Pocket Game Master

PGM is a great universal tool for all players and game masters of almost any Role-playing game. There are 4 sections to PGM:

1. Character Sheets

2. Adventure Planner
3. Campaign Manager
4. Dice Bag

NOTE: The text size for PGM can be easily changed to your liking. Just go to the menu, click "MORE", then select "Text Size". The standard size is 16. If the text is too small, try raising this to 18 or higher. You will simply need to restart PGM to get the change to take place.

Characters Tab

This view can hold up to 20 character sheets at one time. You may select any character by tapping on their name. The current character will be highlighted in yellow.

The top portion holds the basic stats of the character. The fields from left to right are: Name, Maximum Life, Current Life, Armor Class, To Hit Bonus, and 2 Damage fields.

When the EDIT button is turned on, you can tap on any of these fields to make changes.

The number to the far left of each name is a button to select this character. Once selected, you may choose to save all or only these selected characters. When you load these characters, they will be loaded into the same positions, so place them accordingly. You can also select a group of caracters to roll initiative for (see INITIATIVE below).

Here is a description of fields and their additional properties:

NAME: Single tap will select that hero. TAP and HOLD will open a menu to copy the entire hero to a clipboard where you can duplicate them as many times as you like. You can also choose to SEND the character to another connected device.

LIFE: The first number is the maximum hitpoints where as the second number is the current hitpoints. Single tap will open a calculator to add or subtract from the character's hitpoints. TAP and HOLD will heal the character to maximum hitpoints.

AC: This stands for "Armor Class", or whatever your campaign's defense rating is called, that number goes here. Aside from storing your character's defense rating there are no addition properties to the AC field.

ToH: Single tap will roll a 20-sided dice, add the ToH bonus, and display the total in the Message Center.

DAMAGE 1&2: Damage holds 4 differeant damages. By tapping on the "Damage 1" header you will switch to "Damage 2". Tapping on any damage field will roll the selected dice and put it in a damage cue. By tapping on any other character's Life points, it will subtract the damage from their hitpoints.

Next is the Message Center. As you select certain parts of the character sheet, important info will appear here. Likewise, any dice rolled while on the this view will display the results here. If you want to see more characters, you can press the down arrow to maximize the view above.

Below the Message Center is the comprehensive character info of the selected hero. There are 5 parts to this character sheet:

1. INFO: The info view shows all the essential stats of the character. Any field with the button outline OR yellow outline can be edited when the EDIT button is turned on. The "STR" button and its score are examples of such editable areas.

ATTRIBUTES: First are the attribute names. Your campaign may not use Strength, Dexterity, Wisdom, etc. When the EDIT button is on, you can tap on these buttons and change “STR” to, for example, “LUCK” or what ever you want. Next are the 6 attributes scores. Following this are temperary bonuses or penalties to that attribute. Finally, the bonuses will be automatically filled in. With the attribute table you create (discussed later) you can recreate your systems bonuses. In addition, One extra feature to the 6 attribute names is the ability to highlight any or all them. If your particular role-playing game gives special preference to, say, Intelligence (INT) you can highlight it by TAP and HOLDING the attribute name. It will look like this when your finished:

DESCRIPTION: You may fully describe your character here. Anything can go here. Race, gender, alignment, eye color, height, age, etc. These are all great examples of what to put here. Simply TAP on this box and a window will pop up with all the text you put here

XPS: Here you can input the current amount of experience and the experience needed to advance to a new level. When edit mode is off, you can TAP here to add or subtract xps easily. TAP and HOLD on this field to load the experience into the clipboard. Now TAP on any other character and it will add this amout to the new character. You can use this as a Game Master to load enemy's experience and then distribute experience among the player characters.

CLASSES/LEVEL: If you look at the Class and Level area you will notice that you can enter up to 3 different classes (perhaps we will add more at a later time). The list of classes is customizable. You can edit the Classes.txt file, or create your own. There are no addition properties to the level field.

SAVES: This area is great for customization. Here you can name your “Saves” whatever you want. They are set to FORT, WILL and REFLEX as a default. You can they set the bonus for these saves. Next, you can attach one of the 6 attributes to this particular save. Now, whenever you tap on the bonus area, a 1d20 will be rolled and the bonus will be added, along with the bonus from the attached attribute!
Besides these 3, there are 3 additional Bonus Saves that you can customize to be what ever you want.

ATTACKS: Next, you can either enter the total amount of attacks per round OR simply the bonuses per attack, like “20/15/10/5”

INITIATIVE: The Initiative area is intended for your bonus to initiative. By tapping on this bonus you will roll a 1d20 and add the bonus. You can also roll a group initiative by selecting a group of characters then tapping the Yellow dice.

SPEED: Input you speed. There are no addition properties to this field.

NPC: This checkbox will designate whether the current selected character is under the Game Master's control. The character's name will turn black making it easier to distinguish from players. Besides making it easier to see, an NPC cannot to sent over a network, making it safe and secret to the Game Master only.

COUNTERS: Below these are 3 Counters, specialized fields that count down when you tap on them. For instance, your character may be able to stun 4 times a day. You could rename one of the counters to “Stunning”. Next, tap on the yellow outlined field. Enter “4”. Now every time you TAP on the number, it will lower by one, leaving “4/3”. After 0 is reached the next TAP will reset the counter. Likewise, TAP and HOLD will reset the counter as well.

STATUS/EFFECTS: Finally, you can select from a list of statuses from the status dropdown button. This will add the status to your character. To remove the status, simply TAP and HOLD.

2. FEATS and SKILLS (names can be changed in Campaign Tab):
These two views are similar. If you understand one, you will understand the other.

Select a skill or feat from the dropdown menu. A small description will be displayed. You can then add this skill or feat to the “Known” side by pressing the “+”. You can likewise remove a skill or feat be selecting it on the right side then press “-”.

In the FULL version, you can add skill points per each skill known.

Like most other parts, the list of Feats and Skills are totally customizable in the files Feats.txt and Skills.txt

3. SPELLS:
The spellbook contains a list of spells found in the Spells.txt file.

By selecting a spell in the dropdown list, the spell will be added to your list of known spell on the left. Because the spell list is huge, you can scroll through the different class' spells with the up and down arrows at the bottom of the page.

Of your known spells, you can add any of these to your “MEMORIZED” spells on the right simply by selecting the spell then pressing MEMORIZE at the bottom.

To remove spells from either list, TAP and HOLD the spell.

Finally, you may adjust the count of your spells by turning on EDIT, then press the level. On the example above, the character has (4) 0-level spells and (2) 1^st level spells

4. ITEMS:
Under the ITEMS tab, you can turn on EDIT and adjust your character's money as well as type their inventory.

The name of your campaign's money is completely customizable. You can edit this under the CAMPAIGN tab.

Adventure Tab

As a Game Master (GM), this tab will help you create your adventures.
Your adventures are organized into sections. By pressing the “+” you can add a section. “-” will remove a section, and TAP and HOLD will rename a section. By pressing the EDIT button, you can create a description of this section. If you place a section in the wrong order, or just want to change the order, you can use the up and down arrows to move them. Your adventure can have an unlimited amount of sections.

Now for the fun part. With the use of “Loaders”, PGM has created a unique way to further simplify and enrich the running of your adventure.

Loaders: Every section can have up to 20 loaders. To assign a loader, you use this formula:

#(kind)

Example:

"1(1d30+5)" rolls a dice. Now when you reach this part of your adventure, simply press loader button “1” and you will roll a 1d30 then add 5.

The loaders are not limited to rolling dice only. You may:
1. load a character file with monsters. Example: 2(thieves.pch)
2. load an image (bmp, jpg, png or gif) Example: 4(castle.jpg)
3. roll any kind of dice. Example: 1(4d20-5)
4. load a webpage. Example: 14(www.d20.com/classes.html)
5. load audio files (wav, mp3, ogg, mid). Example: 11(groans.mp3)

PGM allows you to create and save your dungeon maps as .png files. By pressing the Map button, you can open the map editor. You can freehand draw, or you can use the following tools:

Creates cirle.
Creates lines.
Create doors.
Allows you to move the map.
Places traps.
Places secret doors.
Create stairs. Use the arrow to switch the direction
When turned on, you can erase using circles, lines or freehand.
Minimizes the toolbar.
Creates a rectangle.
Undo unlimited times
Redo unlimited times

You can label white part of your map with the top dropdown menu.
You can change the size of your map with the bottom dropdown menu.
You can also clear the map by pressing "Reset".

Use the +X and +Y buttons to offset your starting position of drawing.

After you create your desired map, you can save it to file. The BEST part of the map maker is the fact that your undoes are saved as well, meaning you pick up right where you left off when you load again!

Dice Tab

You can't have a role-playing program without a dice bag.
Here it is. You can roll any number of dice easily.

1. Select the number dice you will roll.
2. Select the type of dice (3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 20, 30, 100 or custom).
3. Add or subtract any bonuses.

The dice will automatically roll while you input the dice.

REROLL: Will reroll the current dice. It will also reroll the current set of dice IF you have added some together (see ADD below).

ADD: To add dice together, select the exact dice you want (like 3d6+10). Next press ADD. It will then turn green. This indicates that adding is turned on. Then create your next dice and press ADD again. You can keep doing this indefinitely. You can press REROLL to keep rolling the same list of dice. Press RESET to start over.

CLEAR BONUS: Will clear any bonuses you have entered with the keypad leaving the number and kind of dice intact.

RESET: Will completely reset all numbers and dice.

You can even create a custom-sided dice, like in this case a 5-sided dice. Simply turn EDIT on, select the yellow bordered box, and enter the dice. This dice is saved even after you close Pocket Game Master.

Campaign Tab

To round everything out, PGM allows you to customize the overall feel to match your specific campaign. The campaign tab allows you to customize which files you use in you campaign (world). All of the following are saved in a campaign file (.cam). You may notice that some of these are not on the campaign tab, but in other areas of the program.

1. Attribute names (STR, DEX, CON, etc)

2. Attribute Table (allows you to declare what bonus is given. For instance, 14 Strength gives +2)
3. Name for "FEATS" and "SKILLS"
4. Name for “Experience”
5. Name for Platinum, Gold, Silver and Copper ( i.e. change Platinum to 'Gems')
6. Names for 3 Bonus saves.
7. Classes, Feats, Skills, Spells and Status file location
8. What standard dice to use when rolling “To Hit” or “Initiative”

The Attribute Table allows you to customize your attribute bonuses to match exactly with your role-playing game. Be careful when making changes here because you can easily make a mistake. However, if you follow these guidelines you should be safe. 1) Use the "Add Line" button to add each range code. 2) Next, only adjust the numbers and 3) Use the "Format Code" button to catch any mistakes you may have made.

Now let's look at making our own code. Here is a simple example, and an explanation.

1 to 1 starts at -4 then add 0 every 0
2 to 5 starts at -3 then add 1 every 2
6 to end starts at -1 then add 1 every 3

Let's analyze the first line:

1 to 1 starts at -4 then add 0 every 0

The first section tells the range, in this case, all numbers from 1 to 1, which basically is only the number 1. The second number tells what bonus the range begins with. In this case, -4. Finally, the last section reads, “add 0 every 0” meaning nothing is added.

Now the next line:

2 to 5 starts at -3 then add 1 every 2

Thus, any number from 2 to 5 fall in this category. Starting at -3 then +1 every 2. So a strength of 4 would have a -2 bonus.

The final line:

6 to end starts at -1 then add 1 every 3

This reads “a strength of 6 gets a -1 bonus. Then every 3 you get +1 (9 = 0, 12 = 1, etc) to infinity.

This formula would represent the following table in a role-playing book.

STRENGTH

So, knowing this, you could easily recreate the standard d20 attributes bonuses with 2 lines:

1 to 1 starts at -5 then add 0 every 0
2 to end starts at -4 then add 1 every 2

One final note. Attributes have purposely been made to accept decimal points. For those playing a 1^st edition AD&D game, you could actually have an 18.45 strength!

Connect to a Network

One great feature of PGM is the ability to connect to other devices running PGM. Not only can you connect through a WiFi network, you can also connect 2 devices with Bluetooth.

First open the menu then press “Connect”. Next you have a choice of being a WiFi Host or Client or using Bluetooth. TO CONNECT USING WiFi, ALL PLAYERS MUST BE CONNECTED TO THE SAME NETWORK FIRST!

WiFi Host: To be a WiFi host you must have WiFi enabled AND connected to a network. By selecting WiFi Host, an IP address is shown to you. It will start with 192. All other devices will need to use this IP address to connect to the WiFi Host.

WiFi Client: Once one device has become a WiFi Host, then other players can connect by selecting “WiFi Client”. A new message will pop up asking for the IP address of the WiFi host (see above). Put this code in the box and push “Connect”. If you are successful, a “Connected” message will appear at the bottom.

Bluetooth: Only two devces can connect with Bluetooth. To use Bluetooth you must first be paired with the device you are trying to connect to. This is done in the phone settings. Go to 'Wireless & networks'. Next go to 'Bluetooth settings'. You must turn on 'Discovery Mode'. Finally, 'Scan for devices' and pick the device to pair with. Both devices must except the pairing. Now you are ready to connect to another player.

When you are paired you may go back to Pocket Game Master and open the program menu. Select 'Connect', then select 'Bluetooth'.

1. The first device presses 'Host'. This device will ow listen for any incoming signal.
2. After this, the next device presses 'Client'. Choose the device you want to connect to and wait. Sometimes to get connections to work. Bluetooth sometimes is fickle so try a couple of times.
   

Once connected all character's info ( EXCEPT for NPC) changed on one device will update on all devices characters.

To send an entire character to all devices, TAP and HOLD the character's name. Then select 'SEND'

All recipients will be able to choose what slot to place your character. This is a great way to share your character with the Game Master.

Customization

Customization is the key to Pocket Roll Master. All files are stored on your SD card under the folder “sdcard/PGM”. Here you will find the Classes.txt file, for instance. All of the public customizable files have a few things in common.

• In the Classes.txt file, each class is separated by two commas “,,”

• In the Status.txt file, each status is separated by two commas “,,”

• In the Feats.txt and Skills.txt files, every entry has a name and a description. The Name and Description are separated by two commas “,,”. HOWEVER, each feat or skill is separated by a new line AND double pound signs “##”. Here is an example:
  

Acrobatic,, You have excellent body awareness and coordination.

##Agile,, You are particularly flexible and poised.

##Alertness,, You have finely tuned senses.

• The adventure files are the same. A title and description are separated with two commas “,,”. HOWEVER, each set of title and description is separated by a new line AND double pound signs “##”.

• The Spells.txt is the same as the above with two additions. In our d20 spell list, all spells are placed under their caster and level. If two at signs “@@” are found on a line, the user is not allowed to add this to their list (perfect for section titles). If four at signs are found “@@@@”, the user can't add this line to their spell book AND when you press the up or down arrows, you will scroll to this point. Thus you could separate each class' spells this way, and quickly jump to the beginning of each.

Make sure you save any changes or it won't be there after you close PGM.

Conclusion

With Pocket Game Master you can now recreate your role-playing campaign and create full adventures for it. Player can also carry their character sheets with them. No need for dice or paper.