Universal Character Vault
This program is a utility designed to aid in storing your characters, notes, images, and then presenting them for you. Because of it's open architecture, it can potentially support any game system through use of XML to define a data set.
Predefined sets of XML data and XSL stylesheets are provided to get you started with UCV. Packaged together in a .zip file, you can download what you want to use, unpack the .zip archive and then important the game systems and stylesheets you'd like to use.
Because XML is used to define game systems, you can also create your own XML documents (or modify copies of existing examples) to create your own. The same is also true of the XSL files. These are used to transform your characters, which are also stored internally as XML files, into an HTML page for viewing. Options to export your character as html, including any portrait and your journals are presented right there on the view window.
Other Uses for UCV
Because the program simply follows the guide provided by XML data files, you can use it to do much more than simply store characters for your role-playing games, stories, and novels. For example, those of you who run role-playing games as a game master, might like to use the Game Master pack. This special game pack includes a couple basic XML data files to define adventure story notes and entities.
Entities are things that a game master would like to define that are not characters. For example organizations, towns, castles, and other important locations and groups can be stored and called up whenever needed.
Since any entry can include any number of journals, you can use the Adventure game system to writeup entire adventures. The Images window will store any graphics for things maps or handouts you might like to keep handy.
Exports
You can export any of your entries in UCV. This results in a portable XML file that can be shared with any UCV user, whether they use a Mac or Windows PC. This works best if they also have the same game system and style sheets installed as you do.
How to Get Universal Character Vault
UCV is available for Mac OS X as well as Windows 7 and newer. If you have an older version of Windows, UCV may run, but this is not supported.
Click here to download UCV for Mac.
Click here to download UCV for windows.
Game Packs
A game pack consistes of at leat one an XML file with one or more XSL files included in a zipped archive.
Once you have downloaded and unpacked the game pack, you can use the Import function in UCV to import the game system data (the XML file) and then any stylesheets you want to use to view your entries (XSL files). Details on how to do this is included in the ReadMe.txt file you'll find in the game pack along with the other files.
A variety of game packs is available in the list below. Click whatever you'd like to download and install it inside UCV.
- D&D 5th Edition
- Amethyst - Destiny (Fate edition)
- Changeling: The Lost
- Dresden Files
- Fate Core System
- Fate Accelerated Edition
- Galactic Core - a customized Fate Core setting for Star Wars
- Game Master Pack - for organizing and writing adventures
- Shadowgate - pack for customized version of Fate Core
- World of Darkness Core pack - includes game system data for WoD, Vampire, and Werewolf.
The following package is just a pair of stylesheets for use with Fate Core. It uses a simple but attractive two-column layout. One is for player characters and the other is for GM characters, but the only difference is that the one for GM characters doesn't bother showing fate points or refresh.