[MNBlockHead]

Ualaa, I do both. I save the HL *.por file for an encounter / NPC / monster filded in a directory structure under by Documents/HeroLabs/5e folder. I have a bestiaries folder with all my 5e custom beasts and then I have adventure folders with sub-folders for campaigns. I don't further subfolder. I just name them with the map location added as a prefix.

Then I also add a HeroLab snippet in my encounters, major NPCs, and monster topics and articles.

While it is not *that* difficult to manually bring in a monster/encounter, it still is disruptive enough that I not only notice it but I often don't bother unless it is a very complex encounter.

In comparison, when I could click on a button in RealmWorks and have the encounter instantly added to the open portfolio, it was so darn convenient that it was the sole reason I started using HeroLabs.

No I'm using HeroLabs less and I'm carefully watching what D&D Beyond is doing with its encounter builder. Creating custom monsters in DnD Beyond is actually easier than with HL, especially those built on standard monsters. For example, Rappan Athuk has lots of variations on goblins, gremlins, zombies, etc. In HL I have to create a custom monster from scratch most of the time, because you can't easily create a character from a monstrous race and make changes to it. It is easier to build it from scratch as a custom monster.

I only went through the hassle of doing this because of how the RW and HL integration made running my games easier.

But with the DDB beta encounter builder, I'm thinking of putting all my custom monsters and my encounters there and just putting a hyperlink to the DDB encounter/monster into RW. The only thing that I'll miss is HL's tactical console. But I'm at the point of just tracking hitpoints and initiative on paper again. HL just doesn't seem worth the effort, especially since I can't launch it from RW.