New Spellbook App for 3.5!

[GreatDane]

Link to app (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sethi.gurdane.casterhelper)

Spell reference apps aren't new. There's a broad selection of them - dozens for 5e, fewer for the older editions. I (still) play 3.5, but none of the apps I've downloaded have had the right combination of usability and features. If I just wanted to look up spells by name, I'd use Google ("enlarge person 3.5" (https://lmgtfy.com/?q=enlarge+person+3.5)), no app required.

So I developed Spellslinger (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sethi.gurdane.casterhelper). It serves as a basic offline reference tool, but the real use is the advanced search, which lets you filter out spells by ANY feature. Looking for long-ranged wizard spells that don't allow spell resistance? Want to check if any level 3 cleric spells target Will saves? Wondering how many language-dependent spells there actually are? Spellslinger handles all that and more, plus offers the ability to add spells to lists so you can keep track of which spells your character(s) know or effectively "save" searches.

Feedback, feature requests, and reviews are more than welcome! This is its initial release, and I'm the sole developer, so I'm fully expecting people to find edge cases I didn't. Thank you for reading!

[tterreb]

This looks like a great app. Good job! It does seem to have some problems filtering by class though.

[Asmotherion]

Link to app (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sethi.gurdane.casterhelper)

Spell reference apps aren't new. There's a broad selection of them - dozens for 5e, fewer for the older editions. I (still) play 3.5, but none of the apps I've downloaded have had the right combination of usability and features. If I just wanted to look up spells by name, I'd use Google ("enlarge person 3.5" (https://lmgtfy.com/?q=enlarge+person+3.5)), no app required.

So I developed Spellslinger (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sethi.gurdane.casterhelper). It serves as a basic offline reference tool, but the real use is the advanced search, which lets you filter out spells by ANY feature. Looking for long-ranged wizard spells that don't allow spell resistance? Want to check if any level 3 cleric spells target Will saves? Wondering how many language-dependent spells there actually are? Spellslinger handles all that and more, plus offers the ability to add spells to lists so you can keep track of which spells your character(s) know or effectively "save" searches.

Feedback, feature requests, and reviews are more than welcome! This is its initial release, and I'm the sole developer, so I'm fully expecting people to find edge cases I didn't. Thank you for reading!

Sounds like it will be great... when it actually runs properly. I'm on a Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 pro and it crushes before oppening.

Cheers and I hope to see this running soon! Good Luck! :smallbiggrin:

[Jowgen]

I support this in concept, but I must ask: does the underlying database include Dragon/Dungeon/Web spells?

Also, how does it handle spells that may have changed in reprint or entirely different spells that happen to have the same name?

[Falontani]

It seems to be core only spells.

I suggest a way for people to add their own spells. It definitely seems reminiscent of some of the 5e apps I've used, which is not a bad thing.

[Crichton]

It seems to be core only spells.

I suggest a way for people to add their own spells.

That would be my only suggestion, as well. I think it's a fantastic idea, and it looks great and well organized, but the thing it has to compete against is how easy it is to quickly google search for "d&d 3.5 [spell name]" and just click the first link that gives the spell info reliably, which is usually that one site that has tools for dnd, so to speak

I get that the app can't include non-srd material, but if there were a way to add or import custom spells or spells from other sources, it would be a lot more attractive.

[Thunder999]

The problem is you can't include non SRD spells for legal reasons, but without them it just can't do its job, because very few people are going to only want those few spells.

[Falontani]

The problem is you can't include non SRD spells for legal reasons, but without them it just can't do its job, because very few people are going to only want those few spells.
However there is nothing wrong with your own homebrew spells, or for someone that owns the relevant source book to add spells from the sourcebook for their own private use.

[GreatDane]

On the topic of non-SRD spells: of course, the app would be infinitely more useful if these were included. As others have pointed out, though, spells printed outside the SRD are protected by copyright law. I would eventually like to add a custom spell feature, but nobody has the patience to manually enter all 1,001 Spell Compendium spells. I'm wary of including a mass-import option, as the old DndTools app was taken down for that reason.


This looks like a great app. Good job! It does seem to have some problems filtering by class though.
What issues are you seeing?


Sounds like it will be great... when it actually runs properly. I'm on a Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 pro and it crushes before oppening.
You're the second person to report this issue with a Xiaomi phone. I've been trying to figure out what it could be, but it's pretty tough, since I don't have a Xiaomi phone to test on.

[Falontani]

patience to manually enter all 1,001 Spell Compendium spells.

Nope, but I have the patience to enter the twenty spells from there that I'd be using, and then in a future campaign I may add a different twenty, and eventually I'd have a good spread

[Powerdork]

Nobody has the patience to insert all spells from Spell Compendium, but definitely they'd have the patience to put in spells appropriate for their sorcerer or cleric.

[Kelb_Panthera]

Don't know how difficult this would be to implement since I know too little about programming but would it be possible to incorporate some kind of text recognition software that operates the device's camera? That could just allow the end-user to scan the pages on their books to add spells to the app.

I know google translate has something like that so there -might- be an API.

[Segev]

It would also be one more thing to filter, but the pathfinder srd has a ton of spells, which would make this useful for 3.PF and PF.

And would be legal.

I was going to suggest just having non-srd spells by name and leaving out the copyrighted bits, but to make the advanced filtering useful require enough to get in trouble, most likely.

You could make it have paid-for add ons, perhaps, one for each book with spells in it, that you talk to WotC about getting license for. They may allow you to just set up some sort of royalty thing.

Note: I’m not a lawyer, and my primary advice is to talk to WotC about whether they’d work with you on making something affordable and compliant with their licenses.

[tterreb]

On the topic of non-SRD spells:
What issues are you seeing?


In the browse section filtering it by class doesn't change the search results. You still get all the other class lists. All the other filters seem to be working fine though.

Also, setting a default search crashes the app and prevents it from opening until you reinstall it.