Game Systems

A game system is the ruleset the app takes its shape from. It decides what content types exist, what fields they have, how forms are laid out and how entries are displayed.

The app loads one system at a time and rebuilds its interface around it. That is why the library shows creatures and spells with D&D 5E loaded, and something else entirely with another system.

Tip

For the short version of how this fits with the library and campaigns, see How it works.

What a system contains

A system is a folder of definitions, not code:

• The content types it defines — creatures, spells, items, or whatever the ruleset needs.
• The fields each type has, and the forms used to edit them.
• The views used to display them, including stat block layouts.
• Filters, themes, icons, fonts and translations.
• Its own settings.

Because none of that is built into the app, a system can be updated on its own schedule, and anyone can write one.

Installing a system

D&D 5E

A copy of D&D 5E ships inside the app. Install it from the Game System Required screen, which appears whenever no system is installed.

It is never installed automatically, and never overwrites a copy you already have.

From the Package Manager

Settings → Package Manager → Systems lists published systems and installs them directly.

This is also where updates appear once a system is installed.

From a file

Settings → Import installs a .system file. See Import and Export.

Switching systems

Two places do the same thing:

• Settings → Current System — pick from the installed systems.
• The System Manager, reached from the main screen’s system button.

Switching reloads the app’s definitions. Your content is not touched — but the library only shows content belonging to the loaded system, so it will look like content came and went.

Nothing is deleted by switching. Switch back and everything reappears.

System settings

A system can define its own settings, separate from the app’s.

Reach them from Settings → Current System → System Settings, or the system button → Settings. What they contain depends on the system.

Saving reloads the system so the new values take effect.

Reloading a system

The system button also offers Reload System. Use it after editing a system’s files by hand, to pick up the changes without restarting.

Content belongs to a system

Every piece of content records which system it belongs to. That is what keeps a D&D 5E creature out of a library running a different ruleset.

It also means importing 5E content requires the 5E system to be installed first — see Upgrading from Version 4.

Building your own

The System Manager has a Create button, which makes an empty system with a name, short name, version and system ID.

From there the work is editing the system’s files. The whole folder is visible in the Files app under Encounter+, so you can edit it on the device or on a computer and reload.

From there it is a developer job, and it has its own section: Custom System covers the folder layout, entity definitions, forms, views, templates, themes and packaging. The underlying formats are listed in the schema reference.

Note

A .system archive should not contain macOS packaging leftovers. Strip __MACOSX folders and .DS_Store files before sharing one, or they end up in other people’s Documents folder.

Common questions

My library is empty after switching

That is expected. The library only shows content for the loaded system. Switch back, or install the system your content belongs to.

Which system am I running?

The bottom of the library sidebar shows the loaded system’s name and version. So does Settings → Current System.

Can I have several systems installed?

Yes. Install as many as you like and switch between them. Only one is loaded at a time.

Where to go next

• How it works — where systems sit in the app.
• Import and Export — installing .system files.
• Custom System — building a system of your own.
• Schema reference — the definition formats, for building a system.