Introduction
This project was inspired by a program called "Shadowrun-Assistent" which is currently available at www.shadowrun.de. It is a tool for the pen-and-paper role playing game Shadowrun, which aids the game master in handling several aspects of the game which have to be managed during a combat sequence.
However the "Shadowrun-Assistent" program is only available in german and for the Windows operating system. And although it greatly helps in making life easier for the game master, the usability could be greatly improved.
So the "Master Combat Control Program" (MCCP for short) was created, to provide a tool very similar to the "Shadowrun-Assistent" (you could call it a clone). However the goal is not to provide a lot of new features, but to improve usability, add support for different languages and to make it run on many of the popular operating systems.
Like the original program, MCCP consists of three parts provided in one program package.
Dice Roller
Rolling the dice in Shadowrun is a relatively complex matter. It involves rolling a number of 6-sided dice (d6), rerolling dice which show a "6", adding up the results and comparing them to a "target number" (complete explanation). Since the game master has to roll the dice for most characters appearing in the game, this sometimes takes some time, slowing down the pace of the game unnecessarily.
This part of the program allows the game master to quickly perform a roll of dice, with a maximum of two mouse clicks. He simply selects the number of dice and the target number and the result is automatically calculated and displayed.
Character Editor
When resolving a game situation involving a character, the "stats" (e.g. the strength) of this character have to be known. As mentioned above the game master plays most of the characters appearing in a game, and therefore has to keep track of their stats.
This part of the program lets the game master enter most of the important stats of each character appearing in a game session. This data can be saved to a file and loaded later on, so the game master can input everything before the game session starts. The stats of each character an also be easily altered during the game, to reflect changes occuring in the game (e.g. due to damage inflicted).
This is no character generator. The stats entered are entirely up to the game master and are not checked in any way. The only stats which are used for performing calculations within the program (for determining the turn order, see below) are the initiative, the reaction, the current damage and the level of damage compensation.
Initiative Manager
A combat sequence in a game of Shadowrun is divided into a series of rounds, during which the characters perform various actions.
At the start of each round the order in which the characters act is determined. For each character a certain number of d6 are rolled, added together, added to the character's reaction and modified for damage. The higher the final number, the earlier the character can act.
This can mean a lot of work for the game master, since he sometimes has to perform this procedure for a lot of characters.
This part of the program automates the determination of the turn order. The game master simply states which characters take part in the combat situation and the program uses the stats entered with the character editor (see above) to calculate the final initiative value for each character. The initiative rolls for all characters not controlled by the game master (the player characters) can be entered manually.
Like in the character editor each character can be selected to obtain a detailed view of the character's stats.