Guide sections

Creating your first campaign

Create a campaign, add your first NPC, and see how Campaign Familiar organizes the people, places, and threads in your game.

Goal: Create a campaign, add your first NPC, and understand how creations work Requirements: Campaign Familiar installed and running

Step 1: create a new campaign

  1. Open Campaign Familiar
  2. Click New Campaign on the home screen (the dialog that opens is titled Create Campaign)
  3. Enter a name (like “Curse of Strahd” or “The Sunken Isles”)
  4. Optionally enter a description (you can leave this blank)
  5. Optionally type your game system (free text - for example, D&D 5e, Pathfinder 2e, or Level Up 5e)
  6. Click Create

You’re now in your campaign dashboard.

Step 2: look around the dashboard

The campaign dashboard shows you:

  • Recent activity - Creations you’ve recently viewed or edited
  • Upcoming sessions - Any scheduled sessions
  • Creation counts - How many NPCs, locations, and other content you’ve created

The campaign dashboard nav is your main navigation, grouped into sections:

  • Your World - NPCs, Locations, Party, Factions, Campaign Markers
  • Session Planning - Sessions, Encounters, Items
  • Notes & Query - Campaign Notes, Ask Campaign
  • Plus quick links to Quick Prep, the Connection Map (visual relationship map), Campaign Intelligence, Campaign Search, and AI Suggestions

(The slim sidebar on the far left is the app-wide rail - Campaigns, Library, and Settings - and stays the same whether or not a campaign is open.)

Step 3: create your first NPC

Let’s add a character to your world:

  1. Click NPCs in the campaign dashboard nav
  2. Click New NPC (or Create Your First NPC from the empty state)
  3. Enter a name - try “Mira Thornwood”
  4. Add a role - “Tavern Owner”
  5. Add a description - “A sharp-eyed halfling who’s heard every secret in town and forgotten none of them”
  6. Click Save

Congratulations - you’ve created your first creation. This NPC now exists in your campaign and can be linked to locations, factions, campaign markers, and other characters.

Step 4: understand the 8 creation types

Campaign Familiar organizes your campaign into 8 types of content (a few have friendlier names in the app - noted below):

Creation TypeWhat It TracksExample
NPCsCharacters you controlMira Thornwood, Guard Captain Vance
LocationsPlaces in your worldThe Rusty Anchor Tavern, Shadowfell Keep
ItemsWeapons, armor, treasureFlame Tongue, Sending Stone
EncountersCombat and non-combat challengesGoblin Ambush, Riddle of the Three Doors
FactionsOrganizations and groupsThieves Guild, Order of the Dawn
Campaign MarkersQuests, mysteries, story starters (formerly “Campaign Markers”)The Missing Merchant, Strange Lights in the Marsh
SessionsPlans for upcoming sessions (shown as “Sessions”)Session 5: The Dungeon Entrance
PartyYour party (shown as “Party”)Elara the Wizard, Grimjaw the Barbarian

Each type has specialized fields. NPCs have personality and combat stats. Locations have sensory details (sights, sounds, smells). Items have rarity and magical properties. You fill in what’s useful and ignore the rest.

See Creations overview for the complete breakdown.

Step 5: connect creations with relationships

Your world comes alive when things are connected. Let’s link your NPC to a location:

  1. Open Mira Thornwood (click her name in the NPC list)
  2. Scroll to the Relationships section
  3. Click Add Relationship
  4. Search for and select “The Rusty Anchor Tavern” (you’d need to create this location first, or pick any location you have)
  5. Choose relationship type: works at
  6. Click Save

Now when you view the tavern, you’ll see Mira works there. When you view Mira, you’ll see where she works. These connections help you remember who knows whom, where NPCs can be found, and how your world fits together.

The Connection Map (in the campaign nav) shows all your creations and relationships visually - useful for seeing the big picture.

Tips for getting started

Start small Create what you need for your next session first. You can always add more later.

Use tags Organize your creations with tags like “villain”, “ally”, “arc-1”, or “neverwinter”. Tags make filtering easy when your campaign grows.

Link as you go Add relationships when creating creations rather than trying to connect everything later.

Import existing content If you’re migrating from Fantasy Grounds, use the import feature to bring your existing campaign with you. See Importing from Fantasy Grounds.

Next steps