Not only did the software provide more contextual links that let me actually find my notes, but it encouraged me to keep my notes, my prep, and my engagement up. I came to understand the utility of online campaign managers from a stretch of time when I was using Obsidian Portal to host documents for several of the campaigns I was running. The longer your campaign gets, though, and the more writing and setting creation you do, the more information you have to manage and the more you begin to outstrip your tools. I personally run most of my campaigns in Google Docs and Google Sheets, and the rudimentary collaboration capabilities available in Google Drive are enough for my purposes most of the time. I mention these specific pieces of software because they’re either free or ubiquitous, and using at least one of them, along with the built-in capabilities for outlining and document linking, should require no purchase at all. Even if you’re completely digital, the same principles of the binder apply easily to either a word processor like Word or Google Docs, or a notes app like OneNote. The old ways, involving notebook paper and maybe a three ring binder or two, still work, and plenty of people are perfectly happy with the analog organizational systems they’ve come up with. I think it’s fair to say that no one needs a specific tool, let alone a specific online tool, to run and organize an RPG campaign. That said, a campaign manager is another tool in the GM’s already bursting toolbox, and reviewing the campaign managers out there fairly starts with a question of need. If it sounds good, it’s because I think it is good I’ve used the campaign manager Obsidian Portal in the past and it’s very likely that I will start using one of the sites reviewed in this article in the near future. What makes campaign managers different from simple note-taking software is that ability to share and collaborate with your players, which helps extend your table into the setting as you’re envisioning and creating it. Campaign managers don’t aim to run your game or change your environment, but instead serve to provide structure for both your game notes and the setting material you present to your players. Somewhere between a completely analog down-in-the-basement experience and a session run entirely on a virtual tabletop is the use case of the campaign manager. And while that answer still works, it’s 2023. How do you keep all that straight? For years, the standard answer was a spiral-bound notebook, maybe a binder if your notes got particularly voluminous. Between sessions you need to prep and see what’s changed. During the game you need to track what your characters do and who they encounter. Before the game, you need to sketch out your setting and initial conceit. Roleplaying games are an information-heavy endeavor.
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