threnklyn / dungeon-sheets

A tool to create character sheets and GM session notes for Dungeons and Dragons fifth edition (D&D 5e).

Dungeon Sheets

A tool to create character sheets and session notes for Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition (D&D 5e).

Documentation

Documentation can be found on readthedocs.

Installation

$ pip install dungeonsheets

Note

Dungeon sheets requires at least python 3.6. This is mostly due to the liberal use of f-strings. If you want to use it with previous versions of python 3, you'll probably have to replace all the f-strings with the older .format() method or string interpolation.

Optional External dependencies

• You may use pdftk to generate the sheets in PDF format.
• You will need pdflatex, and a few latex packages, installed to generate the PDF spell pages (optional).

If pdftk is available, it will be used for pdf generation. If not, a fallback python library (pdfrw) will be used. This has some limitations:

• Produces v1.3 PDF files
• Not able to flatten PDF forms
• Will produce separate character-sheets, spell-lists and spell-books.

Different linux distributions have different names for packages. While pdftk is available in Debian and derivatives as pdftk, the package is not available in some RPM distributions, such as Fedora and CentOS. One alternative would be to build your PC sheets using docker.

If the pdflatex command is available on your system, spellcasters will include a spellbook with descriptions of each spell known. If not, then this feature will be skipped.

In order to properly format descriptions for spells/features/etc., some additional latex packages are needed. On Ubuntu these can be install with:

$ sudo apt-get -y install pdftk texlive-latex-base texlive-latex-extra texlive-fonts-recommended

Usage

Each character or set of GM notes is described by a python (or a VTTES JSON) file, which gives many attributes associated with the character. See examples for more information about the character descriptions.

The PDF's can then be generated using the makesheets command. If no filename is given, the current directory will be parsed and any valid files found will be processed. If the --recursive option is used, sub-folders will also be parsed.

$ cd examples
$ makesheets

dungeon-sheets contains definitions for standard weapons and spells, so attack bonuses and damage can be calculated automatically.

Consider using the -F option to include the excellent D&D 5e template for rendering spellbooks, druid wild forms and features pages (https://github.com/rpgtex/DND-5e-LaTeX-Template).

If you'd like a step-by-step walkthrough for creating a new character, just run create-character from a command line and a helpful menu system will take care of the basics for you.

Content Descriptions

The descriptions of content elements (e.g. classes, spells, etc.) are included in docstrings. The descriptions should ideally conform to reStructured text. This allows certain formatting elements to be properly parsed and rendered into LaTeX or HTML:

class Scrying(Spell):
  """You can see and hear a particular creature you choose that is on
  the same plane of existence as you. The target must make a W isdom
  saving throw, which is modified by how well you know the target
  and the sort of physical connection you have to it. If a target
  knows you're casting this spell, it can fail the saving throw
  voluntarily if it wants to be observed.

  Knowledge - Save Modifier
  -------------------------
  - Secondhand (you have heard of the target) - +5
  - Firsthand (you have met the target) - +0
  - Familiar (you know the target well) - -5

  Connection - Save Modifier
  --------------------------
  - Likeness or picture - -2
  - Possession or garment - -4
  - Body part, lock of hair, bit of nail, or the like - -10

  """
  name = "Scrying"
  level = 5
  ...