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List of Digital GM Tools

Maidhc O Casain

New member
Wizard of Combat
I know Realm Works was mentioned (and discarded) early, but I'd recommend another look. It's true that LoneWolf has stopped development of this app, but they did get almost all of their intended functionality into it before they stopped, and they have recently squashed the last of the major bugs. They have also stated that if they ever do shut down their servers they'll make it possible to use without online functionality.

It is absolutely the most comprehensive world building/campaign management tool I've ever used!
 

ELF

Generator Sage
Wizard of Story
Wizard of Combat
A full version of the articy:draft 3 tool for designing interactive storytelling is now available for free:

articy:draft 3 is the world's leading tool for creating interactive stories​

articy:draft 3 is the place for all your narrative content: witty dialogue, compelling choices, charming characters, useful items, challenging quests, strategic locations and global variables. Even that idea you once had that you didn’t get a chance to fully explore just yet.

It’s a visual standalone tool for writing branching dialogue, planning and content management with dedicated integrations to Unity and Unreal.
https://www.articy.com/en/articydraft/free/

This is intended for planning videogame narratives, but it could be interesting to see if some of the functionality could be applied for tabletop roleplaying as well. (I have no previous experience with this software, but it could be interesting to play with.)
 

ExileInParadise

RPG Therapist
Staff member
Adamantium WoA
Wizard of Story
A full version of the articy:draft 3 tool for designing interactive storytelling is now available for free:

https://www.articy.com/en/articydraft/free/

This is intended for planning videogame narratives, but it could be interesting to see if some of the functionality could be applied for tabletop roleplaying as well. (I have no previous experience with this software, but it could be interesting to play with.)

This looks very interesting to me - I was a big fan of Celtx for screen writing when it came out but it evolved into a paid only thing that was 500 times more than I needed so I let it go.

So, let's see what this has to offer to the video game planner ...
 
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knoppi

Well-known member
Platinum WoA
Gold WoA
Wizard of Story
Borderland Explorer
This feels like it might be a cool way to do a running campaign "zine" for players and what not. Articles and seasons of articles served by a basic site, configurable in plaintext.
https://github.com/zineland/zine
I might experiment with this for my CPRed campaign and see how it goes.
That's interesting. I'm building something very similar mysql. It's Yaml and markdown and not yet completely streamlined. But the idea is very similar. Define a bunch of colors, setup a menu structure and write your text as plain text. If the zine thing doesn't fit your needs @ExileInParadise , you can reach out and maybe my tooling is presentable then.
 

Sklore_jp

Member
I know Realm Works was mentioned (and discarded) early, but I'd recommend another look. It's true that LoneWolf has stopped development of this app, but they did get almost all of their intended functionality into it before they stopped, and they have recently squashed the last of the major bugs. They have also stated that if they ever do shut down their servers they'll make it possible to use without online functionality.

It is absolutely the most comprehensive world building/campaign management tool I've ever used!
As a long time and avid supporter of Realm Works and Hero Lab I'm going to have to say, nope no way.

It wasn't finished. There's so much that was nearly ready that most people don't even know about. I'm under nda so can't speak to exactly what but I will say that the tools potential was not reached. It was ahead of it's time but that time was too early and other tools are now pushing ahead faster than rw will ever be capable of.

Outside of that I can't support lwd anymore. Their communication and treatment of their community left a sour taste in my mouth.

Yes it's a good tool. Better that 90% of what's available still but by no means the best tool anymore. It's ui is dated. It's support is non existent. It's too slow when put under pressure of lots and lots of notes.

My tool of choice these days is Obsidian.md which is free and absolutely incredible.

It's basically the best of every tool I've found so far. It does everything Realm Works did but it does it faster. It does a lot more also. Custom calendars lol are a thing. It has database features similar to Notion. The way it handles its files is alot more open and accessible which opens up many cool things. It has the ability to publish player facing Web sites. Works on mobile and different opporaring systems.

It has absolutely blown me away and I recommend everyone go to this link and have a read (lots of screenshots also).

https://www.patreon.com/posts/67636341
 

Gerald.Lock

Active member
Wizard of Story
We’re a couple of weeks away from alpha testing http://nexus3.games and one of our roadmap items is integrations with complementary services. Our first cab off the rank will be Campaign Logger, thanks to the enthusiastic support of @JohnnFour and @JochenL .
We’d like to know what other services might be helpful to our users, so please feel free to either drop a reply here or directly I n our Public Roadmap board on Trello
https://trello.com/b/L5tT3CCQ/nexus3-public-roadmap

If you’re resident in Australia*, please feel free to register your interest on the nexus3 landing page and we’ll be in touch with updates.

*One of our primary goals is to connect players and GMs with local games, so naturally we’re starting with our local neighbourhood with plans to expand as and when popularity and user base allows.
VTT-hosted games (including a VTT fallback for your local game) are already built in the MVP, it’s really just a matter of scale and satisfying local legislative requirements.

EDIT: Our Public Roadmap board isn't currently set to Public mode while we get our app up to at least beta test stage. Thanks for your interest and patience - I'll update here when it's public again
 
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Sklore_jp

Member
We’re a couple of weeks away from alpha testing http://nexus3.games and one of our roadmap items is integrations with complementary services. Our first cab off the rank will be Campaign Logger, thanks to the enthusiastic support of @JohnnFour and @JochenL .
We’d like to know what other services might be helpful to our users, so please feel free to either drop a reply here or directly I n our Public Roadmap board on Trello
https://trello.com/b/L5tT3CCQ/nexus3-public-roadmap

If you’re resident in Australia*, please feel free to register your interest on the nexus3 landing page and we’ll be in touch with updates.

*One of our primary goals is to connect players and GMs with local games, so naturally we’re starting with our local neighbourhood with plans to expand as and when popularity and user base allows.
VTT-hosted games (including a VTT fallback for your local game) are already built in the MVP, it’s really just a matter of scale and satisfying local legislative requirements.
That names gonna cause confusion. The creators of dndbeyond are releasing Nexus for Pathfinder 2.0.
 

Gerald.Lock

Active member
Wizard of Story
While I’m on the promo / call-out train of thought…

Nexus3 is looking for creative contributors for our emerging TTRPG community service.

Our core functionality provides a unified interface to help players and GMs organise the games they love to play. But as our mission statement affirms, people and a place to gather will soon disperse if they don’t have a unifying ethos - a love for adventure, storytelling and teamwork.

This is the magic that binds us together, inspires our creativity and lifts our eyes to the horizon.

Whether you’re a writer, artist, map-maker, mini-painter, or a GM with a desire to pass on a few treasured tips and tricks, we want to hear from you!

Register your interest or post your proposal to:
content@nexus3.games
 
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Gerald.Lock

Active member
Wizard of Story
That names gonna cause confusion. The creators of dndbeyond are releasing Nexus for Pathfinder 2.0.
Thanks for the heads-up @Sklore_jp - we weren't aware of that development (or the parent platform, Demiplane) but after a detailed review of both, we're confident that what we're doing is sufficiently novel.

Demiplane looks pretty good and might be sufficient for many online-focussed games as it provides built-in (basic) VTT functions in addition to game management.

Pathfinder Nexus appears to be primarily a digital content portal for Paizo titles, effectively giving Demiplane a 'compendium' feature set common to many VTTs in the marketplace.

A core offering to our users is the ability to organise and manage local face-to-face games. No other service we know of offers this.
 

Sklore_jp

Member
Thanks for the heads-up @Sklore_jp - we weren't aware of that development (or the parent platform, Demiplane) but after a detailed review of both, we're confident that what we're doing is sufficiently novel.

Demiplane looks pretty good and might be sufficient for many online-focussed games as it provides built-in (basic) VTT functions in addition to game management.

Pathfinder Nexus appears to be primarily a digital content portal for Paizo titles, effectively giving Demiplane a 'compendium' feature set common to many VTTs in the marketplace.

A core offering to our users is the ability to organise and manage local face-to-face games. No other service we know of offers this.
I was more referring to how the customers will react. If a player came up to me now and said hey have you seen the new Nexus tool? Could be useful for our games. I'm going to immediately think of Pf2 Nexus. It's got a lot of hype already as it's made by the same team who delivered dndbeyond so you can be sure that it's going to be a large and known name in the ttrpg industry with a massive advertising campaign behind it.

If I was in your shoes I'd be concerned that customers won't be able to associate the name to your tool.
 

ELF

Generator Sage
Wizard of Story
Wizard of Combat
The Goblin's notebook is an interesting take on campaign planning:
The Goblin's Notebook is a single-pane view of your tabletop RPG campaign notes for pre-session planning, in-session note taking and post-session recapping.

Keep all your tabletop RPG campaign notes in a single, easy to navigate place. Make connections between creatures, locations, or quests so that you can easily jump from object to object and keep a journal during play. Whether you are a game master who wants to plan ahead or a player that needs to take notes during play, The Goblin's Notebook can help you out.
https://www.the-goblin.net/

The free version is limited and the full capacity can be unlocked via a Patreon subscription.
 
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deadshot2021

Member
Adamantium WoA
Wizard of Story
Wizard of Combat
I am surprised that no one has mentioned OwlBear Rodeo as a VTT. I am very pleased with it. The original version is free and can be found at:
https://www.owlbear.rodeo/

They are hard at work on Owlbear 2.0 which can be found at:
https://www.owlbear.app/

This version has a limited free option and then subscription costs for more storage and rooms (campaigns). I am currently using this version for my school D&D club maps and like how easy it is to get the students set up and running during our lunch break sessions.
 
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