DM organization?

[Mr. Greengoat]

Hey folks,

I am gearing up to start DM/GMing again after a while away from the screen and I am trying to figure out the best method to organize my adventures and campaign information.

Ideally I would want something that can be digitized and reshuffled so I can track NPCs, locations, new monsters, etc. But I don't want to have a laptop at the table.

After looking through the options, it seems like the old fashioned way of cutting and pasting ascii text between text files and keeping them in folders is the most versatile route but all the plain text makes stat blocks harder to read.

Anyway, what are your prefered things you show up at the table with?
Are there any digital tools (preferably GNU) that make your life easier?
What do your reference sheets look like? Has 4E killed the notebook only DM?

Thanks for you opinions.

 

[amnuxoll]

You might give org-mode for emacs a try (assuming you use emacs since you like GNU).

Org-Mode: Your Life in Plain Text

 

[Daern]

Obsidian Portal

Obsidian Portal - Campaign websites for Dungeons and Dragons and other tabletop RPGs

I like this alot, though it is more for keeping track of the longterm campaign.

For sessions I have been using ms word documents set to "notebook" view because of the tabs feature. And I try to keep all my tiles/props/accessories in a briefcase. Have fun!

 

[Asmor]

TiddlyWikis. I think they're the perfect campaign organization tool. Here are two examples of tiddlywikis I've used for past campaigns.

 

[Mr. Greengoat]

I agree that using wikis is a great idea for campaigns and I use wikidot for other people's games and have started one for myself.

I think I am looking for more of a text editor/organizer so I can do all the writing.

Org-Mode looks interesting, but sadly my Emacs knowledge is quite poor since I am more of a shmoe Linux user than a programmer.

I have dug up Lyx and need to take a look at it. I am hoping it can help me organize the writing and also provide a proper way of printing out encounters, stat blocks and adventure text when I need it to.

Those in the know stop me now.
Thanks for the good input.

 

[Scribble]

I use Microsoft Word. I cut/paste the stats into it from the compendium or monster builder of choice, then just format it to look like the 4e formats. (Because I think the formatting is really helpful.)

I keep all my encounters in a folder. I keep all my game notes and stuff in another.

I keep it all on a thumbdrive.

 

[Bodhiwolff]

Through EnWorld, I discovered Microsoft OneNote, and indeed discovered that it was already installed on my machine! I have grown to use it for absolutely everything!

Now that I've picked up an iPhone, I might just start using Evernote, and synch up between my laptop and my phone, so I can keep my gaming utensils in the palm of my hand.

Whichever software you use, I heartily recommend a note-taking suite like this. I keep finding new and amazingly useful ways to utilize them.