<b>NEW USERS NOTE:</b> In the <i><b>Settings</i></b> menu the <i><b>Game/Mode Campaign Setting</i></b> determines what sources/books you can load.
Make sure that <b>all</b> of your preferences are set to what you want for your campaign in the preferences dialog box. This is under the Settings--&gt;Preferences menu item.
Trying to find how to output your character?  use the File--&gt;Print Preview command
PCGEN doesn't always deal with leveling down perfectly.  So before you level up a character, make sure that you back up the pcg file first. That way if you choose the wrong class etc., you can go back and do it properly.
Don't forget bonus skill points from intelligence are only applied at the time, not retroactively, so if you increase your intelligence later on, you will not get bonus skill points from your previous levels.
If you have a positive Intelligence modifier remember to choose your bonus languages at first level, selecting them after first level is not allowed unless you enable the house rule to bypass this restriction. Click the 'Lang, Weap Prof &amp; SA' button on the Summary Tab to select Languages. See the preferences for House Rules options.
Currently the Modern dataset does not grant any Action Points. A temporary modifier named 'Action Point Tracker' can be found in the Temporary Bonus Sub-Tab of the Inventory Tab under Templates. <br><br>You can apply this as many times as you need to get your total correct. The total is displayed on the first page of the Modern OS.
The <b>Wealth system</b> in the <b>MSRD</b> is not fully implemented within PCGen, though it is fairly easy to work around the limitations. When adding the first level of a base class you are prompted to choose the result of your starting wealth roll which you will need to make manually. This roll is added to any bonuses granted from your starting occupation and/or feats which may effect Wealth and that is your Starting Wealth Score. The starting Wealth Score and Current Wealth Score are displayed on the Abilities Tab in the Special Abilities window and on the Special Abilities Block of the OS. Your Current Wealth Score is displayed in the lower right pane of the Class Tab as well as on the first page of the OS. Since Wealth is fluid and can change based on circumstances within the game a Temporary Bonus exists named <b>Wealth Adjustment</b> which allows you to do exactly that. You will find this in the <b>Temporary Bonus Sub-Tab</b> of the <b>Inventory Tab</b> under <b>Templates</b>. You can apply a modifier from 10 to -10, if you need more or there is more than one adjustment to make you can apply the Wealth Adjustment as many times as is needed. Wealth Adjustment is applied to the Current Wealth Score and leaves the Starting Wealth Score untouched.<br><br><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>Buying stuff.</span></b> PCGen does not yet support the abstract wealth system presented in the Modern rules. As a work around we use the COST attribute to hold the Buy DC of the item instead of its monetary value. You should check the box marked 'Ignore Cost', consult the Buy DC of the item and your Current Wealth Score and make your rolls manually.
There is currently no way to set your allegiances in PCGen. The OS has an allegiances field, where you can manually add those if you want to.
On the summary tab, the abilities column is actually editable, you can enter your ability scores directly instead of using the +/- buttons.
Using the Miscellaneous--&gt;Qualify option in a filter is often a great way to cut down a list to make it readable. But don't forget to switch the filter back off when you're looking for the prestige class you're trying to get to!
PCGEN is not necessarily a real time tool. So it may be best to note changes on your character sheet and enter them into PCGEN after every session. DM's can have sheets handed to them if they can't trust their players ;p
You will see small &gt;, &lt;, &lt;up&gt; and &lt;down&gt; arrows on the panes of the PCGEN windows. You can click on these to get one of the panes to expand to its full width/length.
The -4 circumstance penalty to melee attacks for being prone is a temporary bonus you can apply in the Temporary Bonus Tab which is a subtab of the Inventory Tab. Other circumstantial bonuses such as ability damage or being blind are available in this tab as well.
In PCGen you will find two versions of each ammo, one is a bundle in which it is sold and one is a single projectile. The two versions are identical accept for the name, the Purchase DC listed is always for the bundle, you can't buy single bullets.<br><br>The single projectile version exists for the convenience of being able to add an exact amount of these items to the character sheet, they will appear on the sheet with check boxes handy for tracking spent ammo. You can also load bullets into firearms in the Equipping Tab and checkboxes will appear under the firearms listing in the main Equipment Block
Don't forget to spend <b>all</b> of your skill points when you go up a level (as per the rules).
The Include Skills drop-down allows you to select the Untrained option which then shows all of the skills you are trained in and the skills that you don't need to be trained in but can still use.
Because of limitations with the PCGen code the Smart Hero's Linguist talent will not appear as a talent choice at first level. If you want to select it at first level anyway, close the Feat Choice window without making a selection, add the necessary ranks in the Read/Write Language and Speak Language skills on the Skills tab, and select Linguist as one of the feats on the Feats tab.
On the FX Tab you'll see SpellBook textbox.  You can add new spell books (in reality sets of spells you have prepared) by adding a new name in the text box and clicking on the Add button.
On the FX Tab to see the number of spells you can cast in a day you need to select your spell casting class in the left-hand pane.
The Gear tab on the Inventory Tab shows all of the gear you own.  Use the Equipping tab to set up groups of equipment that you'd use (e.g. City, Party, Combat).  You can then print these sets out showing the changed affects on your movement and skills!
Remember the help section (F1) can answer many of your questions!!
<b><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>Introduction</span></b><br><br>This document explains how to find, download and install &quot;skins&quot; for <i>PCGen</i> to provide a different &quot;look and feel&quot; to the interface. These &quot;skins&quot; are provided by third parties not related to the <i>PCGen</i> team or <i><a href="http://www.codemonkeypublishing.com/">Code Monkey Publishing</a></i>.<br><br><b>Enabling skinning capability in <i>PCGen</i></b><br><br>Download the skins.zip file from the following location: <a href="http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=25576">http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=25576</a>. Unzip the file into the \pcgen\lib directory.<br><br><b>Finding some &quot;skins&quot;</b><br><br>Merton Monk has provided several links on the <i>Yahoo! Groups</i> page: <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pcgen/links/PCGen_001013180345/">http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pcgen/links/PCGen_001013180345/</a>. I found some of the best ones at: <a href="http://javootoo.l2fprod.com/plaf/skinlf/index.php">http://javootoo.l2fprod.com/plaf/skinlf/index.php</a>, however YMMV.<br><br>Placing the &quot;skins&quot; where <i>PCGen</i> can find them</b><br><br>The easiest is in the \pcgen\lib\ directory however you can use your own directory format as you will. There is no need to unzip the themes/skins as they are applied from the zip files.<br><br><b>Applying &quot;skins&quot; in <i>PCGen</i></b><br><br>1 Open <i>PCGen</i><br>2 Choose Settings...<br>3 Choose Preferences...<br>4 Under Appearance, Choose Look and Feel<br>5 Choose the Skinned option and use the &quot;...&quot; button to browse to the location of the skin zip files<br>6 Choose OK and the Theme/Skin should apply. However on some systems you need to exit and restart <i>PCGen</i> for this to take effect.<br><br>Hope this helps!<br><br>Michael Beaver <a href="mailto:michael@tripleknot.com">michael@tripleknot.com</a><br><a href="http://www.tripleknot.com/">www.tripleknot.com</a><br>
To reduce the options in races and classes on the 'Summary' tab, you can use Filters (click on the magnifying glass icon) - Try TYPE&gt;PC and TYPE&gt;Humanoid with the Match&gt;Any option selected.
Select Templates on the 'Race' tab
Click the 'Lang, Weap Prof &amp; SA' button to see Languages, Special Abilities and Weapon Proficiencies
If you ever see something that doesn't make sense to you, look on the trouble-shooting preview. To get to that, click on the "Character Sheet" tab. Select the "Troubleshooting.htm" sheet. You will see all the various abilities, skills, hit points, saving throws, and the like all expanded with a tag in [] showing where it came from. Very useful for tracking down that strange -1 that shows up.
