************** MAKECHAR Repackage V2 by Brian E. Gross ***************** Created January 25, 1997 Welcome to the second version of my repackaging of Bill Seurer's MakeChar program. The main features of this level are the addition of material from Compendium I and Martial Arts 2nd Edition, plus the latest update of the MAKECHAR.EXE (May 22, 1995). As always, people are free to distribute any of this material as long as the basic MAKECHAR program parts are complete and that no fee is charged for the distribution. This is a self-extracting ZIP package. Just place the MKCHRBG2.EXE file in a NEW directory and execute it. It will 'explode' into that directory as the full package. Once you are satisfied the package exploded correctly and it runs OK, you may delete MKCHRBG2.EXE to save space. You should explode the package in a new directory because some of the changes between this version and others, by me and others, may not be compatible. Once you have converted your existing characters and any of your own .DTA file changes to the new format, you may delete your old installation of MAKECHAR. You may contact me at imposter@vnet.ibm.com with questions or comments. First, here are a couple of problems and their workarounds: 1) As you build your own .GEN files you may find that when run your PC locks up and you have to reset it to free it up. Before resetting the PC, check the screen. Among the normal "was is being replaced" messages you will probably find a "was previously defined in a different category" message. This item is your problem. Just delete, comment out, rename or move it to the correct category and you should be able to load the .GEN file OK. 2) When using Modifiers, one that halves the Point Cost gives inaccurate results. If it acts on an odd number value, it will be accurate, but if it acts on an even number the result will be one point too much. This is corrected by instead multiplying by .51 (.50 has the same problem as /2). The slightly higher value allows Makechar to handle the rounding correctly. Some details of the updates in this version: 1) Compendium I updates - I incorporated the material from COMP.DTA (written by Scott Nickell) into BASIC.DTA, created OCCULT.DTA to hold the Occult and Paranormal ads and disads and placed a few more in SPELLS.DTA, PSIONICS.DTA and MARTIAL2.DTA. 2) Be sure to actually read OPTBASIC.DTA (and SUPERS.DTA, for that matter) before using them. There are several choices that need to be made on how to handle certain parameters and you may not like the settings I use. The main ones apply to whether you derive Hit Points from HT or ST, and whether you derive Fatigue from ST or HT. This decision also affects Enhanced ST handling. 3) In MARTIAL2.DTA, I have upgraded to Martial Arts 2nd Edition (MARTIAL.DTA for 1st Edition is still included in the package). In there, I have built advantage packages for each style. These will set you up with the skills and maneuvers particular to that style at base level. Improve them individually from that point. I have also introduced a separation between those maneuvers you get at a default level but are not studied in that style (and therefore not improveable on an individual basis) and those actually focused on by the style. All the basic skills (Karate, Judo, Boxing, Brawling, Wrestling) come with default maneuvers. These are marked with :D after the name. When you take a style, check to see if you have maneuvers with both a regular name and a :D name. If you have a match, delete the :D maneuver. Once duplicates have been handled, remaining :D maneuvers are the ones not focused on by the sytle and cannot be improved individually -- only by improving the skill upon which they are based. 4) In OPTBASIC.DTA I have created "skills" for various GURPS rolls. These keep track of quantities you often must roll against but are not part of the basic MAKECHAR printed sheet. Include these only if you want, they are not required. Also feel free to add your own. 5) In PSIONICS.DTA, I have added modifiers to help keep track of single- skill powers. Use the modifier that corresponds to the single-skill cost of that power (e.g. some are 3 out of a normally 5 point/level power). 6) I've added the exact name of the .dta files to their title lines so you can identify which file generated an error much more easily. Finally, here are the notes from my previous version of the repackage (MKCHARBG.EXE). I've edited it only to make sure it doesn't lie due to changes in this version. ***************************************************************************** Created September 1, 1995 This is a self-extracting ZIP package of Bill Seurer's excellent MAKECHAR program. I have made some additions and several modifications to the various .DTA files. Since some changes are rather extensive, I recommend installing this package in a new directory and running it from there until you can resolve any conflicts between these files and your previous set. This set of files is certainly not perfect, but I have cleaned up many problems as I found them. Here is a list of the modifications that I remember making: 1. GURPS:Voodoo support - I created a .DTA and .GEN file to cover Voodoo. (VOODOO.DTA and HORROR.GEN) Notes: 1) To handle the progression of Voodoo rituals (2 points/level), I used the support written for Martial Arts Maneuvers (MA/H). The cost for the first level of improvement is only 1 point, using this method, but I was willing to accept that to get automatic handling of the levels. 2) All Powers are prefixed by a number. This indicates the first level of Initiation that allows this Power. This must be managed by the GM/player, there is no automatic prereq checking for ads. 3) The Powers: Spirit Ally, Spirit Advisor and Spirit Ally Group, do not have costs themselves. These are only placeholders to remind the player. For the real costs, also purchase the appropriate Voodoo Ally advantage. 4) There is a sample Voodoo character (Angelique) that demonstrates how difficult it is to build a viable 100 pt character that has level 3 Initiation. :-) 5) I don't know if this was the designer's intent, but I created a version of Vever Drawing skill for each type of Ritual Magic skill. It felt right to me since almost all cultures have some tradition of magical symbols. (This is now refered to as Symbol Drawing in Compendium I and now does apply to all traditions. -- BG) 2. Modifier support for major sets of advantages - previous versions of BASIC.DTA have stated that Modifier support is not fully implemented, but I found that it is. Therefore I converted most advantages that were written as long lists of variations on a theme (Patrons, Allies, Enemies, Reputation, etc.) and converted them to using Modifiers. Notes: 1) To access Modifiers, take the ad/disad you want, highlight it, then press the space bar. From the menu, select M-Modifiers. This will present a list of Modifiers for that ad/disad. Highlight the one you wish to work with and press enter. This will give another menu of the levels of modification you can select. To get the details on the effect of each mod level, press the space bar rather than enter. 2) There is a minor bug in the screen handling for Modifiers. Once you have selected a mod level and go back to the list of Modifiers on the left side of the screen, only the one you selected is still visible. Just use the arrow keys to run the cursor up and down over the list and you will be able to see them all again. 3. Martial Arts support - some minor fixes were made to clean up MA support: 1) There is a minor bug in Makechar that prevents a MA Maneuver from defaulting from another MA Maneuver. This caused a problem with the Kicking Maneuver. Therefore, I made Kicking an actual skill (P/A) and this works reasonably well. 2) The Agressive Parry maneuver defaults as (2/3 Karate)-4. I was unable to find a way to make this work with Makechar, so I just made AP's default 1/2 Karate. This is actually accurate in the 12-27 Karate skill range. Lower than this and AP is not useful anyway and higher than this you probably won't be using it at default -- you'll have put at least some points into it. 4. ST = Hit Points and HT = Fatigue support, plus support for disassociating Will from IQ (basing it on 10 instead). 1) I've changed the Extra Hit Points and Extra Fatigue advantages in BASIC.DTA to modify the opposite Bonus. Switch them to use the official system. (These are located in OPTBASIC.DTA -- BG) 2) I've created the Shift (+) Hit Point advantage and the Shift (-) Hit Point disadvantage. They cost zero and shift points, one at a time, between the Hit Point and Fatigue counters. Use Shift (+) when ST is higher than HT and Shift (-) when ST is lower than HT. They are in OPTBASIC.DTA. (There are also just Add and Remove versions, too.) 3) I've created the Add Will advantage and the Remove Will disadvantage. They cost zero points and adjust the Will counter. Use Add Will when IQ is less than 10 and use Remove Will when IQ is higher than 10. They are in OPTBASIC.DTA. That's about it for major modifications. You'll find minor changes throughout the set of files. Let me know how well this set works for you. -- Brian E. Gross