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so I had a friend of mine bring this up and its a very interesting question and AFAIK its not been brought up (Could be wrong)
his question had to do with the Idea of going to PaizoCon next year
he keeps track f his character on Google Drive along with monetary expenditures / PA Expenditures and the like
his question was what I would think if he chose to Scan / photograph all of his chronicles add them into a slideshow and attach them to a particular character via Google Drive
he had some very good points ... it makes you much more mobile (Smartphone / Ipad / Android Tablet and a bag of Dice)
I suggested he post about it ... but Im awake and bored so I figured Id post it since its a Very interesting option
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Hopefully he has a means to connect to the internet?
Problems
If he is using Cloud Space he can't rely on Wireless since most Cons don't have it.
If he is relying on the Mobile Cell connection he will have problems at Large conventions due to overage of that particular cell being used.
Using Cloud backup for Conventions is just not really a good idea. He should just keep the info directly on the Tablet.
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I make a digital backup of all my paperwork for my characters, but still have everything on paper with me. Now, I'm cutting down on paper when I judge by only printing the handouts and chronicles and using my Eee Pad for the scenario. Now, I do copy out stat blocks for certain things so I don't have to switch between PDFs in the middle of a slot, but still much less paper and ink used this way.
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My android tablet has an option to make Drive files available offline. I keep every character sheet updated on Drive as well as having scanned copies of every chronicle.
I love going to a gameday with only a few PCs but still knowing that should I need to I can pull up any one of my character sheets and scanned chronicles.
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When I'm GMing I don't mind if a player has his characters in a digital form. I don't like a character in digital format, but I wont give people too much problems for having one. The chronicle sheets need to be available, and readable (I suppose I would accept a digital version, but I would be suspicious), in case I might need to look at them. After all you can't play a character without their chronicle sheets.
If there is some problem with the internet connection, and you are unable to retrieve your character, you are out of luck.
One thing i simply do not allow at my tables are electronic dice rollers. If someone doesn't have any dice, i always have enough extra dice to provide them with a set. An electronic dice roller simply takes away from the communal excitement of rolling dice. Everyone celebrates when a 20 is rolled, and for the most part commiserates when a 1 is rolled.
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You shouldn't always rely on electronic devices. Batteries can die, devices can get dropped or soaked. Someone with a massive d20 could toss it into the air having it land squarely on your tablet, smashing the screen in the process.
Even if they are just photocopies, always bring hardcopy of your Chronicles and Character sheets. And make sure they are complete and in order. Nothing like raising a red flag for a GM when you can't hand them your Character sheet and Chronicles in original paper form when asked.
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You shouldn't always rely on electronic devices. Batteries can die, devices can get dropped or soaked. Someone with a massive d20 could toss it into the air having it land squarely on your tablet, smashing the screen in the process.
Even if they are just photocopies, always bring hardcopy of your Chronicles and Character sheets. And make sure they are complete and in order. Nothing like raising a red flag for a GM when you can't hand them your Character sheet and Chronicles in original paper form when asked.
So, is that d20 breaking your eyeglasses or wrist any better? Shouldn't be tossing dice around to begin with. And I won't go into a former VC breaking my tablet...
Several of my PCs don't have chronicles that were in "original paper form". I play online part of the time, and have several "started as digital" chronicles on several of my PCs.
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Just because the GM scanned and emailed you a copy of your Chronicle sheet doesn't mean you can't print a copy for your records.
Just to quibble about your phrasing: copy =/= original.
Also note that, for several months, I was unable to afford a toner cartridge for my printer, and the one I had was empty. I was stuck without any sort of printing for quite some time.
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You could have gone to a business that prints. Staples, Kinkos, Internet cafe. I have to do that when I judge every month and have to print out faction missions and chronicles at the very least even if I now prefer to run off my tablet.
Rich man.
Staples is going to be over an hour away, if I can even get to them while they are open.
Kinkos changed iots name, and I don't even know where the nearest one is.
No idea if there are still any Internet Cafes even in existance anymore in this town. Everyone has digital internet devices, and lots of free WiFi, so no cafes...
I finally managed to have the money needed to get a printed copy of the Ships PDF I bought from Paizo when they ran out of the flipmats... But the price is more than I can afford for "everyday" printing, but was probably higher than that would be. But it also took a week for them to do it, and they still got it wrong.
And believe me, when I was running while my printer was down, I was only able to do it because I already had the needed materials printed out from an earlier attempt to run the scenario. Reminds me, now that I have a working printer, I need to restock the chronicles for that scenario, since it is a good fallback item (First Steps, Part 1 in this case).
No vehicle, using the local bus service.
Money taking a hit from being attached, so significant reduction in take-home pay.
Some other life issues, leading to very low solvency, since rent, electric, food, utilities, etc. come before toner cartridges and gaming printing...
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I also play and run Society games mostly digitally, printing only the faction missions and chronicles for my games. The chronicles are the only thing I keep on paper for my own characters (I have character sheets online and only print copies if I know I'll be without connection for a session). As a GM, I wish I could just give the chronicles digitally, too, so I could get rid of the logistical hassle of printing.
Yes, electronic devices have their shortcomings, but so does paper. Connectivity issues can be fixed by having offline digital copies available, battery life is predictable if you have a familiar device, and if somebody brings adamantine d20s to the table, I'll politely ask them to roll them some other way.
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I've experienced other organized play campaigns with GMs who decided to go paperless. Handouts were read aloud by the GM, even those that were part of puzzles and really should have been seen. Necessary documents were emailed or placed on a server with the GM telling players the website address, forcing players to somehow record the URL while hoping they heard the link correctly - even when the document was just 1/3 of a sheet of paper. It was very frustrating and brought to mind two particular adjectives to describe the GM: unprofessional and lazy. Sure they were being "green" and maybe I'm too "old school", but when a GM agrees to run an organized play event I think they should be responsible enough to present the required documentation to the players in the official campaign format that doesn't require extra work, time or money for a player to read and present to others as needed (with apologies to blind players).
While the day is probably fast approaching when organized play campaigns will be paperless, when tablets, eyeglass devices, holograph projecting wristwatches or even neural net implants are common and in use by everyone who games. That day is not here yet. I still see more players without these devices at my tables than with them. Maybe in ten years, maybe less; but not yet.
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I'm "paperless" to the extent that I'm able. I still print out handouts and chronicles. For conventions, I print extra copies of the scheduled scenarios -- just in case. The behavior Don describes actually makes things *harder* for the players, and I can't support that.
I keep all my scenarios, rulebooks, and character sheets on my iPad. I haven't gotten around to scanning in my Chronicles yet, but its on my to-do list.
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I'm "paperless" to the extent that I'm able. I still print out handouts and chronicles. For conventions, I print extra copies of the scheduled scenarios -- just in case. The behavior Don describes actually makes things *harder* for the players, and I can't support that.
I keep all my scenarios, rulebooks, and character sheets on my iPad. I haven't gotten around to scanning in my Chronicles yet, but its on my to-do list.
This is exactly me.
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I keep all my scenarios, rulebooks, and character sheets on my iPad. I haven't gotten around to scanning in my Chronicles yet, but its on my to-do list.
I've been working on going paperless as a player, and my biggest hurdle has been character sheets. I tried a fillable PDF sheet, but for some reason it didn't save the information in goodreader (not sure what I did there). I went ahead and purchased on of the character sheet apps (Character Folio I think it's called), but I find it has some hurdles for me to use. Might be user error, but it doesn't add in anything to AC besides armor, and won't account for traits/feats.
Any recommendations on a character sheet app or method of electronically storing and still be editable?
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I keep all my scenarios, rulebooks, and character sheets on my iPad. I haven't gotten around to scanning in my Chronicles yet, but its on my to-do list.I've been working on going paperless as a player, and my biggest hurdle has been character sheets. I tried a fillable PDF sheet, but for some reason it didn't save the information in goodreader (not sure what I did there). I went ahead and purchased on of the character sheet apps (Character Folio I think it's called), but I find it has some hurdles for me to use. Might be user error, but it doesn't add in anything to AC besides armor, and won't account for traits/feats.
Any recommendations on a character sheet app or method of electronically storing and still be editable?
Here is an example of how I store my sheets on Google Drive.
And here is the blank sheet I use. When I create a new version I upload a new revision right over the old file. Google Drive stores multiple versions of the same file so you can always backtrack.
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Any recommendations on a character sheet app or method of electronically storing and still be editable?
What I do is export my character sheets from HeroLab in PDF, and store like that in Goodreader/Dropbox. Every time I level/purchase stuff, I just save a new PDF and overrride.
I keep all my "during-play" changes and notes in a paper notebook, not the ipad itself. Not exactly like you are asking, but works for me. Plus I love having a notebook to keep track of the games, names of players/NPCs, purchaes, etc...
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This is exactly me.I'm "paperless" to the extent that I'm able. I still print out handouts and chronicles. For conventions, I print extra copies of the scheduled scenarios -- just in case. The behavior Don describes actually makes things *harder* for the players, and I can't support that.
I keep all my scenarios, rulebooks, and character sheets on my iPad. I haven't gotten around to scanning in my Chronicles yet, but its on my to-do list.
And I as well. I love my iPad for gaming.
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Any recommendations on a character sheet app or method of electronically storing and still be editable?
I use an editable Google Drive spreadsheet template. It's based on this template, and I make a fresh copy for each new character. I like a spreadsheet because it updates most things automatically (e.g. raising your Cha automatically increases your Diplomacy bonus accordingly), but it's also very easy to replace/modify the formulas whenever you have class features that change the standard behavior. I also added a Log tab to keep track of XP, Gold, PP and Fame. Here is an example of an (admittedly cheesy) Society character built using that template.
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Any recommendations on a character sheet app or method of electronically storing and still be editable?What I do is export my character sheets from HeroLab in PDF, and store like that in Goodreader/Dropbox. Every time I level/purchase stuff, I just save a new PDF and overrride.
I keep all my "during-play" changes and notes in a paper notebook, not the ipad itself. Not exactly like you are asking, but works for me. Plus I love having a notebook to keep track of the games, names of players/NPCs, purchaes, etc...
This. Except I use iAnnotate instead of GoodReader, and I keep notes on a whiteboard tablet.