Excel as DMing Tool...

[Guinaur]

I have found that Microsoft Excel is a very nice DMing tool. I use it to make dungeons, keep track of my players stats, track combat... almost everything.

Who else has used, or still does, Microsoft Excel.

[Tengu]

When I GM a play-by-post or play-by-chat game, I always use excel. It simplifies the combat a lot... especially when you tend to run games with mechanics that involve a lot of numbers *coughs*.

[adanedhel9]

I use Excel to calculate XP (I have a rather nice workbook setup to do this automatically) and also to track approximate total XP and gold rewards over multiple sessions in a campaign (so I can deal with players who miss sessions and new characters quickly).

[Lost Outrider]

I used it for a combat quick-reference in the last game I DM'd. I had a column for name, AC, hit bonuses, weapon, damage, speed, etc. I left the initiative column blank until we all rolled, then sorted it in ascending order. Never had to worry about who went next in combat.

[nerulean]

It does all your sums for you, so all you have to do is roll the dice! Heck, it has a random number generator, so you don't even need to do that!

[TomTheRat]

Ever run a Vampire LARP? Nothing helps with tracking 40 players' Influence scores and interactions like excel.

[Pink]

I made a thread about it being a wonderful mapping tool a while back. Otherwise, I have yet to discover a reason to use it.

[CrazedGoblin]

Excel Rules as a DM tool i use it all the time, well when i can use a PC for DMing which i havent been able to use recently

[Kizara]

I use a scientific calculator to do sums, its much more convienent and quick compared to excel.

When I want a map, I draw it. When I want to prepare an encounter, I just make notes. Player info is tracked on their character sheets.

Mind you, I'm a prep-light DM that likes to improv everything and not have much combat.

[Galathir]

I make a very intensive excel character sheet that figures nearly everything out for you. While I made it for PC's, it can certainly help keep track of NPCs as well. I do a lot of ad lib DMing and hate digital dice so I don't use it for much else than character sheets.