# Obsidian - Entering an Adventure or Module ![[images/Obsidian-Entering-an-Adventure-or-Module.webp]] [Watch on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEQ4x2yY5o8) · 1:06:03 · Josh Plunkett · 2023-04-30 > Written from the video's full English automatic captions (en-orig track via yt-dlp default client; the duplicate en track hit HTTP 429). ## Outline ### 00:00 Intro: why put a module into Obsidian at all? - Today's topic: taking a published **adventure or module** and entering it into Obsidian, covering data entry, formatting, and the decisions along the way. - Josh won't run from a **hardcover book** (too much flipping) and finds **PDFs** only a little better ("a bookmarked book"). He wants **full control** so he can edit the module, flesh out NPCs, and add descriptions. ### 01:00 Where will the data come from? - Don't try to type up a hardcover. If you must, scan it and use OCR (e.g. **OneNote**'s text-from-image tools; possible future video). - **PDFs**: do a **copy-and-paste check**. Paste a sample into Notepad (or anything with spell check) to look for broken characters. Older PDFs store text as presentation glyphs and can come out garbled, so checking word by word is painful. Newer **Paizo** PDFs paste cleanly, but they keep the PDF's hard line breaks. - **D&D Beyond** (the "dragon in the room"): copying from a web service such as **Lost Mine of Phandelver** gives long unbroken paragraphs. His rule: web service > PDF > hardcover. - **Demiplane Pathfinder Nexus** (early closed beta at filming): *A Fistful of Flowers* pastes nicely formatted. It's the better route, but he deliberately uses the PDF to teach the harder lessons. - Tip: buy **Paizo Foundry VTT modules**, import them into **Foundry**, then use a Foundry→Obsidian export module to get the whole adventure pre-formatted (future video). - Chosen module: **A Fistful of Flowers**, a free, bright Pathfinder 2e one-shot. ### 08:00 Vault hierarchy: World folder, modules, short paths - His personal **Obsidian5eVault** has **1. World** (borrowed from **Realm Works**' *World Almanac*), split into **FR** (a Forgotten Realms wiki), **5e Modules**, and **3rd Party Modules**, with one folder per module. **Tyranny of Dragons** is split further into **Hoard of the Dragon Queen** and **Rise of Tiamat**. - Keep folder names short. **Windows path-length limits** caused odd behavior (including early **Dataview** problems), so it's "World", not "World Almanac". - In the tutorial vault: World → **One Shot Adventures** → **A Fistful of Flowers**, converted to a **folder note** (Ctrl-click) that acts as the module's parent page. ![[images/Obsidian-Entering-an-Adventure-or-Module-t0830.webp]] *Obsidian5eVault's 1. World folder (2,622 files, 263 folders) expanded to 3rd Party Modules / 5e Modules / FR, next to DM Screen, The Party, Mechanics, Session Journals, and z_Templates.* ### 10:50 Building the module's landing note - Uses **ShareX** (free) to screenshot the cover art and paste it into the folder note, then copies in the intro callout and **Adventure Background**. - **Ctrl+V vs Ctrl+Shift+V**: a normal paste keeps source formatting such as live URLs. Paste-as-plain-text turns them into visible text, which he prefers for data entry. - PDF text arrives as short broken lines. Fixing them by hand (space, delete, repeat) is slow, so… ### 13:00 Text Format plugin: merge broken paragraphs (Alt+V) - Installs community plugin **Text Format** and binds **"Merge broken paragraphs in selection"** to **Alt+V**. The plugin has many other commands (lists, URL→wikilinks, remove hyphens, etc.). - Workflow: press Enter after each real paragraph end, select everything, press Alt+V, and the paragraphs reflow. Then add `#` headings. The table of contents is left until last. ![[images/Obsidian-Entering-an-Adventure-or-Module-t1340.webp]] *Settings → Hotkeys filtered to Text Format commands, with "Merge broken paragraphs in selection" waiting for a hotkey; A Fistful of Flowers is under World / One Shot Adventures in ObsidianTTRPGVault.* ### 14:30 Pre-create chapter and NPC notes for linking - Creates **Ch1. The Great Grain Robbery**, **Ch2. Dig Four Plots**, and **Ch3. Concluding the Adventure**. The chapter-number prefix keeps them in sort order whatever the titles are. - Creates **NPCs** notes in advance (**Bottlespeaker**, **Fluff Fang**, **Popcorn**, **Reaching Rings**). The content doesn't matter yet. Because the names exist, links resolve as text is pasted in. - Hides the folder-note file list and uses the **ITS Theme**'s `|right` image alignment for the cover art (this gives his D&D-book look). ### 18:00 Page-by-page paste, paragraph checks, callouts from templates - Copies **Chapter 1** from the PDF. He watches for stray characters where columns or callouts interleave and checks paragraph starts by reading the first few words of each one. - Alt+V, `#` headings, **Ctrl+B** for inline labels like *Clues* and *Crossing the River*. - **Read-aloud box**: **Alt+T** (template hotkey) → *Read Aloud* inserts a callout template. He keeps a **Markdown / Call Out Boxes** template folder (also available to Patreons) plus a parent note previewing every callout color and icon. - Pastes **page by page**, never the whole PDF, because sidebar and callout content gets mixed in across page boundaries. ![[images/Obsidian-Entering-an-Adventure-or-Module-t2110.webp]] *Ch1. The Great Grain Robbery in progress: a `> [!note]+ Read Aloud` callout template just inserted above the leshy intro text, with The River Crossing heading below.* ### 23:00 Speed tips, images, stat-block placeholders - Markdown is "so easy": hashes for headings, bold for keyword-plus-colon labels (*Tracking the Footprints*, *Clues*, *Creature*). - PDF art often comes with a black background. Quick fix: ShareX's eyedropper and white boxes. It's better done in an image editor that supports transparency, and it's for **personal use only**. Image floated right like the printed module. - **Stat blocks are skipped** at first (the most complex part) and left as a placeholder callout (e.g. *Glimmer*) to finish at the end. - `==highlight==` marks rewards (rendered by ITS Theme). Sidebar callouts in the PDF are separate objects, so copy them separately. - An extra blank line after titles before Alt+V keeps headings from merging. Markdown ignores extra blank lines anyway. ### 31:00 Dungeon rooms as nested headings - **A1 Crystal Room** means a dungeon room, so rooms become **H3** under the H2 section. That makes them nestable and, importantly, linkable from the map. - Continues pasted sentences across page breaks and adds read-aloud callouts as he goes ("easier to format now than go back later"). ### 33:30 Leaflet dungeon map with linked room markers - Copies the module's two map images from the back of the PDF. Pasted images go to the vault's **attachments folder** (z_Assets). He renames them by convention (e.g. *map-crystals-candle-wax*). - Alt+T → **map** template → **dungeon map** (Leaflet; see his Leaflet video). Sets **defaultZoom 16.5** (read from the hover), lowers the height, and sets width to 80. - Right-click → **Point of interest** marker (custom marker types; he switches to a star) → *Note to open* `Ch1. The Great Grain Robbery#A1 Crystal Room (Trivial)`. Typing `#` lists all H2/H3/H4 headings. Hovering a marker previews that section. - Optional: put short read-aloud text in the marker description. ![[images/Obsidian-Entering-an-Adventure-or-Module-t3640.webp]] *Leaflet dungeon map of the shop basement with the marker dialog open (Marker Type: Point of interest, Note to Open, Description). The template sidebar shows Call Out Boxes and Insert Dungeon Map (Leaflet).* ### 38:00 Powering through the rest of Chapter 1 - Adds the *Bad Vibrations* hazard placeholder and highlights skill checks like **DC 15 Athletics** so they stand out at the table. - **Ctrl+Shift+Left/Right** jumps word by word during heavy editing. He batches similar tasks so muscle memory speeds them up. - Finishes the map markers (cluttered storeroom, bedroom). - **Pinned map pane**: Ctrl-click to open a second copy, drag it to another pane, switch to preview, then **Pin**. Clicking markers then opens content in the main pane. ### 45:00 Chapter 2 and 3; time and mindset - A big book takes him **four or five nights**, and he finds it relaxing. While pasting he counts chapters and sections to plan the layout. Chapter 3 is *Concluding the Adventure*. ### 46:50 Image cleanup vs buying digital - Demo: paste-as-new-image in an image editor, use the fuzzy-select wizard, then **Layer → Transparency → Add Alpha Channel** to delete backgrounds. The result is noisy, possibly because of PDF image protection. AI background removers exist. - Easier: **Demiplane** already has clean, transparent, edge-faded art. Right-click copy and paste replaces the PDF versions (Glimmer, Lady Constance). He encourages buying content you legally own, then copying it. - Images get NPC-style names so they can be sorted into folders later. ### 51:50 "Show to players" on a second screen - His player-facing TV sits behind the DM station. For each image he removes the `!` from the embed and aliases the link as `|Show to players`. - The core **Open in new window** doesn't stretch images to fill the TV, so he uses the **Second Window** plugin by **Jeremy Valentine**. It opens one persistent window (no theme) that he double-clicks to fullscreen at the start of a session. Every later "Show to players" opens in that same window ("set it and forget it"). - He does this for NPCs, magic items, and monster pictures. ### 55:20 Making the module runnable: stat blocks and encounters - He went from pad and paper to Excel to **Hero Lab Classic**. In Obsidian, **Initiative Tracker** runs combat. - Under *Creature*, Alt+T → **insert monster TTRPG statblock** template → *pixie* renders a PF2e **Fantasy Statblocks** block. This 5e-turned-PF2e demo vault doesn't fully resolve links. - More useful: **insert encounter** template (name *Glimmer*, 1 pixie). It shows a play button that adds monsters and the configured party to Initiative Tracker, and it can open the stat block. Adding `/table` gives a compact table version. Message: **make templates** (encounter, table encounter, custom monster). - **Darius Wick** (human alchemist) isn't in the bestiary, so a custom stat block is needed (see his Fantasy Statblocks / TTRPG Statblocks videos). ![[images/Obsidian-Entering-an-Adventure-or-Module-t5810.webp]] *PF2e Pixie stat block (Fantasy Statblocks, Bestiary p. 309) above a "Glimmer" encounter block (1 Pixie). The Initiative Tracker sidebar shows Glimmer loaded and the stat block preview below.* ### 60:50 Final pass: linking with outgoing links / unlinked mentions - Enable the **Outgoing links** / **Backlinks** core plugins. **Unlinked mentions** list every linkable reference (Popcorn, Sprite, even his *Rope* note), and he works through them last. Done properly, that could take hours. - **Note per monster**: his *Pixie* note already holds the stat block and an encounter block, so a link to it in module text is enough to launch combat. He's leaning toward this approach. ### 63:30 Wrap-up, Discord, outro - Recap: maps, text, formatting, and encounters are in. The better the source (Pathfinder Nexus / Demiplane, D&D Beyond), the easier the job. If you run page for page, just use those tools. Copy into Obsidian when you want to modify. - Like and subscribe, thanks to Patrons. The **Obsidian TTRPG Discord** is now **open to the public** and close to **500 members**. ## Things mentioned ### Obsidian plugins (free community plugins unless noted) - **Text Format**: "Merge broken paragraphs in selection" (Alt+V), plus list, URL, and hyphen tools - **Templater**-style templates on **Alt+T** (read-aloud callouts, map, monster, encounter templates; the Markdown / Call Out Boxes template folder) - **Folder Note** (Ctrl-click a folder to make its parent note) - **Obsidian Leaflet**: dungeon map, defaultZoom, custom marker types, markers linked to `Note#Heading` - **Fantasy Statblocks** (formerly TTRPG Statblocks): PF2e/5e stat blocks, custom monsters - **Initiative Tracker**: encounter blocks, `/table` encounter variant, party auto-add - **Second Window** (by Jeremy Valentine): persistent fullscreen player-facing image window - **Dataview** (path-length issues mentioned) and **Advanced Tables** (visible in the sidebar) - Core: **Templates**/hotkeys, **attachments folder**, **Backlinks / Outgoing links / Unlinked mentions**, pane **pinning**, Ctrl+Shift+V plain paste, `==highlight==` ### Themes - **ITS Theme**: D&D-book styling, `|right` image alignment, highlight styling, callout colors ### Tools and websites - **D&D Beyond** (paid content, web copy and paste) - **Demiplane / Pathfinder Nexus** (closed beta at filming; clean text and transparent art) - **Paizo** PDFs (clean copy and paste) - **Foundry VTT** plus a Foundry→Obsidian export module (paid Paizo Foundry modules) - **ShareX** (free screenshots, eyedropper, boxes); an image editor with fuzzy select / alpha channel; AI background removers - **Microsoft OneNote** (OCR from images), **Notepad** (paste test) - **Realm Works** (World Almanac origin of his World folder), **Hero Lab Classic**, **Microsoft Excel** - [Josh's Patreon](https://www.patreon.com/JPlunkett) (templates), **Obsidian TTRPG Community Discord** (free, ~500 members) ### TTRPG systems and products - **Pathfinder Second Edition**: **A Fistful of Flowers** (free one-shot; leshy PCs in the Verduran Forest; references **Lost Omens Character Guide** pp. 52–55), **Pathfinder Bestiary** (Pixie, p. 309) - **Dungeons & Dragons 5e**: **Lost Mine of Phandelver** (free on D&D Beyond), **Curse of Strahd**, **Tyranny of Dragons** (**Hoard of the Dragon Queen** / **Rise of Tiamat**) - **Forgotten Realms** (FR world folder); **Cyberpunk Red** corebook visible in the vault - Module characters and locations: Bottlespeaker, Fluff Fang, Popcorn, Reaching Rings, Glimmer (pixie), Lady Constance, Galan, Darius Wick (human alchemist); A1 Crystal Room, wax laboratory, Darius's campsite, Party Crashers encounter ### Free vs paid (quick) - Free: Obsidian, all plugins named above, ITS Theme, ShareX, A Fistful of Flowers, Lost Mine of Phandelver (D&D Beyond), the Discord - Paid: D&D Beyond / Demiplane purchases, Paizo Foundry modules, Josh's Patreon templates ## Bios - **Josh Plunkett**: Australian GM and educator behind Obsidian TTRPG Tutorials (YouTube, Patreon, Discord). Here he records an unscripted hour entering Paizo's *A Fistful of Flowers* into a demo vault while his table moves from D&D 5e to Pathfinder 2e. - **Jeremy Valentine**: Developer of the Obsidian **Second Window** plugin, which Josh relies on for his player-facing TV ("please don't turn this off, Jeremy").