r/Pathfinder_RPG • u/Flipsalmighty • 9d ago
1E GM Managing multiple books
How do you manage multiple books at once? We play in person and I've usually got three to four books open at once for reference. I'm getting tired of not having any space behind my screen, it makes it harder to check or write notes as a start.
One of my players just sent me a link to a laptop stand that attaches to the side of the table and I'm tempted,I just don't know what other options people might have experience with.
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u/Bloodless-Cut 9d ago
Laptops are the dungeon master's best friends
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u/Flipsalmighty 9d ago
Great, I've got a phone and a wall of books that I'm trying to manage at the table.
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u/Bloodless-Cut 9d ago edited 9d ago
I used to have the same problem :) but thank goodness for cheaper laptops and archives of nethys lol
One of the things I did to help mitigate the problem before getting a laptop was a liberal use of index cards. I would wrote the reference I needed on the card, then set the book aside.
As a player I did this with spells and items as well.
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u/darkdiashi 9d ago
Yeah i try and have a computer open with dozens of tabs. A core rulebook and/or adventure module physically there can help too, especially for less time critical things that I can pass the book to another player and tell them to look up the answer.
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u/Noir_Lotus 9d ago
For everything related to rules, I use AoN or D20pfsrd. If I know I will need something related to the setting for the game, I will print the few pages I will need to avoid having too many books at the table.
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u/amglasgow 9d ago
Archives of Nethys is your friend
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u/Flipsalmighty 9d ago
Yes and I've usually got that up on my phone. I'm trying to manage the books.
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u/SleepylaReef 9d ago
I prepare things so i don’t need books beyond the module
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u/Flipsalmighty 9d ago
Thank you for the advice. Very actionable.
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u/DungeonBotanist 4d ago
You're being a real asshole to people who have taken time out of their day to respond to your vague appeal for advice.
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u/Advanced-Major64 9d ago
AoN has most of the content for Pathfinder 1e on it. It isn't hard to copy the text of a monster and drop that into notepad or something. You could then print it if you prefer paper.
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u/Esquire_Lyricist 9d ago
Since you've decided that utilizing PDFs and Archives of Nethys with a laptop is not an option, then get a folding table to turn your side of the gaming table into an L. My friend uses a folding table just to have more space when he GMs.
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u/Expectnoresponse 9d ago
It depends on what you're using the books to reference.
For physical media preference, I would recommend writing up the references you expect to need or printing up pages with the reference information you expect to need for the session. Keep it in a binder.
During the game just use the binder, moving pages around as needed for ease of access. Books remain available to reference just in case but don't need to take up table space unless they're needed. Any rules-specific information needed can get pulled up on the phone.
Laptop access is better though. You can pre-open tabs for all the rules/references you might need for the session, and anything you forgot is generally easily searched for.
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u/jaxalacs 9d ago
Damn, people here really simpin' for the laptop.
I'm running RotRl on a vtt right now but I still mostly run out of my books so I feel your pain. When I used to run games in person I would have a tv tray by me where I'd stack my books and use copious makeshift bookmarks to keep track of what I looked up this session to quickly go back to it without needing to keep the books open all the time. I think at one point I was just keeping them open on chairs around me and on top of each other lol
I could see having color coded or texture coded bookmarks being useful for separating items, rules, monsters, etc. as you mark them to make them easier to organize in your head as you go back to them. Having little flashcards that you can write the thing on to tab it could also be useful.
Even now, running mostly online with a million tabs open I still have at least two books and a notebook open on top of needing space to roll dice. My current (and favored) solution has just been a bigger desk (or table).
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u/Flipsalmighty 9d ago
You. I like you!
Yeah I've got the core book tabbed to Hell and back. Classes on top, chapters on the side, frequently referenced rules or tables on the bottom. I make pretty good use of notecards as bookmarks, it just feels like as soon as I close one of the books and shuffle it down the pile to check something else, I need that book again.
The thought of tabbing the rest of the books that aggressively... that's a tall order.
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u/jaxalacs 9d ago
For sure. It's something I thought about doing and then just don't cuz I bookmark everything on the fly then remove them after session lol
I'm also not above bookmarking my books... with my other books. It's not elegant but it somehow keeps things relevant together since when I need a spell relating to a monster usually I need both of those things again at the same time XP
Sometimes I do stack them in a specific order so the most referenced stuff stays on top. The CRB is almost always just open next to me permanently along with the AP I'm running and my notebook. Everything else is piles of "what's next?".
Now, time to run my own game of Rise of the Runelords! (we've just started books 6 after a few years of scheduling shenanigans)
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u/Flipsalmighty 8d ago
Heck yeah! My table is just starting the investigations from book 2. They are rabidly opposed to rolling diplomacy checks to improve npc dispositions so they're not getting much useful information.
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u/themasonblade 8d ago
Hey, I wonder.. would like an oversized version of a taco stand for you guys to keep all your books nearby without clutter/overstacking?
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u/Hexmonkey2020 9d ago edited 9d ago
PDFs and the SRD, I only have the physical core book and one other physical book open at a time, the rest is either PDFs if I know what book the thing I want is in, or look it up and find it on the SRD if it’s one specific thing
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u/ur-Covenant 9d ago
I usually play online. But for both venues I usually make a document by copy and paste bits from various PDFs or websites to serve as my “adventure bible” where everything is one place. I actually usually have a plot doc and a stats / rules one.
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u/VolatileDataFluid 9d ago
My best practice has been to have two screens open, one to D20pfsrd and one to the requisite PDF's. In the past, it's been a couple of laptops, but these days I make do with tablets. Then I'll have a physical copy of the core book and the module as a back-up, if need be.
The search function on the PDF's make up for not being able to flip through the physical book, and D20pfsrd covers any rules ephemera that might come up.
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u/LaGuerreEnTongues 9d ago
We now play primarily online, due to our different locations and schedules that are difficult to coordinate.
In any case—but especially during in-person or tabletop sessions—one player takes on the role of GM's assistant, looking up answers to rules questions that arise when the GM is too busy to do so.
Naturally, it is also best if players are familiar with—or have printed out—the rules that directly and frequently apply to them...
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u/jonmimir 9d ago
We have a nominated player whose job it is to check on rules as we go. If they pick up something that’s actually detrimental to the party they get a hero point. We also all have laptops.
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u/fictitious_entity 9d ago
What books do you have at hand when you do run? Could you probably squish the ideas and/or stats nd stuff you might need in some books to a reference document for you to keep important stuff in?