Entering a Massive Module
 

I just picked up a massive adventure module (Frog God's Rappan Athuk) which my game group is pretty jazzed to get into. However, that means that I need to start getting this beast entered into Realm Works.

The fact that the book is mainly one big dungeon with very defined levels and connections between rooms works to my advantage, I think. The authors also seem to be pretty consistent with prefix IDs and how they are referenced in the text, so linking should be pretty solid. However, I'm trying to figure out the smoothest way to get this all into RW and leverage the platform's tools.

My first thought was building the skeleton of the adventure in Excel and exporting a CSV to use the community created CSV import tool, but that only seems to allow a single layer of containment (I think I'm going to need at least 2 layers), and it doesn't seem to allow for adding additional names (key to building the linking since all references in the text are to the Prefix IDs). I suppose I could make a bunch of CSVs that each import into individual buckets, but if I have to go in and add alternate names after the fact anyway, it doesn't buy me much in the way of time saving.

The other idea is to use the Quick Create menu to enter all the levels and rooms as basic entries with proper Aliases and containment first, then go back through the entries to add the text. My concern with this method is the lack of stickiness in the Quick Create menu. If I could set up my Ctrl-Q menu to default to the current topic as a container, it would greatly speed this kind of entry, but alas that's not a feature that's been added yet.

I figured I would throw this to the community to see what other folks have tried on similar projects. Maybe someone has a better idea than me for this sort of thing. Any ideas or suggestions would be most appreciated.

A lot depends on the format you have the module in.

If its in PDF I'd go with quick create. Copy and paste from a PDF goes reasonably quickly once you get the hang of it.

BTW the quick create containment options have improved. I think it does what you want.

If you're doing it from a printed copy? That's a massive undertaking. I'm not sure I'd do it solo.

Due to Frog God's policy of Physical Book also gets the PDF, I have both. I was always planning on copy/paste for the bulk of the entry. It was more the initial structuring I was trying to figure out.

If the Quick Create containment has been improved, I will be most happy. I haven't added anything to my realms for a while, so it is entirely possible it has changed while I wasn't looking.

I wasn't aware of this books existence until I saw your post and it looks awesome!

Now wouldn't this be a great addition to the content market?

That sounds like the next evolution of the tool then :-)

What I've done while entering a large scenario from a pdf is to start at a logical place and when I come upon a reference to something later in the pdf, in another tab I create a dummy entry with an suffix of "fix me." So when the topic with the reference is saved, it will link to the dummy topic. When I get to the dummy topic, I edit and add the info in.

If you are entering static information such as monsters, spells, or magic items, I would suggest you enter those first and then when you are entering the information that uses the spell/monster/etc it will automatically be linked.

If you're a Pathfinder player, Frog God is running a killer clearance deal including the main book and the first volume of the expansions. It is on their website under the "clearance" link on the left. Just sayin'.

And yes - it would be an absolutely killer addition to the content market, and I was hoping it might be in the list of content from the Kickstarter since Rappan Athuk has been around for so long, but alas there is no reference to it. Frog God puts out pretty good stuff, but their digital support record isn't the best, so I'm not holding my breath.

If the next evolution includes the ability to add alternate names to the CSV that would be fantastic. I can work around the containment limitations by making multiple import files, but the other was really the deal breaker as far as I was concerned.

I think converting the PDF's to CSV and then cleaning up and formatting whatever gets imported into RW will be just as big a PITA as just doing the copy and paste directly into RW, IMO.

Rappan Athuk is a dungeon crawl so I'm guessing most of it is sites keyed to map locations? So do it a level or equivalent at a time.

Add the smart image for the level then put in each pin and add the topics as you add the pins.

I would just start with the PDF. I've put a few 100-500 page pdf's into the tool now and I prefer to work as I do. I usually start with the appendix's and contents and then fill everything in. Doing it this way you pay attention to the content as it goes in and fix any issues and identify areas where you can use the tool more efficiently. Create additional NPC's for example. You get a better grasp of the content and the result is a better product.