Questions regarding info the players have learned.

[Diceman]

Hello, I have been wondering about this for a while now so I figured I would ask.

Will Realm Works allow me as a GM to track when some players know certain facts about a campaign that others do not? Looking at the example pics it seems like only general party knowledge is trackable.

If the answer to the above question is yes, will only players who know something be able to see that info when they log into the cloud to review campaign notes?

And if all that is true will there be a way for me as a DM to remind specific players that they have confidential info through the program? i.e. some way to flag pieces of information as secret to that player.

Will there be a way for me to use the RW interface to send and recieve private messages that they will see when they log into the campaign cloud site?

Will there be a way for the GM to track which messages have been read?

Even though I don't like it my current players love to comiserate with the GM away from the table. Hoping that RW will help me keep track of that sort of activity.
I am looking forward to trying Realm Works when it becomes available.

[chiefweasel]

I dont think we'l really know until the produce is released. From what I saw at gen Con though, the question to 1) is yes. but i dont think you can limit the information to just aspecific character/player.

I didnt see any form of IM in RW as well. Its a campign tracker not a game runner. If HL ever goes cloud based, and i suspect it will in time, then an IM would be a nice add on.

[rob]

Originally Posted by Diceman

Will Realm Works allow me as a GM to track when some players know certain facts about a campaign that others do not? Looking at the example pics it seems like only general party knowledge is trackable.

Not initially. We're planning that for the future, but it introduces a large number of extra complexities that we're not going to tackle in V1.0. If we try to do everything in V1.0, we'll never get it out the door, and this is one of those areas where we're scaling back for the first release.

Originally Posted by Diceman

If the answer to the above question is yes, will only players who know something be able to see that info when they log into the cloud to review campaign notes?

That's the plan for when we actually add the functionality.

Originally Posted by Diceman

And if all that is true will there be a way for me as a DM to remind specific players that they have confidential info through the program? i.e. some way to flag pieces of information as secret to that player.

Yep, that's the plan.

You've identified some of the important bits of complexity here that contribute to us deferring this capability until after V1.0. Not only is this something we have to track in the data, it's also something we need to weave into the UI in an appropriate way.

Originally Posted by Diceman

Will there be a way for me to use the RW interface to send and recieve private messages that they will see when they log into the campaign cloud site?

That's the plan and this is targeted for inclusion in V1.0. We see this as an interim way to provide private information to individual PCs/players.

Originally Posted by Diceman

Will there be a way for the GM to track which messages have been read?

I don't think that's currently on the todo list, but it wouldn't be overly complex to add. This is an example of why we're planning to do a multi-phase Beta test over many months. We know we haven't thought of everything that's going to be important. :-)

Originally Posted by Diceman

Even though I don't like it my current players love to comiserate with the GM away from the table. Hoping that RW will help me keep track of that sort of activity.

I think so. There are features that can definitely be used in this regard. However, I'd need to know more about exactly what you're trying to achieve before I can give a definite yes or no. And during the Beta we'll be refining and enhancing things, so a "no" right now could easily become a "yes" in a few months. :-)

[Diceman]

Originally Posted by Diceman
Even though I don't like it my current players love to comiserate with the GM away from the table. Hoping that RW will help me keep track of that sort of activity.

Originally Posted by rob

I think so. There are features that can definitely be used in this regard. However, I'd need to know more about exactly what you're trying to achieve before I can give a definite yes or no. And during the Beta we'll be refining and enhancing things, so a "no" right now could easily become a "yes" in a few months. :-)

Rob,
thanks for the feedback.

To answer your question, my saturday group uses rotating GMs and the other two GMs started getting into the habit of emailing players with secret knowledge and stirring the plots ect away from the table.
Most of the players seem to like that sort of thing.

Personally I am an old school gamer (circa 1978) who prefers that everything happen at the table 95% of the time. I don't like players keeping tons of secrets from each other.

Having said that I am willing to adapt to new things and that is what got me thinking to ask these questions about Realm Works.

After a couple of versions are developed I hope to be able to do all communications through the program and not need to use direct emails ect.

One other question about functionality I had after I posted originally was about adding and editing information to a campaign in progress.
Let's say I have a NPC fighter originally at the battle of Orc Hill. Lets say originally he led a charge of calvary and that gets revealed. Later for some story reasons I decide he was a member of the Archery corp instead.
Will I be able to change those factoids on the fly? And if I do will it auto update in the players knowledge base?

[rob]

Originally Posted by Diceman

After a couple of versions are developed I hope to be able to do all communications through the program and not need to use direct emails ect.

That's our goal as well.

Originally Posted by Diceman

Let's say I have a NPC fighter originally at the battle of Orc Hill. Lets say originally he led a charge of calvary and that gets revealed. Later for some story reasons I decide he was a member of the Archery corp instead. Will I be able to change those factoids on the fly? And if I do will it auto update in the players knowledge base?

Absolutely. Realm Works is designed to be a *living* database of your campaign. As you evolve your world, you reflect that into Realm Works. This includes revisions and changes that occur, whether they be through the course of play (Fred the NPC joins Faction X in response to something the PCs do) or by GM fiat (you simply change your mind about X, as in your example above).

[Kendall-DM]

I had one question, is RW able to be used as a virtual tabletop? I want to start running my game online as a later date (when I move away specifically) and my players still want to play. I'm looking at d20Pro, FG2, and MapTool right now, but not willing to get any particular one until I know the capabilities of RW. Actually, MapTools is free, so that's the one I have right now, but just wondering, because there are things in each software that I like that is not in all three. Auto fog of war with individual character lighting is the big reason I like MapTool.

[rob]

Originally Posted by Kendall-DM

I had one question, is RW able to be used as a virtual tabletop?

We have no plans to compete in the VTT arena. There are already some very good tools available. Our focus with RW is on the development and management of *content* for your campaign. As such, we plan to provide smooth integration with Hero Lab and other common programs that people use for specific types of content (images, maps, audio, video, PDFs, Word documents, etc.). We view VTTs the same way and will be doing what we can to ensure our respective products work well together.

[Kendall-DM]

Well, I just want to say, I'm looking forward to the product. However, if you ever decided you want to make a VTT that works hand in hand with HL and RW, I'm on board, especially if you incorporate the features that many of these excellent products have. FG2 for its excellent storytelling. MapTools for its fog of war and lighting effects (amazing). d20Pro for its versatility. If you did, you would have the premier Gaming Suite.

[thedarkelf007]

I agree, though as it is, Hero Lab by itself makes running Pathfinder the easiest D&D campaign I have run in 24 years. If each tool they add to the RPG fold is the same, then you have me (and my groups) clambering to get hold of the next tool and updates.

Especially when it saves players having to buy all the physical supplements and accidentally read all the GM info

I'm looking forward to having a place to do the following:
- Show maps from the setting the players have access to
- Show maps from the setting with information the characters have discovered, including where they have been, and when they were there
- Tie in session information into campaign information
- Link NPC's to the sessions they were involved in, to the plot lines I am using them for, to the locations they interact with, to points in time so if I have a dynamic plan based on chronological events I can determine ahead of time where certain people will be
- Provide more information regarding items characters find (there is no room for notes in hero lab regarding items in pathfinder)
- Build up resources as I run / play to make sessions run smoother
- Be able to use it in four RPG games (2x Shadowrun / Pathfinder / Star Wars)
- To link in my audio recordings of my sessions for players who have missed the game or just want to revisit what happened
- To have the ability to expose sections of a map as characters explore, and show images of views, NPCs and relating information without printing them all the time.
- To run the game for me so we call can be players... no wait that's a MMO