`character`¶

The opend6_tools.character module provides the DSL definitions for characters and creatures. The module has a number of features for creating formatted displays of characters, working with creature or character definitions as command-line application, and extracting definitions from a Jupyter Lab notebook.

Dice¶

This is – to an extent – a duplicate of the opend6_tools.magic2.dice definitions. The supplemental material is the Roll class hierarchy.

@startuml
'https://plantuml.com/class-diagram

title The DieCode DSL

class Roll

class CriticalSuccess
Roll <|-- CriticalSuccess

class CriticalFailure
Roll <|-- CriticalFailure

class DieCode

DieCode --> Roll : "Creates"

@enduml

The DieCode is more than merely a definition of dice. It can also roll to generate values for strength damage and body. This includes the OpenD6 “Wild Die” rules, creating values with a somewhat larger distribution than a handful of dice.

Defining Characters and Creatures¶

Because the make tool relies on file definitions, it helps to isolate creature and character definitions into distinct Python modules. Any of a number of organizing principles could be used for creatures, including likely environments, or the number of dice in their budget. Keeping creature and character definitions in separate files makes testing and publication relatively straightforward because the make tool can build the required RST-format files automatically.

This leads to the following ways in which the opend6_tools.character module is used:

An character or creature module imports the opend6_tools.character module to define character or creatures. Ordinary software testing techniques validate sure the syntax is correct. A __test__ block can be used to apply doctest tools can for validating the dice budget.
The character or creature module is also an application with a CLI that can emit RST-format files for publication, debugging output, or detailed displays of the definitions.

The top-level organization of Character and Creature modules in the context of campaign books is what a software architect might call an “aggregate root.” A module is a container for one or more related Characters or Creatures. The source is a creatures_subsection.py file with the Python version of the creature definitions.

$@startuml 'https://plantuml.com/class-diagram title Campaign Documents package python { package opend6_tools { component character } } package document_source { artifact index.rst <<RST>> artifact characters.rst <<RST>> index.rst -> characters.rst : """toctree::"" directive" package characters { component characters_subsection.py <<app>> { component SomeCharacter } artifact characters_subsection.txt <<RST>> characters_subsection.py ..> character : import } characters_subsection.py -> characters_subsection.txt : "Run with 'display'" characters.rst --> characters_subsection.txt : """include::"" directive" } @enduml$

Often, the characters or creatures are created interactively, using Jupyter Lab. This means the opend6_tools.notebook_extract builds the module from the notebook. For more information, see notebook_extract app.

The structure within the character or creature definition module is often a Python list object. A Character is an object with a number of other Attributes and Options. Here is the essential structure:

$@startuml 'https://plantuml.com/class-diagram title Character or Creature Module Components object "list[Creature]" as book object Creature { name attributes options } book *-- "1..m" Creature object Attribute { description dice } Creature *-- "6..7" Attribute object Option { description dice } Creature *-- "0..m" Option object "~_~_test~_~_" as test book <.. test object app { display debug } book <.. app @enduml$

The Character definition is almost identical to the Creature definition.

A creature can have a collection of abilities that are natural abilities. These come from the pool of Special Ability definitions, but don’t have an associated cost.

Character and Creature DSL¶

A Character (and a Creature) is a collection of descriptive strings. For the purposese of computing the dice budget, there are Attribute objects and a number of distinct OptionList objects.

$@startuml 'https://plantuml.com/class-diagram title Character or Creature classes class Character { name: str occupation: str race: str gender: str age: str height: str weight: str physical_description: str agility: Agility intellect: Intellect coordination: Coordination acumen: Acumen physique: Physique charisma: Charisma extranormal: Magic | Miracles advantages: OptionList disadvantages: OptionList special_abilities: OptionList equipment: str description: str realm: str fate_points: int character_points: int .. computable .. move: int strength_damage: DieCode body: int finds: DieCode } abstract class Attribute Attribute <|-- Agility Attribute <|-- Coordination Attribute <|-- Physique Attribute <|--- Intellect Attribute <|--- Acumen Attribute <|--- Charisma Attribute <|---- Magic Attribute <|---- Miracles Character *-- "{6..7}" Attribute /'Character *-- Agility Character *-- Intellect Character *-- Coordination Character *-- Acumen Character *-- Physique Character *-- Charisma Character *-- Magic Character *-- Miracles '/ Character *-- OptionList : "advantages\ndisadvantages\nspecial_abilities" class OptionList <<list[CharacterOption]>> abstract class CharacterOption OptionList *-- "0..m" CharacterOption abstract class Disadvantage CharacterOption <|-- Disadvantage abstract class Advantage CharacterOption <|-- Advantage abstract class SpecialAbility CharacterOption <|-- SpecialAbility class Creature { natural_abilities: OptionList } Character <|-- Creature Creature -- OptionList : "natural abilities" @enduml$

The character has a wide variety of features.

Attributes¶

A Character (and most creatures) have six required attributes. There are three physical and three mental attributes. Optionally, some characters or creatures may have an Extranormal, attribute.

While the game play consequence of each attribute are profound, from the perspective of defining a character, they’re all essentially identical.

The attributes (and skills) have a simple, uniform definition. Each skill description has a name and a DieCode cost.

During game play, the skill defines how many dice are rolled to overcome difficulties. Any skill without a specific budget defaults to the DieCode cost of the controlling Attribute for that skill.

Options¶

Beyond the core attributes, a character or creature may have options. There are three distinct types of character options.

For creatures (and some non-human characters) an option may be identified as a “natural ability”. This small shift in terminology permits pigs to fly, by calling the special ability of flight a natural ability.

@startuml
'https://plantuml.com/class-diagram

title Character or Creature Advantages and Limitations

abstract class CharacterOption {
rank: int
notes: str
dice: DieCode
}

abstract class Disadvantage
CharacterOption <|-- Disadvantage
abstract class Advantage
CharacterOption <|-- Advantage
abstract class SpecialAbility
CharacterOption <|-- SpecialAbility

@enduml

Each of these subclasses – Disadvantage, Advantage, and SpecialAbility – is the parent of a flat collection of subclasses. The only unique feature to each subclass is the costs-per-rank of the option.

Here are the subclasses of Disadvantage:

AchillesHeel
AdvantageFlaw
Age
BadLuck
BurnOut
CulturalUnfamiliarity
Debt
Devotion
Employed
Enemy
Hindrance
Infamy
LanguageProblems
LearningProblems
Poverty
Prejudice
Price
Quirk
ReducedAttribute

Outside the Fantasy rules, this additional disadvantage is added in the unpublished Magic rules.

MinorStigma

Here are the subclasses of Advantage:

Authority
Contacts
Cultures
Equipment
Fame
Patron
Size
TrademarkSpecialization
Wealth

The Special Abilities include a class-level rank_cost value that’s not simply set to one. Each special ability has a distinct rank cost.

Here are the subclasses of SpecialAbility:

AcceleratedHealing
Ambidextrous
AnimalControl
ArmorDefeatingAttack
AtmosphericTolerance
AttackResistance
AttributeScramble
Blur
CombatSense
Confusion
Darkness
Elasticity
Endurance
EnhancedSense
EnvironmentalResistance
ExtraBodyPart
ExtraSense
FastReactions
Fear
Flight
GliderWings
Hardiness
Hypermovement
Immortality
Immunity
IncreasedAttribute
InfravisionUltravision
Intangibility
Invisibility
IronWill
LifeDrain
Longevity
LuckGood
LuckGreat
MasterOfDisguise
MultipleAbilities
NaturalArmor
NaturalHandWeapon
NaturalMagick
NaturalRangedWeapon
Omnivorous
ParalyzingTouch
PossessionLimited
PossessionFull
QuickStudy
SenseOfDirection
Shapeshifting
Silence
SkillBonus
SkillMinimum
Teleportation
Transmutation
UncannyAptitude
Ventriloquism
WaterBreathing
YouthfulAppearance

Display and Output¶

The output features of this module perform a number of output conversions for characters and creature definitions.

$@startuml 'https://plantuml.com/class-diagram title character module output features class CharacterWriter { base_template: str list_template: str dict_template: str report(spell | book) -> str } class CharacterWriter_Short CharacterWriter <|-- CharacterWriter_Short class CharacterWriter_Long2 CharacterWriter <|-- CharacterWriter_Long2 class CharacterWriter_Table CharacterWriter <|-- CharacterWriter_Table class CharacterWriter_Literal CharacterWriter <|-- CharacterWriter_Literal class "detail(character | creature)" as detail << (F,orchid) Function >> hide detail empty members detail --> CharacterWriter class "display(character | book)" as display << (F,orchid) Function >> hide display empty members class "debug(character | book)" as debug << (F,orchid) Function >> hide debug empty members debug --> display class "sheet(character)" as sheet << (F,orchid) Function >> hide sheet empty members sheet --> CharacterWriter @enduml$

Plus functions summary(), detail(), sheet() And display(), debug()

Workbook Features¶

This module has a few functions for extracting characters or creatures from a Jupyter Lab Notebook. Generally, these functions are designed to be part of a notebook, and introspect the notebook by looking at the globals() mapping.

Application Wrapper¶

This module has a few functions to build elements of a spellbook application. These functions serve to create a CLI application using the typer library.

Generally, these are used as follows:

from opend6_tools.character import *

# Character or Creature definitions
creatures = [...]

if __name__ == "__main__":
    app = build_app(creatures)
    app()

This will – when run from the command line – build the application around spells (or items) defined in the module. It will then launch the application. This will parse command-line parameters and execute one various alternative sub-commands: test, debug, or display.

Implementation¶

OpenD6 Character and Creature Definition DSL.

Example¶

>>> from random import seed
>>> seed(42)

>>> from opend6_tools.character import *
>>> human = Character(
...     occupation="Default", race="Human"
... )
>>> human.physique.dice
3*D
>>> human.extranormal.dice
0*D
>>> human.budget_check(CharacterBudget.NORMAL)
{'Attributes': '18D out of 18D', 'Skills': 'Nothing out of 7D', 'Options': 'Nothing'}
>>> human.budget
{'Attributes': 18*D, 'Skills': 0*D, 'Options': 0*D}

>>> w = CharacterWriter_Literal()
>>> print(w.report(human))

..  rubric:: OpenD6 Fantasy


+--------------------------------------------------+
| Character Name: ________________________________ |
+--------------------------------------------------+
| Occupation: Default                              |
+-------------------------+------------------------+
| Race: Human             | Gender: ______________ |
+----------------+--------+-------+----------------+
| Age: ________  | Height: ______ | Weight: ______ |
+----------------+----------------+----------------+
| Physical Description ___________________________ |
+--------------------------------------------------+


::

    +----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
    | Agility           3D | Intellect         3D |                      |
    +----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
    | acrobatics           | cultures             |**Advantages**:       |
    | climbing             | devices              |**Disadvantages**:    |
    | combat               | healing              |**Special Abilities**:|
    | contortion           | navigation           |**Equipment**:        |
    | dodge                | reading/writing      |**Description**:      |
    | fighting             | scholar              |                      |
    | flying               | speaking             |                      |
    | jumping              | trading              |                      |
    | melee combat         | traps                |                      |
    | riding               | ____________________ |                      |
    | stealth              | ____________________ |                      |
    | ____________________ | ____________________ |                      |
    | ____________________ | ____________________ |                      |
    +----------------------+----------------------+                      |
    | Coordination      3D | Acumen            3D |                      |
    +----------------------+----------------------+                      |
    | charioteering        | artist               |                      |
    | lockpicking          | crafting             |                      |
    | marksmanship         | disguise             |                      |
    | pilotry              | gambling             |                      |
    | sleight of hand      | hide                 |                      |
    | throwing             | investigation        |                      |
    | ____________________ | know-how             |                      |
    | ____________________ | search               |                      |
    | ____________________ | streetwise           |                      |
    | ____________________ | survival             |                      |
    | ____________________ | tracking             |                      |
    | ____________________ | ____________________ |                      |
    | ____________________ | ____________________ |                      |
    +----------------------+----------------------+                      |
    | Physique          3D | Charisma          3D |                      |
    +----------------------+----------------------+                      |
    | lifting              | animal handling      |                      |
    | running              | bluff                |                      |
    | stamina              | charm                |                      |
    | swimming             | command              |                      |
    | ____________________ | intimidation         |                      |
    | ____________________ | mettle               |                      |
    | ____________________ | persuasion           |                      |
    | ____________________ | ____________________ |                      |
    | ____________________ | ____________________ |                      |
    | ____________________ | ____________________ |                      |
    | ____________________ | ____________________ |                      |
    | ____________________ | ____________________ |                      |
    | ____________________ | ____________________ |                      |
    +----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
    | Magic       ________ |                      |                      |
    +----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
    | alteration           | Str Damage        2D | Body Points 28       |
    | apportation          | Move              10 | [ ] Stunned   17-21  |
    | conjuration          | Fate Pts      1      | [ ] Wounded   11-16  |
    | divination           | Character Pts 5      | [ ] Severe    6-10   |
    | ____________________ | Funds 3D             | [ ] Incapac'd 3-5    |
    | ____________________ | Silver 180           | [ ] Mortal    1-2    |
    |                      |                      | [ ] Dead             |
    +----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+

`character`¶

Dice¶

Defining Characters and Creatures¶

Character and Creature DSL¶

Attributes¶

Options¶

Display and Output¶

Workbook Features¶

Application Wrapper¶

Implementation¶

Example¶

OpenD6 Tools

Related Topics

Navigation

character¶

Dice¶

Defining Characters and Creatures¶

Character and Creature DSL¶

Attributes¶

Options¶

Display and Output¶

Workbook Features¶

Application Wrapper¶

Implementation¶

Example¶

`character`¶