bad. Every possible form of object and input is used (checkboxes, right clicks, buttons, and dropdowns, etc, etc) and not in any form of consistency whatsoever. It breaks (or ignores) almost every rule of UI design I've ever known or heard of. The learning curve is one of the steepest I have ever encountered for a program for which I already *should* know how to use (because I'm intimately familiar with the game systems in question). It took me literally months to learn how to choose sources. Even knowing what I know about how the program works I still have to hunt for many things which should be in plain sight. The irony in this, for me, is that I used to be an instructor for basic to advanced computer usership, including a large variety of applications, based on the similarities of how applications work. I'm familiar with using and administrating Windows, MacOS, Linux, iOS, and Android, and I STILL have difficulty using this app (that says a lot, doesn't it?). Because of the ridiculous interface, there are video tutorials just on how to add sources to program, and the program itself comes bundled with a massive HTML user manual. Contrast this with Pathbuilder, where the skills needed to use it consist of knowing how to use a touch screen and swipe left or right. Basic things like adding magical properties to your weapons are hidden in right-clicks and require going to support to find them. It's a fantastic product that requires a massive UI redesign to reduce complexity and end-user confusion. It's basically a program made by computer nerds for other computer nerds. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, but to use an analogy: Nowadays, you don't need a degree in automotive design or be an auto mechanic to properly use a car, and the vast majority of car owners couldn't care less about the noodly intricacies of that discipline, because all they want is to have a car they can get into that provides them with all the creature comforts they need, and that starts every time they turn the key. When something goes wrong, they call the Auto Club for a tow to their mechanic who then fixes the problem. Building cars that required the owner to also be a mechanic is what killed the British auto industry. It's a great program, especially when you consider that it's totally free with no ads. But they absolutely need a UI designer on the team to clean up the UI. Then this would be the absolute perfect tool for everyone who plays an RPG.
- Ascii files used for character configuration is the best approach of this project.
- Honestly, this program has helped a tabletop RPG noob like myself get off the ground with a running start. Whenever my DM says 'Make a new character!' I'm there, I know what I have to do and when to do it thanks to the summary screen. However, now that I have been playing regularly for a while now (great way to get in some much needed face to face social interaction for the week) I really need Deity and Demigod information. When I create my character(s) there's a place to input deity but it's a drop-down menu that just says 'None' even when I want Olidamara for my new rogue or Pelor for my new Paladin. Instead of seeing that deity's name on my character sheet, there's 'None' there instead. This makes keeping my various character's religion straight, they're faithless instead. How does a Paladin go on living when they're faithless? How does a monk theologize? These questions are best answered by having a more accessible deities list at character creation. Thanks for reading! Oh, and as for the 'Support' category in my rating, it's simply a 3 because I don't know how awesome or devious your support rating actually is.
- Thanks for making this great application!
![Pathfinder Pathfinder](http://www.pathguy.com/pathfinder_core_rulebook.jpg)
This is a Javascript-based Pathfinder character generator. aliciasecord/pathfinder-character-generator. Pretty easy to use, but overwhelmed me a bit when I was getting used to game terms: Javascript Pathfinder Character Generator. The RPG elves at PCGen are a D20 fan's best friend. You can generate any character you want for free.
Read more reviews >A. The main materials you will need are a printed character sheet, a pencil, an eraser, imagination, and dice.
The default Pathfinder Character Sheet (CS) is attached to this page, and should serve you well for your first character. However, I would like to point out that numerous alternatives exist, many of which are freely available on the web. For example, I highly recommend Happy Camper's character sheets that are tailored for specific classes, which are also attached. Also note that having extra paper nearby is a necessity, as you will likely be getting treasure, characters names, and other miscellaneous info that you should write down. Finally, having extra character sheets printed is also a good idea, since they tend to get dirty and smudged over time.
B. You will need the following dice to play using the Pathfinder system: d4, 4d6, d8, d%, d12, and d20.
Pathfinder uses several different kinds of dice, each with a different number of sides. When referring to dice, you use the letter 'd' followed by the number of sides on the die. For example, a standard six-sided die would be called a d6. If you are expected to roll multiple dice, there will be a number before the 'd'. For example, rolling four six-sided dice (or if you prefer, rolling a single six-sided die four times) would be written as 4d6, and the final result would be the total sum of the die rolls. The d% refers to two dice: one is a normal d10 referred to as the 'ones,' and the other is a d10 with the numbers 0-90 on it in multiples of 10, referred to as the 'tens.' When rolled simultaneously, these dice allow for 100 different possibilities, hence the name d%. For example, a '40' on the tens die and a '6' on the ones die give the result 46. Note that when rolling a d10, a roll of '0' is actually 10. When rolling a d%, a roll of '0' on the ones die and '00' on the tens die is actually 100.