League of Extraordinary FoundryVTT DevelopersEthck

Alternative Alignment System D&D5e

Wow, that is a really powerful way to codify alignment. I like it! Do you have any ideas as to how it could be implemented? I'll make a thread if anyone wants to pitch in but I could probably make this module, just need ideas for how people would want it displayed.

Ethck•763d ago

Link for clarity (since for some reason the og message isn't in here: http://easydamus.com/alignmenttracking.html

Alignment Tracking

The most comprehensive description of the Dungeons and Dragons alignment system available online.

Ethck•763d ago

Picture for a little clarity:

Ethck•763d ago

I'll tell you my initial ideas: That chart is really cool and helps visualize where the scores actually are, so I'd probably want to be able to see that somehow IN Foundry. If you want to "roll" alignment like the website says, it's probably most useful for their to be an Alignment "button" to click on the main Attributes page (possibly turn the textarea that currently is alignment into a clickable button). There are a LOT of "rules" for this alignment system, and that needs to be in Foundry too somehow. Should it be just tossed into a Journal Entry (in a Compendium) explaining everything, or should there be a specific "Alignment" window that pops up, has toooltips to explain the process, etc.

Unknown User•762d ago

Ethck•762d ago

Follow up question on this @rufuspiedmont , I have no idea what you mean by "KPI" in the first bullet point.

Ethck•762d ago

Here's what I have so far FYI

Unknown User•762d ago

Ethck•762d ago

Ah, I thought it was a D&D term and Key Performance Indicator was not in my mind with that filter lol

Ethck•762d ago

If you have any suggestions, I'm all ears:

Ethck•762d ago

Not sure if I like the sliders or not, but it helps lend to the idea of a limited spectrum.

Unknown User•762d ago

Ethck•762d ago

Some updates real quick:

Ethck•762d ago

It now automatically changes the alignment based on your selection when you hit the "Submit" button. @ens0_ I appreciate the +1. Do you have any recommendations on making the table look better? IDK why but it just doesn't "look" right somehow. My main concern with adding additional verbage to the "main" character sheet is how little space there is to work with. I'll try adding in a "E" and "M".

Ethck•762d ago

With no other adjustments, here's the E&M.

enso•762d ago

it looks good to me. I can't really think of how I would do it differently. other than maybe making the labels bigger and moving the number to a (disabled) input. like how the opacity slider works in token config

Unknown User•762d ago

enso•762d ago

oh looks like you did that already haha yeah my only suggestion would be maybe bigger text labels and remove the word "value'

Ethck•762d ago

Border adjusted:

Ethck•762d ago

I guess my only issue with a disabled input is that I almost always have problems selecting an exact value with a range slider, and this system can make it easy to only have to add +2 to the value.

enso•762d ago

yeah, for a range of 0-100, being able to input an exact number is probably best

Ethck•762d ago

They update each other so it should be fine. (e.g. if you type a number it'll update the slider. Slide the slider it'll update the number) Bigger text labels where? In the table?

enso•762d ago

"Ethics" and "Morals"

Ethck•762d ago

Also, any tips for implementing tooltips for hovers and the ethics and morals values while in the character sheet?

enso•762d ago

im a fan of the AC tooltip that dnd5e uses, but I've never tried implementing a custom one myself

Ethck•762d ago

enso•762d ago

it could be a single tooltip that appears when hovering the entire alignment element that shows current Ethics and Morals values

Ethck•762d ago

You mean this guy?

enso•762d ago

yeah, though that may be overkill for how much info you need to show for alignment

Ethck•762d ago

I can just have it say the two numbers + "Ethics" & "Morals" Ooh, should I keep the numbers in the Alignment bar then?

enso•762d ago

ooh good point, you could space on the character sheet that way unless it's handy to have the numbers always visible. I'm not familiar with the mechanic

Unknown User•762d ago

Ethck•762d ago

It's nice to have when you're worried about alignment... which is extremely rarely

Unknown User•762d ago

Ethck•762d ago

I definitely agree that it is a bit jargonized, but with the reference sheet just a click away in game I feel like it's less of an issue. and the system isn't that complicated. I feel like everyone is familiar with the + and - minus system so the only complexity comes from the parenthetical notation that basically always means "with tendencies" One question: On the default D&D5e sheet all of the gears by default are hidden until hovered over. Should I follow that practice?

Unknown User•762d ago

Ethck•762d ago

Got it working on Tidy5e sheet as well:

Unknown User•762d ago

Ethck•762d ago

Would it be helpful to have a "highlight" on the correct values on the table?

Ethck•762d ago

Correct being whatever the current value would be on the table* In retrospect, that feature would be a lot of work and I'm not sure how helpful it'd actually be. I'd assume most people could quickly determine where on the table they lie. What I CAN do easily is just add a box at the bottom that shows currently selected alignment.

enso•762d ago

i was gonna suggest this, but came to the same conclusion

Unknown User•762d ago

Ethck•762d ago

Would Alignment go better at the top or is it best where it is? Also, as a side note: is the "Alternative Alignment System" header at the top (NOT the grey bar) necessary? It seems duplicative so I'm inclined to remove it.

Ethck•762d ago

So the link(s) only have descriptions for the "major" players that everyone is familiar with (e.g. Lawful Good, Chaotic Neutral, Chaotic Evil) and provides nothing really to describe the more complicated things like "Chaotic Good with Neutral Tendencies". How would you think we could display succinct information while still providing support for the complexities of the system?

Ethck•762d ago

Added in some attribution:

Unknown User•762d ago

enso•762d ago

you could probably do a single chart with the following headings in order: Ethics Description Ethics Score Morals Morals Description

Unknown User•762d ago

Ethck•762d ago

Would there be values in all 5 columns? I'm slightly confused at what would go in the "Ethics" and the "Morals" columns in this case. I should mention I'm not attached to the name "Alternative Alignment" it was just something I threw together. Making a modular alignment system shouldn't be too hard, but I'll probably do that in a V2 update. This module will just introduce this particular system.

enso•762d ago