What Electronic Product if Any Does everyone use?

[Calan Orccrusher]

I have lurked here for a while and posted once or twice but needed to ask this question. I personally use an older version of PCGEN, Roleplaying Master and am trying to get inot DM's Familiar. I use them mainly because I am horrible at organizing games, I look back on my pre-electronic days and relize that I had littel or no direction just alot of crazy notes on paper. Electronic aids like those above have helped me and my players enjoy stuff alot more.
So here it is what prods does everyone use? AND how do you use some of them??


Calan OrcCrusher
Dwarven Hunter of all Things Orcish:

And now for the required quote:

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan
an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building,
write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone,
comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act
alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch
manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight
efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

-- Robert Heinlein

 

[Trevalon Moonleirion]

I'm a huge fan of Milenix MyInfo. It's a great little program for organizing files and bits and pieces of text. The version they have for download now at their site isn't as functional as the older one that I use, but thats because it's only a demo copy I believe.

If memory suits me right, the site would be www.milenix.com

Hope that helps!

 

[barsoomcore]

CrystalBall Mac!

Love this program. Tighter than PCGen (and works more reliably) and does just enough of the work for me to make it indispensable.

If you use a Mac, BUY this program. It rocks.

 

[alsih2o]

i believe campaign suite would fall under the umbrella of what you are asking, and i have found it pretty easy to use- www.twinrose.net

 

[AereonBlaze]

I use PCGen all the time. Great program, and it certainly helps me better create/organize NPCs. Aside from that? Jamis Buck's various generators, Fractal Mapper 6, AutoRealm and the always handy MS Word.

 

[Darrin Drader]

I still have faith that sooner or later E-tools will be a program worth using, so when I don't feel like designing something myself, I use E-tools.

In addition to that I use Tablesmith to generate names, and I use Campaign Cartographer to generate most of my maps.

 

[caudor]

Right now, I'm torn between PCGen & E-Tools. I think E-Tools has a lot potential...but if you need to roll up a Psion or something like that, then it falls short. That's where PCGen does me proud.

I don't like to complain, but I will share another reason I worry about E-Tools: the current number of bugs. I rely on the tool to make accurate use of the rules (so I don't have to worry my head with it)...but if there are too many rule-related bugs, I have to double-check everything anyway. So in that case, I might as well have done it on paper.

I'm hoping the licensing rumors between PCGen & WotC are true. If so, I may dump E-Tools until it is up to par (meaning both the patch and Psionic support).

 

[Darrin Drader]

I'm hoping the licensing rumors between PCGen & WotC are true. If so, I may dump E-Tools until it is up to par (meaning both the patch and Psionic support).

What licensing rumors are those?

 

[I'm A Banana]

Sadly, I haven't been able to find much of a product that does everything I want.

Things such as:

1) Support books on a book-by-book basis. A lot of the ones in existence have an all-or-nothing approach where they add the books in a flurry, and then I have to slog through a whole lot of useless stuff that I dont' have the books for....worse if there's no option to turn off the extra books, or to display the product names. There's stuff I want (like psionics) and stuff I don't want (like Spycraft)...I should be able to pick and choose.

2) Be Free.

3) Be easy to use at the table, or away from. Especially helpful with maps, hyperlinks for rules and character stats, displays of actions and an automated system of telling me what happens when those actions are taken. Of course, maps need grids, and I'd prefer it if I could just have it set to scale without having to spend precious moments adjusting the scale so it is even and fits the grid already in place. This may also include things like sound effects, music links, etc.

4) Be easily and fully customizable. For both house rules and simply taste.

5) Store notes, details, etc. Stuff like custom tables and rolls, like random encounter tables for areas that will automatically roll every "x" rouds, where rounds are calculated by what the PC's do (it knows that for a human, a double-move is 60 ft. and takes a round, and could let the DM know if any attacks of opportunity are provoked for the movement)

A lot of this is a pipe dream ('specially the free part), but it'd be the ideal. I want something that will rarely, if ever, force me to look up from behind my laptop "dm screen" to look something up, or to diagram out an encounter that's in my brain.

But, hey, there is a lot of great work out there so far. I'm just the demanding type. Until then, I'll have to rely on my own maps, and Jamis Buck's generators (the Treasure has been especially helpful, in general, despite my having to augment it occasionally with new stuff from the books themselves).

 

[Khorod]

DM's Familiar sounds closest to that wishlist, KM.

I use Tablesmith regularly for all manner of things. Its amazing how useful it is, particularly when put to a creative purpose. But unless you're dealing with a random-sequence of something, its useless.