Hero Lab introduces the use of many new terms to reference different aspects of characters, campaigns, and the product in general. These are summarized below.

Account Level

Type of Hero Lab Online user account that governs what access is granted to campaigns and content, with the values:

  • Standard - Allows purchase of game systems and content for personal use and participation within campaigns using content sharing
  • Patron - Same as Standard plus allows content sharing to be enabled within campaigns owned by the user
  • Apprentice - Has no access to self-purchased content but allows participation as a player within campaigns providing shared content
  • Demo - Grants access to limited subset of capabilities and content suitable for taking the product for a test drive when considering purchase
ActiveSee Status
ActorGeneral term that encompasses both PCs and supporting cast members
AdminSee Member Role
Allegiance

General attitude of a supporting cast member towards the PCs, with the values:

  • Ally - Cast members that have allied themselves with the PCs and are inclined to assist them in some manner
  • Enemy - Cast members that are established enemies of the PCs and will seek to thwart them in some manner
  • Neutral - Cast members that are neither and ally nor enemy of the PCs
AllySee Allegiance
Apprentice LevelSee Account Level
ApproveAction taken on a newly joined campaign member to grant access to the campaign or to return the member from suspension
Auto-RetireOptional designation on certain campaign elements that automatically advances the element to the Retired Status once it has been used in some way, such as with scripts being auto-retired when enacted onto the stage
CampaignThe game world and everything that takes place within it
Campaign ElementGeneric reference to the various types of elements that are manipulated as part of Campaign Theater, including: campaigns, cast members, scenes, scripts, sessions, etc.
Campaign MemberHero Lab user that has been invited into a campaign and has an assigned member role (or roles) within it
Campaign Mode

Current state in which a campaign behaves, with the values:

  • Inactive - No game session is underway for the campaign
  • Story - Scenes unfold in an organic manner, without the need for strictly sequenced actions between actors
  • Tactical - All actors on the stage must have their actions sequenced, such as through initiative tracking
Campaign OwnerSee Member Role
Cast MemberCharacter within a campaign that is not a PC; Typically controlled by the GM; Cast members can also include monsters, vehicles, or any other character-like construct that takes part within the story
Character ContentEncompassing term for all of the game systems and add-on packages that have been purchased by a user and that can be utilized by characters owned by that user
Content SharingFeature that allows qualified campaign owners to grant access to all their purchased character content to the players within their campaigns
ControllerHero Lab user that controls a cast member within the story (typically only applicable to PCs)
DeletedSee Status
Demo ModeRestricted level of product access that enables a user to test drive the product when considering purchase
DropAction taken on a campaign member to permanently remove them from the campaign
EnactAction performed on a scene script that adds all the cast members defined within that script to the stage
EnemySee Allegiance
Event/TriggerSpecial "character" type designed to let GMs control non-character participants within a scene, such as traps and other timed/triggered occurrences
FolderA hierarchy of folders can be created as a means of organizing certain collections of elements, similar to managing files on most computers; Folders can be created for characters, cast members, and scene scripts
GMSee Member Role
IntroduceAction of bringing an existing character from outside of a campaign into the campaign
Invitation CodeUnique code that identifies a campaign and is provided by the GM to other Hero Lab users, enabling them to join the campaign as members
Jersey NumberValue automatically assigned to every non-unique actor when it is added to the stage, ensuring they can always be clearly distinguished (e.g. "Goblin #1", "Goblin #2", etc.)
LootMaterial resources that PCs can acquire during play and transfer between the PCs
Main PanelWithin Hero Lab Online's three-panel interface, the main panel is in the middle and where the primary editing of content takes place
Member Role

Campaign members can be assigned various roles that grant certain privileges within the campaign, with the values:

  • Owner - Has the ultimate say over everything associated with the campaign and whose access rights are applied when content sharing is enabled (typically the campaign creator)
  • GM - Grants the ability to create all the story elements within the campaign and orchestrate play during game sessions (typically the owner)
  • Player - Grants the ability to control (and possibly own) one or more PCs within the campaign
  • Admin - Grants the ability to perform administrative duties within the campaign
Navigation PanelWithin Hero Lab Online's three-panel interface, the navigation panel is on the left and is the primary means of moving through different aspects of the content
NeutralSee Allegiance
NoteArbitrary text that members can attach to campaign elements
NPCCast member that is controlled by the GM within a campaign (Non-Player Character)
OwnerUsed in two different ways, depending on context - See Campaign Owner and PC Owner, as appropriate
Off-CameraSee Placement
On-CameraSee Placement
Out of ActionSee Placement
PackageRefers to a game system, book, or other purchased content for use with Hero Lab Online
Patron LevelSee Account Level
PCCast member that is controlled by a player within a campaign (Player Character)
PC OwnerCampaign member that owns a given PC; Only the owner can take certain actions on the PC; Ownership dictates which content can be utilized by the PC
PersistentProxies on the stage for persistent actors will have all accrued changes committed back to the underlying PC or cast member when a scene is resolved; Non-persistent actors always discard accrued changes
Placement

Where an actor resides on the stage in relation to the current scene, with the values:

  • On-Camera - Actors that are involved in the unfolding scene and can interact with one another
  • Off-Camera - Actors that are "waiting in the wings" for the opportunity to join an unfolding scene
  • Out of Action - Actors that have been killed or otherwise incapacitated during a scene
Play TabNavigation tab for characters that provides an optimized presentation of the character for use during game play, making everything that's typically needed during a game readily accessible
PlayerSee Member Role
ProxyTemporary version of an actor that is created when that actor is on the stage; Changes are accrued to the proxy and then either officially saved or discarded when a scene is resolved
RecommissionAction that converts a campaign element from the Retired Status to the Active Status
ResolutionAct of resolving a scene, which ends any combat, commits accrued changes to persistent actors, discards non-sticky actors from the stage, and creates an historical record of the scene
RetiredSee Status
RightsRefers to what actions a user is allowed to perform and what content is available to be used within characters
Root FolderWhen folders are supported for an element type, the root folder is the initial folder at the top, with all user-created folders existing beneath the root
SceneThe action taking place on the stage is the active scene; Can also refer to the historical record of a resolved scene
Scene ScriptA prepared collection of cast members and notes that can be enacted onto the stage as a single unit (aka an encounter)
ScriptSee Scene Script
SessionPeriod of game-play bounded by time, as determined by the GM; Also used to reference the collection of scenes that were completed during that period
Shared ContentCollective reference to all of the game systems and add-on packages that have been purchased by the owner of a campaign and made available for use by the players within their PCs
Side-PanelWithin Hero Lab Online's three-panel interface, the side-panel is on the right and provides convenient access to supplemental details and alternate content
StageWhere PCs and cast members are placed to actively participate in the story and interact with each other
Stand-In PCSpecial character type to enable tracking of PCs within campaigns for players that don’t actively use Hero Lab Online
Standard LevelSee Account Level
Status

Designates the accessibility of a campaign element, with the values:

  • Active - Campaign element is fully available for use
  • Retired - Applied to a campaign element when it is no longer needed for general use but retained for historical purposes; When retired, an element is hidden from normal view and not able to be manipulated
  • Trashed - Campaign element is no longer wanted and has been marked for deletion; Trashed elements have not yet been deleted and can be restored
  • Deleted - Campaign element has been wholly eliminated from use, typically through the irreversible operation of emptying the trash
StickyProxies on the stage for sticky actors will remain on the stage when a scene is resolved, while non-sticky actors are always removed from the stage
Story ModeSee Campaign Mode
Supporting CastCollective term for cast members within the campaign
SuspendAction taken on a campaign member to temporarily deny access to the campaign
Tactical ModeSee Campaign Mode
TrashedSee Status
VaultRepository where stock resources can be copied from, such as characters, monsters, images, etc.
WithdrawAction taken by the owner of a PC to remove that PC from the campaign, although a copy is retained within the campaign
 
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