• Hello game master! Welcome to our growing community. Please take a moment to Register (top right button, see how: Slides).

    If you use Campaign Logger, you can use the same login details - we've linked the app to this forum for secure and easy single sign-on for you.

    And please drop by the Introductions thread and say hi.

What are the use cases for Logs vs. Entries?

MagRoader

Member
Gold WoA
I just got started using Campaign Logger and am not 100% sure how best to use it.

Because it seemed like approximately the right level of abstraction, I started making a "Plot Overview" Log. My intent was that each entry in this log would be a potential "plot beat" and reference characters, locations, organizations, and generally whatever I'd need to know to start fleshing out that portion of my campaign. The word count seemed appropriate at this level to throw in a few bullet points, and mostly just link out to other entries (especially not-yet-existent entries I just made up while thinking up the plot beats).

I was pleased to see that new entries I referenced in this way got sent to the Campaign Entries section, slightly alpha-d out to show that they were just referenced and not yet created. That was great! But I was a little confused when I actually looked at the Log itself and tried to click on these entries - I expected that from the Log I would be able to go visit (or create) the entries, but that wasn't the case. It seems that entries referenced in the log just give you mouseover tooltips, but you can't actually visit/create/edit the entries from there - clicking them instead filters the log by that tag, which... isn't what I want.

Is this a missing feature? Or am I just using the Log wrong? Should my Plot Overview instead itself be a Campaign Entry, perhaps? What's the expected way to organize this? Perhaps these should be Loopy Planning entries instead?

(And while I'm asking questions, what kinds of things would you expect to put into the "Sections", "Pluses", and "Minuses" categories?)
 

ExileInParadise

RPG Therapist
Staff member
Adamantium WoA
Wizard of Story
Here's my personal take:

Outside of session/game time at the table, I mostly work in Campaign Entries.
Campaign entries are longer tagged "wiki page" style repositories of the details about a thing.

During a session, I stick with log entries - the short "notes" that can be made quickly.
If I need to remember something, look up the campaign entry with the details - then get back to the log entries.
Log entries as tagged "tweets" made in the middle of the action that I need to remember to go back and mine later into updates for my campaign entries.

Plusses and Minuses are a good way to remember if someone has some thing in effect (buffs, curses) or other bonuses - especially if you need to remember them across sessions.

Sections are just that - something you want to use as a divider. I use them as a Misc bucket.
 

MagRoader

Member
Gold WoA
Ah, interesting, thanks!

The reason I thought that Campaign Logs might be the feature to use for this was because the header for the Campaign Logs section says:
Add a Bucket Log to record ideas, thoughts, and cool stuff you come up with inbetween sessions. Add a Planning Log to plot your next adventure or session, prepare opposition stats, pick up loose ends, etc

Maybe it's intended to be used as a quick thing just to jot down notes, with intent to later import it into Entries?

If that's the case, perhaps it would be a nice feature to be able to Export (move) a Log Entry to become a Campaign Entry?

Also, for Entries that are for plot overviews, what category should that use? Loopy Planning?
 

JochenL

CL Byte Sprite
Staff member
Adamantium WoA
Wizard of Story
Wizard of Combat
Gamer Lifestyle
Borderland Explorer
If that's the case, perhaps it would be a nice feature to be able to Export (move) a Log Entry to become a Campaign Entry?
You can do that! Click the Copy button of a Log Entry and then select "Create a campaign entry for tag:"
1638167966191.png
1638167946069.png
 

JochenL

CL Byte Sprite
Staff member
Adamantium WoA
Wizard of Story
Wizard of Combat
Gamer Lifestyle
Borderland Explorer
I usually run PiXiE: Prepare - eXecute - Evaluate.
  • I am using Logs for short note-taking (in and out of sessions) - X and every time I have an idea.
  • During Preparation, I revisit my ideas and last session notes and write a short planning entry in my planning log where I reference everything of relevance (plot loops, ideas, Campaign Entries of locations, characters, events, etc.)
  • During Evaluation, I go through my session's log entries, summarize them into a published log entry, and update any Campaign Entries affected by the last session's events. If this process triggers ideas I shortly write them down in my ideas log so they further ferment till the next Prep.
In a hurry/during games: log entries
During prep/eval manifesting things: campaign entries

+ are boons for me
- are banes for me
§ hold my scenario's parts (for an example see https://campaign-community.com/inde...geon-zine-1-the-tower-of-drowned-shadows.322/)

Often I just log new stuff as * and refine the tag later during Evaluation.
 

DarbiusMaximus

New member
Platinum WoA
Wizard of Story
Outside of session/game time at the table, I mostly work in Campaign Entries.
Campaign entries are longer tagged "wiki page" style repositories of the details about a thing.

During a session, I stick with log entries - the short "notes" that can be made quickly.
If I need to remember something, look up the campaign entry with the details - then get back to the log entries.
Log entries as tagged "tweets" made in the middle of the action that I need to remember to go back and mine later into updates for my campaign entries.

This was really helpful for me, thanks! I could tell that this was a very useful platform, but I was struggling with how to use it. I'm taking a slight twist on this, but generally am sticking with your approach. Essentially if there is a person, place, plot point, or thing that I know I'm going to want to "call" it should be a Campaign Entry. Everything else goes in a log entry. I'll see how it works, but this got me off to a great start!
 
Top