Database Specifics

There are some entries that needed specific handling in order to make it work with Optolith. This document shall provide an overview about these cases and decisions.

• Language Specializations: The optional rule is implemented with a separate general special ability that hosts the actual rules text, which is why the optional rule instance itself only contains.
• Derived Instances: Some instances will be derived based on values provided in other instances. This is especially important for derived select options for activatable entries (advantages, disadvantages, special abilities). Do not create these instances yourself, otherwise there will be duplicates!
  • Trade Secret instances for crafting items are being generated automatically based on the complexity value of items.
    • Important exception: There is one Elf bow trade secret from the Core Rules that does not fall under the crafting rules with complexity, so this has to be kept.
  • Trade Secret instances for elixirs and poisons are being generated automatically based on the trade secret value of elixirs and poisons, respectively.
• Activatable Prerequisites with Options: Prerequisites on Activatable instances (advantages, disadvantages and special abilities) may specify options for each instance. In most cases, only a single option can or must be provided. In rare cases, more than one option must be provided (e.g. skill specialization need to specify both the skill and its application). Sometimes, two entries might be written as one entry but are actually multiple entries (e.g. professions may specify multiple obligations, which need multiple separate obligation instances with one option per instance rather than multiple options in a single instance). If you are unsure how to provide options, please ask in your pull request or on Discord.
• No Prerequisites on lower Special Ability levels: Special abilities usually require that lower levels have to be bought before higher levels of a single special ability. This is ensured by the way Optolith works and appropriate prerequisite annotation are generated automatically where it is required. Please do not add prerequisites to lower levels explicitly.

This list may be incomplete and will be added to whenever more of the old undocumented decisions are “stumbled over”.