Hey all, how's it going?
Recently I dived headfirst into PbP games, both as PC and as GM, but it's starting to become complicated juggling all those tables at the same time. I don't want to leave any of that, I have plenty of spare time to play in all of them, but I don't know how to organize them to keep them under better control.
As of now I have my Chrome window always open with pinned tabs for each GSlides I'm using, AoN, Paizo, HLO, and Google Translate; I check the forum almost every hour I'm at my desktop, focusing the view on my active threads, but I start messing a bit my characters and mostly my GM's threads.
What do you use to organize your campaigns? Beside Paizo Campaign Tools extension, are you using any other software to keep track of your PbP games here on the boards?
Thank you in advance for your help and time.
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GM SIDE
• I use a spreadsheet for PC macro generation. Players in my games fill this out. It helps a lot, perhaps in part because I am not shy about botting PCs when needed.
• I use a secret GM spreadsheet for Initiative tracking.
• For modules & AP games, I use Material for MkDocs and GitHub Pages for the campaign journal. Players can search the documentation, link to entries, etc. It's also easier/faster for me to write the docs in Markdown and deploy to a website than to design a bunch of slides that get more disorganized over the course of months or years.
• I have a PbP Template to bootstrap PC references, hero points, and marching order.
• I use PDF Expert to annotate PDFs. It's another cloud-based app that syncs across all devices. It's also decent with image extraction.
• I use Photoshop to make all tactical maps into background images that fit into the 16:9 slide. I use Photoshop extensively to customize maps, adding fog of war, etc if needed. This makes life easier for players on mobile devices.
• I use Photoshop to create numbered tokens for monsters because I am colorblind and this is the clearest to me (and most of my players, to be honest).
• I use RPG Chronicles to generate chronicles and have players sign in.
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PLAYER SIDE
• I have ITS spreadsheet that automates bundles earned and leveling, which goes along with my chronicles in a Google drive. See the ITS here.
• I use a Google drive folder for all my characters' chronicles and artwork.
• I use Hero Lab to build my characters, but I think the BBCode stat blocks it generates lack depth. So I have my own template. See Example here) with a complete ITS, examples, etc.
• I use textexpander to create short-cuts for frequently-used that include the roll and the ability description in a spoiler for GM reference. Examples of this include Lingering Composition vs standard DC, Marshal Stance, AOOs, and reactions like Glimpse of Redemption + Shield block with multiple if/then's. This allows me to add my Reactions to the bottom of every post, which keeps things moving along for the GM.
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EVERYWHERE
• I am in the habit of copy-pasting text before hitting "Submit Post." Once you lose a few complex posts to the forum goblins, it will become muscle memory. There are also browser extensions such as Typio Form Recovery that auto-save your text too.
• I use bear to draft posts in advance. Any similar app will do. I like it because whatever I drafted is accessible on all my devices, so if I can post from my phone if needed.
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THE ULTIMATE PBP TOOL
Finally, it helps to understand how much is too much — both as a GM and player. Having extra tools at hand can help manage, but nothing works better than understanding your own capacity.
Personally, I find that if I'm running more than 3 games at the same time one of them will inevitably suffer in quality. My preference is 1-2 games at once unless it's a PbP con.
This goes for playing as well. I try not to be in too many at once because I want to bring the RP and relish the story. Game speeds can be a variable here too.
Sometimes it hurts to say "no" to a friend's campaign, but it's almost always the best decision if you're taking on too much. Doing this will earn you respect — and it will make you a more desirable player for future games.
Everyone is different and has their own limits. It's important to understand and respect yours.
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Hope this helps! Some of the things I linked are 2e-specific but could be modified for 1e, Starfinder, etc.
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Badly.
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To echo Doug Hahn, I think the most important thing is to know one's limits. I am most happy/productive with either 1 or 2 tables. I only DM, and I always play in my setting. (everyone has a different balance, of course)
In terms of organization, I use google drive for a place to put everything, which includes: google docs (lore, campaign journal, location info, and NPC index), google slides (maps), and google sheets (histories, timelines)
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Personally, I find that if I'm running more than 3 games at the same time one of them will inevitably suffer in quality. My preference is 1-2 games at once unless it's a PbP con.
Quoting for truth!
This also goes for players, the more games you're in the harder it is to do justice for your characters.
One thing that's helped me as a GM is I've developed a google spreadsheet that tracks initiative, damage and effects duration and outputs bb code. It's unfortunately not easy to share because it uses scripts and google treats those as if they're radioactive.
One thing I'm not doing and probably should is manage the loot that drops in a spreadsheet including looking up the prices when sold. Most players hate doing that because it's super tedious.