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Hunters of Northmarch

CB Loader

Note: This text is copied from the D&D 4e community Discord server.

Section titled “Important Links”

CBLoader Setup

Section titled “CBLoader Setup”

(updated 2023-Jan-11)

Installing on Windows

Section titled “Installing on Windows”
  1. Get the Character Builder installer/update from https://www.dyasdesigns.com/CharacterBuilder/CB-oldbuilder.zip
  2. Extract the file from Step 1. It should create a folder named CB-oldbuilder.
  3. Get the 1.4.6.1 CBInstaller.exe and CBLoader.zip from https://github.com/CBLoader/CBLoader/releases/latest and save them in the CB-oldbuilder folder created in step (2), or save them elsewhere and move them there. This folder should contain these files: CBLoader.zip, CBInstaller.exe, Character_Builder_Update_Oct_2010.exe, and ddisetup2009April.exe.
  4. Run CBInstaller.exe (you may have to approve several elevated Windows permissions)
  5. Delete the “Character Builder” shortcut it creates automatically. (Some people have reported this shortcut does not get created for them; that’s fine, move on if that’s the case.)
  6. Move everything from the CB-oldbuilder folder created in step (2) into %APPDATA%\CBLoader\ (this folder was created during step (4), and is usually found at C:\Users\[your username]\AppData\Roaming\CBLoader\) (see Note below) If the Builder installed properly, but this folder was not created, you can create this folder yourself before this step, but it should not be necessary.
  7. Run CBInstaller.exe from %APPDATA%\CBLoader\. This should properly install CBLoader and create a “CBLoader” shortcut.

Note: On Windows, the AppData folder is usually Hidden unless you have changed your Explorer View Settings to “Show hidden files and folders”. You can also directly access your AppData on Windows by entering into search: %APPDATA% (with the % symbols) and hitting Enter.

The installation may create another CBLoader.zip file on the desktop when running the shortcut from the desktop the first time. If it does, this extra file can be removed.

Once 1.4.6.1 is installed correctly, it will report itself as 1.4.6 once the Builder’s loaded. You can confirm it is installed by creating a character, and looking on the Class tab. The first class should be “Binder” if it has been installed correctly.

Expected Final State

Section titled “Expected Final State”

The final state of a properly-installed Builder + CBLoader should be:

  • C:\CharacterBuilder - the builder program itself. Never touch this folder.
  • C:\Users\[your username]\Documents\ddi\CBLoader - .part and .index files. This is where you put homebrew or other content you’re adding.
  • C:\Users\[your username]\AppData\Roaming\CBLoader - this is the CBLoader install; run CBInstaller.exe from this folder, using a shortcut. (this is the same as entering %APPDATA% into Windows search and opening the CBLoader folder)

Uninstalling

Section titled “Uninstalling”

You can find the guide here.

Troubleshooting

Section titled “Troubleshooting”

https://github.com/CBLoader/CBLoader/wiki/Troubleshooting

Installing on a Mac

Section titled “Installing on a Mac”

While we don’t have a step-by-step guide for using the Character Builder on a Mac, it is possible on some Macs using Windows emulation.

Resources:

For M1/M2 Macs: Windows 10 - https://andypearlman.substack.com/p/windows-1035-framework-on-a-m-mac Windows 11 - https://discord.com/channels/415906830137556992/689870086529613946/1073338852955136010

From <@658887250674843658> - https://discord.com/channels/415906830137556992/689870086529613946/1430787572778401883

Installing on Linux

Section titled “Installing on Linux”

Not thoroughly tested. Use at your own risk: https://discord.com/channels/415906830137556992/1168994682982903859 More detailed description of Linux installation: https://discord.com/channels/415906830137556992/689870086529613946/1413643001665818674