Trello has been great for me but OneNote seems a bit more dynamic. In the (slow-going) process of migrating everything over. I'd love to use one of the paid campaign manager but that stuff is way too expensive for me at the moment. Hoping that eventually Beyond has a good built-in manager.
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DM: The Cult of the Crystal Spider (Currently playing Storm King's Thunder) Player: The Knuckles of Arth - Lemire (Tiefling Rogue 5/Fighter 1)
Dang, I just have a big folder on my desktop with a ton of sub folders and word docs that I eventually print and keep in a notebook. Seeing all these other resources you guys are naming and swearing by makes me feel like a caveman over here.
Yes, I live in OneNote daily. We use it at work for project management, and I have always used it at home for managing my house and baking stuff (Password protected pages).
I use OneNote for D&D with a section for each campaign, Pages for PCs, NPC, and Encounters, and then sub-pages for specific notes on encounters or sub-encounters in an area. It has been indispensable for running Curse of Strahd. Used in conjunction with OneDrive for all my game files (maps, pictures of NPCs and Monsters, etc), I can access all my D&D materials wherever I am on my work computer, my tablet, or my phone.
"Orcs are savage raiders and pillagers with stooped postures, low foreheads, and piggish faces with prominent lower canines that resemble tusks." MM p245 (original printing) You don't OWN your books on DDB: WotC can change them any time. What do you think will happen when OneD&D comes out?
His scaled-down, SRD-only version is still well-worth downloading. Well, maybe less so now that we have DNDBeyond but there's still some cool, unexpected stuff in there like DM tips, a combat tracker, a converted version of the free Death House adventure from CoS. It's gorgeous and functional and well-organized.
As I mentioned I'm slowly migrating everything over from Trello, and I really love Trello a lot but my mind is blown by how much more organized OneNote is and how much easier it is to present information at a glance. I may still use Trello (if anyone has any ideas on how to integrate the two I'm all ears) but OneNote almost feels perfectly designed for D&D.
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DM: The Cult of the Crystal Spider (Currently playing Storm King's Thunder) Player: The Knuckles of Arth - Lemire (Tiefling Rogue 5/Fighter 1)
I basically use URLs from the notes section on Beyond and in them to a minimal wiki type website I built for my campaign and I use a simple eno****er tracker app on my phone :D
It surprises me that more people don't look into Realm Works. All the posts I see of people asking for X functionality and my first thought is always well Realm Works already does that.
How do you guys use one note? I have it on my laptop as pat of all the software I got for work. But I've never opened it. As a writer I always clipped stuff from the net on Evernote. I clipped an entire adventure the other day so I could highlight parts that were important to the campaign. Is One note similar?
I've been using Google Drive to keep notes for the past few years and I've found very useful. It's available across multiple platforms (laptop, mobile and tablet), easily searchable and I can share or restrict as needed. It looks like OneNote is getting a lot of love here and I'll have to check it out.
How do you guys use one note? I have it on my laptop as pat of all the software I got for work. But I've never opened it. As a writer I always clipped stuff from the net on Evernote. I clipped an entire adventure the other day so I could highlight parts that were important to the campaign. Is One note similar?
You can clip stuff, and OneNote has a "scan" functionality that allows you to turn clipped items (such as monster stat blocks, for instance) into editable text. I haven't tried it yet, but it seems pretty amazing if it works as described.
I have mine organized into a number of sections, which then each contain a number of pages:
General - contains a link to the SRD (soon to change to a link to DnDB probably), some quick links to content generators/random tables, and session notes.
Characters - this is for the PCs. I have a template set up so all the information that is most useful to me is most immediately accessible such as sort of quick glance stat block containing Initiative bonus, AC, HP, current conditions, and passive perception, and then the rest of the pertinent information (physical description, history, traits) below that. Everything is able to be hidden as well, so I can collapse, say, "character history" so it's out of the way and then expand it whenever I may need it.
NPCs - major NPCs have a template very similar to PCs, except they also include full stat blocks and a section for information they're aware of and potential plot hooks. I haven't worked out my template for Minor NPCs yet but it'll likely be an incredibly simplified version of the major NPC template. This section also contains a list of names, random NPC tables, and "inspiration" (links to content, pinterest, etc.)
Items - contains a template for quest items, a list of magic items from all of WoTC's free content for 5e, and a list that breaks down magic items by rarity.
Encounters - I'm still working on this section, but I plan to add in some random encounters organized by environment, as well as put in some maps, dungeon starters, etc.
Locations - There's a world map here, and then a template for each major location containing sensory information, demographics, history, and important NPCs, events, and "sub-locations"
Organizations - guilds, cults, etc. The template asks for a brief description, key members, goals, motto, beliefs, strength, enemies, typical quests if applicable. I might reconfigure this a little bit to resemble Dungeon World's "fronts" system.
Lore - worldbuilding, history, deities, calendar, major factions, etc.
And then I have a section group for specific adventures. I haven't really developed this yet, but I think it'll primarily be a place to convert prefab adventures so they are readily accessible and easy to follow.
You'll notice I mentioned templates a couple of times. This is probably the main thing that I love most about OneNote. Templates are super easy to set up, and so I have made a bunch for all of the various pages I'll be making over and over and over.
The other thing I really like about OneNote is that it's pretty easy to make it look aesthetically pleasing as well. You want it to have a cool background that looks like the PHB? No problem! You want to put in pictures? Format your notes in a way that's reminiscent of published materials? Easy peasy.
I'd definitely recommend it. It's probably true that Realm Works does all of this and more, but for now this meets my needs and isn't something I need to pay for, since I have the paid version through my school account. (I'm pretty sure you can do a lot of the same stuff with the free version, but I know there are some limitations.)
Fantastic information Jexthomas. I'd love to see your templates. How do you clip something from the web? With Evernote it installed a tool on my browser and it just sends the page there to whatever notebook I want as content with live links etc. its like your one the page itself. You can edit and highlight etc.
My templates are mostly adapted from cryid's, linked above. I will look more into the clipping and scanning functionality when I have a little more time.
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DM: The Cult of the Crystal Spider (Currently playing Storm King's Thunder) Player: The Knuckles of Arth - Lemire (Tiefling Rogue 5/Fighter 1)
I really like it. Apparently there's a way to import files from other sources, such as Kobold Press' Tome of Beasts, but I haven't tried that yet. But it's fairly easy to use, pretty straightforward. One of my favorite things about it is with monster creation if a monster has an ability, you can just port it over into the new monster with an extensive search function. So if you want to give a monster something called Savage Attack, when you go to input it into the field, it will bring up any monster that has that and you can just copy/paste. Just make sure you change the monster name to avoid confusion. But the initiative/combat tracker is dead sexy, I'm hoping that D&D Beyond will have something similar fairly quickly.
I'm with you brother. Onenote has been my mainstay DM database for a few years now, but I also bought a subscription to D&D Beyond hoping it will alleviate some of that.
I will add I use Dropbox and sometimes OneDrive to store reference data that I use across campaigns but use a different Onenote folder for each campaign I run. (I have about 10-15). This is basically my DM info.
I used to use D&D Insider (as it took some pressure off Onenote) when my groups were 4e but have been in a bit of limbo since I made the plunge into 5e. D&D Beyond should make up the difference that D&D Insider used to provide. (and then some)
I use 3D Virtual Tabletop to show my combats.
The only other main tool I use is Obsidian Portal for all my player based information (Maps, Session Notes for Players, Basic NPC Information and Wiki pages of important campaign information) basically anything I think the players need access to. I travel alot for work and have never let that stop me from running my games. So my groups are used to me running games in person (if I'm home) or over skype, discord if I'm away. Seems to work.
I love Onenote for campaign notes. The speed of it feels crazy, you can use it offline, and you have so many options for how you can lay out a page. It's especially great for consolidating everything together, and for letting you find exactly what you want.
With official D&D campaigns it is pretty common to be given an NPC's name, and told that they use the "____ stats with the following changes". And that character will likely have their information scattered all across the book too. The start of whatever chapter that introduces them might have some information, a paragraph later on in whatever room they're in could add more, the appendix could contain even more information on them still. And if they do use stats from the monster manual then that's even more pages to hop around. This makes them harder to pin down, even with digital tools like Beyond. For example, if you search on here for a character like "Countess Sansuri" you can get 20+ results where her name appears, but not a single page dedicated for her. With Onenote there is nothing stopping you from creating a page just for her, adding whatever custom statblock is needed, right there pasting in every published paragraph that she is mentioned in, and then adding your very own DM notes on top of it all. And you can make it look pretty and organized all at the same time.
This is where I see Realm Works as being more powerful than OneNote. We do a similar thing, create a topic for each monster. Once it's created you literally just have to type the name of the monster in or even just paste a pre-made adventure in and press save. As soon as you press save it scans through the whole page and instantly changes all the recognised names to links back to their matching topic.
Pretty soon people won't even need to make their own topics for monsters either. Just download the content packs from the content market and import straight into your realm. We know the 5e SRD is coming and I know there's another incredibly popular monster book coming too.
Example below is Curse of Strahd. All those links make the module so much easier to navigate and run.
Trello has been great for me but OneNote seems a bit more dynamic. In the (slow-going) process of migrating everything over. I'd love to use one of the paid campaign manager but that stuff is way too expensive for me at the moment. Hoping that eventually Beyond has a good built-in manager.
DM: The Cult of the Crystal Spider (Currently playing Storm King's Thunder)
Player: The Knuckles of Arth - Lemire (Tiefling Rogue 5/Fighter 1)
Dang, I just have a big folder on my desktop with a ton of sub folders and word docs that I eventually print and keep in a notebook. Seeing all these other resources you guys are naming and swearing by makes me feel like a caveman over here.
#OpenDnD. #DnDBegone
Yes, I live in OneNote daily. We use it at work for project management, and I have always used it at home for managing my house and baking stuff (Password protected pages).
I use OneNote for D&D with a section for each campaign, Pages for PCs, NPC, and Encounters, and then sub-pages for specific notes on encounters or sub-encounters in an area. It has been indispensable for running Curse of Strahd. Used in conjunction with OneDrive for all my game files (maps, pictures of NPCs and Monsters, etc), I can access all my D&D materials wherever I am on my work computer, my tablet, or my phone.
This guy made an entire PHB and CoS campaign workbook in OneNote. I wish he would let people download it. http://www.cryrid.com/dnd/?page_id=153
"Orcs are savage raiders and pillagers with stooped postures, low foreheads, and piggish faces with prominent lower canines that resemble tusks." MM p245 (original printing)
You don't OWN your books on DDB: WotC can change them any time. What do you think will happen when OneD&D comes out?
DM: The Cult of the Crystal Spider (Currently playing Storm King's Thunder)
Player: The Knuckles of Arth - Lemire (Tiefling Rogue 5/Fighter 1)
I basically use URLs from the notes section on Beyond and in them to a minimal wiki type website I built for my campaign and I use a simple eno****er tracker app on my phone :D
Realm Works and Fantasy Grounds.
Be careful what you Wish for... your DM may just give it to you!
Daplunk's YouTube Channel: Realm Works and Hero Lab Videos / Campaign Cartographer 3+ Videos
Realm Works Facebook User Group
How do you guys use one note? I have it on my laptop as pat of all the software I got for work. But I've never opened it. As a writer I always clipped stuff from the net on Evernote. I clipped an entire adventure the other day so I could highlight parts that were important to the campaign. Is One note similar?
I've been using Google Drive to keep notes for the past few years and I've found very useful. It's available across multiple platforms (laptop, mobile and tablet), easily searchable and I can share or restrict as needed. It looks like OneNote is getting a lot of love here and I'll have to check it out.
And then I have a section group for specific adventures. I haven't really developed this yet, but I think it'll primarily be a place to convert prefab adventures so they are readily accessible and easy to follow.
You'll notice I mentioned templates a couple of times. This is probably the main thing that I love most about OneNote. Templates are super easy to set up, and so I have made a bunch for all of the various pages I'll be making over and over and over.
The other thing I really like about OneNote is that it's pretty easy to make it look aesthetically pleasing as well. You want it to have a cool background that looks like the PHB? No problem! You want to put in pictures? Format your notes in a way that's reminiscent of published materials? Easy peasy.
I'd definitely recommend it. It's probably true that Realm Works does all of this and more, but for now this meets my needs and isn't something I need to pay for, since I have the paid version through my school account. (I'm pretty sure you can do a lot of the same stuff with the free version, but I know there are some limitations.)
DM: The Cult of the Crystal Spider (Currently playing Storm King's Thunder)
Player: The Knuckles of Arth - Lemire (Tiefling Rogue 5/Fighter 1)
Fantastic information Jexthomas. I'd love to see your templates. How do you clip something from the web? With Evernote it installed a tool on my browser and it just sends the page there to whatever notebook I want as content with live links etc. its like your one the page itself. You can edit and highlight etc.
MM
My templates are mostly adapted from cryid's, linked above. I will look more into the clipping and scanning functionality when I have a little more time.
DM: The Cult of the Crystal Spider (Currently playing Storm King's Thunder)
Player: The Knuckles of Arth - Lemire (Tiefling Rogue 5/Fighter 1)
I use Game Master 5 on iOS. But I might look into this OneNote that everybody talks about. Sounds handy.
I really like it. Apparently there's a way to import files from other sources, such as Kobold Press' Tome of Beasts, but I haven't tried that yet. But it's fairly easy to use, pretty straightforward. One of my favorite things about it is with monster creation if a monster has an ability, you can just port it over into the new monster with an extensive search function. So if you want to give a monster something called Savage Attack, when you go to input it into the field, it will bring up any monster that has that and you can just copy/paste. Just make sure you change the monster name to avoid confusion. But the initiative/combat tracker is dead sexy, I'm hoping that D&D Beyond will have something similar fairly quickly.
I'm with you brother. Onenote has been my mainstay DM database for a few years now, but I also bought a subscription to D&D Beyond hoping it will alleviate some of that.
I will add I use Dropbox and sometimes OneDrive to store reference data that I use across campaigns but use a different Onenote folder for each campaign I run. (I have about 10-15). This is basically my DM info.
I used to use D&D Insider (as it took some pressure off Onenote) when my groups were 4e but have been in a bit of limbo since I made the plunge into 5e. D&D Beyond should make up the difference that D&D Insider used to provide. (and then some)
I use 3D Virtual Tabletop to show my combats.
The only other main tool I use is Obsidian Portal for all my player based information (Maps, Session Notes for Players, Basic NPC Information and Wiki pages of important campaign information) basically anything I think the players need access to. I travel alot for work and have never let that stop me from running my games. So my groups are used to me running games in person (if I'm home) or over skype, discord if I'm away. Seems to work.
I think I've been playing D&D since before many of you were born.....
Dragonlance and Ravenloft is where I normally DM.
If RealmWorks supported Mac, I would have picked it up long ago. OneNote and/or Evernote are good fallbacks until DDB builds the CM out more.
Daplunk's YouTube Channel: Realm Works and Hero Lab Videos / Campaign Cartographer 3+ Videos
Realm Works Facebook User Group
I love Onenote for campaign notes. The speed of it feels crazy, you can use it offline, and you have so many options for how you can lay out a page. It's especially great for consolidating everything together, and for letting you find exactly what you want.
With official D&D campaigns it is pretty common to be given an NPC's name, and told that they use the "____ stats with the following changes". And that character will likely have their information scattered all across the book too. The start of whatever chapter that introduces them might have some information, a paragraph later on in whatever room they're in could add more, the appendix could contain even more information on them still. And if they do use stats from the monster manual then that's even more pages to hop around. This makes them harder to pin down, even with digital tools like Beyond. For example, if you search on here for a character like "Countess Sansuri" you can get 20+ results where her name appears, but not a single page dedicated for her. With Onenote there is nothing stopping you from creating a page just for her, adding whatever custom statblock is needed, right there pasting in every published paragraph that she is mentioned in, and then adding your very own DM notes on top of it all. And you can make it look pretty and organized all at the same time.
This is where I see Realm Works as being more powerful than OneNote. We do a similar thing, create a topic for each monster. Once it's created you literally just have to type the name of the monster in or even just paste a pre-made adventure in and press save. As soon as you press save it scans through the whole page and instantly changes all the recognised names to links back to their matching topic.
Pretty soon people won't even need to make their own topics for monsters either. Just download the content packs from the content market and import straight into your realm. We know the 5e SRD is coming and I know there's another incredibly popular monster book coming too.
Example below is Curse of Strahd. All those links make the module so much easier to navigate and run.

Daplunk's YouTube Channel: Realm Works and Hero Lab Videos / Campaign Cartographer 3+ Videos
Realm Works Facebook User Group