Downloadable Campaign backups – part 2
In Part 1, I discussed some of the possible formats and asked for feedback. The response was very positive, and it was clear that many, many people were excited about getting backups of their campaign.
Version 0.1
Taking the custom XML schema route (based very loosely on Atom), I worked on this over the weekend and made quite a bit of progress. I’m happy to say that we’ve launched version 0.1 of the backups. Why 0.1? Well, I’m not ready to say that it’s fully complete, yet. It contains all your wiki pages, adventure log posts, campaign forum posts, and characters. However, I’d like to get some feedback on the XML schema, and also let me know if there’s anything else that is missing and should be included. Remember: At least for now we’re not going to mess with uploaded images or maps. Maybe in the future.
How to do it
To get your backup, click on the Edit Settings link on the campaign sidebar. From there, scroll down near the bottom of the form and you’ll see a place to download your backup. Click the button and save the xml file.
HTML? PDF? I’d pay for that!
A lot of people wanted an HTML or PDF version, and that’s too much to ask at this stage. However! With the source as XML, it’s fairly straightforward to convert or translate to HTML, and I assume it’s not that bad to go to PDF (I’ve never done XML -> PDF, so I could be wrong there). If there’s anyone in the community who wants to step up and create an XSLT (or the equivalent for translating to PDF), we’d love to have it. I’ll offer a free 1 year Ascendant membership, a t-shirt, and our eternal gratitude to the first person to do it. However, hold off for now, until I can say for sure that the schema is locked down.
Update: The prize has been claimed by Kyle. He has created a kickass design for displaying the backups, and we’re working on figuring out how to integrate it into the download package.
Feedback welcome
Give the backups a look, and tell me what you think.
Free System Friday: Guilddom Adventures Made Easy
It’s Free System Friday! Tired of your current tabletop RPG system? Try a new one for free! Today’s offering is Guilddom Adventures Made Easy (GAME).
Welcome to Guilddom Adventures Made Easy (GAME), a simple yet delightful “paper and pencil” fantasy role-playing game.
GAME is unique among role-playing games (I think) because its rules and setting are specifically designed for a narrator and a single player.
Because of its simple rules, GAME is well suited for a player’s first exposure to “pencil and paper” role-playing games. However, an experienced leader is needed since these instructions cannot provide a proper introduction to running a game.
The rules are free, so grab a friend and give it a try!
New System Thursday: Dr. Who Adventures in Time and Space
Grab those sonic screwdrivers timelords, because this week we’re adding a new system that’s quickly becoming a fan favorite. Introducing Dr. Who: Adventures in Time and Space!
Imagine you could go anywhere. This world or countless others, encountering strange alien races, new cultures or hostile environments. Now imagine you could travel to any time. See the pyramids and the Sphinx (back when she had a nose!), discover who (or what) really built Stonehenge, meet the first Emperor of Japan, or travel into the far future as humanity spreads to the stars. Where would you go?
Where will you go indeed? Well? What are you waiting for? Those Daleks aren’t going to exterminate themselves. Grab some friends, grab the rules, get in your call box, and make a Dr. Who: Adventures in Time and Space campaign now!
Downloadable campaign backups
An often requested feature is for the ability to download all your campaign data locally, in the unlikely event that Obsidian Portal implodes or the staff is replaced by evil dopplegangers who want to restrict your access to your own content. We’ve finally bumped this feature up to our short-term goals list, and I’d like some input on what people want.
What you’ll get
First off, let me clarify what I mean by a “backup.” I’m speaking primarily of the text content: wiki pages, adventure log posts, forum posts, and characters. We’re going for a “good enough” solution here, so we’re not going to include uploaded images. Finally, there’s no guarantee that hyperlinks will be preserved, either.
Backup, not import/export
Another point worth mentioning is that this is not intended to be an import/export feature. It’s only 1-way. We don’t intend to support importing a backup file, since that’s a big technical issue, and we don’t think it’s necessary.
Formats
We want to make this a useful feature that allows you to take your work elsewhere if you choose, but we’re not familiar with any particular formats or standards. I’ll toss out a few ideas, but I’d like to hear suggestions from the community.
Atom
It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of the Atom protocol. We use it to syndicate our campaign data to Pen & Paper Games, and that’s been a huge success.
Considering that the Adventure Logs would fit an Atom feed, it’s got something in its favor. However, things like wiki pages and characters don’t fit nearly as well. I could cram them in without too much trouble, but it’s definitely not a perfect fit. Plus, there is no good way to split the GM-only content from the public data. The worst fit would probably be for the campaign forum, where it would be very difficult to manage the parent-child relationship between forum posts and topics. I don’t think Atom has any support for that kind of thing.
Custom XML
If we can’t shoehorn everything into an Atom document, then we just give up and make up our own custom XML schema. This is kind of the default answer to most things, and while it works, it’s not great. It just means that if anyone ever wants to import the data, they’ll need to write a custom parser.
CSV
I’m just kind of throwing this out there as a straw-man argument. CSV would be a horrible export format for this kind of data, but maybe someone disagrees?
Zip of HTML files
All the formats so far have centered around cramming everything into a single file. It’s also possible that we could generate HTML files for each different page, then provide a zip containing everything. The upside here is that you would be able to open the pages in a browser without needing any kind of import tool. The downside is that HTML has very little semantic knowledge in the markup, meaning that anyone who wanted to write an import tool for the data would have a difficult job. It’s much easier to consume semantic XML than HTML.
Plus, this approach would be considerably more difficult, technically. We would have to generate the files on the server side, zip them up, then pass them off to the browser to download. I’ve never done that before, and while it intrigues me, I’d rather be working on other stuff. I’m sure most of you would also prefer me to work on other features.
Others?
If anyone knows a good standard for this kind of thing, please toss it out there. I’m always interested in learning new standards.
No promises!
As always, there are no promises here. We may decide that it’s too difficult or not valuable enough, and put the idea back on the Someday pile. But, if we can come up with a solution that is the right mix of useful and quick, then we’d love to do it.
X6 Core – Free System Friday
It’s Free System Friday! Tired of your current tabletop RPG system? Try a new one for free! Today’s offering is the X6 Core Rules system.
x6 is a universal system for pen-and-paper roleplaying games. This core edition presents the basic game
mechanics comprising the x6 system, along with a basic selection of character abilities and equipment that
would suit a contemporary game setting. With some work, the information presented here can be adapted to suit a science fiction, fantasy, horror or almost any other roleplaying genre.
Grab the rules here, and enjoy!
More pies of the world
Ok so I might have missed one or two or six(!!!) of the entries in my last post. These are all good, and I’m going to give each one of them 1st place in their own competitions.
Rank: 1st place
Category: Swim Suit Competition
Submitted by: Owen “Dan keeps screwin’ me over” Stephens
Original Entry:
Bake Pecan Pie
Difficulty: 2
Time: 50-60 minutes until center is set
Duration: Until eaten, or 2-6 days
Strain 1 (2 if you have to wait to eat it)
Description: This ritual create a pecan pie, and requires basic cooking equipment and an oven preheated to 415 F. You must bake pie shell 5-6 minutes, or until crust begins to brown around the edges. Reduce oven heat to 270 F. In top of a double boiler, melt 7T butter. Remove from heat and whisk in ¾ cu brown sugar and ¼ cu sugar, and 1/4t salt. Stir until mixture is smooth. One at a time, add in 3 beaten eggs. Stir in ½ cu light corn syrup. Stir in ¼ cu dark corn syrup. Stir in 1 ¼ t vanilla. To make sure its perfectly smooth, strain the pecan pie mixture. Return mixture to heat. Cook, stirring constantly until mixture is hot and shiny. Remove from heat. Stir in2 ¼ cu chopped pecans (already toasted and cooled). Pour pecan mixture into warm piecrust.
After the ritual is complete, you must transfer the pie to a wire rack and let cool completely, at least 4 hours.
Pecan Pie for Witch Hunter: The Invisible World
Rank: 1st place
Category: World Peace
Submitted by: Owen “Seriously, this one time Dan spelled my name Owne” Stephens
Original Entry:
Edge: Have Pecan Pie: 1 pt.
Pecan Pie for Savage Worlds
Rank: 1st place
Category: Biggest Pumpkin at the Fair
Submitted by: Owen “Dan missed four of my entries” Stephens
Original Entry:
Pie, Pecan
A sweet, almost nutty smell wafts from this dark ochre disk.
Pecan Pie CR 1/64
XP 3.14159265
N Tiny bakery good
Init -5; Senses toothsense
Defense
AC 7, touch 7, flat-footed 7 (-5 Dex, +2 size)
hp 1 (1d2 -5, minimum 1)
Fort +2, Ref -5, Will -5
Immune cold (ice cream only)
Vulnerabilities holidays, teeth
Offense
Speed 0 ft.
Melee 1 burn (1d2-4 heat damage, +3 within 15 minutes of being removed from oven)
Space 0 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 4th)
At will—charm person (orcs only)
Statistics
Str 0, Dex 0, Con 10, Int 0, Wis 0, Cha 18
Base Atk +0; CMB -5; CMD 0
Feats Flaky, Greater Fattening, Tasty
Skills Smell Good +5, Use magic Device +4
Languages Foodie
Ecology
Environment loving hearths and kitchens, restaurants
Organization solitary or by the slice
Treasure x2 confection
Though short on tactics, pecan pies have defeated hordes of New Years’ eve resolutions and diet plans. They are often kept as treasure by orcs.
Pecan Pie for Pathfinder RPG
Rank: 1st place
Category: 4th Grade Science Fair
Submitted by: Owen “Why would Dan do that?” Stephens
Original Entry:
Pecan Pie: 1 pt.
Life Support vs. Hunger (5 pts). (Obvious Accessible Focus -1)(1 charge -2)(Gestures: eat the pie -1/2)(Activation Roll 14 or less: might still be hungry -1/2)
Pecan Pie for Champions
Rank: 1st place
Category: Best in Show
Submitted by: David “Dan forgot me too” Kammerzelt
Original Entry:
Pecantolor Level 34 Solo Controller
Gargantuan natural animate (Southern) XP 195,000
Initiative +18 Senses Perception +28, blindsight 50
Irresistable Aroma aura 15; an enemy that starts its turn in the aura is pulled 6 squares
HP 1,350*; Bloodied 675
AC 54; Fortitude 48, Reflex 37, Will 46
Saving Throws +4
Speed 6
Action Points 2
(Basic Attack) Molten Sugar-Butter Pseudopod Lash + Fire (standard, at-will)
Reach 7: +41 vs AC; 3d8+10 damage +10 fire
Sugar Rush (minor, at-will)
Close blast 5; +37 vs. Fortitude; 2d8 +10 damage and ongoing 15 damage (save ends). Until the target saves, all its movement speeds are increased by 1 and it may take one extra minor action per round.
Sugar Crash (minor, at-will)
Close blast 5; +37 vs. Reflex; 2d12 damage. The target is slowed (save ends). If the target is under the effect of the Sugar Rush, all other Sugar Rush effects end and the target is stunned as well as slowed (save ends both). Aftereffect: the target is dazed for one round.
Diabolical Diabeetus (standard, recharge 6)
Close blast 10; +37 vs. Fortitude; 4d10+6 damage, and the target gains vulnerability 10 to all of Pecantolor’s attacks (save ends).
Invoke Nut Allergy (free, 1/round when an enemy outside of 10 squares attacks Pecantolor)
Ranged 50; +37 vs. Fortitude; targets the triggering creature; the target is marked (save ends)
Anaphylactic Shock (free, 1/round when a marked creature attacks Pecantolor)
Ranged 50; +37 vs. Fortitude; targets the triggering creature; the target is paralyzed and takes ongoing 20 damage (save ends both).
Overflow the Crust + Fire (standard; recharge 5-6)
Close burst 10; 3d8+10 damage + 10 fire
Overwhelming Guilt At Failing One’s Diet (free, when an enemy within 10 squares attacks Pecantolor, at-will)
Ranged 10; targets the triggering creature; +39 vs Will; the target is slowed and takes a -2 penalty on all attacks (save ends both).
Alignment Evil Languages Southern
Skills Diplomacy +36, Religion +24, Insight +28, History +27, Endurance +36
Str 41 (+32) Dex 2 (+18) Wis 22 (+23)
Con 39 (+31) Int 24 (+24) Cha 36 (+30)
Rank: 1st place
Category: Best Technical Direction
Submitted by: Robbie “Let’s hope Dan doesn’t forget me again” Ann Cunningham
Original Entry:
Low Life Pecan Pie Stats
Name:Priester’s Pecan Power-Pusher
Race: Cremefillian
Rank: Seasoned
Description: A cremefillian punk, this HUGE round pecan pie has a lightly toasted crust and is filled with large meaty pecans. Priester’s Pecan Power-Pusher also has the special ability to use the natural nutty syrupy goodness of its filling as ammunition.
ATTRIBUTES SKILLS
Agility: d8 Fighting: d10
Smarts: d4 Guts: d6
Spirit: d6 Intimidation: d8
Strength: d10 Notice: d6
Vigor: d8 Shooting: d8
Survival: d4
Taunt: d6
Pace: 6” Throwing: d4
Parry: 6 +1 (armor)
Toughness: 6
Charisma: 0
EDGES
Foul Taste: The toxins and pollutants absorbed by the spongy flesh of cremefillians makes them particularly unpalatable. A creature that bites a cremefillian must make a Vigor roll to avoid being Shaken. A penalty equal to the number of wounds inflicted by the bite is applied to this roll.
Tweenking: For some reason, perhaps due to their strange body structure, cremefillians are able to carry a great deal more gear and supplies than their strength would suggest. They can carry an additional three times their strength in yorts without penalty. Additionally tweenks ignore minimum strength requirements for all hand weapons.
Spongy Flesh: Cremefillians have 1 point of natural armor due to their spongy or dense, crusty flesh. This feature also makes them immune to all natural poisons, toxins, and radioactive emissions.
Really Big Guy: Due to your large size, you begin play with a d6 Strength instead of a d4. On the downside, creatures smaller than you gain +2 to attack rolls against you. You are considered to be Large.
Pimp Slap: You are a bully who likes to pick on people smaller than you. You gain a +2 bonus to fighting Medium creatures (this effectively negates the -2 penalty for attacking them). You also get +1 attack bonus when fighting females, even if you are a female. I’m telling your mother.
HINDRANCES
Illiterate: You cannot read or write.
Innumerate: You have absolutely no concept of numbers. You can’t count or do math of any kind. Your brain just isn’t wired that way. Sorry…
Randy: Your character is randy. That is to say, his belt is buckled a little looser than the rest. Whatever the case, you have a hard time keeping yourself from making inapropriate or even vulgar comments about women whenever the opportunity presents itself (e.g. a woman with the (Very) Attractive Edge is sitting across the bar, or a scantily dressed prostitute is asking him if you want a good time). It is almost impossible for you not to make annoying comments and vulgar gestures.
ITEMS AND WEAPONS
Caterpillar poo rope: Can be used for climbing, tying things together, lassoing your enemies, hanging bad guys, tripping people, and a whole host of other fun and exciting activities.
Poo Flinger: (Strength +1), 1d8 (non-lethal), multiple uses (melee & missile), Range 6/12/24. Basically just a big ass wooden spoon, this thing can hurl poo and other foulness (the stench and ickyness incapacitates targets) (or in your case nutty syrupy filling (1d8+1) for the same incapacitating effect) and can double as a weak club.
