Campaign Management

[SAbel]

I am jsut seeing if people use traditional pen and paper/notebooks, computers or an online/ other program to keep track of the campaign you run?

[Ebon]

I have a lot of commitments. I run two games - a periodic Call of Cthulhu game that I run 'monthly' through the Time to Harvest campaign, and a D&D group with whom I'm currently working on the Curse of Strahd.

I have used many techniques to manage both of these campaigns, and my style can change. Originally, when I only had the D&D group, I wrote down everything. I have a big white D&D folder within which are all my campaign notes for a whole 3-year campaign. That worked really well, but it was often hard to decide what to keep and what to throw, especially since later on in the grand scheme of things, my notes were sometimes very brief and I ran whole sessions without notes when I didn't have time to prepare.

After that campaign, I ran a second homebrew campaign. This one was much shorter, lasting about six months, and in this one I did all my planning online. It was great to have it up there and I didn't have any issues keeping track of things. We played at the table, but I usually keep my laptop up for music anyway, so having the browser open was easy. I used Obsidian Portal to do it; what I did was write down my won notes in the 'GM ONLY' section and play off them. I scanned my maps in and used them off there too. I found it comfortable and intuitive, which was a pleasant surprise.

Currently, as I am running pre-written campaigns, I have less need to write down things/keep track of things. I have a pad of paper on which I write important game-changing events: this many people of the original Vermont team are dead, this many escaped. This was the tarokka reading in Curse of Strahd; this is the locations of the important magical artefacts. Things like that I keep track of in an entirely unorganised manner, but it is enough for me to keep the campaign afloat.

In short, I use both and I enjoy both. Which one will I use next? It depends upon the style of the campaign. However, I can say that it is good to try both and to experiment with different ways to keep track of your campaign. Without trying a whole bunch of them, you won't find what works best for you.

[mvincent]

22 hours ago, Ebon said:

as I am running pre-written campaigns, I have less need to write down things

Ditto. I hardly ever write things down. But I still do a lot of prep, mainly on the computer, like:

1. Obtaining and labeling B&W pictures for each NPC
2. Cut/pasting text from the adventure PDF into handouts
3. Searching online for additional pictures or handouts
4. Printing each handout and taping it into the scenario book (using painter's tape)
5. Scanning and keeping copies of each PC's character sheet
6. Ordering inexpensive prop items from online stores

etc.

Note though: I do not use electronic devices at the table (as they are a distraction to me).

Edited August 18, 2016 by mvincent

[Cthulhus_Voicemail]

I'm trying to get away from using electronic devices at the table; right now I'm running A Time to Harvest and I'm doing do by printing out each month's PDF, highlighting important information if it doesn't seem emphasized enough, and putting it in plastic sheets in a binder. I also keep a small spiral bound notebook to track player actions that send the campaign off the rails or are unexpected.

after a session (often a day or two later) I write up each session as a blog post for myself and my players to refer to before the next session.

[morganhua]

6 hours ago, mvincent said:

Ditto. I hardly ever write things down. But I still do a lot of prep, mainly on the computer, like:

1. Obtaining and labeling B&W pictures for each NPC
2. Cut/pasting text from the adventure PDF into handouts
3. Searching online for additional pictures or handouts
4. Printing each handout and taping it into the scenario book (using painter's tape)
5. Scanning and keeping copies of each PC's character sheet
6. Ordering inexpensive prop items from online stores

For online, I do mostly what mvincent is doing.  Readying handouts and finding additional material to cut-and-paste into the game board.  I find NPC portraits and pictures of items are very useful in setting the tone.  They're also good for the GM and Players as memory devices.

If I'm running it in person, then I have to print out all the handouts.  For NPC portraits, I print them in a contact sheet and cut them out into large postage stamps.  I have some craft scissors that create a nice border for the NPC portraits.  If I'm running my own scenario, I have a clipboard with an outline of the scenario for me as a GM, things for me to remember to do, clues, set encounters, etc.  When I run a published scenario, I have a hard copy of the scenario.

For the progress of a Campaign, I generally keep everything in my head.  The Players are in charge of keeping investigator notes.  If they get anything wrong, it's their problem. I do give them the correct spelling of names (if there's no NPC portrait with the name underneath).  I stop a session at a natural stopping point, so there's nothing to keep track of such as position of PCs, monster HPs, etc.

I generally will email a short summary of what happened before (a few sentences) when I send out the next session reminder (two days before the next session).  That's mainly for the people who weren't present at the previous session.  I also try to phrase it like a "coming attractions" ad to drum up some excitement.

Currently, I'm running Horror on the Orient Express, A Time to Harvest, and a TimeWatch campaign.  Each game has a different set of players.  I keep no notes.

[rbrandolph]

I only use the computer beforehand or for music.  I have note books for each game/campaign that I am running.  I like to sketch out a time line and list page numbers if the scenario is a hard copy.  Afterwards notes are sent along with a teaser for next time.