Containers - richardwilkes/gcs GitHub Wiki

Containers are one of the most important organizational tools in GCS. They let you group items for clarity, automate totals (like weight or points), and power advanced features in character templates.

You can create containers for Traits, Skills, Spells, Equipment, and Notes.

Containers let you group and organize items. For example:

  • Put multiple advantages in an “Ancestry” group.
  • Nest a pouch inside a backpack for equipment.
  • Group spells by college or theme.

A container is identified by the expand/collapse arrow next to its name. Depending on the type, you may also see extra details, such as container type (Traits) or template choice settings (Templates).

Containers can also hold other containers, so you can build complex structures when needed.

  • Expand or collapse a container with the arrow .
  • Show or hide all containers with the expand/collapse button .
  • Totals (points, weight, value) include all contents automatically, depending on container type.

Creating a container

To create a container:

  1. On your character sheet, go to Item > New [type] Container.
    • The available types are Trait, Skill, Spell, Equipment, and Notes.
  2. A new empty container will appear in the appropriate section of your sheet.
  3. Edit the container’s fields in the Detail Editor (see field tables below).

You can rename, tag, or add notes to containers to keep your sheet organized.

Moving items in and out of containers

To move something into a container:

  1. Drag and drop the item within the container.
    • The highlight must appear indented to place it inside.
    • If the highlight is flat (not indented), the item will go below the container instead of inside it.
  2. To move an item back out, drag it until the highlight is no longer indented.

[!TIP] For equipment, container contents count toward the container’s weight and value totals (for example, a backpack full of gear).

Ancestry container type

If your group of traits is specific to an ancestry type (like Elf, Dwarf, or Human) you can specify this in the container. The container will include a tag for Ancestry on the character sheet.

To select the ancestry:

  • For Container Type, select Ancestry and choose the Ancestry type.

This ensures that GCS applies the correct metadata (like random names, height, and weight).

Template Choices

When creating Character templates, (p. B258), containers can also act as choice groups. This lets you enforce that a character picks a certain number of options or spends a certain amount of points from the container’s contents.

You can set the Template Choice type to:

  • Not applicable: Default. Container just groups items.
  • Points: Character must select items that total a point value.
  • Count: Character must select a certain number of items.

The template choices use Operators (is at least, is at most, is) to specify the point and count requirements.

Example Template Choices

Statement Select
Advantages: X points chosen from among... Points is at most
Disadvantages: -X points chosen from among... Points is at least
Skills: Select X skills from: Count is

You can also nest containers (for example, one “Pick 1 of 3 Skills” box inside another “Pick 10 Points of Skills” box). GCS handles simple nesting automatically, but very complex setups may be better documented in the template notes. See Character templates for more details on creating templates with advanced containers.

[!TIP] If you’re not building templates, you can ignore Template Choices. They don’t affect day-to-day use of containers.

For recommendations on how to structure Template Choices effectively, see Best practices for templates on Character templates.

Trait container fields

Containers for Traits include the following fields:

Trait Container Field Description
Name The container’s name (e.g., “Advantages,” “Psionic Powers,” “Alternate Form”).
Notes Notes that appear under the container. Select the Scripting Guide for instructions on how to include JavaScript.
VTT Notes Notes for use in your Virtual Tabletop system. See your VTT’s documentation.
User Description Additional notes for your reference. These appear as a tooltip when you hover.
Tags Comma-separated Tags for organizaiton.
Enabled If checked, the container and its contents are active on your character sheet.
Self-Control Roll The self-control roll to resist (p. B120). The CR rating will show in parenthesis on your character sheet.
CR Adjustment Adjustments tied to self-control rolls, such as reaction or fright check penalties.
Container Type Defines special grouping rules: Group, Alternate Abilities, Ancestry, Attributes, or Meta-Trait.
Ancestry Available when Container Type is Ancestry. Choose ancestry type (for example, Human or Elf).
Template Choices Defines whether the container enforces a Points or Count choice when used in a template (see above).
Page Reference Page number in the source book. See Page References for details.
Page Highlight Text to highlight in the PDF. Leave blank unless the default highlights fail.
ID The containers’s unique ID.
Source ID The containers’s unique ID in the source library.
Source Library The name of the source library.
Source Path The path to the source library.
Prerequisites Any requirements for this container. See Prerequisites.
Features Features this container provides. See Features.

Skill or Spell container fields

Skills and Spells containers support the following fields:

Skill / Spell Container Field Description
Name The container’s name (for example, “Combat Skills” or “Fire Spells”).
Notes Notes that appear under the container.
VTT Notes Notes for use in your Virtual Tabletop system. See your VTT’s documentation.
Tags Comma-separated tags to help organize containers.
Template Choices Defines whether the container enforces a Points or Count choice when used in a template (see above).
Page Reference The page number in the source book. See Page References.
Page Highlight Text to highlight in the PDF. Leave blank unless the default highlights fail.
ID The container’s unique ID.
Source ID The unique ID for this contianer in the source library.
Source Library The name of the source library.
Source Path The path to the source library.

Equipment container fields

Containers for Equipment share the same fields as normal equipment.

See Organizing items with containers in Equipment for more on converting items to containers and back. A container must be empty before it can be converted back to a non-container.

Notes container fields

Containers for Notes support the following fields:

Note Container Field Description
Notes A multi-line text field for notes. Supports scripting and Markdown.
Page Reference The page number in the source. See Page References.
Page Highlight Text to highlight in the PDF. Leave blank unless the default highlights fail.
ID The container’s unique ID.
Source ID The unique ID for this container in the source library.
Source Library The name of the source library.
Source Path The path to the source library.
Markdown Preview Preview of how the notes will render.

Container Editors toolbar

The toolbar above a Container Editor gives you quick access to common actions:

Button Name Description
Help Opens the help page from the User Guide.
100% Zoom Adjusts the display size of the Container Editor.
Apply Changes Saves and closes the Container Editor.
Discard Changes Exits without saving changes.
Set Substitutions Lets you enter values for items with placeholders in their notes.

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