Firstly warforge has been coded in Java, this means you must have the latest Java runtime installed on your PC, it's quick and easy to install and of course it's totally free, to get the latest version simply click here

Once you have installed the java runtime you must download the latest release of warforge, the current version is 1.03 which can be downloaded from here

Using Warforge

Now that we have Warforge installed it's time to get started, click the short-cut on your desktop to launch the application, this will open the main screen which looks like this

Next click the New template button along the top to start creating your first template, this will present you with the class chooser screen, use either your arrow keys or your mouse's scroll wheel to cycle through the classes, once you have the class you want to create a template for click the picture and choose yes from the dialog.

You will now be presented with the main template builder screen, on the left hand side you have a stats tab which shows stats such as Strength, Initiative, Wounds etc for your character depending on it's rank, increasing or decreasing the rank will immediately update your character's stats. Give your character a name and get ready to start adding items.

Adding items.

There are two main methods to add items to your character, firstly there is the ability to download items from the WarDB website, you can also load xml files of item stats from the local filesystem. To download items from WarDB, click the search button in the right hand pane, this will bring up the WarDB search dialog.

Here you can search for suitable items based on a number of filters, such as item name, rank requirements and class restriction. In addition there are a number of advanced filter choices. So let us say we want to download the stats for the Warlord Set from WarDB for our Magus. Enter the text warlord into the item name field, choose Magus from the Usable by career and Required career drop boxes and press the Search button. A progress bar will appear below to let you know that warforge is search the WarDB database for matching items.

Once the items have been found the table will fill up with possible choices. Highlighting a record in the table and clicking the Download highlighted item button will display stats for that item. Once you have found the item you are looking for press the add button to copy it to the right hand pane on the main screen. Then click the Add to template button to add the item to your template, you will now see your characters stats and bonuses updated with whatever stats and bonuses were present on the item.