# Obsidian.md for TTRPG ![[images/Obsidian-md-for-TTRPG.webp]] [Watch on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zX7SenfspSQ) · 2:23 · Josh Plunkett · 2023-02-11 > [!info] YouTube Short (2:23), uploaded February 11, 2023, with the full title "Obsidian.md for TTRPG #obsidianmd #obsidianttrpg #ttrpg #shorts". Written from the video's English automatic captions (fetched with youtube-transcript-api after yt-dlp's subtitle request hit a 429 error) plus video frames. The description is just the title, and there are no chapters, so the sections below follow the features in the order he shows them. Plugin names are identified from what's on screen; he doesn't name most of them aloud. The note filename drops the hashtags. ## Outline ### 0:00 - The hook - **0:00 - The question.** "How do you take your D&D notes? Let me go first." The Short opens on an **OBSIDIAN.md** logo (the purple Obsidian gem with a d20), Josh in a circular cam, and a spinning teal die. ### 0:05 - Folders and DM screens - **0:05 - Notes in folders.** Create notes and put them in a folder hierarchy; hierarchical note control is "a fantastic way to manage your world." His **Obsidian5eVault** sidebar has `0. DM Screen`, `0. Session Journals`, `0. The Party`, `1. World` (with `3rd Party Modules` holding Dungeons on Demand, Home Brew and The Wild Sheep Chase, plus `5e Modules` and `FR`), `2. Mechanics`, `z_Assets` and `z_Templates`. ![[images/Obsidian-md-for-TTRPG-t0008.webp]] *The Obsidian5eVault folder tree beside his "0. DM Screen" Kanban board, whose Generators column lists cards for Fast Character, Fast NPC, Fast NPC + Pic, Tavern Generator, Shop Generator, an NPC generator, a NerdBuilding settlement generator, and Magic Store Generator.* - **0:11 - Custom boards as DM screens.** Create customized Kanban boards, "that is, making DM screens." His DM Screen note is a board of one-click generator cards. ### 0:17 - Maps with pins - **0:17 - Pinned maps.** Add your maps and pin points on them, then link those pins to notes. "Fantastic." ![[images/Obsidian-md-for-TTRPG-t0018.webp]] *A Leaflet map of the Dalelands (Spiderhaunt Woods, Desertsmouth Mountains, Shadowdale, Ashabenford, Moonsea Ride, Tilverton) above a linked location note for Tilverton, with a "Destruction of Tilverton" history section and an infobox for size, population, races, religion and commerce.* ### 0:22 - Markdown - **0:22 - Stop formatting by hand.** "Don't waste time formatting your notes." Markdown means every note looks the same and uses the same format, and it's really simple to write. ### 0:30 - Statblocks and a monster database - **0:30 - Three-line statblocks.** Full statblock support: bring in a statblock "with three lines of text." On screen, a priest NPC's statblock renders with a full-length portrait, ability scores, Divine Eminence and a spell list. - **0:34 - Your own bestiary.** Maintain your own monster database that you can always reference, and you can even hover over your spells to see them. ### 0:41 - Rollable tables and encounter blocks - **0:41 - Random tables.** Full support for rollable tables makes it easy to roll up random monster tables, and you can kick off encounter blocks from inside those tables, which go straight over to the initiative tracker. ![[images/Obsidian-md-for-TTRPG-t0044.webp]] *A random encounter table from Hoard of the Dragon Queen's "Greenest in Flames" chapter (6 kobolds, 3 kobolds and 1 ambush drake, 6 cultists, cultists with a guard or acolyte, and so on), each row carrying small encounter buttons, with the module's chapter list in the sidebar.* ### 0:54 - The Initiative Tracker - **0:54 - Running combat.** The initiative tracker makes it simple to manage combat. You can add parties, with support for multiple parties, and bring in monsters from encounter blocks or add more from your monster manual. - **1:06 - Tracking the fight.** It keeps track of status effects, how much damage each mob has taken, whether your party is alive, and of course who's going next in initiative. - **1:18 - Rules at a click.** Click a monster in the tracker to see its statblock underneath, so you can grab the rules you need on the fly. - **1:28 - Adding a monster mid-fight.** Need an extra monster? Use the plus button to add it directly, and it pulls the monster's stats from the database. ![[images/Obsidian-md-for-TTRPG-t0088.webp]] *The Initiative Tracker mid-fight: party members Ariah Eran (Scott B), Cass (Hosea) and a Poisoned Chance (Shaun) with HP and initiative, an Easy-to-Deadly difficulty bar, the add-creature form filling in a Goblin (HP 7, AC 15, modifier 2, initiative 10), and a Cultist statblock below (AC 12, 9 hit points, 30 ft. speed).* ### 1:38 - Links, calendars and the graph - **1:38 - Link detection.** Linking or cross-referencing is essential for campaign management, and "this tool automatically detects links that need to be made." You go through, click the button, and say yes, make that link for me. - **1:49 - Fantasy calendars.** It also supports fantasy calendars: track moon cycles, add your own custom events, and link those events to notes. ![[images/Obsidian-md-for-TTRPG-t0112.webp]] *The Fantasy Calendar panel's New Event dialog: an event named "Phlan Attacked" linked to the note Phlan, dated day 3 of Hammer (Deepwinter) 1491, with moon-phase icons on the calendar grid behind it.* - **1:59 - Graph view.** As you make links and cross-reference articles, the graph view "comes alive" and starts to visualize your campaign world. Each dot is a note, and the lines between the dots are the links. ### 2:11 - The pitch - **2:11 - Why not Obsidian?** "So really the biggest question is why are you not using Obsidian.md as your campaign manager?" If you play with a laptop, it's a fantastic tool he highly recommends you check out. ## Things mentioned ### Obsidian features and plugins - **Obsidian.md** (free app): the note-taking app he pitches as a campaign manager. - **Folders and notes**: the built-in file tree he uses for hierarchical note control. - **Kanban** (community plugin, free, by mgmeyers): shown as the "0. DM Screen" board of generator cards; he calls it customized boards for DM screens. - **Leaflet** (community plugin, free, by Jeremy Valentine): the interactive map with pins linked to notes (the Leaflet credit shows in the map's corner). - **Markdown**: the plain-text formatting that keeps every note consistent. - **Fantasy Statblocks** (community plugin, free, by Jeremy Valentine): renders statblocks from a few lines of text and backs his monster database and hover previews. - **Dice Roller** (community plugin, free, by Jeremy Valentine): powers the rollable tables. - **Initiative Tracker** (community plugin, free, by Jeremy Valentine): runs combat, takes encounter blocks, tracks HP, status effects and turn order, and adds monsters from the bestiary. - **Encounter blocks**: Initiative Tracker code blocks that send a set of monsters into combat, launched here from table rows. - **Automatic link detection**: he shows suggested links you accept with a click but doesn't name the tool (Obsidian's unlinked-mentions feature is one built-in way to do this). - **Fantasy Calendar** (community plugin, free, by Jeremy Valentine): custom calendars with moon cycles and events linked to notes. - **Graph view** (core feature): shows notes as dots and links as lines. ### D&D content on screen - **Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition**: his vault is the Obsidian5eVault. - **Hoard of the Dragon Queen**: the 5e module whose "Greenest in Flames" chapter supplies the random encounter table and the chapter list in the sidebar. - **The Wild Sheep Chase** and **Dungeons on Demand**: third-party modules in his `1. World` folder. - **The Dalelands**, **Tilverton**, **Shadowdale**, **Phlan**: Forgotten Realms places on his map, in his location note, and in the calendar event. - **Calendar of Harptos**: the Forgotten Realms calendar implied by the month "Hammer (Deepwinter)" and the year 1491. - **Monsters**: kobolds, an ambush drake, cultists, guards, acolytes and a goblin. - **Party in the tracker**: Rhytsar Kharn (Adrian), Todes (Aff), Rodge Stagswift (Dave), Ariah Eran (Scott B), Cass (Hosea) and Chance (Shaun), which look like his players' characters with the players' names in brackets. ## Bios - **Josh Plunkett**: Australian game master and YouTuber who makes Obsidian TTRPG tutorials, runs ObsidianTTRPGTutorials.com, and offers a ready-made Obsidian TTRPG vault through Patreon. - **Jeremy Valentine** (javalent on GitHub): developer of several Obsidian TTRPG plugins shown here, including Leaflet, Fantasy Statblocks, Dice Roller, Initiative Tracker and Fantasy Calendar. - **mgmeyers**: developer of the Obsidian Kanban plugin used for his DM screen board.