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I recently decided to start using a laptop for tabletop gaming, and I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions or advice on software, websites, etc. that are must haves?
Currently I've got HeroLab, and all my PDF books loaded on it, bookmarks for Archives of Nethys and d20pfsrd, and that is about it.
I'll be mostly using it from the player side, but GM tools are more than welcome, as I'll probably GM down the road.
Ooh, let me copy past from the "first time GM" thread:
For GMing, Combat Manager (Discussion thread here). I'm using that program and I honestly don't know how I would be able to GM without it. A library of not only monsters (with templates addable), including probably all the ones from your AP, but also feats, spells, and rules. I've made characters for my PCs so I can roll stuff like perception without my players noticing. I also use the initiative roller, because while "roll initiative" at the start of combat can be cool, it a) wastes a lot of time, b) distrupts the flow of the game and c) prevents the GM from using initiative for situations that may or may not result in actual fighting (because when they have rolled initiative, the players will presume a combat is absolutely going to happen).
To track initiative for the players, I'm also using little folded pieces of cardboard with the PCs names (and numbers for monsters that the party knows about) on both sides that I put on the top of my laptop and move around so that the one farthest to my right (the players' left) is the the current character and the players can see who's next and so on.
There's also the Weather Generator using the UW rules that I'm totally going to use.
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Honestly the most useful thing for me has been just a notepad document I use to keep track of my current attack and damage rolls. Your numbers can change a lot in this game so something simple to tweak the numbers you need to reference on the fly ensures that you know exactly what you're adding when your turn comes along.
For that, I use a printed out cheat sheet with different situations and the respective attack rolls on it. When already using a computer, might as well do what the last sheet in the above link does, i.e. an automatic calculation.
I've used a cheat sheet in the past, but it becomes troublesome when you are dealing with modifiers you don't expect to have; penalties, largely.
bumping
bumping
I think you mean "dotting"?
Bumping is when you post to a thread that's been dormant for a while so it pops back up to the top of people's feeds and they (hopefully) pay attention to it.
Dotting is when you post to a thread so that you'll have posted to it and it will therefore show up (with a dot next to it) when you look at the focused feed, making it easier for you to remember / get back to it later.
Hero Designer has most of what you need for keeping track of stats. I would suggest you create portfolios for encounters ahead of time. Also add any adjustments that are likely to come up, but uncheck them so they are not active. Have another portfolio with the players in it and also add frequently used adjustments to them. When you have a combat simply import the player into the encounter portfolio. This will allow you to quickly determine most stats.
I’ll note that Hero Lab does pretty much everything mentioned above already in terms of GM tools—it has an encounter library and encounter builder to easily build monsters and NPCs, add templates to them, track status effects on them, etc. you can save each encounter to its own portfolio and then import it into the portfolio where PCs are. Hero Lab also has a combat tracker for initiative keeping, easily applying damage, etc.
On the PC side, I think you’ve pretty much got it covered. If you’re a prepared spellcaster I’d suggest also keeping a document to track what spells you’re preparing each day by default, as well as circumstances where you want to change that up. That way you don’t waste a lot of game time looking through your spell list in Hero Lab, you just have a couple of lists tailored to common situations already pre-made (and can tweak a little bit as needed).
For rules that you need to frequently refer to, it’s helpful to have bookmarks that go there directly or to extract those pages from the PDFs. (Or if they’re complex enough, make a cheat sheet). Example would be the grapple rules or (if you’re a spellcaster) the table of concentration check DCs.
I’d suggest an application like OneNote for taking notes during the session. You can use pretty much anything but I like that app for quick note taking.
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I put the maps on my TV using my laptop.
I use:
- Microsoft OneNote to manage all my campaign notes.
- Combat Manager to track initiative, monster HP, look up spells and rules in-play.
- Hero Lab for the players' character sheets (which I can drag-and-drop into Combat Manager).
- Inkscape (a free vector graphics program) for my maps. I copy in the map from the Adventure Path PDF, lock that layer, then add other layers for PCs, NPCs, blocking, secret doors, etc. I make circular icons for everything, and templates for various spell effects to speed things up. It also lets me easily draw lines to determine cover/concealment.
- Hero Lab for the players' character sheets (which I can drag-and-drop into Combat Manager).
How do you do this? I've made sheets in Hero Lab and then by hand converted it into Combat Manager. If there is a way to drag-and-drop, I must know what it is.
How do you do this? I've made sheets in Hero Lab and then by hand converted it into Combat Manager. If there is a way to drag-and-drop, I must know what it is.- Hero Lab for the players' character sheets (which I can drag-and-drop into Combat Manager).
Literally just that. I drag the Hero Lab profile file from Windows Explorer into the initiative tracker window.
To track initiative for the players, I'm also using little folded pieces of cardboard with the PCs names (and numbers for monsters that the party knows about) on both sides that I put on the top of my laptop and move around so that the one farthest to my right (the players' left) is the the current character and the players can see who's next and so on.
I am suddenly glad I dipped into this thread. We use electronic tools as and when we find them useful, mostly quick-lookups for obscure spells, and as a DM I'll use a laptop to show off artwork, but we haven't found electronic tools universally more convenient than physical ones. As in, right tool for the right job at the right moment.
That said, your physical method of handling initiative is clever. We sometimes have larger groups, where people stop paying attention the moment their turn is over, and there isn't quite enough room for a combat pad magentic thing, but paper cards... I might be able to do something with that.
Thanks.
Literally just that. I drag the Hero Lab profile file from Windows Explorer into the initiative tracker window.How do you do this? I've made sheets in Hero Lab and then by hand converted it into Combat Manager. If there is a way to drag-and-drop, I must know what it is.- Hero Lab for the players' character sheets (which I can drag-and-drop into Combat Manager).
I had no idea that could happen! I can't wait to get out of work so I can try this!
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Hero Designer has most of what you need for keeping track of stats. I would suggest you create portfolios for encounters ahead of time. Also add any adjustments that are likely to come up, but uncheck them so they are not active. Have another portfolio with the players in it and also add frequently used adjustments to them. When you have a combat simply import the player into the encounter portfolio. This will allow you to quickly determine most stats.
Hero Designer? The one for the HERO Games system?
Hero Designer has most of what you need for keeping track of stats. I would suggest you create portfolios for encounters ahead of time. Also add any adjustments that are likely to come up, but uncheck them so they are not active. Have another portfolio with the players in it and also add frequently used adjustments to them. When you have a combat simply import the player into the encounter portfolio. This will allow you to quickly determine most stats.Hero Designer? The one for the HERO Games system?
Sorry I meant Hero Labs. I have and use both so got them mixed up.
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I have HeroLab, with every book I own unlocked on it. Been using it for character building and printing off character sheets for a while now. So much more convenient than having to hand calculate everything.
I actually have a really old copy of HERO Designer too, I think it was one of the first versions they released...I played Champions a lot back during 4th edition :)
That said, your physical method of handling initiative is clever. We sometimes have larger groups, where people stop paying attention the moment their turn is over, and there isn't quite enough room for a combat pad magentic thing, but paper cards... I might be able to do something with that.
I started the campaign with a module, and for that (one logn session) I used a second screen to show images, maps, and Combat Manager's seperate initiative window, but it takes up space on the table, and putting something on a screen you can't see isn't exactly easy (so I had to flip it around all the tip). Just a regular laptop with maybe a mouse is just way more convenient, so nowadays I send images to the telegram group so that the players can see them easily, and use the carboard thingies for initiative.
They also work just as well on a traditional GM screen, by the way.
I started the campaign with a module, and for that (one logn session) I used a second screen to show images, maps, and Combat Manager's seperate initiative window, but it takes up space on the table, and putting something on a screen you can't see isn't exactly easy (so I had to flip it around all the tip). Just a regular laptop with maybe a mouse is just way more convenient, so nowadays I send images to the telegram group so that the players can see them easily, and use the carboard thingies for initiative.
They also work just as well on a traditional GM screen, by the way.
Thanks for the input. Typically for me the laptop stays on the floor, only coming up to show an NPC or monster picture. Maps I tend to print out (colour printer) and as long as there are no secrets and it's effectively a dungeon crawl, I let the players see. I have them build rooms by laying lego on the battlemat while I last-minute review an encounter.
We don't use DM screens. I roll in the open. So typically I've got very little on the table as a DM. Just a pile of dice. I use a clipboard with scrap on which I track initiative and monster status. It all works very well, but I still have the "with five/six players, the moment my turn is done, it's time to start a conversation about some TV show because it'll be five minutes before I'm playing again" syndrome.
That's mostly an artifact of that group being those guys' only night away from home and kids, so it's more a socialize night than a game night. I've got another group of similar size that's much more focused and as soon as their turn ends, it's time to plan their next, watching what's happening and helping each other as a team to remember bonuses etc in play.
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Most of everything I use has already been mentioned, but one that I've recently come across is scrollbear.com (creator posts in this thread.) that can be used as on offline spell database. There's a spot or two that I play where I can't get wifi, so being able to not have to use my phone data is super handy.
Sometimes I'll have thematic musics or whatnot up.
I had no idea that could happen! I can't wait to get out of work so I can try this!Literally just that. I drag the Hero Lab profile file from Windows Explorer into the initiative tracker window.How do you do this? I've made sheets in Hero Lab and then by hand converted it into Combat Manager. If there is a way to drag-and-drop, I must know what it is.- Hero Lab for the players' character sheets (which I can drag-and-drop into Combat Manager).
I tried this the other day! Thank you so much! You have no idea how much time this will save me.