Writing Character Sheets (All GMs)

Short Form

Make an entry in LaTeX/Lists/characters.tex for the character if there isn't one there already (characters.tex is well-documented internally, assuming you haven't erased that). Also make at least a small entry in LaTeX/Lists/players.tex (that's also self-documented). Then go to Charsheets/, copy template.tex there to your new filename.tex (the filename shouldn't contain ^ characters), and edit it. The template.tex is also pretty well documented internally (assuming your Production Czar hasn't customized it and forgotten to update documentation), so it should be a snap. One last thing: go read the hints on latex.

Long Form

Vital information about all characters is kept in the central character information files, LaTeX/Lists/characters.tex and players.tex. Make sure there's an entry for your character there (see characters.tex comments especially).

Character sheets should be kept in the Charsheets directory. To begin a new sheet for James Bond, say, copy the file template.tex (your Production Czar should have customized this to your game by now!) to to bond.tex, and then edit that file. (Don't put a ^ in the charfilename.)

Make sure to fill in the \name macro (in LaTeX, almost anything that starts with a backslash and is followed by arguments in zero or more sets of { } is a macro). You'll want to fill it in with the control sequence you assigned to the character in LaTeX/Lists/characters.tex --- i.e. if you made it \Cjones there, do \name{\Cjones}. (If for some reason you want to do \name{John Smith}, that'll work too, but various cool stuff won't be available.) The name will show up in the character sheet header and also on the character's ability cards etc.

Using the \topquote macro to put a quote at the top of the sheet is optional, but cool. Oh, and if you really want a special icon in the header produced by \name, you could call \useicon first. (Both of these work in bluesheets etc also.)

Write the body of the character sheet using normal latex. If you're unsure of the character's name, gender, ID number, or unsure of other characters' names, genders, IDs, etc., you can use the character info macros to leave yourself options.

If you find you need to define any local macros in the sheet, via latex's \newcommand or the Template's \newpronoun or whatever, it's best to do so inside a \frobbies{...stuff...} before \begin{document}; that will both do the stuff and make sure it gets passed on to tex-type extractables, which we're about to discuss. Otherwise, if you use your new whatever to define a mem packet, when the tex for the actual mem packet is produced it won't have the whatever, so it'll break.

After the body come lists of stuff. Much of this stuff should show up in the character's packet in one form or another, and that stuff is listed using the special \begin{extractable} format. Later, when it's time to print stuff, tex and perl together will extract the information in the {extractable}s and use it to generate the appropriate things, so you're guarenteed to get the same stuff printed as you see on the bulletlist at the bottom of the character sheet (unless you forget to use \frobbies, or get Just Too Clever for the Template).

So a couple examples might be these:

\begin{extractable}{Bluesheets}
\extract{ \Banarchists }
\extract{ \Blawmen }
\end{extractable}

\begin{extractable}{Abilities}
\extract{ \Afeigndeath }
\extract{ \Aforensics }
\end{extractable}

Although your customized setup might not have either bluesheets or abilities per se, they make a good pair of examples because they are representative of the two basic types of things you may be putting in the lists:

• Lists of things like bluesheets, i.e. things which are their own documents and which are typeset independently of the character sheet. These things are referred to as list-type extractables because when you use the packets script the charsheet produces just a list of these sheets.

• Lists of things like abilities, for which multiple ability cards will fit on a single sheet (that is, you didn't pre-latex each ability card by itself the way you do with bluesheets). These are tex-type extractables because the packets script causes the charsheet to extract the actual tex code you put for these.

Note that in both cases, you may want to stick some text in an extractable list that will show up on the charsheet, but won't get extracted. Use \mention instead of \extract for this. For the opposite (should be extracted, but not show up in the charsheet list), use \secret{stuff}; this is useful for things that go in packets. (\secret stuff gets printed on separate pages and will be marked as 'secret.') If you want to note something for the character at either an \extract or a \mention, use \note (inside or outside them), as in

\begin{extractable}{Items}
\extract{ \Ibowling \note{Looks like others, but it's a family heirloom} }
\mention{ A cool translucent green staff.} \note{There's no item card
        for this; see a GM for the physrep.}
\secret[3]{ \Iwidget }  % these are hidden inside the bowling ball
\end{extractable}

List-Type Extractables

Things like bluesheets are typeset independently of character sheets; since you do want to mention them in character sheets, and have the appropriate bluesheets for a character print at the same time as the character sheet does, you want to list them at the bottom of the character sheet.

To make this work, rather than typing the name of each list-type extractable (such as a bluesheet) at the end of a character sheet, you must use a macro. Macros for list-type extractables are defined in the directory LaTeX/Lists/ -- for bluesheets, the file there is bluesheets.tex. When you write a new bluesheet, you must add a new macro to that file. When you want to reference that bluesheet in the extractables section of a character sheet, use that macro.

TeX-Type Extractables

Things like abilities are typeset at the same time as the character sheet they come from so that they can be lumped together on a page, have the character name imprinted, etc. Unlike list-type extractables, it is not required that tex-type extractable macros be defined in a file in LaTeX/Lists -- but it is frequently convenient.

For instance, a specific ability may be given to a lot of characters. Rather than copy the entire set of information into each character sheet, the abilities.tex file will define a macro for that specific ability. You could also call \ability directly in a charsheet to make a unique ability.

Here's a mixed example:

\begin{extractable}{Items}
\extract{ \Ibowling  }
\extract{ \normalitem{A Tuxedo}{5818}{} }  \note{Bulletproof}
\extract{ \unstashitem{A gold watch}{1236}{} } \note{contains truth serum}
\extract{ \bulkyitem{A gatling gun}{1234}{Requires ``gatling gun ammo'' item
        card to load; each such card has 10 shots.  The gun will hold
        up to 20 shots at once.}{4} }  \note{out of ammo}
\end{extractable}

Similarly, memory packets are typically unique to each character:

\begin{extractable}{Memory Packets}
\extract{ \mempacket{Item \#1273}{My god!  That's your pen!} }
\extract{ \memfold{Badge number \Cjoneswolf{number} (open immediately)}
        {My god!  That's the werewolf that killed you!  You scream and
        faint (first time only).} }
\extract{ \memfold{``I think Flash Gordon needs a haircut, don't you?''
        (spoken phrase; open immediately)}
        {You must now audibly say the numbers ``6, 4, 2.''} }
\end{extractable}

Note that you may want to use the optional automatic random number generation / assignment utility when listing item numbers, badge numbers, etc.

For tex-type extractables that are cards (most but not all are), \extract{\pageof{whatever}} will produce a full page of whatevers in the character's packet, but will make a single entry on the sheet, saying "(a page of) whatever".

Now you know just about everything you need to write a character sheet -- you've seen examples of several of the default listable things provided with the Template, and know in general terms how to add them to the files in Lists. One last thing: go read the hints on latex.