Post/Author/DateTime

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Dugar 09-14-07, 05:19 PM

I recently convinced my brother and girlfriend to try D&D. The problem is that makes me the defacto GM. I've muddled through some sessions, and while they've all had major problems, my group seems to have enjoyed them. But they could be so much better. I was hoping to find some programs that could assist me to prepare quicker and run the game better. I have looked around and downloaded a lot of demos (this link had a lot (http://forums.gleemax.com/leaving.php?destination=http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php%3Ft%3D328817)), but I was hoping to get some personal recommendations. As far as preparation goes, I really wanted an encounter generator that could give me a mix of monsters that'd fit the current environment and match the parties EL. I've found 3 with DM tools (http://www.dmtools.org/encounters.php?act=monster&el=3&temp=Cold&excAny=n&excNPC=y&enviro1=Any&enviroTTL=65) being the best one. However, I was hoping there was something better. I really wanted one that would do all that, generate treasure that would fit the monsters, and give me the stats/descriptions of the monsters (I don't care if they're 3rd party monsters or not. I just want them to be reasonably balanced). If nothing like that exists, I can deal. I'm split between treasure generators. I like the interface of elscheff's generator (http://elschefftgen.sourceforge.net/) better than Jamis Buck's (http://www.aarg.net/~minam/treasure2.cgi), but it doesn't do cursed items like Buck's does. I haven't found anything that can help me with exp yet. I was also hoping for something that can help me with descriptions. Descriptions are a huge weakness of mine, and I was hoping to find a generator that would just describe stuff, objects, rooms, statues, candelabras, etc. I couldn't find anything that'd do this without the knowledge of how to customize it (that I lack). As far as running the game goes, I really just want something that can speed it up. A program that could quickly pull up rules, skills, and spells would be very useful. I want to use a tablet pc, so if I have to navigate to the rule I want with anything other than mouse clicks, it's no longer speedy. The best program I've found for this is DM's familiar. (http://www.paladinpgm.com/dmf/) It works, and it has the best dice roller I've found. However, I feel like it could be easier to navigate. I'm also looking for any other way to speed combat up. If anyone has any suggestions/recommendations, I'd love to hear them.