Firebeetle
Explorer
I'm getting a new laptop (suppousedly for school.) What programs should I have on it to facilitate table-top play? I love to know what programs you love and why.
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Programs for New Laptop
- Thread starter Firebeetle
- Start date
IronWolf
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An offline copy of the SRD (your favorite flavor), Inspiration Pad, maybe Wikidpad for campaign organization, Everchanging Book of Names. There are a few others, but a lot of these depend on which tools you prefer. Things like DM Genie, eTools, PC Gen, etc, etc.
Personally I find having d20srd.org on my laptop perhaps one of the most uses sources of fast information available. What can I say, I wrote NPC Designer for myself anyways but I do use it a lot as do many others.
From there I deal with some spreadsheets and such, have yet to move to a wiki based journal though (Still learning it).
From there I deal with some spreadsheets and such, have yet to move to a wiki based journal though (Still learning it).
Combat Management
I think combat management can make the biggest impact on your game: DM's Familiar (mine), Roleplaying Master, DM Genie, GMGen
A good way to quickly find rules. A version of the SRD is nice but I like something that can open multiple rules at the same time. Again, my program, Roleplaying Master, DM Genie.
And then something to organize your game world, the campaign, the current adventure. You can use the above to do that or something less specific to gaming: Wikis, MyInfo, Word, etc. Though if you're using one of the specific programs, an organization tool that works with those seems to make sense.
I think combat management can make the biggest impact on your game: DM's Familiar (mine), Roleplaying Master, DM Genie, GMGen
A good way to quickly find rules. A version of the SRD is nice but I like something that can open multiple rules at the same time. Again, my program, Roleplaying Master, DM Genie.
And then something to organize your game world, the campaign, the current adventure. You can use the above to do that or something less specific to gaming: Wikis, MyInfo, Word, etc. Though if you're using one of the specific programs, an organization tool that works with those seems to make sense.
I think the difference between what Todd uses and what I use brings up a very good point about what you should have installed on your gaming computer. Really depends upon your DMing style and what you expect from. I know from my own personal view, all of the combat management programs seem to slow down my combat instead of speed it up, so I do not use them. I game with a group of old school players, we can create a character faster and accurate with pen and paper faster then any program can. Thus, we do not use any of those kinds of programs. While this thread should in time give you a good number of the different sorts of programs available, you really need to figure out what you desire to get out of the gaming laptop and then find the programs that fit that need. You will find most will have a demo available so that you can test out, if it really does meet your needs. One thing I like to also do if possible, is talk to the people behind the programs and that use them. Gives me a feel if the product is dead or is it going somewhere. Big thing, is if the program does not fit a current need, are people willing to get it there for you. This is especially important if you are paying and it isn't free.
Huh? Combat management has nothing to do with making characters - that would be Character Generation software. Maybe that's why it slows down your combat - you're trying to make it do something it doesn't.
But you're main point is correct - test out the programs and see which ones fit your style. That's the important thing to do.
MythosaAkira
Explorer
I'm partial to TableSmith, but I'm obviously biased. It's a generator utility for generating names, treasure, towns, encounters, etc.
Link: http://www.mythosa.net/Utils.html
Link: http://www.mythosa.net/Utils.html
Firebeetle
Explorer
DM Familiar and DM Genie
I'm very interested in these to programs. Would folks like to share the pros and cons of each?
First impressions:
DM Familiar- Very easy to use presentation, very simple and easy to focus. I'm concerned about the level of information it handles. Will it factor in all the modifiers?
DM Genie- It has everything, but finding things and entering information can be a pain.
I believe both have stat block imports, is that right? Brilliant idea, that. I already have e-tools, so I can generate stats easily enough.
I'm very interested in these to programs. Would folks like to share the pros and cons of each?
First impressions:
DM Familiar- Very easy to use presentation, very simple and easy to focus. I'm concerned about the level of information it handles. Will it factor in all the modifiers?
DM Genie- It has everything, but finding things and entering information can be a pain.
I believe both have stat block imports, is that right? Brilliant idea, that. I already have e-tools, so I can generate stats easily enough.
I'll speak to DMF since I wrote it:
Will it handle all the modifiers: The combat board has a place where you can adjust the abilities, to hit, damage, and saves for a creature. So if you have a Bull Str and a Bless, you adjust the STR, adjust the to hit, and then DMF will take it all into account when making attacks (assuming you setup the attacks with the variables). DMF does not know about stacking, it's up to the DM to handle that and set the adjustments accordingly.
I believe both have stat block imports, is that right?: Yes, DMF does have a stat block import. You can create a character in E:Tools or PCGen and then import it into DMF. It's not an exact science though, you'll probably have to make some corrections.
Will it handle all the modifiers: The combat board has a place where you can adjust the abilities, to hit, damage, and saves for a creature. So if you have a Bull Str and a Bless, you adjust the STR, adjust the to hit, and then DMF will take it all into account when making attacks (assuming you setup the attacks with the variables). DMF does not know about stacking, it's up to the DM to handle that and set the adjustments accordingly.
I believe both have stat block imports, is that right?: Yes, DMF does have a stat block import. You can create a character in E:Tools or PCGen and then import it into DMF. It's not an exact science though, you'll probably have to make some corrections.
