FantasyTimeTracker

Fantasy Time Tracker is a game masters tool for keeping linked notes and tracking passage of time for tabletop role playing games.

Note side keeps markdown files that can be rendered on browser with links between them and also features a way to edit them from browser.

Time counting is set up for fifth edition Dungeons and Dragons, but chancing turn length should be enough to fit for most other games.

The tracker and the calendar views are provided for game master to set current time dependent conditions and track how events move the clock forward.

This tool also provides a web page that can be shown to players on secondary monitor or projector to give a bit of atmosphere and keep them on track of the time passing in game.

Because the server is meant to be run on game masters laptop, there is currently no user authentication.

Setup

The program depends on Python 3, and the default setup process requires pip and venv installed for the Python version.

On windows the setup can be completed by running setup.ps1 and on unix setup.sh will handle the setup. The scripts create a folder for venv in the folder they are run from.

Manually the setup can be done as follows:

• Make sure Python 3, pip and venv are installed
• Create Python 3 virtual environment for the program.

  python3 -m venv path/to/venv
  

• Activate the virtual enviroment

  . ./path/to/venv/Scripts/activate
  

  on Windows or

  . ./path/to/venv/bin/activate
  

  on Unix
• Install the dependency libraries with pip

  pip install flask
  pip install flask_wtf
  pip install flask_pagedown
  pip install markdown
  pip install wtforms
  pip install mdx_truly_sane_lists
  

• Deactivate the venv

  deactivate
  

Running the server

Setting the virtual environment and starting the server can be also done with start.sh or start.ps1 scripts, on unix and windows, respectively. Manually the start up works by following these steps.

• Set either production or development environment in the config.py
• Set environment variables FLASK_ENV and FLASK_DEBUG to match production or development option as in config.py. FLASK_APP should be set to "run.py".
• Set secret keys in config.py to random strings only you know
• Activate the virtual environment

  . ./path/to/venv/bin/activate
  

  on unix and

  . ./path/to/venv/Scrips/activate
  

  on windows
• Run python flask

  python -m flask run
  

• Open browser of your choice on address displayed

Other dependencies

This tool only requires actual internet connection for single mat4 type dependency. Fetching this script should be only connection to anywhere other than the machine running the server. It should also be quite easy to make local copy of that js file and to change the templates to fetch it from local storage like rest of the scripts.

If this change is made, the tool can be used fully without internet connection, and is thus suitable for use in places that lack proper connection.

Security

The tracker is meant to be used locally by the game master, running the server either on same machine that is used for interface browser or on another computer on same local area network. There is currently no login system or any other protections against anyone with internet connection to the machine running the server from opening the time tracker interface and changing the values there. It is also perfectly possible to send requests that are accepted to the system without using the Time Tracker interface. Nothing that is received from these requests is executed as a code.

As the program makes changes to local copies of its event log files, it might be possible to send trough request malicious code to be stored on these files. While the server doesn't execute anything form the files it reads as a code, there is no filtering for content that the browser might interpret as a executable script. So potentially the event log could be used to store and distribute client side malicious code, that has same risks as any other code that could be run on the browser. This server should not leak any information about the file system on the server machine, though filling the storage media is possible.

Most likely, the worst you are going to face is angry player trying to set game clock to a point before their snowflake character died totally of their own fault, but you still should not left this running for unnecessarily when not in use.

And you should never execute the log files as programs, but generally you should never run anything that is not meant to be run and known to be safe.

Configuration

The calendar and timekeeping can be customised using configuration json files. By default two calendars have been implemented, first is quite close to our normal calendar, but lacks leap days. Second is a custom calendar used in my homebrew setting. These are provided as examples of what can be done.