Tools & Platforms

Obsidian is a free, locally-stored Markdown note-taking application that the TTRPG community has widely adopted as a campaign wiki, session planner, and lore database. Originally designed as a personal knowledge management tool, it stores everything as plain text files on your own machine with no subscription required. Description Unlike purpose-built platforms such as World Anvil, Obsidian was not designed with TTRPGs in mind, which means it arrives without templates, stat block support, or any TTRPG-specific structure out of the box. GMs who want those features need to install and configure community plugins themselves, which carries a steeper setup cost than dedicated alternatives. For those comfortable with that process, however, the result is a highly customizable system with no ongoing fees and no vendor lock-in. A thriving plugin ecosystem has filled most of the gaps, and the tool has become a genuine alternative to subscription-based worldbuilding platforms for technically comfortable Game Masters. The plugin ecosystem extends well beyond what is listed here, with community tools covering everything from database-style note querying and cross-device sync to interactive maps and combat automation. A full directory is available at community plugins.

DC20 Forge is a fan-made digital companion platform built specifically around The Dungeon Coach's DC20 tabletop RPG, offering character sheets, campaign management, and a growing suite of GM-facing tools. It isn't officially affiliated with The Dungeon Coach LLC - the site explicitly describes itself as an independent platform - and it runs on a tiered subscription model: a free Apprentice tier covers basic character creation, with three paid tiers (Adventurer, Forgemaster, Dragonforged, ranging $5-$25/month) unlocking higher character and campaign limits plus extra features like audio transcription.