first amazing character builder, love it!

Couple issues:

1. there's no feedback (error message etc) or note when attempting to use both of Human's non-class starting skills on a single skill
2. Weapon modifications are not appearing for my gear despite having plenty of credits and hard points. Is there something i'm missing?

Thanks yet again for taking the time to create and update this very valuable resource.

Can't let anyone miss this because it's on page 2.

I revisited the defense problems I mentioned before. After you made your recent updates, everything is fine. (I also had to re-read a section of the book to fix my own understanding re: weapon harness benefits.)

I like the addition of the unarmed attack section! Many thanks. It lists "Disorient 1" and "Knockdown" as effects for the claw attack (Togorian), but I don't recall selecting any talents that grant those bonuses. I'll double check when I'm back on that PC.

I noticed that the section of the Species tab for spending starting XP on attributes no longer toggles. I can still enter values in the cells, so the calculation is still possible, but it's not obvious.

Is there a facility for creating or adding custom gear/weapons/armor? As it stands, I've been modifying the Data Table tab, but some things still aren't easy there. (This is also where I modify damage to include Feral Strength.)

Would an export/import feature be worth pursuing? It would help send character info to the GM for review, avoiding the sending of the large xlsx file. I use Dropbox, so I can just as easily send a link.

Has anyone had luck in opening this thing in Libre/Open Office or iWork? I can only open this on my work computer, which has MS Office. It failed to open at all in iWork (on the webs).

first amazing character builder, love it!

Couple issues:

1. there's no feedback (error message etc) or note when attempting to use both of Human's non-class starting skills on a single skill
2. Weapon modifications are not appearing for my gear despite having plenty of credits and hard points. Is there something i'm missing?

1) Correct. There is no warning there. I will look into having the first choice not appear as a possibility under the second choice. However, as the rules state a human gets one rank in two different non-career skills, the builder only gives one rank even if the same choice is made in both boxes.

2) On the Weapons & Armor tab, on the right hand side below the armors... this is where you can buy the attachments. Once you have purchased attachments, you can put them into the available hard points on your weapons & armor. Once you have an appropriate attachment in a hard point, you can add the mods for that attachment via the dropdowns below it.

I revisited the defense problems I mentioned before. After you made your recent updates, everything is fine. (I also had to re-read a section of the book to fix my own understanding re: weapon harness benefits.)

I like the addition of the unarmed attack section! Many thanks. It lists "Disorient 1" and "Knockdown" as effects for the claw attack (Togorian), but I don't recall selecting any talents that grant those bonuses. I'll double check when I'm back on that PC.

I noticed that the section of the Species tab for spending starting XP on attributes no longer toggles. I can still enter values in the cells, so the calculation is still possible, but it's not obvious.

Is there a facility for creating or adding custom gear/weapons/armor? As it stands, I've been modifying the Data Table tab, but some things still aren't easy there. (This is also where I modify damage to include Feral Strength.)

Would an export/import feature be worth pursuing? It would help send character info to the GM for review, avoiding the sending of the large xlsx file. I use Dropbox, so I can just as easily send a link.

Has anyone had luck in opening this thing in Libre/Open Office or iWork? I can only open this on my work computer, which has MS Office. It failed to open at all in iWork (on the webs).

I'm glad the defense issue has been resolved.

Page 211, under unarmed combat, it states that an unarmed combat check gets the Disorient 1 and Knockdown qualities, so I just set that up as a default for the unarmed attack option.

On the species tab, I see that the XP point buy portion of characteristics remains lit until you have added XP on the Character Description tab. So if you have added XP, the point buy portion would be hidden. This was done to prevent using XP to increase stats after creation (only acquiring the dedication talent will light up additional bumps to characteristics). But I guess I should look a little deeper to make sure that these cells lock out once the initial creation is done.

At this time, there is no easy way to create custom weapons. So for now continuing to make changes on the data tab is your best bet. I never did change my layout on the data tab to make things easier to enter there. Perhaps someday...

I have given thought to an import/export option, however, I can't think of a way to make it work without implementing macros, which I am not overly familiar with. I had started a tab to do a text only stat block, similar to NPC stat blocks, but have not pursued it since. If I were to get this working, it might work as a copy/paste option in an email for review.

I have not yet heard of anyone getting it to work completely in the other programs... A few have gotten some of it to work, but some features don't carry over.

Far as I can tell, I've gotten it working in Open Office by running it through the Microsoft Open XML Converter. Once converted, it'll open in OO Calc and you'll have to save it (which I usually do in the native format). Re-open the sheet and it should work. So far (knock on virtual wood) it's worked well for me. If folks have a problem with it and with Bren's blessing, I could post a link here as an Open Office file.

Page 211, under unarmed combat, it states that an unarmed combat check gets the Disorient 1 and Knockdown qualities, so I just set that up as a default for the unarmed attack option.

On the species tab, I see that the XP point buy portion of characteristics remains lit until you have added XP on the Character Description tab. So if you have added XP, the point buy portion would be hidden. This was done to prevent using XP to increase stats after creation (only acquiring the dedication talent will light up additional bumps to characteristics). But I guess I should look a little deeper to make sure that these cells lock out once the initial creation is done.

At this time, there is no easy way to create custom weapons. So for now continuing to make changes on the data tab is your best bet. I never did change my layout on the data tab to make things easier to enter there. Perhaps someday...

I have given thought to an import/export option, however, I can't think of a way to make it work without implementing macros, which I am not overly familiar with. I had started a tab to do a text only stat block, similar to NPC stat blocks, but have not pursued it since. If I were to get this working, it might work as a copy/paste option in an email for review.

I have not yet heard of anyone getting it to work completely in the other programs... A few have gotten some of it to work, but some features don't carry over.

I figured I had missed something re: unarmed combat. I find the book difficult to navigate for specifics like that--one of the very reasons I like this builder so much.

Interesting quirk re: locking the point buy during creation. I was skipping around as I copied data from the old version. Not worth fixing IMO.

Thanks for the tip, Sketchpad. I will be checking that out.

Far as I can tell, I've gotten it working in Open Office by running it through the Microsoft Open XML Converter. Once converted, it'll open in OO Calc and you'll have to save it (which I usually do in the native format). Re-open the sheet and it should work. So far (knock on virtual wood) it's worked well for me. If folks have a problem with it and with Bren's blessing, I could post a link here as an Open Office file.

Using v1.2.1, I get a vague error that I can't decipher in the logs.

A link to a successfully converted file would be beneficial.

I noticed that the attachments and mods to weapons and armor don't appear on the sheet either. Is there space for it on page 2?

Bren, would you mind if I posted an Open Office version of your latest build?

I cannot get this thing to work in Libre Office. The drop down menus cause it to crash. Any advice?

My only suggestion, or hope really, is to get the extra stuff in the Free Booter's/Free Traders and Mando'ade(sp?) supplements by the GSA included. Optionally of course.

Bren, would you mind if I posted an Open Office version of your latest build?

any word on getting the openoffice build?

One of the guys in my group loves this thing. We've actually been using it as a guideline for characters and rules. Which brings me to a question... are armors supposed to be able to stack? Because this sheet allows it, and because of it, our GM ruled that only heavy clothing can go over top other armors. Or was this an oversight?

No, the rules specifically say multiple armors do not stack. I don't have the book in front of me, so can't give a page.

Could really use the page number, as I've already been called a rules lawyer behind my back by the GM.

The stacking of armor comes solely from the Excel Char sheet allowing it to be done.

Could really use the page number, as I've already been called a rules lawyer behind my back by the GM.

The stacking of armor comes solely from the Excel Char sheet allowing it to be done.

Page 207, right column, towards the bottom.

"different sources of armor stack, such as heavy assault armor and sub dermal plating. Multiple applications of the same source do not stack-a character cannot wear three suits of battle armor and stack the soak bonuses from each.

Just to clarify, in case there is some confusion:

Multiple sources of defence do not stack.

Multiple sources of soak do stack as long as they come from different types of sources.

Armor provides one or both, but since you can only wear one piece of armor (which includes armor installed as part of a droid chassis rather than worn) at a time you're never going to get stacked soak from armor. So you can't for example have Armored Clothing underneath Laminate armor. By strict interpretation of the rules you couldn't even use Armored Clothing and Personal Deflector Shield at the same time, since both are categorized as "Armor".

You can however get stacked soak if you combine regular, worn armor with the Implant Armor cybernetic enhancement (which page 207 refers somewhat confusingly to as "subdermal plating"). Those are "different sources" - one is Armor while the other is Cybernetic Enhancement .

I noticed that the attachments and mods to weapons and armor don't appear on the sheet either. Is there space for it on page 2?

At present they do not appear on the sheet. The sheet only shows the effects of the attachments and mods on the weapon, provided they are appropriate for said weapon.

Bren, would you mind if I posted an Open Office version of your latest build?

If you've got it working, feel free. I only ask that credit be given where it's due... both my work as well as keeping the thank you portion complete, everyone who has helped me get it to where it's at deserves recognition.

My only suggestion, or hope really, is to get the extra stuff in the Free Booter's/Free Traders and Mando'ade(sp?) supplements by the GSA included. Optionally of course.

While I have added the GSA's Unofficial Species Menagerie, I have not looked much deeper into adding other non-official material. I have hopes of making it easier for people to add there own content in the data tables, but I know that right now it's kind of all mashed in there.

One of the guys in my group loves this thing. We've actually been using it as a guideline for characters and rules. Which brings me to a question... are armors supposed to be able to stack? Because this sheet allows it, and because of it, our GM ruled that only heavy clothing can go over top other armors. Or was this an oversight?

As others have posted (thank you Split Light and Cairo for prompt responses)... armor bonuses are not supposed to stack. I will need to look into that. My thinking right now is to give each armor a behind the scenes number to indicate if it could be worn with another layer of 'armor'... for example, I feel that the personal deflector shield could be worn in addition to other choices. Right now that's the only stack that makes sense to me, although a person could argue that the adverse environment gear could be stacked/combined with something else as well. If this idea pans out, it could be useful should additional armor options become available with future supplements. What I would then do with these multiple equipped armors is only apply the highest defense bonus, but allow stacked soak values,,, again the layered effect should prevent the same thing being worn twice... can't combine multiple shields or environment gear. I would love some feedback on this idea.

In other news...

With the announcement of the AoR beta coming out, I would like some input into how I should handle that. Should I plan on just adding it's options into this builder? Should I create it's own builder? Should I do both? A lot will depend on just how different it's material is. Some material would be easily added... additional races and equipment. A little harder to add will be Duty vs Obligation, as well as new careers and specializations. If they add more talents, force powers, or new skills, those will take some effort as well. What opinions do my fellow gamers have on this?

I have also been toying with the idea of starting from scratch again, primarily to see if I can make it more backward compatible... maybe allow easier conversion to other spreadsheet programs. Having learned as much as I have in doing this, it might work out well in starting over. I have some ideas to make data tables easier to manage, and cutting out lots of unnecessary notes and calculations that are scattered throughout as I was trying to make things work. Doing this would take time, and perhaps be best to try after the end of the AoR beta testing phase. Thoughts?

As a final note... who all will be racing with me to Fantasy Flight's booth/area at Gen Con when the hall opens up on Thursday?

I'd like to see it all in one rather than separate files.

Okay, folks, here's the Open Office file. It seems to be working well on my end.
Bren's Character Builder - Open Office Version .

Thanks, Bren!

First of all, I have found your spreadsheet to be insanely useful in creating/managing characters.

Personally, I wouldn't mind having two separate sheets for character creation for both EotE and AoR, BUT integrate what can be shared between the two (or three once FaD comes out).

In other words, the race, class, and item options would be shared.

Then again, it might just be EASIER to have them all on one spreadsheet, that way you don't have to update the darn thing three times. Just have separate tabs that tracks Obligation/Duty/etc.

Either way, I plan to use this thing. My gaming group and I would not know what to do without it.

Keep up the awesome work!

While I don't want to say this is a must, this is so helpful and easy to use. Thanks!

As for what to do when AoR and F&D come out, I would like to see it all wrapped into one, but easy enough for people to be able to make characters to specific books. The reason I ask is the group I am with, and others I am sure, plan on our campaign running the course of the 3 books or longer.

Bren, this is certainly a must for our group. Thanks for creating this, absolutely awesome!

I don´t have my rulebook on hand, but changed the value of the back pack really from 3 to 4?

It seems that it doesn´t matter if I mark weapons as equipped or not, its value is always added to encumbrance. In the gear section not equipped gear is not included in the encumbrance.