how do you balance between computer and notes

JDarkshadow

I've just started a 3.0 group with several friends 2 Sessions (22 hrs play time) ago. None of us have played more than a game or two before. I'm the DM.

-how do you balance using the computer and paper notes during the game?

We've played a few sessions and I'd like to know how other DMs use their obsidian portal pages along with their paper stuff. It's hard to look at an encounter I wrote 2 weeks ago on paper, then refer to my notes in the GM-only adventure log to remind myself of some special circumstance that changes the encounter.

-How do other DMs save/link-to their encounters on OP for easy reference?

-What do you write on paper?

Part of my challenge may be that I've written a lot on paper and haven't put it all up on my site yet. Also that we each played 1-2 games with experienced players in high school, and we never really knew any of the rules. It's tough to master.

thanks,
J

*i like the site and time/energy i see people put into their stuff.really cool to join in

PeterAdkison

I'm new, but here's my rule. If it goes digital, it goes on Obsidian Portal unless it's an Excel spreadsheet. That's my line in the sand for now. Excel spreadsheets are still really useful for various tables (mostly systems stuff) and character sheets where it's helpful to have formulas and lookups into systems-tables like skill lists and such. I still use handwritten notes for stuff but after a session I upload any information I want to keep and throw the notes away.

Using a tool like OP requires commitment. All of the linking and tags and such are the tax you pay but the dividends long term will pay off.

Peter

gnunn

I've bounced all over the place in my management systems. I started my first campaign a little over 2 years ago, and it's still going.

When I first started, I tended to lean more towards digital prep. I used various mixes of Excel, Word, One Note and EverNote for a long time, but never found the perfect system for me. One thing I did discover is that OP works much better as a campaign archive than it does for running a session (at least for me) Having to switch into editor mode to enter game notes or adjust things during the game was just too clunky. I only tried running a couple sessions this way. OP, however is fantastic for keeping track of adventure recaps, NPC details, house rules and other long-term stuff that could get lost amid notes. The biggest challenge I found with running games from a computer was making sure I had everything I needed open, and then not screwing up something when switching between windows (accidentally recording a game note in an excel field with an important formula, or in an incorrect OneNote tab... that sort of thing.)

About a month ago, I finally scratched a GM itch I had been having for some time, and went to a paper note system during my games. I still do a lot of my initial prep on my computer, through OP or Evernote, but I don't have my laptop at the gaming table. So far, I have to say I love the low-tech approach and my players have said they like it too. I feel more connected with my players without a laptop screen in the way. I find my in-game note taking is actually more detailed because I don't need to worry about clicking on one of a bajillion windows I have open. I have also set myself a target-limit of one page of prep per encounter, which forces me to be streamlined in my approach.

JDarkshadow

Gnunn, I think I would prefer running games all on paper too. Does that mean you both type up character/encounter/background info into OP and hand-write it out too?

For example: Your PC's are walking down a road, and they encounter a group of goblins attacking a wagon of traveling pilgrims.

-where do you have the goblins' and the NPC's character sheets? are they duplicated on OP and paper?
-where do you have this encounter written down? is it duplicated on OP?
-what do you need/use in front of you when your characters start walking down the road?

I know I'm opening a can of worms, but I could really use a sort of full-process explanation of how you run an encounter.

Thanks for your help already, any further advice would be great.

gnunn

So, currently, when I am brainstorming a session, I jot notes down in Evernote when I am still not sure exactly how the adventure will be structured. Once I have nailed it down to something like: The party will go to an elven ruin that is inhabited by a dragon, I start plugging things into a notebook.

page 1:
* Session overview (I list 4-5 scenes I would like to get to during the course of the evening)
* very basic NPC descriptions (just name, role and maybe what they are doing in the scene)
* other notes that pertain to the overall session (recap, maybe a rough map if pertinent, that sort of thing)
* I also include a post-it with relevant character plots that I need to keep in mind. (e.g. our monk is currently possessed. I need to remember to make life tough for him on occasion) The post-it moves as the session progresses.

pages 2-6:
* Each page is dedicated to an encounter. I include very abbreviated stat blocks for NPCs or custom monsters. If it is a stock Monster Manual critter, I just bookmark the MM page and list the page number.
* Combat encounters include a rough map of the battle area along with notes on enemy tactics, environmental effects (e.g. a pit full of acid, or climb DCs for the walls etc.)
* Roleplay encounters include motivations for the NPCs, information they know and consequences for success/failure.
* I try to summarize or bullet-point as much as possible. As long as I know the important points to hit, I don't need to write out a full paragraph of flavor text.

During the game, I take all my notes on the left hand page of the notebook (if laid flat and open). I have a printed PC cheat sheet with abbreviated stat blocks for each of my PCs (single page, made in Word) I use this cheat sheet to track my PCs HP and conditions as well as to mark my place in the notebook.

I also have another page of numbers generated from the WOTC "dice roller":http://www.wizards.com/dnd/dice/dice.htm. When I ran things digitally, it was invaluable for quickly resolving mass combats because I could roll 12d20 for a mass of NPCs and quickly determine the number of hits. Well, I took the electronic dice roller, set it to 1000d20 and then copied and pasted the results into a Word doc, which I printed out. Now, if I need to resolve a bunch of attacks at once, I roll 1d20 and count that many spaces in on the sheet to get my starting point. It works great! I then resolve damage the old fashioned way.

Other than that, I have my PHB with bookmarks to the most referenced sections (skills, special combat moves & spells), my monster manual with any bookmarks to any stock monsters used during the session, my DMG, a calculator, Word printout of a 3.5 DM screen and my dice.

So, during the game, pretty much everything is paper, whether printed out or written in my notebook. I do, however keep my laptop on the coffee table behind me. I use it to provide a soundtrack for the session, and can refer to my electronic notes if absolutely necessary.

After the game, I compose recaps in my adventure log on OP. I also use OP for general world-building notes. I keep pages on cities, countries, histories, organizations, as well as house rules and custom-created items. I also try to maintain the character pages for my PCs. It has saved my butt on several occasions when someone has been absent. I just pop onto OP and print their character page to use as a makeshift character sheet.

I also maintain two Excel spreadsheets. One is an XP tracker since it can often take me a couple weeks before I dish out XP. The other is a loot index. I have started assigning each loot item a number. Since switching to paper notes, I have modified the numbering system slightly to work as follows: (party level).(sesson#).(item#) so in the spreadsheet, "scroll, 9.62.003" would be the third piece of loot found during session 62 when the average player level was 9. I find this index extremely helpful when my players say, "hey I have this unidentified potion I've been carrying around for months. What is it?" If they give me the ID# I can tell them right away.

JDarkshadow

Thanks so much for the detailed run-down. It's really helpful.

2 more questions:
-Do you not put your NPC's or Encounters on OP?
-If an Encounter involves detailed description/scene setting/NPC dialogue, or if an NPC will have a recurring role in the story, how do you plan that out and then track it afterwards?

gnunn

I typically put my NPCs and encounters on OP after they have appeared in game. I view the Portal as more of an archive so that I can pull up information down the line that might otherwise have been lost or forgotten rather than as a tool for immediate game notes. For example, my players recently inherited a keep and are now pondering which NPCs they could hire to fill various roles in their staff. Having the NPC records on the Portal allows all of us to refresh our memory about characters we met a year or more ago in real time.

As to your second question:

I do occasionally write flavor text for some scenes, but often I find that I can write down bullet points, sites, smells, lighting, sound etc. and describe it in just as much detail without necessarily having to write it word for word. With major &/or recurring NPCs, I typically generate a stat block/character sheet for them in Word, which I then print out and include in my notebook. Right now, I have two such stat blocks. One for a fighter/cleric prince who is traveling with my PCs and one for the dragon BBEG who just stole all their stuff before booting them from his lair. The dragon's lizardfolk minions, however do not warrant a full separate character sheet. They have abbreviated stat blocks on any relevant encounters in the notebook. As to NPC dialogue: I will occasionally write out a line or two in my notebook as a way of spurring my thoughts during an encounter. However, I find it much more useful to clearly spell out what an NPC wants needs, likes & dislikes. When roleplaying the NPC, I just play to those motivations while winging the specific dialogue.

Hope this helps

VentureSix

Years ago, I was all paper, but then again, most of us were!

In my current campaign, I'm almost all digital. OP is used as a campaign archive and reference tool if we need to use it during a session. iPads, iPhones, other smart phones, tablets - they can all check anything and everything. My main tool is my iPad - I have several GM-type apps that I've found indispensible. The one I use the most is the Dungeon Master Toolkit (http://www.lvl99games.com/?page_id=258). While many of the templates are D&D based, I've been able to easily convert or create to make it work the way I want to for Rogue Trader. I have a section for NPC stats, one for the current session, one for session archives, a digital initiative tracker, and just tons more stuff, all literally at my fingertips.

I have a PDF reader (GoodReader) as well, and I have the pdf versions of the manuals, so that eliminates lugging those around. Numbers and Pages hold my Excel and Word documents if I need them - I have most of them converted into HTML and saved within the DM Toolkit, reducing the need to switch between apps.

I recently downloaded a mapping app (Battle Map), which lets me create maps. Already very handy as I can work on it anywhere I bring my iPad. It has a GM and Player mode, fog-of-war, LOS, all sorts of neat goodies. Best of all, I can hook it up to a VGA adapter and display and play on a bigger screen! I haven't tried that part yet, but soon!

Feel free to message/whisper if you'd like more info!

Black_Vulmea

bq. Using a tool like OP requires commitment. All of the linking and tags and such are the tax you pay but the dividends long term will pay off.

Amen to that, *Peter*.

I keep a notebook with me pretty much all the time for jotting down ideas on the run, and before Obsidian Portal I would've run my game from it, but now pretty much everything gets transferred into my wiki.

The genius of the wiki format is that it's a relational database - write *once*, link in many places. The GM-Only section of my different pages contains as much as or (often much) more than what the public portion of each page shows, hotlinking people and places and events and encounters. I can look at a character page, and know who that character's friends and enemies are, the organizations to whom the character belongs, the locations where the character may be found, and the campaign events or random encounters in which the character appears, or I can look at a location and see how it relates to events, characters, encounters, and so on. For a 'sandbox' style campaign like "_Le Ballet de l'Acier_":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/le-ballet-de-l-acier in which there is no 'plot' for the adventurers to follow, this is an incredibly efficient way to manage all of the information I need to run a coherent setting.

My paper notebook exists only for brainstorming ideas; my wiki is my tool for running the game.

Mike aka Black Vulmea
"_Le Ballet de l'Acier_":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/le-ballet-de-l-acier - Swashbuckling adventures in the age of the Three Musketeers and Captain Alatriste

DarkMagus

I don't use OP at the table, I'm more of a notebook kinda guy. I feel there's something about the somatic learning process which clicks with me. If I write down my shopping list I don't ever look at it while in the market. Writing down my adventures is similar, I channel my creativity better and only have to glance at it on occasion. I used OP more of like an archive for The Ilumnos Series, but for my upcoming game, The White Wastes of Aultha, I've been using it to plan the world. They've been two very different experiences but both were very positive.

Duskreign

I tend to go back and forth a lot when it comes to note taking and session planning. I run two separate games presently, and I handle each one totally different than the other. However, if I could just get a little more organized and focused, I might be able to actually devote myself to chronicling all the adventures from both games in their respective wikis. Fortunately, I have had a lot of great gaming opportunities recently, but unfortunately, none of our recent escapades have made an appearance in my adventure logs. I am slowly working on getting my Star Wars site updated fully, and after that, I will feel more confident catching up with adventure logs.

If I was anywhere near as organized as Black Vulmea, I'd be using OP far more often than I do. I'm getting there, but it's a long process. Long and worthwhile.

twiggyleaf

JDarkshadow,
I have pre-written almost all of my campaign on OP. (This includes background notes, monster stats, etc.) Unfortunately, where we play (in a public hall) there is no wi-fi so what I have done is print everything off in two large black hardcover books. I think, if we had wi fi where we played, I would use the PC live for reference but would still have printed off notes at the table.

For each encounter I also have a few log sheets that I keep updating on computer and print off before the game, e.g. "Encounter Sheet":http://www.elyzium.com/twiggyleaf/XLEncounterSheet.xls , "Spell Inventory":http://www.elyzium.com/twiggyleaf/XLSpellInventory.xls and "Adventure Log":http://www.elyzium.com/twiggyleaf/XLAdventureLog.jpg
For the Spell Inventory, I just cross off the spell or spell slot with a pencil when it is used in the game.

I think I would still print these off because I can scribble and write on them during the game, but because the format is saved on the PC, I can easily duplicate or change each log for every new adventure. I only store the Encounter Information on OP before play. Afterwards, I just keep the notes in a file and record what basically happened in the OP Adventure Logs.

Hopefully, some of this info might help you, but I suspect each person playes completely differently, using their own unique methods.

FemmeLegion

Back when the RPGA was running the Living Greyhawk campaign, I ran a couple of modules for them using a laptop. Because it was just a simple PDF file, no bookmarks or hotlinks or anything, I was effing miserable trying to jump around (jump around! jump up, jump up and get down!) to all the necessary sections of the module.

Those bad experiences have led me to really hate the notion of using a laptop to run a game session. That and I just really don't like laptops in general. I'm weird that way.

I obsessively hoard scraps of "rescued" paper (backs of envelopes, blank sections of paper on junkmail or now-unnecessary printouts) and jot down ideas as they come to me. I use the computer to put them all together and see if I can string something sensible out of the morass.

I could see using a tablet of some sort to run a player character, rather than printing off a character sheet. However, my inner hippie is still debating with herself about whether it's more ecologically sound to print off a few sheets of paper rather than consume the required electricity to run the tablet for each session.

I could *definitely* see using a tablet to put together a soundboard for game music FX, and that's about the only reason I'd be interested in one. (Right now I covet the Duo because it's more versatile.)

gnunn

Yeah, one of the counterintuitive things that I've noticed about tabletop RPGs is that often, the low-tech approach proves to be more efficient. For example, I used to track my party's initiative using a complex tracking document I developed in Excel. hitting [return] would advance through the rotation, and when it hit the bottom, the cursor would automatically pop back up to the top and advance the round count. I even had a way to set someone's status to delay or ready and have it set the field color to yellow and move them out of the rotation. Similarly, dead or dying characters would be black and red respectively.

Well, this system worked alright, but turned out to be slower and less reliable than the low-tech solution I later developed that uses laminated 3x5 cards to track everyone's initiative.

Anyway, for some people high-tech is better, but I've noticed a gradual slide in my own gaming habits back towards low-tech solutions.

gnunn

I would like to qualify my last comment, because there are still parts of my gaming experience that I find are far better to track using a computer... namely, remembering the details of a massive homebrew world that has been building up around my game. That is what OP does for me.

Voaraghamanthar

This is a cool website and all, but there is a program out there called Evernote. Just Google it. Have everyone download that to their computer AND their smartphone like the iPod, Androids, or Blackberry's and you can share notes, characters, or anything. DO NOT USE FOR CHEATING ON COLLEGE TESTS. lols. There is is even a plugin for Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer, along with Safari on the Mac that you can save whole webpages into Evernote, edit them, and send them on to your Evernote Contacts. It's like combining Microsoft Office into one single program, apart from using any graphic editing. However, don't forget, you can download images, add some text, and pass it on. How cool is that?

You will love this program I promise you, and the more friends you have, the more fun it is. Best thing is, it's totally free.

http://evernote.com/

gnunn

I agree, Evernote is a fantastic tool, and I use it quite a bit, but for different purposes.

The main advantage I see to OP as an archive site is the way the wiki formatting works. Once you have written a page on, say "The black bogs of noor," linking any other page to it is simply a matter of enclosing it in [[ ]]. Conversely, if you have an idea for something, you can set up a slug for it and there will be a big, red reminder on the page until you actually get around to creating a page for that item.

Voaraghamanthar

I like how this site is managed. I would like more control how I setup my Campaign Site in terms of HTML, webpage skins, the overall look and feel. It's user friendly. I can get to it on my Blackberry storm, which is a huge thing for me. I became a premium user and I'm trying it out for six months. I can't really tell that much about it at the moment as I only signed up today. Having my own campaign website is a cool as whip cream idea though. I'd pay 50 bucks a year for that. But I'm rich...lol. NOT !

Actually, 25 bucks is cheaper than going to a strippers bar.

FemmeLegion

If you're not spending at least $50 at a strip club, you were probably peer-pressured into going and not having much fun at all.

Anyway, I don't do the smartphone thing yet, but you have inspired me to make sure I have the cell-phone numbers for my players so I can text them secrets. Or in a modern setting, make sure their phone rings on cue. ;)

Ooh, and your mention of smartphone reminds me just how much I hate dice roller apps. I never realized just how important it was to me that I see other players' dice rolls until I started gaming with someone who used her iPhone. I think it's because I've always been the one at the table who's really good at math - not so much that I think they're *deliberately* giving the wrong total...well, definitely not her. Others, maybe.

Voaraghamanthar

I always allow for a "cheat" factor. I know when the dice rolls are 20's 3 times in a row, I need to add something "on the fly" and it doesn't matter if they are cheating or not. high rollers ruin campaigns and I'm always prepared to deal with them.

Glad I inspired you, and yes, I've always been pressured into such places. The intellect levels there bore me.

JDarkshadow

Thanks for all the input.

I'm going to give a long run-down of the system I've come up. I think it works pretty well, but my goal would be to have more stuff on OP without having to use a computer during sessions. I like the idea of the broader OP community being able to look at my campaign and understand what's going on there, and I don't think that's the case right now.

Here's what I've been doing for the last 2 months:

1. The lore and backstory of the campaign is up on O.P. Most info starts out on GM-only pages. As adventurers become aware of something it appears as a page they can see, and any direct quotes or information they receive about a story element moves from GM-only to the public part of the page.

(I've learned that I'm running what's called a "sandbox"-type campaign, so I have a bunch of info about guilds and gangs and powerful people and organizations in my huge city, Vulcarsgrave.)

2. Most of each session is planned out on a composition notebook. Usually the day before a session I'll write down 4 or 5 bullet points on situations PCs may face. I'll then write a short section for each bullet point - either referring to a previously written adventure, or detailing NPC motivations, DC's for any likely skills used to resolve issue, and treasure/xp for different elements of success.

3. Combat is done with post-its: I have basic stats: HP, AC, speed, initiative mod, atk info, Saves, spot/listen/hide/movesilent, for all PC's and NPC's/monsters likely to fight. I put them in order when initiative is rolled and keep track of HP on the post-its. # of creatures defeated goes into the notebook opposite the encounter notes.

4. Adventures: there's no single story-line in Vulcarsgrave but rather a huge open world with lots of opportunities for adventure. I've written dozens of free-standing adventures on paper that I'll pull out if PC's find the right trigger or randomly encounter something. The info on these sheets is usually the same as what's in the composition notebook but more detailed (character sheets for important NPC's, talking points, some backstory)

-I don't duplicate stuff, so often the notebook will include several transitions instead of encounters: i.e. ways the party might be introduced to an adventure. If they choose to pursue one, I'll pull out the relevant adventure file.

5. Plot/Story - I make notes on my composition pad about how PC's approach and deal with adventures as they come. I track in my head how this may change different groups in the city and their attitudes toward PC's. Usually I'll apply those changes to my notes for the next session in the notebook. Players are responsible for keeping an adventure log and updating a part of the wiki called "Campaign Info". Their logs are meant to be more an exercise in Role Playing and creative writing, while the Campaign info section is where they put the nuts and bolts of plot and story information their characters have learned so far.
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Real Game Example: Whorin' and a-Killin'

On O.P., my campaign has a GM-only page about the Ladies Protective Agency - a gang of pimps that runs the Red light District. The page includes who their leader is, their position amongst other gangs etc, their territory etc.

In one session the party decided to go to the Red Light District, then one player chose not to pay for services rendered. I pulled from my adventure files some stat blocs for pimp thugs I had ready and there was an argument-turned-battle. Having attracted attention to themselves, the party then triggered a pre-written adventure where the following day they were hired to kill the leader of the Ladies Protective Agency.

The group failed to kill him, so I improvised some immediate reprucussions: guards/gangsters looking for them, and I made some notes in my notebook for a future session about how the different gangs react to the failed attack and the party thereafter.

As the party learns more about the gangs of Vulcarsgrave, some of the basic information on territory and other widely known facts will appear on the wiki for them to see. Other details about the city should be filled in by players as wiki-pages become public. As they search for important items or try to advance their position in the city, the party will write any information about how to accomplish their goals in the "Campaign Info" page on the wiki.
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ok, so if you read that whole thing you're a really helpful person who wants to give me input on how I'm doing. Let me know if you think what I'm doing makes sense, or if there's some way that I can better-utilize OP in my game without using a computer during the game.

Thanks