D&D Vault

Conversion-Workflow-Reference

9 min read

Location Conversion Workflow Reference

Context

This is a PC-facing D&D vault for a campaign in Grimmora, published with Quartz v4. The vault documents our party’s journey from the player character perspective (specifically Gage’s view), so it only contains information the PCs would know.

Vault Setup

  • Platform: Obsidian with Quartz v4 publishing
  • Quartz Version: 4.5.0
  • Base URL: https://l78k3.github.io/grimmora-pages
  • Perspective: Player-facing (not DM notes)
  • Language: British English (e.g., amphitheatre, armour, centre)

Folder Structure & File Manifest

This tree represents the current state of the vault. Use this to check if a page exists before suggesting a new one.

content
├── Campaigns
│   └── Campaign 1
│       ├── Characters
│       │   ├── GageGreengather
│       │   │   ├── Allies & Rivals.md
│       │   │   ├── Gage.md
│       │   │   ├── Inventory.md
│       │   │   ├── Ongoing Threads.md
│       │   │   ├── Personal Quests.md
│       │   │   └── Sheet Archives
│       │   ├── Lavender
│       │   │   ├── Lavender.md
│       │   │   └── b. Inventory.md
│       │   ├── Marianne.md
│       │   ├── Temerity.md
│       │   └── Theren.md
│       ├── Chronicles
│       │   ├── Entry 1.md ... Entry 36.md
│       ├── Events
│       │   ├── Battle at the Big House.md
│       │   ├── Dragon Battle.md
│       │   ├── Gnome Confrontation.md
│       │   ├── Magical Plague.md
│       │   ├── Plague Investigation.md
│       │   ├── The Trial of the Gladiator.md
│       │   └── Vampire Defeat.md
│       ├── NPCs
│       │   ├── Anaphel.md
│       │   ├── Auriel.md
│       │   ├── Aurius.md
│       │   ├── Bracken.md
│       │   ├── Brian.md
│       │   ├── Captain Arran.md
│       │   ├── Cella.md
│       │   ├── Corvus.md
│       │   ├── Dave.md
│       │   ├── First Fist.md
│       │   ├── Florian.md
│       │   ├── Gnome Cook.md
│       │   ├── Gorg.md
│       │   ├── Guardsman Floyd.md
│       │   ├── Guido.md
│       │   ├── Halsin.md
│       │   ├── Ice Dragon.md
│       │   ├── Ismay.md
│       │   ├── Korako.md
│       │   ├── Lady Bromelia.md
│       │   ├── Lord Requiem.md
│       │   ├── Mavis.md
│       │   ├── Millicent.md
│       │   ├── Orion.md
│       │   ├── Requiem la Rouge.md
│       │   ├── Rowan.md
│       │   ├── Runcible.md
│       │   ├── Summer.md
│       │   ├── The Alchemist.md
│       │   ├── The Clothier.md
│       │   ├── Vampire Lord.md
│       │   ├── Wild Wanderer.md
│       │   ├── Winter.md
│       │   ├── Zadhir.md
│       │   ├── bandit captain.md
│       │   ├── bandits.md
│       │   ├── grand cleric.md
│       │   └── hag.md
│       └── Sessions
│           ├── Session 20231228.md ...
├── Reference
│   ├── Assassin.md
│   ├── Gloom Stalker.md
│   └── Quick Reference.md
├── System
│   ├── Conversion-Workflow-Reference.md
│   ├── Queries
│   │   ├── Allies.md
│   │   ├── Inventory.md
│   │   ├── Ongoing Threads.md
│   │   └── Quests.md
│   └── Templates
│       ├── Character.md
│       ├── Chronicle.md
│       ├── Core Framework.md
│       ├── Item.md
│       ├── Location - Building.md
│       ├── Location - City.md
│       ├── Location - District.md
│       ├── Location - Dungeon.md
│       ├── Location - Landmark.md
│       ├── Location.md
│       ├── Location - Region.md
│       ├── Location - Town.md
│       ├── Location - Village.md
│       ├── NPC.md
│       ├── Ongoing Thread.md
│       ├── Quest.md
│       └── Session.md
└── World
    ├── Grimmora
    │   ├── Abilities
    │   │   ├── confoundment spell.md
    │   │   └── hideous laughter.md
    │   ├── Concepts
    │   │   ├── dimensional sucker.md
    │   │   ├── dryads.md
    │   │   ├── eladrin.md
    │   │   ├── griffin.md
    │   │   ├── half-orc.md
    │   │   ├── hellish rebuke.md
    │   │   ├── hellish-rebuke.md
    │   │   ├── Ice Wolves.md
    │   │   ├── Lady Rose.md
    │   │   ├── moon elf.md
    │   │   ├── necromancers.md
    │   │   ├── Pellor.md
    │   │   ├── Pseudodragon.md
    │   │   ├── Snow-Blindness.md
    │   │   ├── spectres.md
    │   │   ├── The Curse.md
    │   │   ├── The Gladiator Wight.md
    │   │   └── tiefling.md
    │   ├── Items
    │   │   ├── Auriel's Wall.md
    │   │   ├── Blue Communication Stone.md
    │   │   ├── crossbow.md
    │   │   ├── Crystal Orbs.md
    │   │   ├── Dragon Meat.md
    │   │   ├── health potions.md
    │   │   ├── Potion of Fire Breathing.md
    │   │   ├── scrying pool.md
    │   │   └── teleportation rune.md
    │   ├── Locations
    │   │   ├── Buildings
    │   │   │   ├── Auriel's Church.md
    │   │   │   ├── Golden Griffin.md
    │   │   │   ├── Jade Zephyr Casino.md
    │   │   │   ├── mage's tower.md
    │   │   │   ├── monastery.md
    │   │   │   ├── North City Gate.md
    │   │   │   ├── Rotunda.md
    │   │   │   ├── temple.md
    │   │   │   └── The Tavern.md
    │   │   ├── Cities
    │   │   │   ├── Arcadia.md
    │   │   │   ├── Avalon.md
    │   │   │   ├── Bridgeport.md
    │   │   │   └── Durvish City.md
    │   │   ├── Districts
    │   │   │   └── elvish quarter.md
    │   │   ├── Dungeons-and-Lairs
    │   │   │   ├── Dragon's Nest.md
    │   │   │   ├── Orris' Secret Lair.md
    │   │   │   ├── The Gladiator's Amphitheatre.md
    │   │   │   ├── The Trial Chamber.md
    │   │   │   └── Vampire Mansion.md
    │   │   ├── Landmarks
    │   │   │   ├── Alpine Forest.md
    │   │   │   ├── Court of Flowers.md
    │   │   │   ├── Court of Summer and Winter.md
    │   │   │   └── fey realm.md
    │   │   ├── Maps
    │   │   │   ├── GRIMMORA_UPDATED.jpg
    │   │   │   └── Maps.canvas
    │   │   ├── Towns
    │   │   │   ├── Bremen.md
    │   │   │   ├── Durendal.md
    │   │   │   ├── Frostpeak Pass.md
    │   │   │   └── Mightrest.md
    │   │   └── Villages
    │   │       ├── Midward.md
    │   │       └── Pinechill.md
    │   ├── Organizations
    │   │   ├── House Locke.md
    │   │   └── The Order of the Ancient Fable.md
    │   └── Regions
    │       ├── Avalonean Empire.md
    │       └── The Frost.md
    └── Valoran
        ├── Items
        │   └── petricite.md
        └── Locations
            ├── Demacia.md
            ├── Demacian Capital.md
            ├── Noxus.md
            ├── The Freljord.md
            └── Uwendale.md

Template Locations

All templates are in: content/System/Templates/

  • Location - City.md - For major cities
  • Location - Town.md - For smaller towns
  • Location - Village.md - For small settlements
  • Location - Building.md - For inns, shops, temples, etc.
  • Location - District.md - For city districts/quarters
  • Location - Dungeon.md - For dungeons, lairs, caves, ruins
  • Location - Landmark.md - For forests, mountains, special locations
  • Location - Region.md - For large geographical regions

Conversion Principles

1. YAML Frontmatter

Every location needs proper frontmatter:

---
title: Location Name
type: city/town/village/building/etc.
region: "[[Region Name]]"
population: ~X,XXX (if known)
tags:
  - location/type
  - region/name
  - visited OR unvisited
---

2. Status Callouts

Use callouts to indicate visit status:

For visited locations:

> [!info] Visited
> 
> **When:** [[Entry X]] or session reference
> **Region:** [[Region Name]]

For unvisited locations:

> [!warning] Unvisited
> 
> The party has not yet traveled to this location.

For dangerous locations:

> [!danger] Danger Level
> 
> Brief warning about threats

3. Content Guidelines

  • Only include information the PCs would know
  • Write from party perspective (“we”, “our”)
  • Reference chronicle entries when describing events
  • Use wikilinks for all related content: [[Location]], [[NPC]], [[Item]]
  • Include “Our Experience” section for visited locations
  • Leave sections empty rather than inventing information

4. Standard Sections

Most locations should have:

  • Overview - General description
  • Geography - Physical location, climate, terrain
  • Points of Interest - Key locations within
  • Notable NPCs - People encountered
  • History - Background information (if known)
  • Travel Connections - How it connects to other places
  • Our Experience - What happened during visits
  • Related links at bottom - Cross-references

5. Linking Format

  • Use simple wikilinks: [[Page Name]]
  • For display text: [[Page Name|Display Text]]
  • Quartz with ObsidianFlavoredMarkdown handles path resolution
  • Images: Use ![[image-name.jpg]] for Obsidian-style embeds

Example Completed Files

Best Examples by Category

Cities:

  • World/Grimmora/Locations/Cities/Avalon.md - Comprehensive city with districts
  • World/Gymmora/Locations/Cities/Durvish City.md - Quest starting location

Towns:

  • World/Grimmora/Locations/Towns/Mightrest.md - Detailed with quest resolution
  • World/Grimmora/Locations/Towns/Frostpeak Pass.md - Simple waystation

Villages:

  • World/Grimmora/Locations/Villages/Pinechill.md - Small settlement
  • World/Grimmora/Locations/Villages/Midward.md - Built from chronicle entries

Landmarks:

  • World/Grimmora/Locations/Landmarks/fey realm.md - Alternate dimension
  • World/Grimmora/Locations/Landmarks/Alpine Forest.md - Dangerous natural area

Regions:

  • World/Grimmora/Regions/Avalonean Empire.md - Major political region
  • World/Grimmora/Regions/The Frost.md - Harsh environmental region

Current Progress

✔ Completed Categories

Regions (2/2)

  • Avalonean Empire
  • The Frost

Cities (4/4)

  • Avalon
  • Durvish City
  • Arcadia
  • Bridgeport

Towns (4/4)

  • Durendal
  • Frostpeak Pass
  • Mightrest
  • Bremen.md (Stub created)

Villages (2/2)

  • Pinechill
  • Midward

Landmarks (4/4)

  • Alpine Forest
  • Court of Flowers
  • Court of Summer and Winter
  • fey realm

Buildings (10/10)

  • Auriel’s Church.md
  • Golden Griffin.md
  • Jade Zephyr Casino.md
  • North City Gate.md
  • Rotunda.md
  • The Tavern.md
  • mage’s tower.md
  • monastery.md
  • temple.md

Districts (1/1)

  • elvish quarter.md

Dungeons-and-Lairs (6/6)

  • Dragon’s Nest.md
  • Orris’ Secret Lair.md
  • The Gladiator’s Amphitheatre.md
  • The Trial Chamber.md
  • Vampire Mansion.md

Workflow Pattern

This is the workflow that works well:

  1. Start with a category (e.g., “Let’s do Buildings”)
  2. AI asks for file content: 
    cat content/World/Grimmora/Locations/Buildings/Building-Name.md
  3. User pastes the file content
  4. AI converts to template format with proper frontmatter and structure
  5. User copies result back to file
  6. Move to next file in category
  7. Repeat until category complete

Tips for Efficiency

  • Do entire categories at once (all Cities, all Towns, etc.)

  • If a file has no content, AI can check chronicle entries:

    grep -C 3 -r "LocationName" content/Campaigns/Campaign\ 1/Chronicles/

  • For images, use ![[image.jpg]] format with files in appropriate folders

  • Keep a running checklist and update after each session

Technical Notes

Quartz Configuration

Image Paths

Images work best when:

  • Placed in a dedicated location (like content/assets/)
  • Referenced with wikilink syntax: ![[image.jpg]]
  • Quartz resolves paths automatically during build

Building & Testing

# Build for production
npx quartz build
 
# Test locally
npx quartz build --serve
# or
npx quartz serve
 
# Check version
npx quartz --version

Common Commands

Find files:

find content/World/Grimmora/Locations -name "*.md"

Search content:

grep -r "search term" content/Campaigns/Campaign\ 1/Chronicles/

List directory:

ls content/World/Grimmora/Locations/Cities/

Resuming in a New Chat

To resume this workflow in a new chat session:

  1. Provide context:
    • “I’m organizing a D&D campaign vault in Obsidian published with Quartz v4”
    • “I need help converting location files to standardized templates”
  2. Share this reference file:
    • Copy/paste this entire file, OR
    • Provide the path and ask AI to read it
  3. State current progress:
    • “I’ve completed Cities, Towns, Villages, and Landmarks”
    • “Next I need to do Buildings (10 files)”
  4. Request to continue:
    • “Can you help me convert the Buildings category using the same workflow?”
  5. AI will ask for first file: 
    cat content/World/Grimmora/Locations/Buildings/FirstBuilding.md

Party Members (for reference)

Key NPCs & Concepts

Last Updated: Current Session Next Category: All location categories complete. Next step: Chronicle Analysis (Entry 11 onwards).

Graph View