I've been playing Dungeons & Dragons since I was in grade school, and I've been using Apple computers at least as long. Twenty-five years later, both role-playing games and Apple computers are part of my life, only now I'm use Macs in every aspect of my game, from writing the adventure to tracking combat to maintaining my Web site.
This feature chronicles the use of Macs in RPGs, including write-ups about Mac-specific and generic RPG software, Web sites about Mac gaming, an overview of my Macs, and some thoughts on producing games using a Mac.
I'm always looking for Web sites to add to this page, so if you have a suggestion please send it to me using this form.
Mac RPG Utilities
GURPS Character Sheet
The GURPS Character Sheet is a Java-based tool for creating characters under GURPS 4th Edition rules. It has all the skills and spells you'll need to create characters, and does most of the heavy number crunching for you. It's written in Java and will run equally well on Windows, Mac or Unix operating systems.
RPG MapMaker
 A sample map made by RPG Mapmaker. View the full-size image. |
Mac game masters who need a program to detail the lands and dungeons of their campaign world should check out RPG MapMaker, a Mac-only, OS X-native mapping program. I haven't done much with it yet -- I have Campaign Cartographer 2 Pro running on my Windows box -- but it looks more than capable of generating basic maps.
Among the program's many features are:
- Various kinds of grids
- Random maze generator
- Random terrain generato
- Multiple levels of Undo
- Predefined terrains tiles
- Terrain editor
Generic RPG Utilities
PC Gen
 PC Gen screen shot. View the full-size image. |
PC Gen is a Java-based, open-source character generator that incorporates the D&D 3.5 core rules, as well as numerous d20 game systems and supplements. Because it is Java-based, it can be run on Mac, Windows and Linux operating systems.
The user interface takes a while to get used to, but that's aided by a "themes" preference that lets you choose from the OS X "Aqua" interface, Windows interface, or Java interface. In my testing I found that the Java interface worked best -- the program wasn't customized for Mac OS X, and as a result, parts of the Aqua interface are often hidden or overlapped by other parts of the program. The program tends to run slow on my iBook, but worked just fine when I tested it on my Power Mac.
It's useful for creating PCs, but cumbersome for NPC generation (two examples: 1) if you're creating a 16th level character, you have to spend skill points for each freaking level individually -- you can't just spend it from a pool of points and 2) its geared towards players using it as an in-game tool. As a result, if you have a character with multiple weapons, it will only display the stats and modifiers for the weapon currently equipped -- very annoying when you're creating a 16th level orc barbarian/fighter with quick draw and lots of weapons)
The relatively new "GM Gen" section offers a smattering of Game Master tools, but it strikes me as being geared more towards proof-of-concept than it does something that you'd actually use on a regular basis. Most of the tools have a rough around the edges feel to them.
The home page for the project contains updates as well as the source files, which can be a bit tricky to install. Those looking for a quick and easy installer should check out MacUpdate.com's PC Gen Page.
RPG Patsy
 RPG Patsy screen shot. View the full-size image. |
RPG Patsy is a Java-based program designed to replace your pen-and-paper Dungeons & Dragons 3.0/3.5 character sheet. It's not a character generator, or even a character creation assistant -- it's literally a digital replacement for your dead tree character sheet.
Because of this, it probably requires as much time to set-up as your normal character sheet, but once done it has a number of sweet extras. First, you can roll attribute checks, saving throws, and damage by tabbing to the appropriate page in the "character sheet".
If you're a spell caster, you can click on a spell and instantly get an overview of the spell with all the necessary attributes (range, damage, etc.) as well as a note indicating what page it can be found on. That's sweet.
I would like to see the character creation process expanded -- I'd love to see the program attempt to throw together an character based on some starting criteria (i.e. 4th level fighter), but then again, I tend to approach things from a DM view point -- I'd use a program like this primarily for NPC generation. I'd also like to see the program generate a stat block.
Slacker Entertainment, the company behind RPG Patsy, has made rumblings about creating a DM tool. That would be excellent, especially if they incorporated the spell, skill and feat databases into an easy to browse and search tool.
VASSAL Game Engine
I haven't played with this one yet, but it looks interesting. It's a Java-based (and there for platform agnostic) tool for playing board and card games online. One of its fans is working on an RPG Mapper tool to extend it into miniatures play; it already has an "RPG Skirmishes" module for playing the D&D Miniatures game.
Mac Gaming Web Sites
A site dedicated to gaming on the Mac. Includes current Mac-related reviews and news, but unfortunately its "orders" section is woefully out of date (last updated circa 2000).
News and previews about games and gaming-related hardware for the Macintosh. There are also online forums, desktop themes, and a files section where you can download the latest Mac demos.
Character sheets for 25+ gaming systems, including Dungeons & Dragons, Arcana Unearthed, Spycraft, Gamma World, Call of Cthulhu, and Traveller. All of the sheets are downloadable in Adobe Acrobat format, and were created on a Mac
Sean Reynolds is a prolific RPG writer who created a bunch of excellent source books for Greyhawk and the Forgotten Realms. He has Excel spreadsheets for generating gear, magical staffs and magical weapons. Of particular interest to Mac fans -- especially older ones -- are his HyperCard stacks. They are created for Apple's Hypercard, a database program that used to ship on old Macs, and which is all but extinct now.
About My Macs
- The Computer: A Mac Book Pro (2.2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo) running Mac OS 10.6 Snow Leopard. I dual boot into Windows XP to run programs such as Campaign Cartographer. This is my aging workhorse machine; its served me well, but it's about due for a replacement
- The Tablet: A iPad 2 (16 GB). This is my primary means of reading PDFs, and I'm using it more and more for campaign notes.
- The iPod: An iPhone 4 (32 GB). Rarely used at the game table, but often used on the go for dice rolling and note taking.