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Message: <blockquote data-quote="IronWolf" data-source="post: 2111126" data-attributes="member: 21076">I am still finding my groove in my most recent campaign I DM.  It has been awhile since I have DM'ed a pen and paper game so it is taking some time to figure out what works best for me.  Initially I was trying to avoid the laptop and do it all via pen and paper.  I made liberal use of index cards for quick character reference stats, init cards, creature cards and even rough notes that I needed at hand.  Everything else was done from a notebook and the adventure materials I had written in word in hardcopy.That worked okay for the first session, but very quickly I found I do more work in campaign prep on the laptop so I was wasting time transferring data from it to hardcopy (usually hand scribbled notes).  Seeing that my prep time could be spent more wisely in other ways I slowly started moving more things to the laptop.  I have kept using index cards for monster stats and init, but I think that may change next session too as I continue to find what allows me to work most efficiently.So....  for next session it looks like I will be using the following tools from the laptop:-Wikidpad for campaign notes.  It is a Wiki for a local PC and allows for very handy interlinking between subjects.  Want to stop by a shop you visited two sessions before?  No problem, its in there.  Need the description of the shopkeep?  Click the link in the Wiki and there it is.  I am loving this tool for campaign prep and outlining so far.  Learned about it here on these boards.-I use the Sovelior and Sage SRD, the offline version.  It is hyperlinked and makes finding information very quick as long as it is from the core rule books.  (Which for items that need looked up on the fly is usually the case).-I use Andargor's conversion of the Jamis Buck NPC creator for those time the party runs into someone totally unexpected.  Great tool and easy to use on the fly.-Inspiration Pro for random name generation of NPC's, taverns and more.  Quick and easy to use.-And the most recent addition to my stable of tools will be DM Genie.  Tons of options, allows you to enter your own creatures, items, feats, etc into it so you can easily add on to the included SRD information.  The DM Genie community appears very active, so the stream of additional materials for import seems steady.  I hope to have this tool help with combat rounds mainly, but it will also allow me to have character sheets readily available to be printed and distributed should someone forget their own or cancel at the last minute.We'll see how that goes at next session.  I work on computers and networks by trade so I had hoped to sort of avoid their use in gaming, but frankly I just used one way too much in preparation that to convert things to paper took me away from other prep I could be doing.  I am hoping this plethora of tools will allow me to focus on story development for the campaign and keeping things exciting during game play.</blockquote>

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