DMing with a laptop

[cronuss]

I've heard a lot of folks mention that they DM with their laptop (partially or fully?) and it got me curious.

I have a D&D Insider account and can see how the compendium could be very handy.

I'm still learning, and have only had 3 sessions so far, but I end up having stacks of stuff all around me and it just becomes a mess. I've got the tiles, minis, and dice (which I won't be replacing any of with a laptop, duh) but then I've got the DMG, MM1, PHB1, 2, 3, all my notes and notebooks, battle sheets, etc. It is total chaos, and mixed with me still learning the game and DMing I find my group sighing occasionally as I sift through piles of books and papers. I was wondering if having a laptop there to handle much of the rules, research, notes, multitasking, etc, would be an improvement.

What has everyone's experience been with DMing on a laptop? What applications/websites/tools/etc do you recommend?

(I'm tempted to let the players try using a laptop to play as well, but I think physical character sheets with pencils are part of the experience...)

So any info, tips, suggestions, opinions, etc on this?

Thanks!

 

[Anthraxus]

It's doable. I find it nice to be able to look things up fairly quickly with the compendium, but I usually bring the PHB/PH2/PH3 for basic stuff.

Just don't say "Scroll scroll scroll..." when you're looking something up. "Scroll scroll scroll." Sorry, that was an experience from last weekend.

 

[Kazoo]

Try the D&D 4e Combat Tracker: http://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/DnD4eCM
You can import all of the characters PC's (from the Character Builder) and your monsters (from Adventure Tools) into here, and you can group them into encounters. Then with a push of a button you can shuffle them into initiative order. Whenever it's a monsters turn it displays in a window next to the list of combatants. You can even track effects for saves, temporary hits and the Monsters hit points. I don't even use paper anymore. This really makes it really easy to track monster hits and effects.

 

[DarkLord Of DForce]

Our DM uses a laptop - I have to say, its probably almost indispensable, considering we often have 7-9 players, and 10-15 monsters in an encounter.

Now, having said that, I'd *not* recommend laptops for the players themselves. Why? Well, just from our groups personal experience, the players on their offturns start surfing the web, playing music or funny videos, grabbing other players, saying "look at this!" etc, etc...instead of paying attention to the game itself. Very distracting...IMHO.

 

[filthgrinder]

I've enjoyed using Familiar, it's a good combat tracker.
Home (Familiar)

 

[Obryn]

I'm enthralled with Masterplan. It's too bad the current incarnation got the C&D hammer.

Still, I already have an updated, fully capable installation of it that I am now using every single session.

* It rolls & tracks monster initiative
* I can quickly change encounters if I have more or less players that night
* It tracks ongoing damage, regeneration, conditions, saving throws, and (to an extent) recharge abilities
* I don't need to do math for damage or healing, and can apply the same damage or healing to multiple enemies. It lets me know when they're bloodied.
* It applies resistances and vulnerabilities as part of that - including insubstantial.
* It rolls attacks and damage for me, by clicking the monster ability
* I have everything at my fingertips, and don't need to switch windows
* I can pause encounters if need be, resuming them at a later date.

Really, it's astonishing.

-O

 

[Nytmare]

While running, I use Photoshop to edit what my players see on the table (in general just maps and non prop worthy handouts), an excel sheet/program I cobbled together that works as a combination DM screen and encounter tracker, and pdfs for whatever books I need at the moment.

 

[AlioTheFool]

I'm enthralled with Masterplan. It's too bad the current incarnation got the C&D hammer.

Still, I already have an updated, fully capable installation of it that I am now using every single session.

* It rolls & tracks monster initiative
* I can quickly change encounters if I have more or less players that night
* It tracks ongoing damage, regeneration, conditions, saving throws, and (to an extent) recharge abilities
* I don't need to do math for damage or healing, and can apply the same damage or healing to multiple enemies. It lets me know when they're bloodied.
* It applies resistances and vulnerabilities as part of that - including insubstantial.
* It rolls attacks and damage for me, by clicking the monster ability
* I have everything at my fingertips, and don't need to switch windows
* I can pause encounters if need be, resuming them at a later date.

Really, it's astonishing.

-O

Same here. Masterplan is completely indispensible for me. I'll stop short of ranting about the Cease & Desist action here though.

My players don't use laptops at the table, and I'm glad. A couple of them are bad enough with their smart phones, and one just had a new iPad at our last game. For players who only act once every 5-10 minutes, any device is a big distraction.

For a DM I'd suggest using some tool. There are a few encounter trackers out there apart from Masterplan. Having a tool is invaluable for keeping track of initiative, hit points, etc. I have only DM'd briefly without a laptop, and I'd never want to go back to that.

 

[babinro]

I find a computer to be extremely useful for the DM. I've not personally tried any of the special programs, but rather simply use MS Excel for character initiative and the underlying cells to track conditions.

Conditions being the thing that makes a computer helpful with 4e. There are far too many being applied on different durations to keep track of without slowing the game substantially by using paper or having players read them off throughout.

As you play in paragon tier or higher, it is uncommon in my experience for any given monster to have fewer than 2 conditions impacting them every round until which point the encounter dissolves to at-wills.

 

[Kwalish Kid]

Try the D&D 4e Combat Tracker: http://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/DnD4eCM

I love this thing.