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Realm Works and Hero Labs - GM Tour

For those of you who are currently using Realmworks during your campaigns, do you have a section for pre-session notes and if so, how do you have it set up? I know there is a User Note function but it doesn't seem to allow me to configure it with certain fields/layout so wanted to see what others have come up with or if I'm totally missing something.

Thanks daplunk, kbs666, and everyone else who's allowing us into their way of doing things, it's very much appreciated!!
 
Session notes are one of things I still keep separately. The RW user note is primitive to say the least. Hopefully once the big push for the content market is past that will be one of the things that gets addressed.
 
I just write my session notes in a word processor.

Simple and it is all I need. Basically I just need to know how far they got and what happened of special things which I have to take into account when planning the next steps.
 
The plan is for a complete overhaul of how game sessions are managed. Basically, we would utilize a topic for tracking session notes (pre and post), with a fully customizable category definition underlying it. Then GMs would be able to tailor the structure to their preferences, the notes would be inherently revealable to players, and full linking would be provided.

This is something very high on MY want list. I'm not sure where it fits into the priorities of other users, though.
 
rob said:
The plan is for a complete overhaul of how game sessions are managed. Basically, we would utilize a topic for tracking session notes (pre and post), with a fully customizable category definition underlying it. Then GMs would be able to tailor the structure to their preferences, the notes would be inherently revealable to players, and full linking would be provided.

This is something very high on MY want list. I'm not sure where it fits into the priorities of other users, though.
Click to expand...
Do you intend for that to be strictly a GM note or a player note as well? My players would like to keep an ongoing diary/journal that links into the realm through the player edition.
 
kbs666 said:
Do you intend for that to be strictly a GM note or a player note as well? My players would like to keep an ongoing diary/journal that links into the realm through the player edition.
Click to expand...

Journals are a separate animal entirely, since they introduce a completely different set of complications wherein player-created material gets woven in with GM-created material at some level. However, the plan is for them to behave in a relatively similar manner, except that the GM would be in control of the category structure utilizes by journals created by his players. Obviously, we'd provide everyone with a framework that will hopefully offer a solid starting point and can be customized.
 
rob said:
The plan is for a complete overhaul of how game sessions are managed. Basically, we would utilize a topic for tracking session notes (pre and post), with a fully customizable category definition underlying it. Then GMs would be able to tailor the structure to their preferences, the notes would be inherently revealable to players, and full linking would be provided.

This is something very high on MY want list. I'm not sure where it fits into the priorities of other users, though.
Click to expand...

This sounds pretty close to the approach I took for my Rise of the Runelords PBeM campaign. It wasn't a "Session Log", per se, as the game was Play-by-Post.

I created a custom topic named "Campaign Log" for this. As the campaign progressed, I logged each "day" in it (or a span of days if appropriate). The contents are:
  • In-game Date/time for the start and end of the timespan recorded
  • Weather on the date (if one day)
  • For each encounter: Where (Location name), When (date-time), Who (participants), and What (notes about the results) -- This is a place where repeatable Sections would he a big help.

The name of each Topic is generally "Day X", maybe a brief description ("Day 1 - Arrival in Sandpoint") to make it easier to place things as it is listed in the Navigation pane.
 
Thanks kbs666 and Vargr, guess I'll continue using OneNote for now.

rob said:
The plan is for a complete overhaul of how game sessions are managed. Basically, we would utilize a topic for tracking session notes (pre and post), with a fully customizable category definition underlying it. Then GMs would be able to tailor the structure to their preferences, the notes would be inherently revealable to players, and full linking would be provided.

This is something very high on MY want list. I'm not sure where it fits into the priorities of other users, though.
Click to expand...

That would be fantastic, I'm trying to consolidate ALLLLL the tools I utilize before/during/after game sessions and if RW can take that on I'd be a super happy chica! And if GM/DM's can customize it all the better :)

rob said:
Journals are a separate animal entirely, since they introduce a completely different set of complications wherein player-created material gets woven in with GM-created material at some level. However, the plan is for them to behave in a relatively similar manner, except that the GM would be in control of the category structure utilizes by journals created by his players. Obviously, we'd provide everyone with a framework that will hopefully offer a solid starting point and can be customized.
Click to expand...

Player journals are definitely something I'd like to see implemented as that's something I like to encourage my players to do. I'm not saying this is a high priority, simply stating it'd be nice to have :)

Hopefully when the GM Notes gets an overhaul it will include a calendar function (I know it's a sore subject - not trying to stir the pot), as I find myself REALLY wishing RW had that function. Either way though, this is a fantastic tool and it's great that you fine folks at LW are continually tweaking and improving it, thanks!
 
Silveras said:
This sounds pretty close to the approach I took for my Rise of the Runelords PBeM campaign. It wasn't a "Session Log", per se, as the game was Play-by-Post.

I created a custom topic named "Campaign Log" for this. As the campaign progressed, I logged each "day" in it (or a span of days if appropriate). The contents are:
  • In-game Date/time for the start and end of the timespan recorded
  • Weather on the date (if one day)
  • For each encounter: Where (Location name), When (date-time), Who (participants), and What (notes about the results) -- This is a place where repeatable Sections would he a big help.

The name of each Topic is generally "Day X", maybe a brief description ("Day 1 - Arrival in Sandpoint") to make it easier to place things as it is listed in the Navigation pane.
Click to expand...

Ooooo, I like that idea! I'll have to try that out to see if it'll work for my purposes. Would it be too much to ask for a snapshot of your campaign log setup? I'm still new to RW and visuals are definitely better for me, but if not I totally understand :)
 
mazzy said:
Hopefully when the GM Notes gets an overhaul it will include a calendar function (I know it's a sore subject - not trying to stir the pot), as I find myself REALLY wishing RW had that function. Either way though, this is a fantastic tool and it's great that you fine folks at LW are continually tweaking and improving it, thanks!
Click to expand...

The existing "Session" mechanism has the calendar mechanism integrated. It would absolutely be incorporated into anything we do in the future. The caveat here is that it's distinct from the calendar mechanism, so it could be updated before we finish the calendar overhaul. Or calendars could be done first. The two work together, but they are independent of each other.
 
I am really looking forward to the GM sessions notes and player journals. Until then I will continue as I have in the past. I used Obsidian Portal as well, where I had my players post their player logs. Then I would copy them into RW under their player's background section (although I will add a journal snipped tag in the future) and then share it through RW.

Salcor
 
mazzy said:
Ooooo, I like that idea! I'll have to try that out to see if it'll work for my purposes. Would it be too much to ask for a snapshot of your campaign log setup? I'm still new to RW and visuals are definitely better for me, but if not I totally understand :)
Click to expand...

Here's a simple one.

This Realm was created before the Calendars were locked down, so it has the Golarion calendar active.
 

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    Campaign Log screenshot.jpg
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I imagine the Story Board could be used to link your journal together quite efficiently even allowing for split party situations.
 
I'm using a topic for our journal (no dates) that i'm (DM) editing. I would love to see an option where players can edit the journal.
 
Silveras said:
Here's a simple one.

This Realm was created before the Calendars were locked down, so it has the Golarion calendar active.
Click to expand...

Thank you Silveras, this gives me a much better idea of how to go about setting this up!

daplunk said:
I imagine the Story Board could be used to link your journal together quite efficiently even allowing for split party situations.
Click to expand...

This sounds very interesting to me, I like using the Story Board as a quick visual reference of the campaign. Would you mind expanding on the idea a bit or possibly doing one of your awesome videos on the topic? No worries if you've other things lined up though :)
 
Last edited:
I set the structure up for this last night using silver as method and the storyboard. So yes a video is coming 😃
 
I've given this thread a new home in its brand new forum! Thank you again for taking the time to create these videos. :)
 
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