Dming with a computer

[Job]

Yeah, it was kind of a nightmare scenario and of course not entirely the program's fault.

It was an NPC (well, a bunch of them), and he didn't give them multiple sets of armor, he just gave them an untyped AC bonus because he didn't know where their armor went to.

Mind you, I wouldn't be at all surprised if the vanishing armor glitch vanished but the error was a bit more involved.

*laughs* Considering how many things are visible at once in DM Genie's interface, and also the tremendous flexibility it offers in changing a variety of stats in a variety of ways, I can easily imagine how the numbers might get corrupted! As with any computer tool, a minor finger-fumble might cause a lot of trouble. The only way that I keep on top of it is to crosscheck the numbers every now and then with my players.

Does DM Genie (or any other tool) really speed up my game? In some ways yes, but in other ways, no. It helps me in so many ways, however, that I can't imagine DM'ing without it. Sure, I have to spend extra time entering all of the data and I have to be careful not to introduce errors, but I can readily print off new character sheets (with equipment listings) at each level, I can easily look up an SRD version of spell or a feat, I can instantly see if that bag of gold or new weapon encumbers the player, and I can track a variety of modifiers on a player (e.g. bless, poison, intoxication, prone, etc.) without having to worry whether they stack with magic armor or anything else.

Job.

 

[Job]

Oh, and I'm also something of an anal-retentive nerd.

Job.

 

[Nareau]

I use my campaign wiki and the SRD in Windows Help format. The search function on that is immediate, although some items aren't linked together as well as they should be.

I would love to get a second monitor set up, so I can have encounter info on one screen and a search window up on another.

Spider

 

[Janx]

I've done a variety of things, some fairly low-tech with the PC (and I'm a high-tech guy)

In all cases, I use a laptop, because it takes about as much space as a DM screen would.

I've run my adventure from Word, instead of printing it on paper. That worked OK, though I might recommend using Notepad because the formatting stuff can make it harder to quickly manipulate a document.

I've managed a game from Excel. I just use one tab per topic. I had a tab for unidentifed items, one for NPC/PC initiative and HP tracking, one for XP tracking, and one for logging events. I tracked the entire party and NPCs because we were playing in a car, otherwise, I'd let the PCs do their own stuff. I had Excel sort the characters based on randomly generate initiative values. To roll, init, I simply re-sorted the worksheet (#s were rerolled by Excel). That worked pretty well.

I've also, as a player, run my PC from Excel. I made a spreadsheet for tracking the stats, skills, feats, and equipment for me.

In most cases, I always roll with real dice. It's just more fun. The computer should be used for tracking things, primarily.

I use PDFs of the books I need, and the d20srd.org site. BTW, for $15 you can get an offline version of the d20srd site, so net connection doesn't have to be a problem. I prefer an HTML srd to a PDF, especially the d20srd site because it is very well linked.

Let me know if you want me to post the spreadsheets I created. They're not user friendly, except in that I tried to make them easy for me to navigate.

 

[Archade]

That reminds me of another aid that DM Genie gives me -- when a PC summons a critter, I can print them out a character sheet for the critter, ready to go ...

 

[Janx]

just a side thought on computer rolling dice. It's my preference that if the computer isn't handling the entire roll (math + roll + determination of result) that I'd just as soon roll the dice.

Primarily, what I think is dumb is rolling a die, entering the result into the PC, then having the PC tell you the total. Yes, the PC can do it. But so can a human. I'd just as soon let the PC do the whole thing (roll and add) than waste time fumbling for dice, then entering in results.

What I would probably do is let the Players (who I assume are still paper based) roll their own dice, and do their own math. I'll let the PC roll dice for the NPCs stored inside, since it can do all that faster than me looking up values, and grabbing dice.

 

[Slobber Monster]

I recently started using a laptop and have found it to be an immense help. I prepare my adventure notes in HTML and crossreference as much as I have time for with links to the SRD. I write up full statblocks for everything non-generic using the same HTML template I have used for a while anyways. Sometimes I'll show them an image found via google if I think it captures the spirit of an environment or location well. Even though that's all I use the computer for I found it saves me a ton of time prepping and in play because monsters, spells, conditions, and special abilities are only a couple of clicks away.

I still use paper to keep a log, track time and run combats. I still roll dice in the open (there's just something very satisfying about rolling real dice).

 

[Castellan]

I've found using a laptop at the table to be immensely helpful in the following ways:

• Dice Roller - Nothing takes the place of real dice, but if I need a truly "secret roll" and didn't do it beforehand, this is a life-saver
• Name Generator - there are several nice little name generators you can use on the web or download. My players always want the name of the NPC they're talking to, even if they'll never see him again. I like to encourage their attention to detail, so this is of great use to me.
• TiddlyWiki - http://www.tiddlywiki.com/ is a great tool for organizing notes about your game, rules you might need to refer to quickly, and keeping a gaming log. Works perfectly on IE for Windows and Firefox on Windows/Mac (there are a few minor problems with Safari on the Mac, but I'm willing to let that slide; if you're still using IE on Windows, switch to Firefox. There are a million reasons, and it's free -- do yourself a favor). Oh, and TiddlyWiki doesn't require an active network connection (it's all on your computer, and there's no new software to install) and it's serachable. Awesome!
• Text Editor - You never know when you might need to take a note or keep track of something. Until we built our wet-erase table for the game, I tracked all combat initiative, monster hit points, etc. in BBEdit on my Mac. No more scraps of paper. Plus, I could save the document for later, if necessary (you'd be surprised how important just keeping that info around can be -- especially when someone argues about how much damage they took two sessions ago).

Of course, having a network connection is great, because of access to so many online tools, but it isn't necessary.

For the most part, just think about where using the computer will save time and only use it for that. Putting monster stats on the computer is great if you can actually get the info you need faster than looking it up in a book. If I use book monsters, I just record what book and page. If the monster has been templated or given class levels, I put everything into the computer (and I mean everything -- there's nothing worse than flipping back and forth between book and computer).

I generally do not use the computer for maps, and I've never used it for running a module -- I always run from a book/magazine/printout.

Overall, my laptop has really made a difference in my in-game organization. It's great.

Good luck!

 

[Breakdaddy]

Check out the demo and reviews for the SRD 3.5 Revised (Full) Bundle from Creative Mountain Games, the Gold Standard in SRD access. You won't regret it. The creature stat blocks pdf, alone, is worth its virtual weight in virtual in-game gold.

These PDFs are indeed high quality products, I have not regretted purchasing them and have found them useful on many occasions.

 

[catsclaw227]

I GM with my laptop at the game table and it's an invaluable tool.

1. As others stated, use www.d20srd.org or another offline version like CMG's PDFs.
2. PDFs as copies of adventures that I use alongside the print version (if I have it).
3. I use DMGenie and I like it a LOT. I'm also a professional programmer and I use it for custom feats, quick in-game combat and keeping track of the myriad of modifiers that D&D 3.5 uses. I find that I can wing it where the software won't work (which is VERY rarely).
4. If players like to use PCGen or a PDF to create their characters, I have copies available at a glance.
6. Tablesmith for name/shop/tavern/town generation.
7. NPC designer (www.rpgattitude.com) for quick NPC generation (which import nicely into DMGenie)
8. I use inspiration pad (www.nbos.com) for taking notes. As I get names from Tablesmith, I can copy and paste them quickly into notes so I can keep track of off the cuff NPCs and shops.

Basically, the PC is my friend.