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1993-04-01
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Dice Master
Version 1.00
By David Brumbaugh
Copyright (c) 1991, David Brumbaugh
Introduction
Dice Master is a program for Game Masters (and to a lesser extent
players) of various role playing games (like D&D and AD&D). It
is a "Mass Dice Roller". It allows the GM to generate lots and
lots of random numbers quickly in various dice-like combinations.
Dice Master is intended primarily as a preparation tool, not
a program to run during the game (although you could, and I
have on occasion).
I am a Dungeon Master for two regular campaigns playing a total
of three times a month. I still write most of my own adventures.
That means I have about a week to prepare each one. When
determining things like monster hit points, NPC stats etc., I
found that I had one major slow down: DICE ROLLING. In order to
speed things up I started just making up numbers in the right
range, or using maximums or minimums or averages. It worked, but
it seemed to detract from the "fairness" of the game. I wrote
Dice Master to put some of the fairness back into the game,
without having to take all the time to roll each die separately.
Shareware Notice
I am distributing Dice Master as Shareware. That means if you use
it and are satisfied, you pay me for the program. I am asking
$5.00 for Dice Master registration.
Registered users receive the following benefits:
1. Upgrade Notices- I will send a postcard notifying you of any
upgrades to Dice Master. Depending on the nature of the upgrade
it will either cost you postage and handling or a discounted
registration fee. I will also include in the notice the BBSs
that I have uploaded to so you may download without the cost of
postage and handling.
2. My Home Phone Number- I will gladly talk to any
registered user of my software, answer questions, etc. If you
get my answering machine and you are registered, I will
return your call.
3. Notice Of and Discount On Any Subsequent Related Software-
Dice Master is the first of several utilities for Game
Masters. If I get a good response to Dice Master, I will make
the others available as Shareware. The following programs are
planned:
A. Windows Dice Master - This Program for MS-Windows 3
B. Table Master - A Program to Mass Produce Rolls Against
Your Own Customized Tables.
C. D-Master - A comprehensive set of Game Master
Utilities. Includes Character, NPC and Creature
Generators, Databases, and More.
4. Source Code- The C++ source code will be made available
to registered users ONLY. The cost is $25.00.
How Dice Master Works
Dice Master has two modes of operation, command line and menu
driven. Menu mode is the easiest to learn and follow. Command
line mode is the fastest to use.
In all modes you must tell what type of dice (number of sides)
and how many of those dice to roll to get a total. You also have
several options. You can specify how many of the rolls to keep.
You can choose a constant to add to the roll. You can specify how
many sets, and to a certain extent the format of the output. You
can also decide to send the output to a file, the screen or the
printer.
Command Line Mode
The command line is designed to be used just like standard gaming
die notation. If you want the total of four eight sided dice you
would type, "roll 4d8", at the command prompt. The formal command
line syntax for Dice Master follows. Any term enclosed in square
brackets, [], is optional. Any term enclosed in greater than/less
than symbols, <>, means you have to supply a value. The | symbol
means "OR". All other characters are to be taken literally.
FORMAL DICE MASTER SYNTAX:
roll [/?|[<K>+][<N>]d<S>[t<T>] [+...] [;<columns>[x<rows>]]]
Where:
- /? is the help option.
- K is a constant
- N is the number of dice to roll
- d is literally the letter 'd'
- S is the number of sides
- t is literally the letter 't'
- T is the number of top rolls to include
- + means add the following term
- ... means repeat [<K>+][<N>]d<S>[t<T>] as needed
- ; is literally the semi-colon character, it indicates that an
output format follows.
- columns is the number of columns of results that will be
output (the default is one).
- rows is the number of rows of results t hat will be output
(the default is one).
- If no options are chosen, you get the menu.
Examples
To get the help screens type:
roll /?
at the command prompt.
AD&D GAME EXAMPLES
1. Prepare a list of to hit and saving throw rolls for a mass combat
including lots of monsters and NPCs.
roll d20;5x10
Sample Results:
13 13 10 15 14
17 10 20 8 20
10 13 3 10 9
1 17 13 11 13
5 15 12 12 20
2 13 8 18 1
16 1 15 14 19
5 1 16 2 17
16 3 7 7 15
12 4 4 10 20
2. Roll hit points for a 5th level Warrior with a Constitution of 16.
Expected Minimum: 15, Expected Maximum: 60
roll 10+5d10
Sample Results:
43
3. Roll hit points for 100 Hobgoblins, display results in a 10 x 10
matrix. Expected Minimum: 2, Expected Maximum: 9
roll d8+1;10x10
Sample Results:
4 3 9 8 8 5 5 2 8 6
2 3 7 4 4 2 8 9 7 5
7 7 3 4 7 8 5 2 9 5
4 7 9 4 6 2 4 7 4 5
8 4 3 4 3 4 7 3 2 8
2 8 9 7 7 3 9 6 4 3
4 3 7 7 8 5 7 2 5 3
5 2 4 5 6 6 8 2 6 8
7 6 4 6 9 9 3 6 4 3
2 4 5 6 2 8 2 2 6 9
4. Roll ability scores for ten NPCs using Method V from AD&D Second
Edition Players Handbook (4d6, keep the top three from each
set). Expected Minimum: 3, Expected Maximum: 18
roll 4d6t3;6x10
Sample Results:
14 13 13 6 9 10
14 13 6 11 11 15
11 16 18 12 14 14
16 13 15 14 11 16
15 15 13 10 10 17
12 10 13 13 15 11
13 9 9 15 13 18
9 12 12 7 7 9
16 12 11 13 16 14
8 16 13 13 12 16
5. Roll twenty random encounters from a table in one of the Monstrous
Compendiums ( Roll a d8 and a d12 and add the results).
Expected Minimum: 2, Expected Maximum: 20
roll d8+d12;20
Sample Results:
14 15 15 11 17 15 2 15 15 9 3 7 9 15 13 7 11 15 6 10
Redirection
The command line output of Dice Master goes to what DOS calls
Standard Out. Standard Out can be redirected with the
following symbols:
> - Send the output to a device or file
>> - Append the output to a file
| - Send the output of this command to the input of the
next command.
See your DOS manual for a complete discussion of redirection.
Examples:
1. Send the output of sample one above to the printer for use
in later play.
roll d20;5x10 > LPT1
2. Send the output of sample four above to a file with other
NPC stats for later editing.
roll 4d6t3;6x10 >> STATS.NPC
3. Sort a list of ten rolls of 1d6.
roll d6;1 x 10 | sort
Sample Results:
1
2
3
3
4
5
5
5
6
6
Menu Mode
The menu mode is primarily for learning to use Dice Master.
The command line is easier and faster in most cases, once you
understand it.
To use menu mode just type ROLL at the command prompt. The menu
has four choices:
1. Fast Rolling
2. Simplified Rolling
3. Help
4. Exit
Choice 1, Fast Rolling, is like the command line mode with
two exceptions, you don't enter the row and column on the
command line, it prompts you for them. Also, it prompts you
for where you want the output to go.
After you type 1 at the menu the right side of the screen
will become a work space. At the "ROLL:" prompt, enter the
dice notation that indicates how you want to roll. See the
examples above.
After you have entered your roll notation, it will ask you
how many columns you want to see. It will default to 1. Enter
the number you want. Next it will ask you how many rows.
Repeat as for columns.
Finally, it will prompt you for the destination. If you enter
S, the output will go to the screen. Strike any key to return
to the menu. If you enter P, it will send the output to the
printer. (This uses the DOS Standard Print, or PRN). If you
enter F you are then asked to enter a file name. The output
is APPENDED to the file you specify if it exists. Otherwise,
it creates the file and sends the output to it. Press ESC at
any time to return to the menu.
Choice 2, Simplified Rolling, walks you through each step of
the rolling process. The questions are pretty much
self-explanitory. It asks how many sides, how many you want
to roll, etc. The destination choice behaves exactly like it
does in Choice 1. Choice 2 is too cumbersome for regular use,
but I included it as a learning tool. Press ESC at any time
to return to the menu.
Choice 3, Help, is the same set of screens you get when you
type "ROLL /?". The screens contain a synopsis of this
document.
Choice 4, Exit, returns you to DOS.
Technical Notes
DOS 5 Users
Because the /? option gives help, you may include Dice Master
in your DOS help file. If you want to do this, simply go to
your DOS directory and type "EDIT DOSHELP.HLP". I placed the
line, "ROLL A Mass Dice Rolling Routine", right after RMDIR.
Then if you type "HELP ROLL" at the command prompt, you will
get the Dice Master help screens.
Programmers
Dice Master is written in Borland C++, version 2.0. It is a
mixture of Procedural and Object Oriented code. The Menu and
Work Area screens were drawn with a shareware product called
"TheDraw". "TheDraw" generates compressed text mode screens.
I had many libraries already written in C. The procedural
parts of the code use those libraries. The only real object I
have in the program is a Die.
Source code for this program is available to registered users
for $25.00.
Compression
A VERY GOOD public domain program called LZEXE was used to
compress ROLL.EXE. This has two effects. First, Dice Master
takes about half as much room on your hard disk as it would
otherwise. (This is VERY nice for laptops.) Second, there is a
built in CRC check. That means that if a virus infects your
program, you may get a CRC error. This offers a certain level
of virus protection.
Disclaimer
DICE MASTER IS PROVIDED AS SHAREWARE "AS IS". THE AUTHOR MAKES NO
WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED WITH RESPECT TO THIS
PROGRAM, ITS ACCURACY, OR ITS SUITABILITY TO YOUR PURPOSES.
THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS SEVERAL TRADEMARKS AND REGISTERED TRADEMARKS.
ALL TRADEMARKS ARE HERE BY RECOGNIZED EN-MASSE. ANY USE OF A
TRADEMARK WITHOUT EXPLICIT RECOGNITION OF ITS TRADEMARK STATUS
SHALL NOT BE CONSTRUED TO BE A CHALLENGE TO SUCH A STATUS.
Shareware Registration
If you like this program, and would like to see more like it,
please register it by filling out and sending the following
form.
=============================================================
Dice Master Version 1.00 Registration
Name:____________________________________________________
Address:_________________________________________________
City:________________________ State:_________ Zip:_______
Phone:______________________
Enclosed is: __ $ 5.00 - Registration
__ $25.00 - Source Code
I am a Game Master for the following role playing games:
______________________________________________________________
I am a Player of the following role playing games:
______________________________________________________________
I am Interested in Seeing You Write:
__ Windows Dice Master
__ Table Master
__ D-Master
I __AM __AM NOT a Windows User.