Playtesting and Spell Hooking

First off, many thanks to Lance Botelle and his wife Jen. I've just returned from a pleasant evening in their company, where Lance tested my module while Jen kept us dosed with tea and biscuits. :)

Having watched over Lances' shoulder, I was pleased with the way the story flowed, while Lance commented on a number of other elements with positive responses.

We did uncover a bug along the way, which while a little discouraging that such problems can still be present despite my own attempts at testing, it's comforting at the same time that I'm able to pick up on it. Playtesting by others is a valuable asset that one should not dismiss, no matter how often they have tested a module themselves, which is why I'm seriously considering releasing an incomplete beta to get some further feedback.

As well as the bug, we (or should I say "Lance") resolved another issue I was having. Having followed a tutorial on the Lexicon to implement spell hooking, I couldn't understand why I couldn't get it to work, which was a pretty major issue considering my mythology plays an important aspect in spell availability. Spell hooking was after all the major draw for me in deciding that making "The Relbonian Chronicles" was possible, so having it not working would prove a major setback. Fortunately Lance spotted the problem quickly. Although I had saved a copy of an altered script in the default module properties, I had forgotten to use it. Selecting the copy made the test work, so that's likely to be the next major project I tackle. Having said that, I still have a couple of spell renames not quite working yet.

I was worried that a lot of typing would be involved with implementing the spell hooking, but having searched the vault I discovered Genisys had done a lot of the typing for me. If spell hooking is something you're considering, I'd recommend popping over to his spells & feats download.

As the setting of the module is unique, I thought it would be nice to experience it in something that felt new. This works to some extent thanks to the spells being re-named to fit in with the mythology, but I felt it deserved more. Having searched the vault again, I discovered some wonderful sets of coloured icons by The Amethyst Dragon. What's especially nice about them is you can drop them in your overide folder so that your icons are colourized for every game you play. I found they make a huge difference to the game, and was particularly impressed that all the spell icons have received the same treatment. I shall most definately recommend their use when I release the module. For those that can't wait that long, you can pick up his spell icons here, and view his other submissions here.

Right, I think I need bed now, and fingers crossed that we start getting some viewers for our home soon, as me and the Mrs are planning to move, which explains my lack of activity of late. Apologies to those of you kind enough to keep tabs here.

Night night and all the best.