So I've actually started using a web app called
Nuclino. It's quick, fast, simple, etc. And ultimately a much nicer User Experience than Mediawiki or other standard wiki's.
The free version is all you need, if you don't mind your players having read AND write access to all articles.
The biggest drawcard for me is the simple interlinking of articles, using the familiar @method. Type @ then start typing, and it'll list the articles you have that match that string, or allow you to create a new article.
It's like... online index cards, really. And the search box in the header means I can throw any keyword in, and get a relevant list of results.
One feature I'm sorely missing though, is tags. Custom, limitless tags. Maybe in a future update... I'd love to be able to tag my articles, or even paragraphs/sections of articles, with tags to improve searching. It's not a dealbreaker, but it would be nice.
Ok, so here's how I architect the content.
I'm using a Cluster (aka folder) structure to organise my content into the following:
- Mission Log
- General Knowledge
- Characters
-- Players
-- NPCs
- Factions
- Locations
-- Planet
--- City A
- Loot
- Psi
- Spells
So as the game unfolds within RPOL (or during IRL sessions) the players can refer to this knowledge base as needed.
Essentially, it's like the Codex in Mass Effect...
See
http://i.imgur.com/fNeRcBV.jpg screenshot
The Mission Log is probably my favourite part though. I have a Cluster up the very top of the structure, which will contain ALL the Adventure threads the group play through, or are exposed to.
Again, very similar to Mass Effect...
See
https://cdn.jwplayer.com/thumbs/9cJtwX8r-720.jpg screenshot
or even Witcher games, I suppose...
See
https://staticdelivery.nexusmo...430-0-1460926092.png screenshot
Within the Mission Log cluster - I will present each mission/adventure/etc as it's own article -- and it can @internal-link to as many other articles I need to, like NPCs & Locations, etc.
AND Nuclino provides a Task List feature within your article content. So we can keep track of the progress, and what to focus on next.
Also, I have the player character sheets in Nuclino too. It's easy to make tables (rows, columns) within an article - but it's nowhere near as powerful as Google Docs/MS Word, or Sheets/Excel. However, it's neat & smart enough to work quote nicely.
For eg, I have a 6 column table like:
Skill name | Value | Skill name | Value | Skill name | Value
And about 9 rows, which allows for 25 skills. This way just utilises more screen real estate than a 2 column list.
In summary, I'm pretty happy with the tool & this approach as the framework for my games on RPOL & IRL.
It's easy enough to copy & paste content from one article to another, so I've created templates for each of the article types (characters, locations, factions, etc).
---
Once I got going with this, I asked myself another question...
What's the best way to streamline the creation of hooks & opposition in my game?
This question is about process, rather than organisation.
I searched Reddit, StackOverflow, and RPOL forums... and nothing really jumped out at me...
Until... I saw people talking about Fronts... Grim Portents... Dangers... Threats...
Enter
Dungeon World's Fronts system.
O.M.G.
What an eye opener this system was for me. I've only GM'd a handful of times IRL & on RPOL, and have been a player fewer times than that.
But this Fronts system seems to really be the distillation of solutions to so many challenges I've faced, as a budding GM.
I'm all about sandbox-style play... rolling with character goals & needs, and creating experiences & encounters based on player input. As opposed to using published modules, or writing intricate plots... I like to keep things flowing, improv-friendly, but be in a position to have prepped enough for the next session, with the limited time I have for prep.
Now I've got my wiki tool, and the Fronts method...
I wonder what else I can fold in to my prep & organisation process ^_^
This message was last edited by the user at 03:28, Mon 07 Jan 2019.