Typically I use pen and paper, but I’ve been interested in a tablet or similar device for a while and am interested in what other people are using.
The reMarkable 2 seems like a really cool option to play with, but also pretty pricey for trying it out to see if it would even work well.
While it’s not directly related, when playing in games, I usually use a paper character sheet for reference, a notepad for consumables, story notes, and HP, and Pathbuilder on my phone for spells.
I really like my current setup. I have an iPad 11" Pro with the pencil and a small keyboard (Logi MiniMX). I picked up a small adjustable stand on Amazon for the iPad. Setup has a small footprint at the table. I use three apps; Obsidian for all my typed reference stuff and to take quick notes; GoodNotes with a character sheet pdf that I write on with the pencil; a browser open with Pathfinder Nexus (I own all the rulebooks there) but this could also be the Paizo pdfs in a different app. Pathfinder Nexus is easier to search quickly. iOS has a really nifty, free program for collecting pdf’s called BookFolder. Once the character management on Pathfinder Nexus is fully operational (open beta for now), I may ditch the pdf character sheet for that.
Thanks for the recommendation of Obsidian and Goodnotes.
I’ve been using One Note, but it’s iPadOS app isn’t great, so having options is great.
So for the “character sheet PDF that I write on” is that something that only Goodnotes can do? I’ll admit I don’t understand what that means, but I’ll also admit that I don’t own an Apple Pencil for my iPad Pro, and have never even heard of Goodnotes until now…
For anyone reading this on iOS/iPadOS I highly recommend “PDF Viewer” since it can open multiple PDFs at once, and unlike “PDF Expert” it can easily take you back to your open PDFs without having to open a PDF to get there.
There are several apps that let you upload a pdf and write on it in iOS, but GoodNotes is very popular and works beautifully! I also have a screen protector that makes the screen feel a bit more like paper.
Thanks for the info.! I had no idea you could write on top of a PDF displayed on screen.
I’ll keep the iPad in mind; I usually eschew Apple Devices just because I don’t need to add another ecosystem to my brain, but I do admire how well they work for things.
Wanted to add that if you’re looking at the Remarkable for the “feels like paper” feature, there are screen protectors you can get for tablets that replicate a similar effect. I use one of them with an iPad + Apple Pencil for digital art and I’m pretty happy with the feel.
It sounds like you could probably get by with an older, cheaper tablet to start if you’re not sure about the price or if you’ll really use it. Most notetaking and organizing tools don’t need that much processing power.
I actually generally run in person with a hardcopy of the PDF. I was considering making the switch to a tablet of some sort, but wanted something that I could mark up and make notes in the margins. That does make me think that I would probably lose my color-coding highlighting.
Hm, I think most tablets could probably do margin notes and color coding somehow? I’m not sure if it’s a specific program, but one of my players has her character sheet on an iPad and she colors all over it and erases it throughout the session to keep her hands busy. As a last resort you could open up the pdf in an art program and draw on top of it (which is where my mind goes since I use my tablet for art), but I would bet there are a lot of a dedicated notetaking or organizing apps that would allow it.