iPad RPG App review – Dungeon Master Toolkit
Dungeon Master Toolkit is an RPG iPad app aimed at game masters of any game system. It is my favourite dedicated RPG app, and my review will explain why. I am using version 1.21 of DM Toolkit. Level 99 Games has promised a 1.3 update soon that offers some interesting new features.
Level 99 also produced the RPG Cartographer iPad app, which was reviewed in the fall here at Campaign Mastery.
DM Toolkit is the only iPad RPG app I have found that gives you the ability to set software up according to how you run games and organize your information. While there are many RPG information applications for Mac and Windows, and a couple for iPad, none that I am aware of let you customize the software itself so it works the way you think.
For example, I blogged about my Plot Stat Block awhile ago. In DM Toolkit, I created a Template based on this and can now enter as many plot stat blocks in the software as I like based on the Template.
Another example: I organize my NPC flavour information differently than others. Various RPG software forces you to enter such information according to the software’s design. If a field is missing, you put it in a dump field, like Notes. If you do not like the field order, too bad, that is the way you enter it (though, many software titles let you customize reports, so at least you can customize how you reference your data once it’s in the system).
With DM Toolkit, I created a new Template for my NPC flavour information, and now I enter and reference NPC personalities and campaign information how I like it.
This feature is what initially caught my attention when browsing the app store. “A customisable database?! I’m in.” That’s what makes this app usable by GMs of any game system. Just create the Templates you need and you are ready to roll.
A downside to this function is changes you make to the Template after data entry do not take effect on existing entries. For example, I forgot to add a field called Relationships to my NPC flavour template. I added it to the Template, but that change did not appear in existing NPC entries – I needed to make that change manually to each one. Every new NPC entry I made had this new update, so it just affected existing records.
This means, for optimum efficiency, you need to figure out what Templates you want and how you want them set up before you start managing a new campaign. A small price to pay (with a lot of added benefits if you have time to do this, regardless of choice of software and tools).
To summarize, because in my opinion this functionality makes DM Toolkit the most powerful dedicated DMing app out right now, you can customize how you enter and view your campaign information. You create Templates for everything, including plots, NPCs, monsters, session logs, equipment, treasure, locations and so on.
The app also comes with a whack of pre-made Templates for a variety of games if you want to dive in right away.
Other cool features
Combat Manager
DM Toolkit comes with a combat and initiative manager. I use a Google Spreadsheet to do this for various reasons, so have not played with this feature at all.
Dice Box
I prefer to have physical dice in-hand, but if you do not mind digital dice, DM Toolkit has you covered.
Scratch Pad
Put your temporary notes here. It toggles on and off with a touch of the finger, taking advantage of the iPad’s killer usability.
Crib Sheets
Awesome feature. Think of it as your very own customizable digital GM screen. You can have 8, and they allow HTML and CSS, plus offline editing so you can use your favourite markup software to create them.
Use Crib Sheets to create most-frequent game rules and charts, campaign specific cheat sheets, game world specific cheat sheets and per-session cheet sheets. I would love to hear how others have used Crib Sheets – these are worth exploring to make GMing easier and faster.
Bookmarks
Over time you will have a ton of information in this app – all your NPCs, setting trivia, plots and so on. Bookmarks help you find stuff fast, like a browser or other software bookmark would.
Recent
This offers you quick links to entries you viewed recently, newest first. Another great way to find stuff quick.
Multiple Campaigns
The app allows you to create data sets for more than one campaign. This makes it easy to manage and isolate data for specific campaigns and game systems.
Online library
You can download and trade data in the app if you have an online connection. You can also upload your creations to help the community of DM Toolkit users via the Level99 Games website.
Conclusion
Get this app if you are a digital data DM. Its customisability makes this a fairly robust solution for your needs.
iPad = portability, so it is perfect as an in-game tool whether you wander around during sessions or stay put.
Disclaimer
I purchased this app because it looked perfect. My dirty little secret here is I have not used it extensively at the game table yet. I was already using MyInfo for campaign preparation, notes and in-game management for my Pathfinder game when I purchased DM Toolkit. I started to port stuff over, but it became too much to do that and create new stuff before each session.
I might still use DM Toolkit for Riddleport, but I suspect I will have it ready for next campaign. I might also use it as a portable GM screen for Riddleport, but need to sort out my Templates and what else I’d use DM Toolkit for first.
DM Toolkit Giveaway
Level 99 Games has generously offered five copies of DM Toolkit. To win a copy, leave a comment on what your favourite iPad RPG or Productivity apps are to date. Unfortunately, due to iTunes limitations, only US residents can receive a free copy. The free codes will not work for Canadians like me and gamers elsewhere.
Update December 15
Level 99 Games emailed me after I sent them a link to this review. They had two comments to add:
- There’s a free version of just the initiative tracker in the app store
- DM Toolkit works on both iPhone and iPad, but you state that it is an iPad app in the first line of the review. This might be a little misleading.
- Promotional codes are now good worldwide, so anybody can use one. I haven’t tried it yet personally, but that’s the news from Apple, at least.
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December 13th, 2010 at 9:35 pm
This sounds like it’s something that I’d run out and buy right away. I almost did, but I’m glad I finished reading the full article before I whipped out the AppStore on my iPad.
Maybe I’ll be one of the lucky five to win a copy!
If not, I’ll probably still buy it. I need an initiative tracker on the new iPad and don’t have time to write one.
Thanks!
Hungry recently posted..Friday Five- 2010-12-10
December 13th, 2010 at 10:03 pm
I still have to say that my biggest gaming tool remains Evernote. The ability to share between laptop, iPad, and iPhone make it a ever-present source of note-keeping, photo-sharing, and quick reference.
December 13th, 2010 at 11:53 pm
Hey Hungry–this is Brad, the developer of DM Toolkit. If you want an initiative tracker, you can actually check out our free one: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tabletop-initiative-tracker/id375723119?mt=8
This is the same tracker that is currently in DM Toolkit, so think of it as a preview of the main app. Good luck, and hope you win a copy! We also do occasional giveaways on Twitter, so check us out there too: http://twitter.com/Level99Games
December 14th, 2010 at 12:26 am
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by D. Brad Talton Jr., RPG Bloggers Network. RPG Bloggers Network said: iPad RPG App review – Dungeon Master Toolkit from Campaign Mastery http://goo.gl/fb/6hsJg #RPG […]
December 14th, 2010 at 4:31 am
I’ve been looking for a good GMing ipad/ipod touch program to use for my weekly Pathfinder games and this seems worth checking out.
As for current apps used, many of my players use the Feudz Free Dice Roller since they can use it to set up complex rolls easily. When there’s an internet connection, simply accessing the various SRD sites (I use http://www.pathfindersrd.com/) makes rule look-ups run very smoothly.
December 14th, 2010 at 8:53 am
Thanks for the great review! Far and away, my favorite iPad app for gaming so far has been iAnnotate PDF:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/iannotate-pdf/id363998953?mt=8
It’s a great app for carrying around your gaming books, features various mark-up abilities, and has recently been updated with a new folder system that makes keeping track of books, errata, and adventures – for multiple systems – a breeze.
Completely worth the price!
December 14th, 2010 at 10:05 am
Good Reader is my favorite app for RPG stuff. It’s a lot easier to cart around an iPad with my RPG PDFs than it is to cart around the actual books. And they recently added some markup functionality that I’ve yet to fully explore but seems like it’d be nice to update PDFs for errata or add your own notes or house rules.
December 14th, 2010 at 10:41 am
I have to second the vote for Evernote – I can plan an encounter, make notes, plot ahead, and more in it. Actually, I do all that and more in it.
Since we play 4e, I also find myself in the Compendium App quite a bit – it’s much easier to navigate than trying to get to the D&D Compendium in Safari.
iPlay4e is a great web-app that has a very well done mobile view – we use it (currently) to track & share our character sheets. Not exactly a stand-alone app, but it looks and works great on the iPad.
Kevin Sonney recently posted..I really need to stock up on antacid for Sundays
December 14th, 2010 at 11:03 am
Right now the only specifically RPG app I’ve got is Dicenomicon, which works great. But I’ve also been using evernote, dropbox and ibooks to read my Dungeon and Dragon mags as well as pdf versions of the gaming books I own. I find it hard to pick a specific app since I use so many in concert. But if I have to pick one it’s iOS4.2 since I can now multi-task between all of them.
December 14th, 2010 at 12:43 pm
Almost makes me want to get an iPad, except that I don’t play D&D. Anyone know of more ‘generic’ GM tools for iPad?
Erin recently posted..Cannon Fodder
December 14th, 2010 at 12:52 pm
I’ve been waiting for a review of this app, glad you stepped up! :) If I don’t win a copy, I may have to drop some coin & try it out myself. I’ve been using DM Tools and DMs Tracker with some success but Dungeon Master Toolkit seems to be more comprehensive.
December 14th, 2010 at 1:23 pm
I’ve been using Evernote to hold everything, and SimpleText for writing, synced up with Scrivener. But this looks interesting.
December 14th, 2010 at 3:10 pm
I’m using GoodReader for document/PDF management, which is where I spend the bulk of my time:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/goodreader-for-ipad/id363448914?mt=8
I also keep a bunch of my game notes in tiddlywiki format. For that, it’s TWMobile for the iPad:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/twmobile/id381945222?mt=8
If I need to edit a map, or do any kind of doodling far a game session, I break out Sketchbook Pro, which really is about the best drawing app on the iPad there is:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sketchbook-pro/id364253478?mt=8
Finally, Safari is filled with RPG goodness for me. Nearly all of my available sessions is on an RPG blog or d20srd.org, or my own campaign server. It’s hard to go wrong with that :-)
December 14th, 2010 at 4:06 pm
great review
warning, rather lengthy reply…
having recently returned to gaming on a regular basis, and having literally just got back in to running my own campaigns again (the last two months), the ipad has already become an invaluable tool already, both in the planning stages and the playing.
but i dont think there is one great app, its a combination of them for me…
in the planning stage carbonfin outliner and corkulous are great apps to use. outliners ability to stack ideas within themselves, with a series of drop downs, is really helpful when planning plot twists on going campaign threads. its also very helpful when it comes to keeping track of NPCs and PCs, as well as house rules and the like. its also very good for keeping track of the session, jotting down notes ideas and how situations have unfolded, quickly and easily, as you go
corkulous is great as a mood board for your game, able to hold imagery along with descriptions and all maner of other notes on giant zoomable and pan-able boards. as well as its ability to hold something like a map, and pin notes and other images directly to the map, not just annotate it, this is a huge help with maps for things like npc placement and notes, notes on the city, dungeon etc and its locations.
during a game, its mainly a combination of good reader and i annotate. good reader is a far more stable and faster pdf reader… but i annotates tab function means you can store multiple copies of the same rule book and have them at set pages, flicking between the tabs, far faster than using any apps book marks.
i also use the free initiative tracker mentioned above, but, while we are on the subject, this could be improved on, simply, each character bar could hold a couple of small text boxes for entering some basics info in to, much like its damage box function, but still a great app.
and finally in game, the dicenomicon, this is especially good due to its versatile custom dice rolls and the fact it does use 3d dice in a good 3d physics engine. i plan ahead and store all my NPC dice rolls that are needed for combat in an upcoming session ahead of time. so rather than having to roll repeatedly (although i do prefer real dice to be honest) i just hit the buttons during the game giving me more time to concentrate on the players actions etc.
when i first bought this app was worried it was rolling incorrectly, maybe using a number generator and pretty 3d dice, rather than truly rolling dice in app. so to be sure, a friend and i tested a number of different rolls against real dice and the roll averages came out pretty much the same. this remained true, even when testing things like matching sets, as well as percentages across large pools of dice.
so for me, thats about it
love the blog… has been a huge help in my return to GMing both in a planning and running capacity, so thank you for that, helped me avoid many pitfalls i would definitely have fallen in to, and helped dig me out of the one i did manage to fall in to
so thanks again…
neil
p.s apologies for my lack of caps, i realise it can make reading trickier… something i am attempting to learn, but progress is slow ;)
December 14th, 2010 at 4:46 pm
Erin,
Actually, DM Toolkit is fully able to support multiple RPGs. It has templates for Mutants and Masterminds, Savage worlds, and Doctor WHO Adventires in time and space just to name a few. The name DM Toolkit stems more from the fact that the GM Toolkit name was already taken.
December 15th, 2010 at 7:28 am
So this supports also Pathfinder ? I don’t like 4e at all and hopefully this app does not have dependencies to that.
December 15th, 2010 at 7:56 am
Yes, it supports Pathfinder and just about any game system. I cannot think of a game system I own that it would not support.
December 15th, 2010 at 8:28 am
BTW,
I’m Matt, a volunteer for lvl99games. The next version of DMTK (1.3) has even more features that are going to really up the ante.. And when you purchase now, upgrade is free (if you don’t win that is – then you get the app for free too!).
A few features coming in 1.3:
Storage dice roller formulas – Store that custom roll of 1d20 + 4 + 7, so that you don’t have to remember it all. The dice roller can also use the values of other attributes in a resource. So, if you have a character with a StrBonus, you could setup a roll like ‘1d20 + StrBonus’. Then, if StrBonus changes, the roll formula automatically updates.
Random Generators – This will be a big one we think. lvl99games will be releasing (at regular intervals) random tables, character generator templates (that will let you generate a randomized character with one ‘tap’), and random encounter tables. These should be great for those ‘Uh-oh.. I didn’t expect that one.. now what do I do’ moments. In the works are treasure tables, character generators, dungeon generator, and random encounters. What’s more, is that the generators will be customized to genres and game systems (don’t want a hobgoblin attacking when you are playing d20 modern?).
In-app community Upload/Downloads – The user community is able to create their own templates and resources from games – from character sheet templates, to complete modules. This feature makes it simple to download content from other users of DMTK. The ‘export to web’ enables you to seamlessly upload your content directly to lvl99games.com, so that other users can download your contributions to the community.
Matt
December 15th, 2010 at 9:28 am
Just received my first iPad On Saturday! Winning a copy of this would be a great to start my app collection!
December 15th, 2010 at 10:05 am
Hey Johnn,
I am always interested in the different ways that GMs organize their games. Would you be willing to share the templates mention creating for DMTK in your review? You can export templates to file, then upload at http://www.lvl99games.com/?page_id=444. Next version will make the upload an in-app feature.
Thanks!
Matt – Lomythica on the lvl99games forum.
PS > email me directly if you have any questions or issues with upload.
December 15th, 2010 at 12:15 pm
I have been using Evernote. Free and syncs between all my devices. But, it doesn’t have the cool features mentioned above that are specific for GMing.
Would love a free copy of this app.
Derick
December 15th, 2010 at 2:07 pm
I feel like a heretic for saying this but, as the advert goes “I’m a PC” although I don’t think I designed Windows 7.
This stuff all sounds amazing but is there anything similar for the PC? Having only just bought my shiny new laptop I can’t really justify going out and getting an iPad – Mrs Seals might not be too impressed! I’ve also just downloaded Campaign Cartographer which I’m getting to grips with – again I wouldn’t want to lose that either.
The Good Reader thing sounds pretty awesome – I’ve got soooo many PDFs on this machine it’s not funny.
December 15th, 2010 at 11:18 pm
I really don’t have any specific apps to help me online. I do use Dropbox to help sync between computers. I use wiki sites for storing information for me and another for campaign information. I also like google wave for access to information between computers.
December 17th, 2010 at 3:44 pm
Ooh. Dropbox and Goodreader are so tied to everything I do on the iPad that I can’t believe I didn’t mention them!
December 19th, 2010 at 6:53 pm
Nice review Johnn, thanks for writing it.
I’ve been a heavy user of Evernote and Dropbox but would welcome the chance to branch out a bit and will look into this app – even if I would have to use it on my iPhone (unless Santa brings me an iPad for Christmas).
Scot Newbury recently posted..CCL
December 21st, 2010 at 11:33 am
I just rolled five winners at random. Congrats to:
ArchMorlock
Houndin
Derick
Gavin Hoffman
steve huge
Please email me to get your winning code. And thanks to everyone for your comments. More iPad reviews to come in 2011.
December 21st, 2010 at 12:54 pm
Congrats to all the winners and may the app make your game for fun!
Scot Newbury recently posted..CCL
December 21st, 2010 at 9:53 pm
@Scot Newbury – DM Toolkit definitely still works on the iPhone. It is obviously a bit tougher to enter lots of data (but copy and paste can be a great friend). We are working on a few angles to make data input easier through other avenues.
Matt
December 24th, 2010 at 4:21 pm
I realize I’m coming a bit late to the party, but I’ll add my voice in praise of DM Toolkit. It’s a very good app now, and I fully expect it to become a truly great app as the developer, Brad Talton, implements new features and polishes some existing ones. I use DM Toolkit every time I DM these days (D&D 4th ed.).
December 29th, 2010 at 11:00 am
I’ve looked through quite a few aids that I use in running my campaign, and DM Toolkit is definitely one of the major ones. It’s doesn’t break the budget for what I’d spend on an iPad app, and I can customize it to my needs. I also use Dropbox, GoodReader, Index Card, Desktop, and iCabMobile. But DM Toolkit is definitely my go-to application.
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January 6th, 2011 at 7:04 pm
Part of my problem with many of these apps is the lack of customization. I primarily use OneNote right now for everything – but this looks like it might be a suitable replacement. I do wish they had a trial version – I probably won’t buy it on my own without being able to check it out on someone else’s iPad. But I’ll check out the initiative tracker in the meantime.
June 14th, 2011 at 8:03 am
[…] on-the-fly is pretty much a pipe dream The closest tool I've seen for something like this is the DM Toolkit for iOS, and even that doesn't alleviate all the horrendous number-crunching. Generally speaking, if […]
February 8th, 2012 at 3:22 am
I was wondering. I’m currently a DM for a french RPG called Shade. Instead of using dice, it uses traditional playing cards.
Here’s the formula :
Characteristic + Skill – Value of the card.
A zero or positive result means a success, a negative result means failure.
Value of the cards :
1 > 10 (as such)
Jack = 7 Queen = 5 King = 3
Max characteristic = 5 (for humans)
Max skill = 5 (for humans)
There are other rules involving stacking and tapping cards for the next round, and combining the cards to make associations, not unlike poker.
Is this kind of formulae possible on the app?
Thanks a lot !
February 8th, 2012 at 5:50 am
I don’t know the answer to your question, ThousandCats, but I’ve forwarded it to Johnn. I suspect it might not be, though it might be possible to use a simpler formula successfully, however: Characteristic + Skill and compare to Card Value; success is any card >= the target value. This removes all the complex card-play simulation from the problem.
February 8th, 2012 at 7:31 am
Hi ThousandCats,
Dungeon Master Toolkit is a data app. It stores your game notes, plans and rules for planning and reference. It does not execute rules as such, though it has a dice roller.
You could mimic card draws with the dice roller by creating a customer die (d13) but it would not apply any logic to the results – you need to do that yourself.
August 24th, 2012 at 7:52 am
I love RPG’s the more complex the better! I love the learning and thought process that comes with them. Making your own RPG sounds intriguing even if you have to learn the system. Love RPG’s!
May 12th, 2013 at 10:01 am
So is this not available now? I can’t find it on the app store. (I clicked one of the links that was supposed to take me there and it said, “This app is not available in the U.S.”
May 12th, 2013 at 3:25 pm
Unfortunately, it looks like you’re right, and it is no longer available. Accodring to the Australian iTunes store, it’s available in the US store, but when you get to the US store it says otherwise.
A lot of people don’t realize how much effort can be involved in keeping an App up-to-date with changing infrastructure requirements. There’s been at least one new generation of iPhones since this article was written, it might be that the makers found a compatibility issue that they could not afford the time and money to resolve and have simply withdrawn the app. Only speculating, but I see that all the time in other areas of IT and other platforms like Twitter, so I would expect the same to be true of Apple.
August 9th, 2013 at 6:57 am
I’m sorry that the app isn’t available any more; I’m curious to find something for the iPad that’s extremely customizable (because–although I am currently playing in an Adventurer Conqueror King campaign–my normal run of gaming is pretty far from the D&D/Pathfinder crowd.
So, here, almost three years later, what is available? What’s the current state of the marketplace?
August 9th, 2013 at 1:55 pm
I’m not the best person to ask, John – I don’t even use a mobile phone at the moment, never mind a smartphone! But, last, year, we ran Top Apps in 2012 for DMs: a guest article by Melanie Gray, which should at least get you started.