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Opinions on herolab

Posted: Mon Mar 13, 2017 11:57 pm
by The_baron
Thinking of starting a mutants and masterminds 3e game for some of my friends IRL... I am thinking of getting herolab to help with creating PC's Just asking if anyone on the site is using it and what they think of the software.

Re: Opinions on herolab

Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2017 12:03 am
by Ken
Me and my cohort use it a lot. Overall, I've been happy with it. There have been a few places where the software has been buggy (e.g. Growth and Constructs interact weirdly) but those have been the exception, not the rule.

I'm pretty sure Hero Lab is why the RCU has actually grown as much as it has the past few years. Besides the ease and near perfection of M&M 3e as a super hero game system, the ability to use Hero Lab to knowck out characters quickly has been a tremendous help.

Re: Opinions on herolab

Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2017 2:34 am
by MissRo
We own it. My husband likes it, but for me a large part of the fun of a tabletop is getting into the book and putting things together myself. It is pretty handy as a GM tool though, I admit that. Like Ken said, you can put together a character's numbers pretty quickly with it.
Herolab does exactly what it says it will, outside of a few bugs. Do you need it to make characters? No. Does it make character creation quicker? Yes, it can.

Re: Opinions on herolab

Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2017 3:05 am
by FuzzyBoots
Also a big fan. The 3E setup even builds almost all powers from their base components, allowing you to take that stock laser rifle and then adjust its ranks and start adding and removing Extras and Flaws. And, as always, if the system doesn't have it, you can probably program it in pretty readily.

The support isn't quite as good as it used to be (I haven't heard from Colen in ages, and there are several outstanding bugs. I honestly think M&M isn't much of a moneymaker for them compared to systems like Pathfinder where they get to keep selling new packages), but they are still working on it.

Re: Opinions on herolab

Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2017 3:40 am
by Arkrite
I like it.
But I believe you can download it and try it out without paying anything. You just can't save or export.
My suggestion is to give it a try and see if it appeals to you before you drop some cash.

Re: Opinions on herolab

Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2017 1:19 pm
by FuzzyBoots
It may be worth mentioning that you can edit the rules without registering as well. :) Handy, that.

Re: Opinions on herolab

Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2017 4:09 pm
by Thaumonuclear
I think you need SOMETHING to help you with the math.
The first few MM characters I created, I kept all my totals adding up with an excel spreadsheet, but later found that I'd messed up the Device rules.
I wouldn't try doing it by hand.

Herolab works well, but it's output isn't always in the format I want. And it's harder than it should be to move powers in and out of containers (arrays, devices, linked-powers, etc).

I've even played a little with the development kit, for things like creating a power that adds strength only for grabbing purposes, but I program for a living and find learning new languages and tools fun.

Re: Opinions on herolab

Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2017 5:14 pm
by FuzzyBoots
FWIW, I've written Python and C# programs to customize the BBCode output. The one thing I really wish that they'd do is add power point cost to items.

Re: Opinions on herolab

Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2017 3:57 am
by Ken
I *did* do several hundred builds by hand, before I broke down and got Hero Lab. It is a LOT easier with Hero Lab.

Re: Opinions on herolab

Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2017 6:08 pm
by Jabroniville
It seems pretty good, but it's quicker for me to go by computer word programs, just due to experience at this point. The "search & find" aspect of it just wasn't for me.

Re: Opinions on herolab

Posted: Sun Apr 30, 2017 11:38 pm
by proditor
I use it extensively and I love it. I honestly just have way too many diversions to not use it if I want to maintain a decent level of character sheet output. ;)

I should also say that I got into 3e late, and HL was a thing already, so I got it very shortly after starting to play, so I didn't design any "coping" mechanisms to rip through sheets quickly like I did with say, Champions. I could probably still quickly whip out a decent fully fleshed 350pt 5e sheet from memory...

Re: Opinions on herolab

Posted: Sat May 06, 2017 11:59 pm
by Skaramine
How do you keep Herolab from considering Create 12 a PL-breaking area attack, since it was mentioned.

Because I want Sue to be able to throw up a Toughness 12 plus impervious Force Field without making her PL16... :p

Re: Opinions on herolab

Posted: Sun May 07, 2017 4:55 am
by FuzzyBoots
Skaramine wrote: Sat May 06, 2017 11:59 pm How do you keep Herolab from considering Create 12 a PL-breaking area attack, since it was mentioned.

Because I want Sue to be able to throw up a Toughness 12 plus impervious Force Field without making her PL16... :p
Create 12 is a PL 12 area attack as per Dropping Objects. How are you getting PL 16?

Re: Opinions on herolab

Posted: Sun May 07, 2017 4:01 pm
by Skaramine
I was exaggerating. But I mean making truly tough force fields, akin to a paragon in toughness, such as a PL 10 Sue or GL analogue protecting their friends from incoming harm.

Re: Opinions on herolab

Posted: Sun May 07, 2017 4:11 pm
by FuzzyBoots
Skaramine wrote: Sun May 07, 2017 4:01 pm I was exaggerating. But I mean making truly tough force fields, akin to a paragon in toughness, such as a PL 10 Sue or GL analogue protecting their friends from incoming harm.
Well, the easiest way is to go to the options for your character and check the box for no PL checks.

Outside of that, it's pretty easy to change the code for Create to exempt it from power level checks. But as it is, what you're running into is the rules.