DMs! What do you use to write?

[sturdy finch]

Hey!

I'm currently trying to write a little one-shot, and I'm looking for a way to improve things for myself when it comes to keeping things neat and organized.

What programs or websites do you guys use to write campaigns/one-shots?

What kind of formatting do you use?

Could you provide a little snippet for visual inspiration?

Thanks a ton!!

[shadow ice]

What programs or websites do you guys use to write campaigns/one-shots?

Normally I just use Google Docs to keep track of things, but honestly I think any word processor would be fine.

What kind of formatting do you use?
I'll write down a general set of "story beats" the players will encounter during the one-shot or which I suspect they'll encounter during the session--campaign documents thus tend to be more complex and varied than one-shot documents; the former need to take into account potential player variables, while the latter are usually quite linear.

An example of a campaign document would look something like...

• Describe an area.
• Note major elements of the area with bulletpoints to remind myself in 1-2 lines what those things would mean for players.

Whereas a one-shot document would essentially just be...

• Introduction (10 minutes)
• Explain the Quest (10 minutes)
• Combat #1 (1 hour)
• Puzzle/exploration/roleplay/et cetera event (30 minutes)
• Combat #2 (1 hour)
• Conclusion

Could you provide a little snippet for visual inspiration?
Sure, here's an example of a campaign session where players transition from investigating an abandoned camp to a battle sequence.

I'll also note that my scripts can be more or less intricate--there are some sessions I basically improvise on the spot, and some sessions which I'll meticulously construct and plan. It really depends on the energy I have that week and what my players are dealing with. If it's just a week for RNG table encounters for example, I don't really need to plan much at all.

[sturdy finch]

Thank you so much man! Really appreciate the answer and example!

Do you, or is it common, to write down any DC checks that could be used during a scene, or do you usally just decide those sort of things on the spot?

For example, for my one shot a boulder might crush the player guide, but now I'm just thinking of all the things that could happen to avoid, DC to see the boulder, DC to push the guide and go unharmed, DC for pushing and getting hurt, DC for failing and so on.

Now I'm like "What about a DC for telekenisis?" or "What about health for the boulder?"

Am I doing too much? LOL

smth like this

[shadow ice]

Depends entirely on the purpose of the narrative device. 🤣 But sometimes yes.

Mostly I just have the DC table memorized and I glance at a player's level to generally gauge relative difficulty.

Like I know most PC's from levels 1-4 will have a +4 or a +5 on average to their skills, attack rolls, et cetera. (And saving throw DC's will naturally hover around 12 or 13--8+4 or 8+5 respectively.)

Ergo in the early levels, they can pass DC 5's reliably, DC 10's often, DC 15's sometimes, and DC 20's and up are effectively incredibly hard save for characters who go all-in on that sort of thing (expertise, guidance, bless, enhance ability, et cetera).

Conversely, I know most PC's will walk into level 10 content with a +9 on average, so a DC 10 suddenly becomes effortless, a DC 15 easy, a DC 20's a coin toss, and DC's 25 & 30 difficult and near impossible each respectively. (Again: Barring expertise, guidance, enhance ability, et cetera.)

But that comes with a significant degree of experience--I've been DMing 5e pretty consistently multiple times a week for a few years now. I can just go by vibe on that and get it right most of the time.

Writing down a specific DC is not a bad idea at all--and I'll do that if the DC deviates from the standard table. (Eg: A boss with a DC 18 check defies the normal table and may get written down.)

Also keep in mind that I'll generally do DC's for material I expect to affect players. In your above example of "boulder crushes guide", I probably wouldn't bother. If a player wants to intervene, I'll invent a DC on the spot based on how difficult I think it would be for them, and I'll candidly warn them if I think it'll be highly unlikely to succeed and/or dangerous to try.

So yes, you're doing fine. :) Experiment and play around, you'll find what works for you. Every DM is different.

[sturdy finch]

Thanks so much! So far DC skill checks are what is making me think the most, especially visual stuff. I don't wanna make it too easy, but also not too hard so some content might be missed.

I'll definitely rely more on in the moment from now on tho, thanks!

[shadow ice]

A lot of D&D is improvisation. Your players will try weird things you can't plan for, and that's fine. The best words to add to your vocabulary are "yes, and", "yes, but", and "no, but".

Have fun!

[sturdy finch]

Thank you!!

[lunar pendant]

I wont elaborate on my system too much since its honestly not too useful for people that arent quite tech savy/who arent coders, but im using neovim with the neorg plugin

[fervent orbit]

I found a program called articy draft 3 lately. It's a bit complicated though and I am unsure if it's actually helping me or hurting XD

[terse spire]

I use a drawing program, Medibang. I draw my dungeon and think of what would be an interesting story for a place, what kind of monsters are in it, what kind of puzzles and loot are in it, and then maybe some design elements that allude to a history. Then I figure out from there why the players want to explore it.