Campaign Creation: Offline? Online? Both?

pencilneckgeek
pencilneckgeek

Hi,

I was just curious about some of my fellow GM's processes for campaign creation. Specifically, when creating your worlds/settings, do you create directly into Obsidian Portal, using it as your primary medium? Or do you do your work offline in Word/Excel/etc. and recreate it in OP? Or some hybrid of the two?

For myself, I've been creating directly into OP. It may not be the wisest choice from a tech standpoint, but I find I'm not doing the work twice and I find the medium conducive to my creative process.

How about you?

--The Geek

--The Geek

Current Campaigns:

Shadows of the Rift : Homebrew Pathfinder Campaign (Campaign of the Month, September 2018)

The Dresden Files: Portland

Deadlands: Riders on the Storm

Velvet & Steel : 7th Sea 2nd Edition

Comments

  • cgregory
    cgregory
    Posts: 780

    Depends.

    If I am doing wiki/adventure log updates or CSS/HTML updates

    For CSS/HTML updates I want to be online online and on a computer (as opposed to a tablet)

    For wiki/adventure log updates I tend to write it up offline and then copy and paste. I don't feel I'm doing the work twice since copy and pasting takes no time. Plus if I do it offline, I don't have to worry about  my players updating a wiki/adventure log while I'm updating it.

    They are among us!

    image

                       XCom: Defiance - Campaign of the Month November 2016

     

     

  • Johnprime
    Johnprime
    Posts: 252

    How I work depends completely on what I am working on. For instance, if I'm working on a DST, then I do the majority of it offline, using the developers kit, then I tweak it on OP till I get the look I want. I've never been able to have the offline version match successfully once I move to OP.

    For adventure logs, I write notes during the game, which quite often are detailed enough that all I have to do it type it up and post it in my adventure log. Also when I'm brainstorming, I will type things up in either Word or Evernote and then transfer to OP.

    For characters, I'm usually typing their information into the DST as I build the character.

    Johnprime

    Deadwood Deacon Banner

    Where the west is really wild!

    The Valley of Life Banner

    The Valley of Life

  • UselessTriviaMan
    UselessTriviaMan
    Posts: 546

    It could conceivably come back to bite me in the ass, but I do all of my prep here on OP. My laptop is now an integral part of my GM screen at the table. Essentially everything for the entire campaign is on here.

    Now you've got me sweatin' what would happen if the site up and vanished...


    Ptolus, City by the Spire - 2016 Campaign of the Year

    "Please pay attention very carefully, because this is the truest thing a stranger will ever say to you: In the face of such hopelessness as our eventual, unavoidable death, there is little sense in not at least TRYING to accomplish all your wildest dreams in life."  - - Kevin Smith

  • Johnprime
    Johnprime
    Posts: 252

    I also use my laptop extensively when running or playing at the table UselessTriviaMan!

    I started using it because one of the players was Skyping in to play and I had bought a small web cam a few years back to use on my desktop computer. I have a mini tripod that I attach it to so I can pan around the gaming table.

    Now that I have my gaming room back, my plan is to build a really nice gaming table and include a desktop PC right at the table. Integrated into the face of the table will be a flat screen TV. One of the cheaper ones, but I've watched a YouTube video of a RPGer who built his own table also incorporating the TV and I really liked his design!

    Johnprime

    Deadwood Deacon Banner

    Where the west is really wild!

    The Valley of Life Banner

    The Valley of Life

  • Bortas
    Bortas
    Posts: 645

    I do world building online, adventure creating offline, and often handwritten.

    -bort

  • abu_is_evil
    abu_is_evil
    Posts: 168

    I use a separate wordpress site, different from Rebuilt, for planning, as the site does not have GM only capabilities (yes, I miss that on OP, but at least everything works on Wordpress).

    Just trying to help out.

  • HumAnnoyd
    HumAnnoyd
    Posts: 298

    I do most of my GM work online for my Emerald City: Requiem and Star Wars games.  It is just easier as all the information I need is at my fingertips.

    November 2012 CotM:  Dresden Files RPG: The Emerald City

    June 2016 CotM:  Star Wars: Rise of the Infinite Empire

    JUNE 2020 CotM & 2020 CotY:  Mass Effect Accelerated

    FEBRUARY 2022 CotM & 2022 CotY: Dresden Files Accelerated:  Emerald City-Requiem 

    Current Campaigns:  Traveller Osmium Buccaneers: Pirates of Drinax, Cyberpunk 2077 Accelerated

  • Keryth987
    Keryth987
    Posts: 1,047

    My work on Shadows and my other campaigns is all done ONSITE. Easier for me

  • pencilneckgeek
    pencilneckgeek
    Posts: 50

    Cool...thank you, everyone for your insights!

    --The Geek

    Current Campaigns:

    Shadows of the Rift : Homebrew Pathfinder Campaign (Campaign of the Month, September 2018)

    The Dresden Files: Portland

    Deadlands: Riders on the Storm

    Velvet & Steel : 7th Sea 2nd Edition

  • ketherian
    ketherian
    Posts: 203

    As a GM, I use a tiddlywiki for content creation. The player information gets copied to my OP sites. As a player, when I'm journaling for another game, I tend to write in notepad++ and then rewrite it for posting to OP.

  • Johnprime
    Johnprime
    Posts: 252

    Ketherian, when I write a journal for another game, I usually jot down notes on paper and usually then re-write it either in something like Word or straight into the site. Mostly what I've been doing for my adventure logs on my Weird West campaign have been straight from my notes into the adventure log section right here on OP.

    Johnprime

    Deadwood Deacon Banner

    Where the west is really wild!

    The Valley of Life Banner

    The Valley of Life

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