A magical quest through complex record keeping that takes our adventurers from the mighty cities of Features packages through the deep delves of compound fields, facing off against hordes of PDF output.

Just like in Dungeons and Dragons, there are some real-life, complex data management issues that can only be resolved at the CMS level. This session discusses approaching these sorts of complex data management problems using the familiar common ground (D&D).

The D&D Character module for Drupal 7 was released last February, and aside from making the lives of Dungeon Masters and players easier, it's a great example of some really common (and surprisingly business-related) Drupal module functionality. First, it provides a complex node type to allow users to create their characters, with fields organized into logical arrangements. Second, it defines several new, compound fields (using Fields API) to help account for the varieties of complex data such as skills, feats, magical items, and weapons. Finally, it make use of PHP's PDF libraries to create printable character record sheets for a character node, and generating other non-standard output such as OmniGraffle documents.

As any good DM or player knows, managing a PC is extremely complex, involving dozens of steps to create and update a good D&D character. In addition to being a fun D&D-themed session, this presentation will also cover how to deal with complex record keeping systems that can prove useful for government or HR offices. In addition to discussing the inspiration behind the D&D module, I'll explore how similar complex record-keeping requirements can be handled with Drupal and custom fields and content types.

You hear something behind you. Roll for initiative.