Campaign Notes

[JoeGKushner]

As I'm reading through Usagi Yojimbo and taking some ideas down in terms of how Stan uses internal consistency to enforce the world/setting of the rabbit ronin, I though I'd ask how do modern gamers keep track of their own campaign notes?

In the past I've ranged from having a massive notebook with various spraling notes to hand written material I've latter transcribed to the computer to e-mail and word.

I never got into the whole online blog thing for campaign notes too much but one campaign...Welcome To The Realms - JK_Campaign_Wiki , never got much further than that though.

How do other people handle it?

 

[The Shaman]

Like this.

 

[IronWolf]

For my recently started Kingmaker campaign I have been using a Campaign Wiki to keep track of NPCs, Places, timelines and I have a GM's Journal that tells the session's tale from the GMs perspective. I have areas for the players to use as well and was hoping maybe one of them would journal from the perspective of their character, but that has not happened yet.

For things the players shouldn't know yet, I will likely add a secured section to the wiki where only the GM can see it, but for now I am using a synced text file to keep track of things dropped into a session that may come up again later.

 

[JoeGKushner]

Like this.

The dude currently running the campaign is using Obsidian Portal but hasn't updated it in months.

How do you like it? Easy to use?

 

[IronWolf]

The dude currently running the campaign is using Obsidian Portal but hasn't updated it in months.

How do you like it? Easy to use?

I'm not the one originally asked, but I won't let that stop me from chipping in!

I looked at and even started an Obsidian Portal site for my Kingmaker campaign. I think it is a good solution for people that want the packaged bundle they offer and don't have the expertise to brew their own. The site covers the basics of a wiki and message board, both of which I find the most useful tools. They also have a GM only section already included which is nice for keeping those GM's notes readily available but away from player's eyes.

In my case though I found the site quite busy (i.e. the web page design with sidebars and such) and a little limited for the free user. Another factor is that my group already has a message board we maintain which we've used for years so I didn't have a desire to move us from that.

So I ended up using DokuWiki on my hosted server to handle the wiki portion which was the biggest thing I felt was missing from our message board only solution. The cleaner feel of that wiki, coupled with the message boards my group already uses made the homebrew option a better option for me.

That isn't an option for everyone though, in which case I think Obsidian Portal is a great packaged solution for accomplishing the same things I am with my wiki/message board solution I setup myself. A wiki as a campaign tool for keeping track of things can work great if you keep up with it.

 

[The Shaman]

How do you like [Obsidian Portal]? Easy to use?

I'm very happy with it so far.

As IronWolf notes, it provides a readily-accessible platform for those who either don't know how or don't care to spend the time to code their own site. The basic coding to get started on OP is about as challenging as posting on a message board.

Each page includes a separate GM-only section for recording the referee's notes; you can also make entire pages GM-only, giving you the option of creating a whole separate wiki system exclusive to the referee.

Because OP is a community of users, it also means your wiki is visible to others, offering an opportunity to get feedback and even attract new players, as needed.

Traditionally I've run my games from spiral notebooks and sheets of graph paper, but as my campaigns have become more information-intensive, I find a wiki to be very useful indeed.

 

[karlindel]

Mostly my very good memory.

I write my adventures in Word Docs, which I print out to use during the game. I keep my laptop handy if I need to refer back (using the search function if need be to find something), and hand-write notes that I later add to the word docs.

I also frequently use Excel, particularly for magic item selection for 4e, as it allows me to plan out multiple levels of items for the characters in an easy format.

I am in a campaign that used Obsidian Portal. We only used the free version and found it to be useful.

 

[Hand of Evil]

OneNotes but now that I have a iPad been using an app call Index Card, it allows me to create "projects" and then post index cards to them. Been looking at other apps for much the same; DM Toolkit, Chapters, Notes + or such that allow hand writing.

 

[Perram]

I use a big massive notebook!

I type up my adventures before hand, and write notes in the margins. When I don't have time / opportunity to type, I have a matching template I made for hand written notes.

Also... I'm big on aesthetics to reinforce RP, so this is my notebook:

 

[IronWolf]

I use a big massive notebook!

Also... I'm big on aesthetics to reinforce RP, so this is my notebook:

Sweet notebook!