DM Organisation - Efficiency

Hey All, AD&D DM from the 80's/90's (when pencil & paper weren't dirty words - my manuals are dated 1978 with reprints in '82). Looking for hints on best way to organise DM notes with Roll20 (i.e. in-game .pdf's v's Google Docs for e.g.). Dual monitor with scope for a 3rd. Manufacturing background re: employment, so efficiency and 'Right First Time' ingrained. Have some home-brew one-hits nearly finalised with the aim of them leading into a home-brew continent story. D5e with shaped char. sheets. Relatively literate (can read code, struggle to write it). Planning to upgrade subs in a week or two. Just looking for hints & tips.

I still use paper and pencil/pen for my notes but I then transcribe them to google docs when they are finalized so I have access to it for copy and pasting. I've tried the handouts, the forums, and just making notes on the map itself but nothing, in my opinion, beats the notebook for note taking and google docs for organizing.

Handouts and Folders.  That is how all the modules are done.  You can hyperlink to other handouts that way.  Come up w/ a sort system and place them into folders. Example, my main folders are: Rules (stores handy rules) Characters (Subfolders include PCs, NPCs, and Monster Manual) Adventures (Subfolders contain Adventures and Encounters) Spells (Includes spell templates and actual spell descriptions of spells not in the SRD) Misc (contains useful items and tools) A few others that are applicable only to me (I keep a folder just for commonly used map tiles like doors, another contains API information, etc) If you're all about efficiency, I highly recommend going Pro for the API.  Use it to make your life simpler.  Setting up Initiative, for example, is sooo easy using Group Initiative (once you get over the learning curve on how to set it up how you want.)

Three of Swords said: Handouts and Folders.  That is how all the modules are done.  You can hyperlink to other handouts that way.  Come up w/ a sort system and place them into folders. Very true. I have the Risus system with a variety of settings typed up in handouts and interlinked then all but the index page archived. Works wonderful for that.

Pat S. said: Three of Swords said: Handouts and Folders.  That is how all the modules are done.  You can hyperlink to other handouts that way.  Come up w/ a sort system and place them into folders. Very true. I have the Risus system with a variety of settings typed up in handouts and interlinked then all but the index page archived. Works wonderful for that. Thanks for the feedback. Will have a look at an index system. I guess it was more a question around best practice. An index with links seems like a good way to go.

The only downside that I discovered is that if you want to use it in another game, you will have to transfer everything piece by piece from one game to the other (be it manually, transmogrifier, or some other means) which can be tedious. It is part of the reason for my mentioning the use of google docs as that allows me access to it as long as I have internet access or have it downloaded on my computer or mobile device.

I do things about the same as Three of Swords, though i usually lay things out slightly different (Mostly just a choice of how things work better for me) but its still very similar, API's are a great way to increase quality of life it took me a while of playing about with them to get a real feel for what i wanted to use and what i didn't need (best to run them for a few sessions to see how they feel). Depending on what I run i use a mix of RL notes, I run a pseudo 3 monitor setup (2 main screens on my PC and my laptop for a 3rd), i tend to keep only things that are currently directly needed in my roll20 Journal, and encounter tables etc tend to be more physical notes (tho i have also used rollable tables for some aspects) mainly it comes down to choice. how i normally setup my monitors is to have the main monitor be the roll20 window and map with popping out the NPC sheets as i need them and moving them to the second monitor, second monitor is also where i keep open my discord (as we use that for voice) and it means i can keep an eye if someone drops a msg there instead or roll20, my laptop is used for referencing websites and PDF's. The main thing is that everyone works well in different ways so it may just be a little trial and error (i know some people run 2 accounts so they can have 2 roll20 windows open and use it that way) but make sure you front load for organisation but don't forget there is a search option in the journal if you need to look up a certain character or handout quickly. The shaped sheets are very front loaded and require some set up time so make sure your players and you have some time to play about with them before the game is due to start so you can minimise issues, once set up though they are great. if your comfortable that you have notes that are fine to flick through physically for a one off you only really need to input information into roll20 that will require rolls, such as NPC/monster stats, If you want to roll personally IRL then you don't even need that. Make sure to have maps and tokens set to go though unless you prefer theatre of the mind combat, however i personally feel 5e lends itself to tactical battle map based combat. If you want to try to make an API do something slightly different than the normal use or are looking for an API for a specific job ask in the forums they are great at helping, also spend some time to look at how to create macros tho they arn't needed to run they can be an elequent solution that saves a lot of time

Thanks again for the feedback. Figure I will start small and see what works best. Have started playing around with macros, could be a while before I start delving into API functions.