How can I create a new character background?

For use in the Arcanum mod, naturally. Do I have to edit the Arcanum module itself, or is there a repository of character backgrounds that makes it easier to modify the backgrounds available?

 

Stock game with patch: The gameback.mes is in the Arcanum3.dat/mes file while the background and gamelevel.mes are in the Arcanum4.dat/rules folder.

If you want to create new ones:
http://www.terra-arcanum.com/downloads/arcanum/doa/CreateBackgrounds.zip

 

well, I've done something wrong. I followed the tutorial, added the information given to the end of gameback, backgrnd, and effect .message files, and tried to create my own. I made a character, pressed the left arrow on the background (believing this would bring me to the last entry in the background), and waddaya know, it crashed.

((For posterity, I'm including the last three entries from each file, so if all is as it should be, the first entry in my post for each file will be the last entry in the stock information; the second one will be the "Raised by an Uncle" entry from the tutorial, and the third should be my (yes, cheater) background.))

gameback.mes

{1076}{Dark Sight

Your eyes are overly sensitive to light. You are nearly blind in daylight, but you can see perfectly in darkness. Therefore, all skill lighting penalties are reversed for you.}


{1077}{Raised by an Uncle

During child-birth your doctor accidentally cut your face, resulting in an immediate disfigurement(-2 BE) that would be a disgrace to your royal line. In an attempt to pawn you off, your parents gave you to their brother, a stern, yet wealthy general store owner. As you grew up, the bitter atmosphere of your uncle drove you to gradually hate people(-2 CH), however, learing the ways of the merchant has left you a great haggler(+2), and the ability to convince people you are right.(+2 Persuasion) Now your Uncle has passed away, leaving you a modest sum of money. With no ties left to your family, you set out abord the IFS Zephyr, with hopes and dreams to start a thriving business in Tarant.}


{1078}{The Chosen One

Life has always been good to you; very good. You recieved the finest education your society had to offer you, you wanted for no material goods but evaded the trap of becoming a snob. You are fit and primed, sharp in mind and in body. You have more wealth than most, and you are ready to hit the world. Unbeknownst to you (but beknownst to us), however, you are the Chosen One. Abandon all hope of an easy, peaceful life, for you'll find none. You have boarded the IFS Zephyr, heading to Tarant, but you shall not arrive by means of that august method of transportation. Someone shot your airship down; whether you or someone else was the target is unknown to you (although not to us, obviously). Nevertheless, the *survivor* of the IFS Zephyr crash is you! Like it or not, you have been thrust into the spotlight, and the band of assassins hunting for you will not stop until you or they are dead. You must solve the ancient mystery, you must find the clues, unravel the prophecy, and finish this. How you do so is up to you; you could turn out to be a pious holy warrior, or a mystic wielding ancient powers most arcane. You might prefer the means most logical and technological. A swift word slung from a silver tongue might be your preferred weapon, or you may prefer to shoot first and interrogate the corpses. You may be a soulless monster out for yourself, you may be a self-sacrificing noble soul, or something in between. You may prefer stealth or violence, speed or power, treachery or honesty, but you are The Chosen One. However you do it, you have to do it, or it will be done to you.}

----------------

backgrnd.mes

{780}{1076}
{781}{342}
{782}{}
{783}{400}
{784}{}

// TCOE Raised By an Uncle
{790}{1077}
{791}{359}
{792}{GNM}
{793}{650}
{794}{}

// CUSTOM Background
{800}{1078}
{801}{360}
{802}{}
{803}{1600}
{804}{}

--------------

effect.mes

{358}{in -1, pe -1, wp -1, ch -1} // Tech Item: Muscle Boost Part II
{359}{haggle +2, persuasion +2, be -2, ch -2} // TCOE Raised By an Uncle
{360}{haggle +4, persuasion +4, cn +5, wp +5, in +5, ca +5, pe +5} // Chosen One




Now, if I'm right, that background should give a bonus of +4 on haggle and persuasion, +5 to constitution, willpower, intelligence, charisma, and perception, as well as starting the character with a lot of scratch (1,600 gold worth, in fact). But I'm lost, because I can't seem to find what it could be I've screwed up.



[edit]

Okay, I did some more revision... The good news is that I found that Charisma's abbreviation is "ch" and not "ca", and I changed it to ch.

The bad news is that the farker still ain't working. >_<

[edit2] arrow until I found the "Raised by an Uncle" test background, and it gave me no problem; this leads me to believe that something is wrong with what I put in, rather than anything else.

 

I'm an idjit, I found the problem. The description was too long and (I guess) making an overflow. I shortened it and now it works.

 

Yeah, that'll bite you back of you put too much into it. It's too bad, though; your description is great.
I need to re-vamp my Juggernaut background. I have to find a way to make him extremely overpowered, but there's no way to get his strength over 24.
Stupid racial hard-coding...

 

Hey Gross: I think I may have asked this once before but would you put the specs for the Juggernaut up here?

I noticed a listing in the backgrounds hack that really needs to be changed.
The Double-Poster.

 

ShadowDragon8685, a couple of tips for effects.
Each effect line can only have a maximum of 5 changes per category i.e. a maximum of 5 skill changes AND 5 stat changes.
When you change a skill the number is for subpoints of skills.
In your third example you have haggle +4. This would give one bar of haggle (equal to spending one character point). 5 full bars would be equal to 20 subpoints.

What makes you say that?

 

Well, 1,600 is nearly enough to buy everything in the starting store, and for that purpose, it's a lot of scratch.

Anyway, I did get it working by chopping the description of the Chosen One down.