11 September 1999
PUBLIC version 1.00.00
Writtten by Steve Mulhern

WARNING:
I assume you know how to do the various functions, and will not answer any support questions on the following items:
Find, and Replace, within a selected cell range
Move sheets
Copy sheets
CUT and MOVE areas (note: a lot of the cells are inter-referenced; if you just COPY then CLEAR, you'll lose a lot of the functionality.)
Anything that would be taught in a basic Excel 97/2000 class, or the first three chapters of any book on the subject.


NOTES:
First off, my apologies.  I know this spreadsheet like the back of my hand- but then again, I keyed it in, have been working with it (in various incarnations) for the last three months.  I'll try to explain things, for the first-time users, so that you have a chance to use it effectively, yourself.

A little about my campaign~ I run a twice-a-week campaign in West Allis, WI (which is a suburb of Milwaukee), based in the Forgotten Realms.  I've also been a player since 1981, and a DM since 1983.  Through all of this, I've had various "house rules" which work very well for me, as well as give many options for my players.

You might notice some interesting race / class variations throughout the spreadsheet.  The Realms is a varied place- with the various gates, Wild Magic / Dead Magic areas, Spelljamming helms, etc. al., you MIGHT find an Alaghi (PO:S&P) with more intelligence than the average bear; Kender and Gully Dwarves are very rare (but still possible); Spelldancers lead themselves to interesting possibilities, in and of themselves (especially with there less-than-perfect understanding of magic- note the "wild surge" possibilities on Deniera's chart!)... etc.  Each campaign is different.  Just because I allow more than you do, or you might find my player's combinations too tame (ie: most everyone is of a good alignment), doesn't mean I run a better or worse campaign- just different.

I use a variation of the Players Option: Skills & Powers book.  I do not allow my characters to mess with either Racial or Class abilities; if you are a Human Fighter, you are a "vanilla" human fighter- you are not a Human with Tough Skin / Fighter with Magic Resistance.  The one thing I use the Character Points with is the Proficiencies system, and that's just something that made more sense <to me> than the original 2nd-Ed Player's Handbook- to tell me a 4th level Elven Thief (19 Dex), on just learning the Rope-Use ability, has a 95% chance of success (1-19 on d20), seemed extremely ludicrious.  Now, if my players has a '14' score in a NWP, you better believe that he's one of the better Appraisers, Miners, Swimmers, etc. al. - and, my players are proud of it, too.

I've also experimented with Spell Points with the various Mage classes (and variations).  It allows for more flexibility.  (Hmmm... I've got ten spellpoints left, and I can't decide whether to memorize "Friends", "Shocking Grasp", or "Sleep"... oh, to hell with it- I'll just take a "free slot" 1st level spell for 8 points.)  My Wizard tables reflect that- although I can easily modify it, hopefully, if you look at how I've constructed my "Lookup" tables, you'll be able to put a simple one together, yourself.  (Once I find a touch of time, I'll update the spreadsheets with the "core" Wizard spellcasters in mind, and upload them to the various websites who had offered space for this.)

Also: I'm a role-play DM, more than anything else.  These characters are young, and thier stories are varied- part of growing up is learning about yourself, and what went before you.  Running the party through the Temple of Elemental Evil (which was originally a Greyhawk module, but one which I've done some conversions to bring it to the Realms)- I've had two role-playing campaign sessions within the last three weeks which left the characters physically drained.  Of my players, I also have an excellent turn-out ratio (ie: if someone is going to play that night, I know by 6pm, the campaign start time, because they are either there, or have given me a call to let me know they were on thier way.)



TABLES (called- will you take my campaign style, or your own?)
Switch to the "Abilities" sheet.  There, you will notice, I've "highlighted" the various modifications I've made to the Strength table and Saving Throw charts.  If you don't want to differentiate between a Strength of 4 and a Strength of 5- right-click on Row 6, and click "Delete" (thereby, removing the Str 5 listing).  If you don't want your 6th level Priests to have a better chance to save- right-click on Row 154, and click "Delete".

Also note that I'm using a house rule for Specialty Priests' experience (formerly known as Druids, in the PHB.)  Go ahead and re-key those numbers.  (I won't get mad.)



USAGE (called- Exploring The Spreadsheet)
The very first thing I would recommend you do- print out the "Players" sheet (the very first sheet that opens).  This will give you a very good clue as to which characters are which classes.

Note that, wherever possible, I have some "stock" items.  All of the various characters have the following: 
Current Level : 	cell R1 (cell O1 updates off of this)
Current Experience : 	cell R2 (cell O2 updates off of this)
Movement :              cell O4 (formulated!)
Hit Points :		cell I12

I've got several things tied into the Current Experience cell; the THAC0 (calculated), the Saving Throws (looked up off of a table), Clerical Turning (looked up off of a table), Spells (looked up off of a table), Rogue Points (calculated) - these are just some of the examples.  The majority of the items you won't even have to worry about, as long as you know where to put the value you really want.

To show you how many things are tied into a single cell- go ahead, switch to Alexander's sheet, and type "15" into Cell R1.  You'll notice that a LOT of things have changed.  His PARRY AC dropped from 4 to -1, his Saving Throws reflect a 15th-level Bard, his THAC0 drops from 19 to 13, and, on page 2, his Rogue Points jumped from 65 to 230, and his Spell Points jump from 20 to 165.


Now, let's say, you want to enter your own players' characters.  Using the printout (the "Players" sheet, remember?)- find the same class as one of your players.  (I'll use a Fighter for my example.)  Switch to the "Basher" sheet.  Double-click on the tab to rename it to the character's name.

Go into cell A1, rename the character; into R1, enter the level; into R2, enter the experience.
Go through B5 - B10, reenter the character scores.  (Note that when you do that, it will change the description...)

On the weapons, you will have to calculate the adjustment to the THAC0 score yourself- so, if your fighter is Specialized in the Long Sword, with a Strength of 17 (+1 to hit), you would enter
=P23-1-1
(P23 is the calculated Base Thac0; -1 for Strength; -1 for Specialization)


Also be aware of the "Movement" calculations (column U).  For Dwarves, Gnomes, and Halflings, the "Base Move" should be 6 (on my own house rule, Dwarves can carry an additional column of encumbrance, which is why they get that .5 "Bonus Move").  Elves, Half-Elves, and Humans get a base move of 12.

Once you finish with all of the various changes (combat, languages, NWP, equipment)- go back to the Players tab.  Note that the Character Name there has changed, your stats reflect what you entered, etc. al.  Go to the Hit Points tab- and notice the armor class changes and the hit point changes.

Using this as a stepping point, feel free to switch all of the players around as you need to.




Now, I know I'm not very good at describing something- or, you'll find something that will make little to no sense, or just something you're not sure how to do (I'm running a party with 15 bards!)  I know I'm opening myself up to all sorts of problems- but, please feel free to email me with a question or two.  (Also, please try to be as specific as possible... saying, "Thac0 is broken" doesn't do me a lot of good, but "On Alexander's sheet, I know my bard isn't encumbered, but he only has a movement of 9 in cell O4".)  Note that I won't bother with emails that ask about how to move or copy sheets, or basic things in the Excel 97 / 2000 help file.  (I assume you know a touch about spreadsheets, Excel in particular, or you wouldn't be requesting the file.)

You can contact me at: Halfling@NetAddict.Net.  I usually respond within 48 hours.



MY LAST CAMPAIGN SESSION (ie: once you're comfortable with the sheet, look to see how fast it is to change it.)
10:08 AM 9/11/99
	... opened spreadsheet.
10:09 AM 9/11/99
	... finished entering all experience in "Catchup" sheet; 
	starting to enter all experience in cell 'R2' of every sheet, from cell 'S2'.
10:13 AM 9/11/99
	... finished updating each sheet with the "new" experience points.
10:41 AM 9/11/99
	... finished updating each character sheet with changed items (equipment, money spent, etc. al.)


REVISION HISTORY:
version 1.00.00: 11-Sept-99: First public release.


BETA-TESTERS & BUG REPORTERS:
As of v1.00.00: None


(unofficial) DISTRIBUTION/MIRROR SITES:
http://dl.fileplanet.com/dl/dl.asp?rgplanet/poolofradiance/ad&dchar_v_1_00_00.zip
http://rondaksportal.com
