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Message: <blockquote data-quote="smc" data-source="post: 433378" data-attributes="member: 8445">DM Genie gets my vote....I have tried RPM, DM Familiar and DM Genie.These programs are all primarily DM assistants. While they do have features for game preperation and for individual players, I think they are best suited to being used at the game table by a DM. None have character creation that is as feature packed as, for example, PCGEN, but they really shine when it comes to managing a game session and speeding up play. I use them to conduct combat and manage adventures, still letting the players make their own die rolls, but running everything else through the computer.RPM is feature-packed, but I find it a bit unwieldy. If I needed or wanted the mapping functions, this one probably would have been my choice, since that feature is pretty cool. However, we use a megamat at the table so I am not concerned with having a combat map display on my computer. This one is worth a look, however, if you are looking for something that includes a ton of stuff (and the kitchen sink).DM Familiar is very slick and easy to use. Of the three, this is the most approachable and offered the shortest learning curve. It's combat functions and NPC creation are pretty well done. However, it's relative ease-of-use is indicative of its comparitive simplicity. There is a lot of combat stuff that it doesn't track. I do like the interface on this, which simply lets you open whatever windows you want, size them as you want, and place them where you want. It's flexible and intuitive.DM Genie is the one I've tried most recently, and I am REALLY impressed. It includes a ton of features. The combat functions are really well done. You can track all sorts of effects (whether they be from magic spells or the result of actions), and DM Genie does all the math to determine effective attack bonuses and AC. It's nice to not have to worry about all of the modifiers that are in play, and you can focus on giving your players some exciting combat with clever and ruthless NPC's/Monsters <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /> I love the way you can combine effects with spells. When a character casts a spell, a window will pop-up asking you which character gets the effect of the spell; the program will then track and changes to stats, AC, AR, etc.The interface for DM Genie does a good job of giving you the maxium amount of information in a single screen. There are also a lot of ancillary windows you can open, for things like tracking time and weather. The adventure reference uses a threaded hypertext inteface that contains a lot of features. For example, I am running my players through the SUnless Citadel module. I scanned in the maps from the module, imported them into DM Genie, and then set up hot spots for each encounter location. As they move through the Citadel, all I have to do is click on hot spots to reveal information on combat encounters, treasure, etc. You can automatically start combat and give selected characters treasure and equipment on the fly. How cool is that? Of course, I also tend to be sold on a program when you make a feature suggestion in the morning and it has been implemented with a new version that night <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />Anyway, all 3 of these tools are really solid. Each of the authors is very active in supporting their tools. You really can't go wrong with any of them, and it comes down to a matter of preferences and the features you want/need. I think that of the three RPM is probably the most robust in terms of character creation, DM Familiar is the easiest to use and easiest to set-up, and DM Genie offers the best balance of features and "coolness". DM Genie is pretty new, and already feature-packed, so it's pretty exciting to think about what's down the road. I will be registering the program today.One caveat ... while the complexity of these programs does vary, each requires an investment of time to get over the learning curve and determine which one is right for your needs. Don't expect them to be like playing NWN ... they are dealing with a very complex system while still retaining complete flexibility for the DM (And all the while adhering to OGC standards), so you may find yourself doing a bit of head-scratching at first but the results will be worth it.</blockquote>

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