Topic: RMU NPC Generator Software *NEW*

[ScribblersEmporium]

Hi Everyone,
I am pleased to announce that version 1.0 of Rolemaster Unified - Non-Player Character Generator software (Windows PC) is ready for release.
 

This Windows PC program will generate the character sheet for an non-player character (NPC) with just a few simple choices and the click of a button. The program was built to help the community quickly incorporate NPCs into their games in less time.

Super Fast Buttons: Sometimes you just need a generic NPC to fill a quick need. To this end, I pre-selected the options needed to produce several types of bog-standard NPCs.

This is NOT a character generator. We already have ERA. This is for NPCs.

Features:
* NPC generation is boiled down to seven choices (sex, species, profession, magic realm, culture, level and access to evil spells).
* A "random" button is provided to speed up selection of these choices.
* RMU rules are followed in leveling up.
* Higher level NPCs will have better stats due to aging-up.
* Armor is biased towards lighter (cheaper) armor. However, with more maneuvering in armor skill, the bias shifts to heavier armor.
* Torso armor triggers the potential for greaves and vambraces.
* If the NPC chooses torso armor only, then greaves and vambraces are chosen.
* Shields are biased towards smaller.
* If evil spell lists are included, they will be counted as open spells.
* All professions have biases towards the skills they need, not just the professional skills.
* Skills are chosen such that lower cost ranks are preferentially selected over high-cost ones, but high-cost skills are still possible.
* Ranged weapons are biased towards bows and crossbows.
* Height and weight are generated with a small variance, for fun.
* Potential Stats are selected to be the most advantageous for the chosen profession.
* The program provides name generation.
* For generic NPCs such as city guards and merchants, a super-fast one button click will generate what is needed.
* Output is provided in a stylish PDF.
* There is a plan to integrate the output for Roll20.

Special thanks to the volunteer Beta-testers: @Laendra and @Haeshka!
Also @Colin for encouragement and advocacy.

I'm hoping ICE will accept the software into their vault.
In the meantime, I am using my Ko-Fi Shop account to handle the downloads:
https://ko-fi.com/s/a1ae479898

No install required. No network access required to operate.
Just unzip and drop the folder wherever you like. The exe and a shortcut that you can move to your desktop are found in the folder. 

Attached are a screenshot of the workpage and two pdfs as example outputs.

[nash]

So as mentioned we are working on Roll20 support for the output.  I've also got a simple Mac application which can read the JSON generated.  We need to do a bit more refining to finalise; but it should be a whole system of integrated applications that can share NPCs

[Hurin]

This sounds awesome! Looking forward to trying it out.

Just one question: why are shields biased towards smaller shields?

[ScribblersEmporium]

Re: smaller shields.. just practicality, I suppose. I figured most people would naturally try to minimize encumbrance and movement penalties, unless there was a good reason not to.

[ScribblersEmporium]

Here is the link to the software.
https://ko-fi.com/s/a1ae479898

[munchy]

Marvellous work. That can be so useful in spontaneous situations. Thanks so much!

[ScribblersEmporium]

 

[nash]

For those who use systems from the large fruit company....

Code: [Select]

brew install --cask --no-quarantine wine-stable
softwareupdate --install-rosetta --agree-to-license
wine RMUNPC.exe

Seems to work for me.

[nash]

BTW: General nit... Pure casters should have their base lists to higher levels.

[ScribblersEmporium]

That's a fair point, but let me explain my logic and see if you agree.

What I do is bias the the skill selections based inversely on the cost (with an added bias for "professional skills").
A character can choose to develop any skill, but human nature suggests they would preferentially choose the cheaper (easier to learn, easier access) ones. For the most part, this is a good system and allows for all kinds of variation in character generation based on biased random sampling, while ensuring different characters are good at their chosen profession.

So, if in the minds of the RMU developers, there should be a bias in the opportunity for spell users to acquire their base lists over open spell lists, then this should be represented in the cost and the Core rules show that base and open spell lists are the same cost. The program then treats open and base spell lists as being equally available and so the bias you were expecting for base spell lists wasn't there.

Does that make sense?

I did notice a few skills where I wondered about the cost. Ranged weapons and shields are often prohibitively expensive for most professions. I would have thought that a sling or dart, for example, would be fairly easy skills to acquire for anyone, but I suppose the authors thought that bows maybe just that much harder to acquire compared to melee weapons.
 

[nash]

Anyway... I've been playing with this and... it's really cool.   Super easy to create NPCs (read cannon fodder).  Need to do some tweaking for big bads and the like, but for grunts it is 100% perfect.  They are all unique and it makes an interesting set of foes.

So strongly recommend to all GMs!

I have a couple of other nits:  Can't see combat skills on the main page (or at least I can't under Wine on Mac).  And still think a needs a bit more bias towards primary skills (eg Base lists and main combat skills).  But these are nits...

If you are RMU player... go get this thing!

[jdale]

I did notice a few skills where I wondered about the cost. Ranged weapons and shields are often prohibitively expensive for most professions. I would have thought that a sling or dart, for example, would be fairly easy skills to acquire for anyone, but I suppose the authors thought that bows maybe just that much harder to acquire compared to melee weapons.

You can allocate those costs as you see fit. If you want the ranged weapons (or shields) to be the cheaper ones and the melee weapons to be the more expensive ones, that's fine. You just don't get every combat training skill at the lowest cost.

A randomly generated NPC ought to have a preferred combat style. That could be a two-handed weapon in which case they are unlikely to develop shield, it could be a weapon plus shield in which case their weapon skill should be one-handed, or it could be two weapons in which case they should have Multiple Attacks skill. Preferring a ranged weapon is also a reasonable way to go.

[ScribblersEmporium]

Yes. You are right. That is true.
I take it all back.

[rdanhenry]

Base lists do cost the same as open lists, but the base lists are generally significantly more powerful, and therefore base lists are usually a more attractive purchase.