Why is it that all software developed for use with tabletop roleplaying games looks like it was developed by a 6th grader with VB?
I think I will have an epileptic fit if I use most of the software out there, which is simply too cluttered or layered for my tastes. I've been messing with DM Genie, mostly because it is the least offensive to my software design asthetics, but it's a big stinky pile of poo, too. It opens too many windows, and each of those windows contains far too many controls.
Sometimes you'll see a window in one place that is identical in function to a window you see somewhere else (the character levelling wizard for PCs is the same as the one for adding levels to monsters, for example), but is used to do a completely different thing. Because this feature appears in a separte window, it is not alwyas obvious what filling out the form will accomplish. Is this going to add a level to my monster or is it going to create a new character? Even so, it's not just the interface that's flawed.
All of the programs I've sampled assume that you want to use them while sitting at the gaming table. This seems like a good thing, and maybe it is for some players, but I can't imagine it working at our gaming table. I would really prefer to have some way to display my character on a single screen while playing, and provide me with reference directly from the books that is searchable. I don't want the program to automatically do weverything for me.
It would be nice if I could push a "Bless" button and have the stats automatically adjusted, but I don't want the program to have to have the bless spell stored in its database in order for me to use it. Invariably the datbase is missing the thing I want to use, and there is no easy way for me to add it.
I don't want to take the die-rolling out of the game by using the computer, either. I don't want the computer to do all of the exciting work. If I was going to do that, I'd just play a computer game. I really only want a reference and something to make adjusting stats easier so that the game flows well.
For DM software, my needs are similar. I've come to a practical realization as a DM, though, that using a computer at the table will probably be more cumbersome than simply having well-organized story notes.
To that end, here's what I need in regards to software:
I need a way to task out my adventure so that I can see its organizational structure at a glance. This would include topologies for both location-based adventures and event-based adventures. There should be some kind of flow-charting component that connects event or location details to each other.
I need a way to automatically generate descriptions of places based on their "feel". Say that I want to generate a description (read-aloud) for an actual dungeon location. I should be able to choose "dungeon" and perhaps a few adjectives for the dungeon (damp, sooty, stone-walls, furniture, etc.) and push a button to produce a short descriptive blurb that I can edit.
I need a way to insert creature descriptions and stat blocks into the story text for use during play. So if I insert an Orc, I should be able to not only insert the stat block (including automatically adding appropriate stats for additional character levels and templates) but a random description of the orcs coming around the corner, sneaking in from the secret door, or charging from the other side of the hill. The program should allow me to set a CR, and then give me encounters that match, allowing me to narrow down my results by providing criteria like "underground" or "night". The monsters that it provides with the encounter should come with preselected suitable treasure. Everything theprogram adds should be customizable.
I need a way to lay out all of these elements on a page so that I don't have to flip through four or five rulebooks to find the relevant bit of info I need for the encounter on the page. I should be able to insert an excerpt of the full SRD rules or spell descriptions right onto the page in a sidebar-like format.
I need a bevy of appropriate clip art to put me in the mood. <grin>
I might like some combat charts. It wouldn't need to be much, just a simple chart that I could fill in with each player's AC and Save bonuses so that I wouldn't have to ask them each time if I managed to hit them. Also, this chart would include a quick-reference area for the monsters combat stats so that I would have a place to 
write damage and spell effects directly onto the adventure notes. It might be something like a baseball record book, but for D&D combat. But it should insert them directly onto the page whenever I need them, and include the base stats (AC, attack bonus, damage) instead of forcing me to reference the stat block.
You can see that I'm really talking about something that helps build printed adventures, not something that I run on the computer at the game table. I downloaded some "initiative cards" from RPGNow that might give me some more ideas about this.
The software should help DMs get a feel for pacing and strategy in the way it enforces scene creation and the fleshing out of details.
I'll have to think more on this idea and maybe draw some mock-ups.
