Assaf has moved to Mast Social
One thing I've been thinking about a lot lately. Those DMs who do a lot of homebrew in their setting. How do you organize your homebrew world information and how much of it do you give your players access to?
#dnd5e #ttrpg #DnD #DMAdvice #worldbuilding #DMQuestion
Jan 9, 2023 at 12:07amWeb
Show threadRufuScottJan 9, 2023
@Assafthedm big ol’ folder in Google Drive. If I want to share - usually magic items or lore they researched - I can just give them access to that document.
Show threadDon McKay 🍁Jan 9, 2023

@Assafthedm I use a program called Scrivener, it's primarily used for writers to organize their ideas, plots, characters and research notes. Which has a lot of overlap for DMs. It's searchable and each item can tagged for calling up info during a game session.

I've been using it for a while, since probably 3e came out. Back in those days specific DnD tools were hard to find.

Show threadAssaf has moved to Mast SocialJan 9, 2023
@vallik I've never used scrivener, I have heard of it though. I believe it has an upfront cost though.
Show threadDon McKay 🍁Jan 9, 2023
@Assafthedm That's true, I bought it a long time ago and just never upgraded. I just checked it now, and yikes! It's gotten quite expensive.
Show threadLizardJan 9, 2023
@Assafthedm In the early 2000s I used Treeview; around 2012 I switched to ConnectedText; now I use World Anvil. Pre-2000, I used programs I wrote myself in 4D, Hypercard, or Foxpro.
Show threadAssaf has moved to Mast SocialJan 9, 2023
@LizardSF
I tried World Anvil! It's very good.
I didn't like the pay wall for certain features and their organization structure wasn't the most helpful for me. But it was very good for sharing your stuff with players.
Show threadLizardJan 9, 2023
@Assafthedm I have had issues, but it does one important thing for me — it lets me auto-create (blank) articles as I type, of the appropriate kind, which fits my creative style.
Show threadDrFriendless 🇵🇸Jan 9, 2023
@Assafthedm I use Google Docs. I have a file for each adventure and an index file with NPCs, locations, etc. I have a shared folder where I dump anything the players are allowed to see.
Show threadThe Redcaps Podcast (Prime)Jan 9, 2023
I use OneNote - I've tried so many things but always come back to it. I'm hoping this year I can take another crack at #obsidian
Show threadAssaf has moved to Mast SocialJan 9, 2023
@theredcaps
I tried a lot of the specialized dnd Worldbuilding sites and they tend to have pay walls around useful or important features. Or they have very small data limits.
Show threadThe Redcaps Podcast (Prime)Jan 9, 2023
yeah my issue with any of those sites is the fragility of them in terms of the fact that one day they may just close up shop and how easy is it to get your notes out and equally important how easy is it to get them back into another tool.

I don't mind paying for a product, but at the same point I want control of my data.

For me really that's the biggest appeal of Obsidian and why I want to love it so much, the downside is OneNote is just so easy for me and I have little to no fear of it just going away anytime soon.
Show threadTalespinJan 9, 2023

@Assafthedm I organise mine into loosely sorted binders tha divide things into town, npc’s, locations, quest lines, etc.

I hear people say ‘but there’s so much to build’ and it’s true, but the reality is you only need the stuff in the pc’s immediate vicinity/the stuff pc’s are likely to interact with, everything else can be built out as you need it. Most of my world exists simply on a timeline that describes events and I pull from that when needed

Show threadDave ClarkJan 9, 2023
@Assafthedm a one page campaign guide and a two page common knowledge of the world
Show threadJan 🦊 - Grüner SpinnerJan 9, 2023
@Assafthedm You might want to check out Legendkeeper, a wiki-style web app where everybody has access, but only the admin can see secrets. I'm very fond of it!
Show threadThe Goblin's NotebookJan 9, 2023
@Assafthedm I use https://www.the-goblin.net/ of course 😃 And I share (directly in the app) the parts the players have found out about or visited e.g. If they had a town mentioned, that will be shared but only with the info they have found out so far. Once they go there or find out more then I will share more detail with them!
The Goblin's Notebook

The Goblin's Notebook. The single-pane view of your tabletop RPG campaign notes for pre-session planning, in-session note taking and post-session recapping

Show threadDuncanWatsonJan 31, 2023

@Assafthedm I do everything in Google Docs. I have a linked series of documents totally about 70 pages. I don't share certain documents.

But I am also the kind of DM who rolls totally in the open both in person and vtt. Trust is essential in ttrpgs and if I don't trust my players then they will have trouble trusting me. It isn't like it is hard to see when a certain player type does an "Orion".

I also have extensive intro docs and normally appoint another player as a mediator for DM issues.