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Nikmal
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Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Twin Cities, MN
Posts: 677

Old March 8th, 2014, 09:30 PM
Of an adventure added in to Realm Works and how they did it. I am just trying to get an idea of how I should go about doing it. I have the gist of how to add data in to RW but not an actual adventure itself. For some reason it just seems really daunting to me. I want to be able to show the players (when the player view becomes available) what they have seen of the dungeons and such on their computer screens and on the extra one I am going to have soon. With fog of War of course.. in effect.

I am just trying to get an idea... Thanks!!!
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Mmurphy
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Old March 9th, 2014, 07:17 PM
I don't GM like most people, I do not 'plan' an adventure. However, my players recently decided to go into a dungeon so I threw one into RealmWorks and using Fog of war and player view, this is were they are are.

This map took me about 3-4 minutes to get into RealmWorks and formatted for use. I do not plan anything as the players may never have gotten to the dungeon, they may have gotten distracted by something along the way, not being able to cross a major river, or any of a thousand other things that happen so my plan is to be able to create as I go and RealmWorks seems to be able to do this quickly.
Attached Images
File Type: png What the GM sees.png (158.7 KB, 86 views)
File Type: png What the Players see.png (95.2 KB, 79 views)
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Nikmal
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Old March 9th, 2014, 09:04 PM
Do you have any screen shots of the database too? Like for instance when entering the data in to Realm Works.. how do you do the rooms, encounters and the like. Such as random encounters and wilderness encounters and the like?

I am more or less curious about that as I am wanting to enter an Adventure Path (Specifically Wrath of the Righteous) and I am just flumoxed as the moment as to where to begin?

Thanks!!
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Nikmal
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Old March 9th, 2014, 09:04 PM
Thanks for posting the screenshots though too!!!
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AEIOU
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Old March 10th, 2014, 06:36 AM
I've posted a few shots on the RealmWorks G+ community site. Don't know if that's what you are looking for. Your request is amazingly broad....

These are older shots and I keep refining how I want to track things and what I want to track. I'm at the point right now that I'd like to see what the official RotRL dataset will look like and focusing on making maps instead of RW entry.

Here's the G+ site which will be a great resource: https://plus.google.com/u/0/communit...47392131344619

And a few shots:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-p...RW+Dungeon.JPG

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-h...RW_capture.JPG

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-P...no/Capture.JPG
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AEIOU
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Old March 10th, 2014, 06:56 AM
One more that looks at detail for adventure entry. This one bears a little more comment as it's really where RW shines for tabletop play in my opinion. Modules have traditionally been written as books that read well and provide the background info for GM's to absorb and deliver. However, my brain thinks in rows and columns.... I prefer a more programmerly IF...THEN...END approach to data organization. I can read paragraphs, but I process data chunks much faster and more effectively.

I've always used modules as they were written, making adjustments in my head or adding some notes to the margins, and just living with the standard paragraph structures. And when I started entering data in RW, I defaulted to that format because it was what I had always seen. After running a few encounters though, I started picking the module paragraphs apart and putting things into a "more logical" (for my brain) order. Adding play notes. Adding flavor that was missing. Adding links to campaign specifics. Adding detail.

What's great about RW is that it's a database with database logic and database structure. For folks that think like me, it's a natural fit and we'll find it very easy to adapt to. However, many folks do indeed prefer to think in paragraphs rather than cells/columns/fields. For them it may be a bit more of a hurdle to wrap their heads around. Yes, they can keep the data in paragraphs/sentences just as the module is laid out if they prefer -- but that misses out on the advantages of the database structure. Quite honestly, my greatest fear is that the folks that create official data modules for RW are paragraphers and that the data will continue to need to be converted....

Here's what one of my restructurings looks like -- GM info, encounter info with general tactics and references, player info:
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Z...no/RW+Room.JPG

I'll never go back to paragraphs for adventures.
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Nikmal
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Old March 10th, 2014, 12:49 PM
AEIOU,
That looks kind of cool. Do you have some sort of hot links going for the different rooms if there is a tie in to another room. For instance with the example you showed, C10 is a point where some guards may come to aid if there is an attack from C13 and C15, Are they hot linked to C10 then? If they are do you also have a flow chart showing it and how the different rooms are connected and the like?

Thanks for posting the Screenie too!!
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Silveras
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Old March 10th, 2014, 04:58 PM
@Nikmal: I have entered about 75% of the Second Darkness AP, and about 55% of Rise of the Runelords. In each case, I was working with different states of the application, and changes made have caused me to re-consider some of what I put in previously. Recent changes in the default categories, for example, have made them more useful than they were.

Originally, I created a number of custom Category entries for various purposes. I am most happy with Second Darkness, so I will refer to that primarily.

Custom Categories:
Players Guide: Sections mirror those in the published players guide.
Adventure: Each AP Volume, with the Backgound, Summary, and Concluding the Adventure as main entries
Adventure Section: Part 1, Part 2, etc. Main entries are the section summary and the list of Encounters that occur as part of it.
Adventure Site (sub-category of Location): Locations that are relevant to the adventure, with summary description. (Could now be replaced by Location with the Type Tag of "Adventure Site")
Chamber: Rooms within the Adventure Site or other Location. Links to Encounters that occur here.
Encounter: Description of the type, participants, tactics, etc. (Could now be replaced with a "Scene" having the type tag of "Encounter")

Separating the Encounter from the Chamber allows me to re-use the location more easily if I want or need to, and helps with occasions when there are follow-up encounters in the same place.

I used the "Concept" Category to hold information from Sidebars, setting the parent to be the Adventure or Adventure Section topic that was most appropriate.

Separating the Adventure-specific information from the city or location information also facilitates re-use.
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Mmurphy
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Old March 10th, 2014, 08:30 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nikmal View Post
Do you have any screen shots of the database too? Like for instance when entering the data in to Realm Works.. how do you do the rooms, encounters and the like. Such as random encounters and wilderness encounters and the like?

I am more or less curious about that as I am wanting to enter an Adventure Path (Specifically Wrath of the Righteous) and I am just flumoxed as the moment as to where to begin?

Thanks!!
I cannot show the path of data entry as I don't GM that way (everything I do is based on what the players choose to do. For example, every encounter is a 'random' encounter. I never 'plan' anything).

However, If I were to start doing this, I would find what works for me in my mind. Do you think linear, do you think in 'groups', do you work best in small or large scale. RealmWorks has some good videos on how to get started with these, and I suggest viewing them. I will also add my 4 cents (use to be two cents, but inflation hit--take these as you may).

If you think Linear, start at the beginning or the end and work your way back or forward. This method allows you to construct from one timeline to the next time line. You will be bouncing back and forth from subject to subject but each new subject builds upon an already entered subject. In this case you build the scene and then layout all the details of the scene.

If you think in groups, you enter all NPC at once, all maps at once, all encounters at once regardless of where they fit in the scenario. This allows you to get progressively better at each new data entry type and will keep the data more or less similar, NPC's will be entered similarly so most have the same data feel. Also, the 5th entry will be faster than the first and the 10th entry will be faster than the 5th. Note, this is my least favorite method as I get bored entering the same type of data over and over again, but I think it is the 'fastest' overall.

If you want to think 'big' or 'small', you either start with the entire world (universe, ect) or with an ant walking on the world. If you start big (This is the method I am choosing to do) create the world and populate the database with 'the big picture', slowly start moving down or working in an area. Eventually the world will be populated. If you start small, build the ant, then build the ant hill, followed by the tree just outside of the ant hill and then keep getting bigger and bigger.

Like I said, I am working from the big picture down. I started with my world, I added the 15 lesser gods (the beings that literally make the world run--none of this physics crap, its all done by thinking rational beings.....is that why the forest moved , When a player character buys a map of the area they are in, I incorporate that map into Realmworks, then if they discover something, I will add that to the map and add it the database. If they meet an NPC (which I typically base the attitude of the NPC on the player characters 'charisma' stat so may be nice to one but a jerk to another). After a while, I will have a group of data that I can recycle and reuse as desired.
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Farling
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Join Date: Mar 2013
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Old March 11th, 2014, 12:44 AM
On the Help ribbon, click on Manuals, then choose the "world builder's guide".

It describes several different possible approaches to building the world, depending on your style of play.

It is quite a useful read.
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