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Alex Panagides
Feb 02, 2019
In General
Thanks for your interest in Blacklich! I’ve been using it in my sessions and its really been useful. I hope the same goes for you! My original design goals were to create a DM tool that was more complete than a die roller but less complicated than a virtual tabletop. Something that you could pick up, load onto your laptop or mobile phone and efficiently run encounters. Looking at monster stat blocks I wanted something that would allow me to simply click to make attack, damage, saving throw rolls and reference checks. The tool would need to be intuitive and a supplement to a traditional pen & paper game and not a digital replacement. For the most part I believe these objectives have been attained. How I use Blacklich When preparing for a session I open up a browser tab for each monster by clicking on the “New” button. Every tab shows the name of the monster selected so I can quickly cycle through the tabs needed in an encounter. Initiative rolls are done by clicking the monsters Dex score, attack & damage with the corresponding action buttons, other references (like spells) accessed from the assorted links. What about missing creatures? Since Blacklich uses open source monsters, you’ll find it missing monsters like a Beholder. I fill in missing creatures by copy & pasting from excellent websites like 5eTools (https://5etools.com/bestiary.html). I have a small program to make multiple copy & pastes. In about 5min I can copy most anything.  Once I create a creature, I share it so others can add it to their libraries. Here are some of mine: Beholder Beholder Zombie Elite Drow Drow Priestess of Lolth Orog To copy just make sure you are logged in. Access these links and hit “Copy” then “Save & View”. Now they are apart of your library. What Blacklich isn’t doing I keep track of initiatives, damage, etc. the old fashion way, on a piece of paper. When there is a die roll that isn’t described in a monster stat I use a die roller. Updates I’ve been making incremental updates over the last several weeks and believe it's reached a level of maturity to call it a first release. Improvements have been mostly visual and performance optimizations. Feedback, ideas, etc. I am very interested in your feedback. Are you experiencing any issues or spotted any bugs? Also, what more would you like to see? Some thoughts of mine and from others: Add a spell lookup tool Add a button for a generic die roller Allow tracking of hit points Create a “Bestiary” page that allows others to post monsters so that others can copy The challenge is adding capabilities but not compromising the original goal of simplicity and frankly not move towards great existing offerings that, although more complex, provide almost everything needed (e.g. Fantasy Grounds, etc.). Once again, thank you for your interest and let me know how we can make Blacklich better! Yours in D&D! Alex
Newsletter #1 - Feb. 2, 2019 content media
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Alex Panagides
Jan 18, 2019
In General
Just as a note, the only core feature that hasn't been implemented yet is "Password recovery". I hope to get this done next week. I'll post here. If anyone loses their password, just email me (alex@blacklich.com) from the email account you registered with. I can't retrieve your password, as they are encrypted, but I can allow you to recreate your account (while preserving any entries you have made.). Thanks
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Alex Panagides
Jun 21, 2018
In General
BlackLich is a project aimed at making the D&D DMs life easier. The objective is to provide a easy to use tool that streamlines encounter mechanics - combat rolls, saving throws, spell references, etc. The app should be useable from a desktop or mobile phone. The app is in active development, with incremental improvements (features and bug fixes) pushing out every few days. We'd love your ideas of features, bug reports, etc.. BlackLich isn't a commercial effort. Just having fun!
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Alex Panagides

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