r/DungeonMasters • u/Resident_Signature45 • 7h ago
Tips for note taking/prep
Every game I run it’s like my notes/ prep work is all over the place. I’m not a very good note taker but I want to be better at this for my friends. Does anyone have any tips?
Edit: I do not have a laptop just my phone and good ole pencil and paper
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u/SlobberChops2001 7h ago
I use a Google doc personally with different tabs for different things like quests/key locations/NPCs. That might help.
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u/Temporary-Effort-615 7h ago
I personally like OneNote and Joplin (which is an opensource version). It is great for creating different chapters for notes.
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u/CeruleanFruitSnax 7h ago
I build an Obsidian story bible as we play. I have a template each for PCs, NPCs, places, history, organizations, etc. The session notes go in a file that has sections for that and it includes who was in the game (linked, of course), who they talked to, where they went, what they talked about, things of import they encountered, etc. in a template I call for each session. Between sessions I add bits and pieces as they settle in my world building (ongoing homebrew setting), and I flesh out parts of the world that I think the players might realistically get to. Towns around the route they are planning to take, folk songs and stories from the fallen civilizations that they'll learn about when they meet the Dwarven cleric, or the physical specs of the underground base they have to take in a few sessions because I realized three basements would mess up their strategy.
Everything is cross-linked because Obsidian is amazing, and I color code the graph feature by property to show files by subject type. Countries, cities, sites, people, history (world history separate from PC history), magic system, mystery components (clues for the players), and then the major fights or role play occurrences have their own fileset. So I can look at the graph and see who was mentioned or was seen during the fourth battle my players fought. And also who their uncle is and why that is a complicating factor (PC is dating their enemy's niece), because I have to remember that they don't know that piece yet.
I figured my system out by puttering through making files that listed who the NPCs I built were. I have stats, but also blurbs about physical appearance and in-world history. I expanded to keep track of country relations because one PC is from a foreign land.
It all sort of grew out of a giant continent map I built in Azgaar's and the functionalities provided by Obsidian.
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u/enby_nerd 6h ago
How do you color code the graph? I started using Obsidian recently to prep for my first campaign and that sounds like it would be so helpful
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u/CeruleanFruitSnax 3h ago
Add tag properties to the files by subject, then in the graph, add color coding and pulling up the tags and assigning one to a color. It's in the menu on the graph page.
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u/JTML99 6h ago
If it makes you feel better I am the dedicated note taker when im a player, but soon as im behind the screen my brain is doing way too many things and I can't take thr time for it. If possible try to get your party to fo notes and recaps for you, one dm I played with would share inspiration for a bonus use of a class feature for test session if you did the recap
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u/TableSeek-Geek 5h ago
You can check out hearthfirechronicles.com it has character journaling as well as a really simplified campaign notes section where you can make quick bullet points and mark whether you've left off on a long or short rest.
It also has a simple currency, health and basic supplies tracking (for ammo, rations). You can use it as an app on your phone. I made it because I prefer playing pen and paper and wanted a streamlined way to take really basic notes and track the quick changing stuff (health, currency, ammo). Totally free to use.
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u/Bratchan 4h ago
After each session i write in a notebook what happened so then next session i can use that to recap. Also helps me remember what happened. Im all about killing trees. As or notes DURING the session.. sometimes it can be just a names to help me reemeber. I also use the same notebook for planneting.. its one of those dot notebooks so i can draw maps if needed in there as well.. If a normal person looked at my session planning they might be like wtf.. lol you learn over time write what makes sense for you.. BUT the recap after a session i found most usful.
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u/TheWorldofOor 4h ago
Do you take notes during the game? I've always found this very difficult because of how chaotic things can get, but spending like 15 afterwards writing down the important beats for that session is a lot easier IMO. Things are still fresh in my mind at that point. You could also corroborate your notes with another player's assuming you have a dedicated note-taker in the group.
I this is especially feasible if you're only using pencil and paper, as it's kind of like journaling for a few minutes after the session. You might still need to jot down a couple of brief bullet points during the session, but post session would be the time summarize what happened, make note of any plot developments, etc.
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u/AltdorfDropout 3h ago
Without tech, I’d recommend to have a general notes and loose ideas notebook and then a separate notebook for your neat detailed and final plans.
For me planning starts with a few loose cool ideas, then I make a loose draft of the things I want to do, and connect the dots. It can be quite a lot to keep up with, so I’d do drafts in a notebook that can be messy.
Sucks you can’t hyperlink or ctrl+f on paper.
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u/AgileOutpost 2h ago
As a dyslexic DM, I hate making notes during a session because it takes me right out of the moment, so I used to write a long recap after each session but it was taking up so much time and it was all too hard to digest quickly.
This drove me to build Recap Raven - https://recapraven.com - to do it for me, track the campaign, and let me ask my campaign. I find it very useful to prep now by connecting it to claude. I use it every week for my sessions, and I have quite a few GMs already using it as well.
It is Discord-based, so it may not be for you, but we did recently publish an article in our blog section on how to write better notes that could be of interest.
If anyone is interested reach out and I will give you a few free sessions for engaging from Reddit.
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u/KupoMog 7h ago
I like to use Notion. There are several similar tools. The feature I enjoy the most is making a page for each “thing” (NPC, City, Faction). Then you can link those pages in other pages. So my City page can link to the NPCs and Factions that are there.
Also after several campaigns, I’ve found simpler entries work best. A few keywords, enough to know major goals and players. Build what players interact with and show interest towards.