| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| BlaiseC |
Posted - 23 Apr 2013 : 02:32:12
Hi there. I've observed the boards for a couple weeks but haven't actually posted yet. I've been a storyteller off and on for several years but as I expand my interests and capabilities I've run into something of an issue. I am having difficulties tracking my NPCs. Using them in combat is easier but only marginally. I've tried several methods where I've used Word, Excel and One Note on my laptop. There is only so much room on any of those so I end up doing a lot of scrolling and getting lost. I've done hard copies but then I feel like I'm getting over run with paper and have to keep shuffling around looking for the right one. I've found a couple fantastic npc generators but tracking them after I've created them in order to use them is where I'm getting tripped up. Any suggestions for an old DM that's attempting to fly higher? |
| 7 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| xaeyruudh |
Posted - 01 May 2013 : 19:46:40
I use Excel for large groups of anything... NPCs, monsters, spells & items, whatever. Tabs are helpful to separate classes/types, but the real timesaver for me is filters. That may not be an option if you have an old version of Excel, but you can still use Ctrl-F to find even a small fragment of a name, and F3 to jump between however many things turn up in the Find. Lastly, I favor Excel (although Word or a text file provide this too) for sorting... scrolling is faster when everything is alphabetical or sorted by CR or whatever you need at the moment.
As far as paper systems I like note cards, because they're reasonably small and you can mix and sort them however you want. The 2e Monstrous Compendium was far superior to the monster manuals because you could alphabetize across any number of appendices... and you could just take the pages you want and not have to lug 6 or 8 monster books around. The obvious downfall of any paper system is that sorting (and flipping pages to reach what you want) starts to eat up more and more time.
One mix you might consider is having your "main" list in Excel, and sorting/filtering/cutting&pasting for the NPCs you know you're going to use in a particular session. A simple concatenate formula will create a custom stat block for you including whatever information you want... then you can print out this list and have the information you need without scrolling. Concatenate won't allow bolding or coloring the text, but you can use several highlighters once it's printed out to colorize important information like AC and HP or whatever. Then you only need to consult the laptop or other paperwork when the PCs do something totally unexpected (which they will, but you won't have to scroll for your major NPCs)... or you can semirandomly generate a new NPC in those circumstances, write down the details on your printed copy, and add them to your master index later.
Anyway, I don't mean to sound like this will make things run totally smoothly 100% of the time. Everyone needs to be patient, particularly as the campaign advances and the DM has an evergrowing stack of custom NPCs to juggle. So don't stress too much about needing time to find things. Have fun! 
Edit: I haven't used Obsidian Portal but it sounds brilliant... if a bit heavy in the initial investment of time. I have done some barebones HTML pages in other projects and it works pretty well to have a simple list of names; when you need details, click on a name and have everything you need, then click Back to get back to the list. More time-consuming to create than an Excel list, and maybe not as easily filtered unless it's a wiki, but you can see/hide a whole character sheet with clicks. |
| Delwa |
Posted - 01 May 2013 : 19:03:40
I use 3x5 cards with an abbreviated stat block for combat. Arrange the cards in with placeholder cards for PC's and that helps keep track of initiative. Being able to read and write small helps. As has been mentioned, Obsidian Portal keeps track of NPC's on the long-term scale. |
| Derulbaskul |
Posted - 29 Apr 2013 : 13:15:38
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert (snip) Defining all that in a stat block limits the DM -- saying he's a CG HM F12 Str17 Dex16 is more than enough for most DMs.
Also, with 3.xE stat blocks they not only took half the page they were typically riddled with errors.
If you're going to include them, get them right.
That said, I prefer the 2E format. Even for my 4E games I write up most NPCs as alignment, gender, race and class (or monster role: artillery, brute, controller, skirmisher, soldier).
@OP: Have you used Obsidian Portal (obsidianportal.com)? It has a page for characters, both PCs and NPCs, which links to the character's own page where you can have publicly-seen information, information for the DM only and information available to a specific player. You can also include a picture of the NPC.
I use this for all my NPCs now. I break up the information about them (as I do with locations and organisations/factions) into Common Knowledge, Rumours and Secrets and hide the appropriate parts. I can even use this when I am DMing (I typically DM with my laptop open) and include any other information I may need to know when the PCs encounter that NPC. That can also, of course, include notes about previous meetings.
Also, when I write up our sessions I can link back to the NPC's page whenever they are mentioned so it makes it very easy for all of us to keep track of who was met etc.... Of course, you can also hide the NPCs that haven't been met completely from the players and switch them to "public" once they have been encountered.
I love Obsidian Portal. :)
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| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 23 Apr 2013 : 21:51:36
quote:
Originally posted by crazedventurers
I use a hardback book, make a few notes about them in the glorious shorthand of the FRA*: Dargor Greybarren HM NE W12, (i.e. human male, neutral evil wizard 12th level), with a few add ons (hair colour, limp, 3 magic items, a spell or 3 he always carries etc) and then just make the rest up as I go along if the the PC's interact with him/her/it.
I don't stress too much about exact notes, so just because Dargor had a staff of fire the first time the PC's tangled with him 2 years ago (real time), doesn't mean he still has it when I use him the next time and instead he has a rod of the python,(probably because I made something up on the fly the first time the PC's faced him and didn't write it all down   )
It's not exact or scientific but it works for me as the NPC's also change and grow over time as well as the PC's so it adds some verisimilitude to the ongoing campaign and also keeps the players on their toes as things change so it makes recurring NPC's interesting to them as well.
Cheers
Damian
*FRA: Forgotten Realms Adventures (TSR 2106) hardback for the 2E Realms. An excellent resource for any edition of the game.
Those kinds of abbreviated stat blocks were in a lot of the 2E material, and I still very much favor that format. I complained about that a lot in 3E... Not only did they waste much space with the page-long stat blocks, it also overly defined everything. All a DM needs is enough to aim them in the right direction -- let the DM decide if Bahb the Fighter also happens to be an excellent cook, or is a skilled dancer, or if he makes pottery that barely holds pebbles, much less water. Defining all that in a stat block limits the DM -- saying he's a CG HM F12 Str17 Dex16 is more than enough for most DMs. |
| crazedventurers |
Posted - 23 Apr 2013 : 20:31:45
I use a hardback book, make a few notes about them in the glorious shorthand of the FRA*: Dargor Greybarren HM NE W12, (i.e. human male, neutral evil wizard 12th level), with a few add ons (hair colour, limp, 3 magic items, a spell or 3 he always carries etc) and then just make the rest up as I go along if the the PC's interact with him/her/it.
I don't stress too much about exact notes, so just because Dargor had a staff of fire the first time the PC's tangled with him 2 years ago (real time), doesn't mean he still has it when I use him the next time and instead he has a rod of the python,(probably because I made something up on the fly the first time the PC's faced him and didn't write it all down )
It's not exact or scientific but it works for me as the NPC's also change and grow over time as well as the PC's so it adds some verisimilitude to the ongoing campaign and also keeps the players on their toes as things change so it makes recurring NPC's interesting to them as well.
Cheers
Damian
*FRA: Forgotten Realms Adventures (TSR 2106) hardback for the 2E Realms. An excellent resource for any edition of the game. |
| Darkmeer |
Posted - 23 Apr 2013 : 05:25:59
What I do is a mixture of paper and not paper. I keep a note card for when I will run the NPC. I put their general personality traits on one side, and how they will react to various "expected" questions. Unexpected questions always come up, but this prepares me mentally for how I should run the NPC. Now, I have a massive amount of NPC's to keep track of in a game in general. Sometimes it's just "give the PC's a feeling this guy/gal is hiding something."
Sometimes it's a very crazy idea. My most recent was an "angel" of Leira, who had forgotten herself, with an entire island being a riddle for the PC's to figure out. She became less forgetful each riddle they solved.
Now, for the electronic part, I keep my NPC's and their recent interactions with the PC's in a file. I make my own PDF's with bookmarks, so it's really easy to find who I want, when I want. I use openoffice.org, and, despite taking a little getting used to, it's my go-to for this type of thing. Sometimes I'll scan a character sheet for the "cover" of an NPC, with all the interactions after their main stuff. Bookmarks help. A lot. I didn't do that initially, and now it's constant. |
| Kentinal |
Posted - 23 Apr 2013 : 02:42:18
In some ways it depends on how much you want at finger tips. Character sheets of course the basic tool, which can be kept Word, Excel, etc. You say scrolling is part of your problem, you might consider tabs when using Excel, rather then page down to NPC, you could tab over to NPC. You should be able to have 6 to 8 spreadsheets in one file, each tab for major NPC.
As a DM you likely have far more then 8, however in general during play a single game session it likely would not be very more then that for encounter.
How you organize them of course is something you will need to decide if the idea appeals to you.
Large groups of minor NPCs of course can be treated as groups of short entry. The Excel of course would let you easy to track damage in combat. |
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