RPG Character Creator Databaase

[Kragen]

Hi, This might sound like a weird project but please bear with me.

I want to create a database/application to make RPG style characters. With a twist...

It will start with a questionnaire where I (or one of my friends) inputs some basic information about themselves Name, Age etc then I want to use their modern day jobs/hobbies to choose the equipment that they start with, and output the results to a Character Sheet.

This is what I want to achieve

1) I input basic information including Jobs/Hobbies
2) I am presented with options to resolve any equipment conflicts
3) My Character Sheet is created with the relevant equipment fields populated
4) Once created I can edit all equipment fields based on character progression

I already have a basic database set up which has 5 tables so far

Table 1 > This is where the data input by myself or my friends goes
Table 2 > Populates the Jobs drop down lists on Table 1
Table 3 > Populates the Hobbies drop down lists on Table 1
Table 4 > List of equivalent Jobs in the RPG world including fields for equipment
Table 5 > List of equivalent Hobbies in the RPG world including fields for equipment

The form that will eventually populate Table 1 will have three drop down lists for Jobs and three for Hobbies. This creates the issue whereby it is possible that multiple items could be generated to go in the same slot (e.g. Clothing/Armour) and then I would have to choose which item my character kept. BUT at the same time any Back Pack items generated would not need to be filtered as there are more than enough slots at the outset.



How can I achieve this?

[rpeare]

If you're going to design this I would do it right

tblPeople
P_ID  P_LastName  P_FirstName  P_Age  ----> other person related information
1     Mouse       Mickey       65
2     Mouse       Minnie       61

tblType
T_ID  T_Desc
1     Job
2     Hobby

tblJobHobby
JH_ID  JH_Desc  T_ID
1      Golf     2
2      Tennis   2
3      Clerk    1
4      Judge    1

tblPeopleJobHobby
PJH_ID  P_ID  JH_ID
1       1     3
2       1     1
3       1     2

this is a normalized structure and will save you a ton of problems as you delve into database programming. As far as choosing among items that can only be applied to a specific location 'head' or 'torso' what is your choosing mechanism, a random selection of the available items or the first item your procedure encounters? Or some other 'choosing' mechanism, would you allow the player to choose the item if there are multiple items to fill a spot?

You should also to define your 'slots' in a normalized fashion (both what the player is assigned and what the options are) as well

tblSlot
S_ID  S_Desc
1     Head
2     Torso
3     Back
4     Arm
5     Leg

tblEquipment
E_ID  E_Desc  S_ID
1     Hat X   1
2     Hat Y   1
3     Hat Z   1
4     Cape A  3
5     Cape B  3
6     Cape C  4

tblPersonEquipment
PE_ID  S_ID  P_ID  E_ID
1      1     1     1
2      3     1     5

etc. after you do this it's much easier to run code to update the appropriate items in the appropriate slots.