Characters - Rpg Meister

The Player Character Roster

Player Character Roster is the home base for your characters. It lists every character saved on this device, with three actions per row:

Edit (pencil) — opens the character in the editor. The app saves the currently active character first if it isn't the same one.
Delete (bin) — removes the character. If the character is currently InGame on a campaign, the app asks for confirmation before deleting.
Export (download icon) — copies the character to your clipboard as JSON. A snackbar confirms "'Name' copied to clipboard."

The footer has two more actions:

Edit Current Character — returns to the editor for the active character. Disabled when none is active.
Create New Character — starts a fresh character in the editor. Disabled while one is already active.

Below the roster table, a transport bar handles backup and restore:

Import (clipboard) — reads JSON from your clipboard and adds or updates character(s). Accepts a full roster export or a legacy single-character export. Disabled while a character is active — finish or save your current edit first.
Export all — copies every character on the roster to your clipboard as one JSON bundle. Disabled when the roster is empty.

Only one character is "active" (in the editor) at a time. The roster's disable rules nudge you to either save or stop editing before you start something new.

Creating a new character

From the roster, tap Create New Character. The app drops you into the editor with a blank character and the starting 50 character points ready to spend.

For the rules behind those points — base statistics, calculated statistics, skills, advantages, disadvantages, and powers — read the Designing your hero series. The pages there explain the trade-offs and the cost curves; this page is just the app workflow.

The character editor

Edit Player Character is a grid of expansion panels. Tap a panel header to open it; tap again to collapse. Most panels show a one-line summary while collapsed so you can keep an eye on the character without expanding everything.

The panels, in the order they appear:

Main Character Info — name, free-form description, total points, points available, and current status. The collapsed header shows the name and a points-available badge.
Base Statistics — Strength, Agility, Intelligence, Constitution, Willpower, Perception. Use +/− to spend or refund points.
Calculated Statistics — Initiative, Body, Stamina, Resilience, Speed. Derived from base stats, and you can buy extra levels directly.
Skills — pick from the skill catalogue, raise or lower levels, and remove unwanted skills. The collapsed header lists every skill with its level.
Advantages — special edges that cost points. Same add / increase / decrease / remove flow as skills.
Disadvantages — chosen drawbacks that refund points when taken (you have to drop one to level 1 before removing it).
Inventory — three tabs for Armor / Clothes, Weapons / Ammo, and general equipment. Each item can be added from the catalogue, incremented for stacks, equipped, or deleted. A weight badge on the header tracks the total load.
Power Pool — only visible while the character is being created, or after a pool has been claimed. Lets you pick the power type, raise the power skill and reserve, and add specific powers. See Powers for the rules.

Whenever a change adds or refunds points, the badge on the Main Character Info header updates immediately. Any rule the app can't apply shows up as a coloured toast in the bottom corner — the same channel the roster uses for confirmations.

Saving, stopping, and the auto-save

The editor footer has two buttons:

Save Character — validates the character and places it on the roster. If validation fails (for example, you've spent more points than you have), a toast tells you what's wrong and the save does not go through.
Stop editing (no save) — discards the active character from memory and returns you to the roster. Unsaved changes are lost. A character that was already on the roster keeps the last saved version; a brand-new character that was never saved is gone.

The app also auto-saves the active character before certain context switches:

Starting a new character (Create New Character).
Picking a different character to edit from the roster.
Exporting the active character to the clipboard.
Importing a character from the clipboard.

If the auto-save fails (invalid character, validation errors), the operation aborts and the toast tells you why. That's intentional: it prevents accidentally losing work to a quick clipboard action.

The one exception is Stop editing (no save) — that one is supposed to throw away your edits, so it does, no questions asked.

Character status

Every character has a status that quietly governs what the app will let you do with them:

Creating — a fresh character in the editor that has never been saved. Everything is still up for grabs, including claiming or removing a power pool.
OnRoster — saved at least once, sitting in the roster, not currently on a campaign. You can edit, export, or delete freely.
InGame — added to an active campaign and ready to play. Delete asks for confirmation before removing such a character.

One detail worth knowing: power pools can only be claimed or removed while the status is Creating. Once you save the character (becoming OnRoster), the Add/Remove power pool buttons are off the table — the existing pool can still grow with the character, but the choice of having one (and what type) is locked in.

Deleting characters

Use the bin icon on the roster row. The app reads the character's status before acting:

OnRoster — straightforward confirmation dialog, then the character is gone from storage.
InGame — extra prompt: "'Name' is currently on a campaign. Delete anyway?"

Deletion is local-only. If you've shared the character with your GM (see below), the copy on their side is unaffected — you'd need to ask them to remove it.

Importing and exporting

The same clipboard-JSON pipeline does three jobs:

Back up your whole roster before clearing browser data or switching devices.
Hand a character (or party) to your GM for their reference copy.
Move characters between your own devices (phone ↔ tablet) by sending the JSON to yourself.

Backing up the roster

Open Player Character Roster.
Tap Export all below the table. Every saved character is copied to your clipboard as one JSON bundle.
Paste that JSON into a notes app, email draft, or cloud document — somewhere outside the browser.
After a device reset or browser data clear, copy the JSON back to your clipboard and tap Import (clipboard). Confirm overwrite if the app finds matching keys.

Export all is for your backup. Export for GM on Player Campaigns is for sending a party to your game master — different format, different purpose.

Per-row Export still copies a single character — handy for sharing one hero or updating one sheet on another device.

Both workflows — what gets carried, overwrite confirmation, and the *Imported* rename quirk — are also covered on How it works.

One quirk to be aware of: if you import a character whose name already exists on the roster but whose underlying key is different, the app prefixes the new one with "*Imported* " so the two don't collide in the list. Same key → overwrite prompt; different key, same name → automatic rename.

Common mistakes

Forgetting to back up before clearing browser data. Characters live in local storage only. Use Export all on the roster and keep the JSON somewhere safe — notes, email, cloud drive.
Confusing roster backup with party export. Export all saves your heroes for you. Export for GM on a campaign sends the party to your game master.
Trying to import while editing. The Import (clipboard) button is disabled when a character is active. Save or Stop editing first, then import.
Expecting Stop editing to ask before discarding. It doesn't. It's the explicit "throw this away" path — use Save Character if you want to keep your changes.
Claiming a power pool after saving. Power pools can only be added (or removed) while the status is Creating. If you saved the character and then changed your mind, the door is closed — start a fresh character if you really need the pool.
Negative points available. The badge in the Main Character Info header shows what's left after every change. If it slips into negative territory, Save Character will refuse — drop a skill, a stat, or remove an item until the number is non-negative again.

Ready to do it

Open the roster and have a look at what you've got — or start a new hero.

Open Player Character Roster →