Monday, February 23, 2015

Sorcerer's Grimoire

Argh! The utilities I create always seem to require much more time fixing all the fiddly bits than in implement the major functionality in the first place. But I'm happy to announce that the Sorcerer's Grimoire is available for testing! 



During last year's pledge drive to help support the free Purple Sorcerer Tools, folks voted on which tools they'd like to see me work on in the coming year, and the Sorcerer's Grimoire was the clear favorite. The Grimoire creates dynamic DCCRPG spellbook PDF's for you to print out, adjusting text size and spacing on the fly so that every spell fits on a single page. You can choose the spells yourself, or have the tool randomly select spells based on your caster's level and appropriate stat. You can do the same with Mercurial Magic, or have the script ignore MM altogether



Many design decisions have been made to conserve space since the number one goal of the project was to keep each individual spell on a single page. I played with lots of fancy layouts, but eventually ended up with a simple look to obey this prime directive. Physics dictates that really wordy spells require pretty small fonts, but hopefully folks will still find them readable.  :)



If you notice any strangeness let me know: particularly spell results that run on past the available space. 



As many of you know, I've struggled with health issues of late, but my trusty iPad allowed me to keep working during the worst stretches. (This is the first project I've completed from beginning to end using my tablet and beloved bluetooth keyboard.) 



I am a bit beat pushing this out the door, so I might be a while before I update things, but Patrons are on the way, including patron-specific Invoke Patron results and spells.



As always, thanks to the amazing folks at Goodman Games who support community tools like the Grimoire.



Take care everyone.  I hope you find the Sorcerer's Grimoire useful!




Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Sorcerer's Grimoire

Happily I've made major progress on the new PDF spellbook creation utility. I've continued to refine my iPad workspace (which is easier on me physically) to the point that I've done all the Grimoire programming on it. I'm most pleased. :)



The individual spell page creation code is complete: involving lots of fiddling to dynamically adjust text sizes/spacing to allow each spell to be printed on a single sheet. I've also completed the Mercurial Magic code so that you can have it rolled automatically for each spell.



I'm now building the forms so you can choose whether to create a random spell book based on level, or select individual spells/mercurial magic for an existing caster. After that I'll just need to complete the random generation code, and we'll be good to go! If I can continue the pace I'm on, we'll hopefully be up and running in a week or two.

Friday, January 23, 2015

State of the Sorcerer 2015

Health issues continue to bedevil the Sorcerer, and unfortunately things have gotten progressively worse over the last year. I'm excited about some new approaches we'll be taking medically, but I'll be going through a few months of testing before really kicking thinks off with my specialist.



I have many things that are slooooooowly simmering in the fire, so expect a burst of activity when I get back on my feet. Two (perhaps three) new adventures, an update to the Crawler's Companion, and a beta release of the Sorcerer's Grimoire are all waiting in the wings. I'm really looking forward to sharing these fun new creations with the wonderful Dungeon Crawl Classics community!

Friday, January 2, 2015

Last Days of 30% Sale

The Too Lazy To Update Prices Sale will run though the weekend. Act now: once I go to the trouble of restoring the regular prices everywhere, it will likely be a good while before we run another sale! :)



Purple Sorcerer Store
RPGNnow

New Occupations for 0-Level Party Generator

Added some fun new occupation sources to the 0-Level party generator.



For those about to share the wonders of +Michael Curtis' amazing Chained Coffin milieu, +Pete Schwab compiled the Shudder Mountain occupation list with and without non-humans.



+Noah Stevens also created occupation and unique trade goods lists for his light-hearted/horror/romp Space Dungeon campaign for tomb-raiders, prospectors, and last-ditch wannabes on the burial world of Nebulmor in the far-reaches of the Galactic Funnel.



Have fun, and let me know if you notice any strangeness using the new occupation sources. :) 

Friday, December 26, 2014

Sale Extended

I don't feel like changing all the prices, so I'm extending the 30% off sale until January 1st.



I hope everyone is having a fantastic holiday season!

Friday, December 12, 2014

I love the Christmas Season!

I've been doing most of my Christmas shopping online, doggedly finding all the best deals. As a result, the boxes are piling up in my bedroom and my room reeks of wet cardboard. :)



I wish I had fun new gaming things to announce, but progress is still slow. One thing I can do is put stuff on sale: so from now through the day after Christmas, all Purple Sorcerer adventures are 30% off in both the Purple Sorcerer Store and at RPGNnow!



I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season.