3.5 Wealth Management Tool

[Navigator]

edit: June 21, 2010 -
After an extended break, I finally got back down to business and made several improvements. Again, I submit this to the community for testing, comments, and of course, use.

I've been working on a Wealth Manager, inspired by the Heroforge Tool.

This tool is best used for creating new (high level) characters that have more wealth than you know what to do with, or if you're a DM and want a quick way to assign NPC wealth. Overall, this tool will:

• Allow you to spend your character's wealth in just about 15 minutes, regardless of level.
• Give you a printable sheet with every magic item you own on it.
• Empowers DMs to gear up NPCs without a headache.
• Includes all of the Magic Item Compendium items and a few things from other books.
• Requires NO MATH. Again, NO MATH.
• Allows you to reduce the cost of items for crafting, and will tell you the amount of downtime you need and XP burned.
• You get to see the page reference and short description of everything you buy.
• Even has a shoddy spellbook wealth sheet for wizards.
• Allows you to easily add custom items or items that aren't added yet.

Usability:
This tool is best used in MS Excel 2003 or later. It has been reported to work fine under MS Excel 2000, and is mostly functional in OpenOffice. Extending the OO functionality to 100% is a high priority for me, so if you're a dedicated OO user, just give it a little time.

Keep in mind, this is still very much in its alpha stages, but for practical purposes it's 100% usable.

Edit: I tried playing with this in OO the other day, and it crashed my computer. That being said, use this in OO at your own risk until I make more progress there.

Why?
The reason I'm sharing this is because I've spent a lot of time creating this, and it would go to waste if I were the only one to take advantage of it. Please post any comments you have. If you think it sucks, we're all entitled to our opinion, but do your best to make it constructive.

If you're a programmer that knows VBA or OO Basic, and want to contribute, definitely get back to me!

---------------------------

Download links can be found here.

[AstralFire]

I wish I'd had something like this two years ago. Good work; this sort of thing is a big help for making NPCs if you're a monster-phobe like me.

[Gralamin]

[*]Includes all of the Magic Item Compendium items and a few things from other books.

I'm not an expert on these matters, but last time I checked that isn't OGL, and thus technically illegal. I may be mistaken however.

[Eloel]

Put a disclaimer,
Do not download this file if you don't own a copy of Magic Item Compendium.

Whether or not anyone cares, is their problem, AFAIK.
I may be wrong, but I'd hate to see hardwork go out-of-window...

Music exists that tells you to delete it after 24 hours, that's what I'm basing my assumption on.

[Salvonus]

Hey, thanks! This is actually rather useful!

For anyone that is interested in using this but doesn't have Excel 2003, it appears to function reasonably well in OpenOffice.

[elliott20]

nifty!

one little nitpick though. Right now you can load a character up with magical items but you can't seem to give them anything mundane or even things that aren't say, items. i.e. a 20th level character might also own a castle, a house, servants, etc.

I'm not saying that you should code these into the sheet, since once you open THAT flood gate, you get into a whole different debate about D&D price levels. But I think in the custom items sheet, there should be an option to add items that don't technically belong to any body area.

[Navigator]

I'm not an expert on these matters, but last time I checked that isn't OGL, and thus technically illegal. I may be mistaken however.

As far as the OGL stuff goes, I don't even know where to start with that. The Heroforge Tools use considerably more information in WotC books than I do here. I don't know if there's any truth to it, but as long as I only use text from the short descriptions it can fly without a problem.

...you can't seem to give them anything mundane or even things that aren't say, items. i.e. a 20th level character might also own a castle, a house, servants, etc.

Adding a page for mundane items wouldn't be a big deal. I'll put that on my list.

If characters want to buy a castle... well, you can add it in as a custom item to Tools or something. If you can point me to where the rules are for getting those prices (if they exist), I'll definitely look into it.

...it appears to function reasonably well in OpenOffice

Honestly, I never even tried loading this in OpenOffice, because I had no confidence it'd be worth it. I'll change the OP to reflect this. When I'm back home I'll give it a whirl.

[elliott20]

yeah, getting the mundane items in there shouldn't be too difficult.

but for things like castles and what not, short of the "generic" price in the DMG, I think it might be just easier to have the user add in their own items for that. otherwise, you'll end up being saddled with the task of converting potentially the entire stronghold builder's guide into this thing.

[Gorbash]

I'm just curious why is, per your tool, maximum worth of one item a character has 1/4 his WBL? It doesn't make any sense, IMHO.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

I'm just curious why is, per your tool, maximum worth of one item a character has 1/4 his WBL? It doesn't make any sense, IMHO.

Because that's the rule in the DMG. It very much makes sense, because when statting up characters above 1st level you want to make a character statted at level X equal to a character who advanced from 1st to Xth; if you can spend all your wealth on one item, you're a lot more powerful than the guy who started at 1st, even though he's probably going to have more gold overall.

[Gorbash]

Could you give me a page number of that rule, because I never heard about it?

And it is silly, since that would mean that characters would be able to buy, let's say, Belt of Giant's Strength +6, at level 15!

[AstralFire]

Could you give me a page number of that rule, because I never heard about it?

And it is silly, since that would mean that characters would be able to buy, let's say, Belt of Giant's Strength +6, at level 15!

I can't give a page number at the moment, mostly because I'm feeling lazy, but I can confirm it. Should be by the WBL table.

[Ernir]

Navigator, you are this week's most awesome person on the internet. This is great.
The basic item-lookup seems to work in OOo. The macros actually counting it all together, however, do not. Too bad. =/



I see two entries on the maximum item price. Odd.

Posting this shouldn't be illegal...

DMG, page 44:

As a general rule, a new character can spend no more than half her total wealth on a single item, and no more than one quarter the total wealth on consumables such as ammunition, scrolls, potions, wands, or alchemical items.

DMG, page 199:

You’re free to limit what magic items characters can choose when they create characters of higher levels, just as if you were assigning those items to treasure hoards in the game. You can exercise an item-by-item veto, but an easier method is to use maximum cost for a single item as a limit. For example, while an 8th-level character has 27,000 gp to spend, you can limit him to owning no single item worth more than one-quarter of that, or 5,500 gp. This is a good way to prevent imbalances such as an 8th-level fighter with hardly a copper piece to his name who is armed with a nine lives stealer.

[Gorbash]

Half of the total does make more sense and is a good rule.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Half of the total does make more sense and is a good rule.

Hmm, guess I mixed up the 1/2 total price and 1/4 consumables. Still, putting a 1/4 price limit on individual items isn't all that crippling; there should definitely be an option override that, though.

[Gnaeus]

Considering that many fighter types are going to want to spend close to 1/2 WBL on their primary weapon, it should at least be an option.

[Gorbash]

Precisely. 50% makes items like +5 Tomes/Manuals, Holy Avengers etc available at lvl 16, and not on 19th.

[MickJay]

A lot depends on playstyle. You can gain wealth over the course of campaign mostly in form of random items (works of art, next-to-useless items), which means that if you want to buy useful equipment, you first need to sell the stuff you got (at a loss), effectively meaning that while you have a total 100k in gold and items, if you went to buy stuff, you'd be left with 60 or 70k to spend.

If players start at higher levels, it's fun to give them 50% of their WBL in form of randomly rolled stuff and see what they do with it. Of course, in game terms, it effectively it means they have less than their WBL would indicate, but "wealth" is just that, total sum of what they have, not "only the stuff that is 100% relevant to adventurer's class".

[Random832]

A lot depends on playstyle. You can gain wealth over the course of campaign mostly in form of random items (works of art, next-to-useless items), which means that if you want to buy useful equipment, you first need to sell the stuff you got (at a loss), effectively meaning that while you have a total 100k in gold and items, if you went to buy stuff, you'd be left with 60 or 70k to spend.

WBL is supposed to take that into account. And art/gems/coins aren't supposed to have to be sold at a loss anyway.

[Navigator]

Hmm, guess I mixed up the 1/2 total price and 1/4 consumables. Still, putting a 1/4 price limit on individual items isn't all that crippling; there should definitely be an option override that, though.

After reading the quotes from the DMG, I will look to modify that to 1/2 instead of 1/4, and I'll put "Suggested" Item Limit. The spirit of this tool is to just make things easier for people, so that particular number is there only for convenience sake.

But, in all actuality, there is nothing that mechanically prevents you from buying items higher than that amount. Other than it being there, it's completely irrelevant to the functionality of the sheet. In fact, there is nothing that prevents you from spending arbitrarily.

The basic item-lookup seems to work in OOo. The macros actually counting it all together, however, do not. Too bad. =/

I'm going to tackle this tonight I think. Generally, everything should work except the printable sheet.

[Frosty]

Does this thing auto-equip NPCs for you based on their class or something?

[Navigator]

Well, I can see getting this work completely on OpenOffice and clearing up a couple bugs by Thursday night or so (aside from the Item List sheet for now). I'll be sure to post the update.

Other than that, feel free to voice any other comments.

Does this thing auto-equip NPCs for you based on their class or something?

Not exactly, but it can help a great deal. If you're like myself or AstralFire, you'll be able to gear any NPC correctly and effectively in just a few minutes.

[Frosty]

I'm using Office 2000 right now and it seems to work as well.

Oh here's a bug though: The program doesn't handle Synergy property well. For example, an armor with the properties Healing and Greater Healing will show up as: +3 Healing Healing, greater Padded when the lesser property should've been erased from the final item list since the greater property subsumes and replaces the lesser property.

EDIT: BIG BUG! The properties are ALL wrong for bows it seems in terms of what I select on the main page and what shows up on the final page.

After a bit of testing, I think there has to be some wrong pointers or something. I had a Magebane, Greater Dispelling, Dispelling greataxe, and everything in the final page showed up alright. I then changed the weapon to a longbow, and in the main page it auto-adjusted to have the properties of Flaming, Flaming Burst, and Sacred. I went back to the final page and it
still shows Magebane, Greater Dispelling, Dispelling longbow.

I tested by now switching the Sacred to Magebane, and I believe the final page replaced the Magebane to Ghost Touch. I switch it back to Sacred, and then switch the longbow to Longsword instead, and the properties auto-adjusted back to the proper properties on the main page.

[Navigator]

I'm using Office 2000 right now and it seems to work as well.

Oh here's a bug though: The program doesn't handle Synergy property well. For example, an armor with the properties Healing and Greater Healing will show up as: +3 Healing Healing, greater Padded when the lesser property should've been erased from the final item list since the greater property subsumes and replaces the lesser property.

This isn't necessarily a bug, but just not implemented. Fixing this will require me to add another field to enhancements data, so that will also be going on the (rapidly growing) list, as well as changing things like "Healing, greater" to "Greater healing". Thanks for pointing that out though!

EDIT: BIG BUG! The properties are ALL wrong for bows it seems in terms of what I select on the main page and what shows up on the final page.

After a bit of testing, I think there has to be some wrong pointers or something. I had a Magebane, Greater Dispelling, Dispelling greataxe, and everything in the final page showed up alright. I then changed the weapon to a longbow, and in the main page it auto-adjusted to have the properties of Flaming, Flaming Burst, and Sacred. I went back to the final page and it
still shows Magebane, Greater Dispelling, Dispelling longbow.

I tested by now switching the Sacred to Magebane, and I believe the final page replaced the Magebane to Ghost Touch. I switch it back to Sacred, and then switch the longbow to Longsword instead, and the properties auto-adjusted back to the proper properties on the main page.

I literally just caught this 5 minutes ago. Luckily, it's a super easy fix. Instead of looking up ranged weapon qualities for the Item List, it's looking up melee weapon qualities.

I'm going to be up all night (again), and plan on fixing up a few things.

Everyone, keep the input coming. It's highly appreciated, and I promise to be diligent in return.

[woodenbandman]

Because that's the rule in the DMG. It very much makes sense, because when statting up characters above 1st level you want to make a character statted at level X equal to a character who advanced from 1st to Xth; if you can spend all your wealth on one item, you're a lot more powerful than the guy who started at 1st, even though he's probably going to have more gold overall.

I saved until level 12 to buy +1 Wild Full Plate. It was damn well worth it. Until then I bought absolutely nothing at all.

So I think you should be allowed to allocate your wealth however you like.

[AstralFire]

I saved until level 12 to buy +1 Wild Full Plate. It was damn well worth it. Until then I bought absolutely nothing at all.

So I think you should be allowed to allocate your wealth however you like.

You had to suff-...

Right. Druid.

Theoretically you had to suffer for that. Newboy built at 12th level and up doesn't.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

You had to suff-...

Right. Druid.

Theoretically you had to suffer for that. Newboy built at 12th level and up doesn't.

Precisely. Even if you can save all your money for a single item, you suffer disadvantages for that (which the new character doesn't), and the ability to choose precisely the desired items rather than finding them or buying them with other gear sold at a loss (which the old character doesn't) is a significant advantage.

[Draz74]

This is an awesome idea, but I, for one, did NOT have a good experience trying to run it with OpenOffice. Several Macros gave errors instead of results, and after about 8 minutes of use it crashed.

Oh, I also vote to get rid of the hard cap on the most expensive item you can buy. That's something that individual DMs should set and enforce. There are times when it is actually extremely logical for someone to spend more than half their money on just one item -- for example, my Level 2 Quarterstaff-focused melee warrior, who really wants the attack bonus from a masterwork weapon and is kind of an ascetic about other equipment.

[Navigator]

Oh, I also vote to get rid of the hard cap on the most expensive item you can buy.

After reading the quotes from the DMG, I will look to modify that to 1/2 instead of 1/4, and I'll put "Suggested" Item Limit. The spirit of this tool is to just make things easier for people, so that particular number is there only for convenience sake.

But, in all actuality, there is nothing that mechanically prevents you from buying items higher than that amount. Other than it being there, it's completely irrelevant to the functionality of the sheet. In fact, there is nothing that prevents you from spending arbitrarily.

There may be some kinks opening it in OpenOffice, but if it actually prevents the selecting of items higher than that number, that would surely be an interesting bug.

Just to keep the integrity of the thread, unless anyone is actually prevented from selecting items above the limit (which would be unintended), consider this issue to be completely taken care of in the upcoming v1.3. However, if you think that the number should not be displayed at all, I'm willing to hear about it (and since it's already caused this much confusion, I'm not even sure it'll make v1.3).

Edit:

This is an awesome idea, but I, for one, did NOT have a good experience trying to run it with OpenOffice. Several Macros gave errors instead of results, and after about 8 minutes of use it crashed.

As I type this I'm in the middle of minimizing the need for macros to give this a better shot at working in OpenOffice. I am very interested in getting this to work in free applications without scrapping it entirely, so those of you who are using OpenOffice, look forward to v1.3.

[AstralFire]

I would suggest leaving the number in. It's a good, useful reminder of an important aspect of the rules for higher level characters, and reminders can be ignored.

Just look at my Paint Shop Pro for Windows 3.11 proggy... I'm on day 1500 or so of my 30 day free trial on the old computer.