Hi, I'm a graphic design student, and for my graduation project I'll design a d&d character/campaign journal for players. My advisor wants me to research what players would want in such a journal, so here I am!
What do you guys think are important information to have in a character/campaign journal? What kind of features would you like to see? What kind of pages do you think there should be? I hope you guys can help me! :)
PS- I'm not doing this for profit, it's an academic work only, I hope I'm not breaking any rules.
The absolute best campaign Journal site I have come across is Obsidian Portal. Its generally intended for the DM to manage lore for the whole campaign. But characters can make their own, and edit settings allow multiple players to add to it and link to other journal entries in the campaign. Here is a link to a campaign I ran there a few years back.
i dont know if this sort of thing already exists, but my thought would be obviously blank pages, possibly to make it look different to a plain note book add in some sort of design in a corner of the page, for your notes. i would put a character sheet as the first few pages of the book, and a cut down DM screen cheat sheet, on either the inside cover or a few pages at the back, to cover some of the standard rules on things like AC, conditions, cover, etc.
as an idea, a ribbon as a page marker, and possibly make the cheat sheet and the character sheet sections being slightly bigger/wider than the notes pages to make it easier to flip back and forth between them.
allow each journal entry to optionally be tagged with level or adventure name (and with multiple options for each as one entry could span multiple levels and/or multiple adventures)...
some other categories...in my head, these would be tags you could associate with each entry so you could sort by tag.
date: both real world (which is more important for me) and in-game date (for those who care)
magic items obtained - including a 'sold' designation or something so that you can exclude those in your filter
other players in the adventure (both character name and real name)
a good enemies and allies (friends/acquaintances) section.
wealth obtained and spent, not just gold, but gems, etc.
story rewards
a big flexible 'other' section
monsters encountered
deities/major personalities (like kings/dragons), i suppose this could be part of enemies allies - not sure if it makes sense for clerics/paladins to be separate.
i think these are worthy of their own section within journal
a more comprehensive faction section including rank, perks, major contacts, history...almost a mini journal within the journal (here's some structure on factions for ideas in a pwyw doc: https://www.dmsguild.com/product/306676/Guide-to-the-Five-Factions ) ...and allowing for multiple factions as you can have renown with several, but usually only receive benefits from one.
a subjournal for real estate.
i'd say another subjournal for vehicles, but hopefully they allow us to make homebrew vehicles when they make changes to homebrew.
a crafting section to keep track of what you've made or other notes
In my notebook, I write down the actual date, session number, and sometimes the in-campaign date. (this has only been relevant a couple of times.) I note the location we started in, and update that as needed. Then, session details like monsters fought, treasures acquired, non-PCs we met, places we went/need to go... and the details relevant to my PC. I wish I had the time / ability to document all PC details, but I just can't...
Main sections that should be included: PCs in the party, with real and character names, class, and some basic details - Caster? Ranged? Healer? Sneaky? etc. Non-PCs we interact with - friends and enemies. Locations - cities, bars, taverns, pubs, saloons, speakeasies, inns that have a bar, bars that also have beds, important stuff like that. Personal character goals / story hooks / adventures / secrets.
Hey I am trying to find out what and when to write in the journal that I am making. It will be a personal character journal, and am wondering what to write about in it. If anyone can please help me, I am really stuck on this.
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Hi, I'm a graphic design student, and for my graduation project I'll design a d&d character/campaign journal for players. My advisor wants me to research what players would want in such a journal, so here I am!
What do you guys think are important information to have in a character/campaign journal? What kind of features would you like to see? What kind of pages do you think there should be? I hope you guys can help me! :)
PS- I'm not doing this for profit, it's an academic work only, I hope I'm not breaking any rules.
definitely explain the basic rules and how to make a character, there's so many things that go into d&d as well but make sure to make it fun :)
The absolute best campaign Journal site I have come across is Obsidian Portal. Its generally intended for the DM to manage lore for the whole campaign. But characters can make their own, and edit settings allow multiple players to add to it and link to other journal entries in the campaign. Here is a link to a campaign I ran there a few years back.
https://captain-barndog-s-skull-shackles.obsidianportal.com/
i dont know if this sort of thing already exists, but my thought would be obviously blank pages, possibly to make it look different to a plain note book add in some sort of design in a corner of the page, for your notes. i would put a character sheet as the first few pages of the book, and a cut down DM screen cheat sheet, on either the inside cover or a few pages at the back, to cover some of the standard rules on things like AC, conditions, cover, etc.
as an idea, a ribbon as a page marker, and possibly make the cheat sheet and the character sheet sections being slightly bigger/wider than the notes pages to make it easier to flip back and forth between them.
allow each journal entry to optionally be tagged with level or adventure name (and with multiple options for each as one entry could span multiple levels and/or multiple adventures)...
some other categories...in my head, these would be tags you could associate with each entry so you could sort by tag.
i think these are worthy of their own section within journal
Guide to the Five Factions (PWYW)
Deck of Decks
In my notebook, I write down the actual date, session number, and sometimes the in-campaign date. (this has only been relevant a couple of times.)
I note the location we started in, and update that as needed.
Then, session details like monsters fought, treasures acquired, non-PCs we met, places we went/need to go... and the details relevant to my PC. I wish I had the time / ability to document all PC details, but I just can't...
Main sections that should be included:
PCs in the party, with real and character names, class, and some basic details - Caster? Ranged? Healer? Sneaky? etc.
Non-PCs we interact with - friends and enemies.
Locations - cities, bars, taverns, pubs, saloons, speakeasies, inns that have a bar, bars that also have beds, important stuff like that.
Personal character goals / story hooks / adventures / secrets.
Hey I am trying to find out what and when to write in the journal that I am making. It will be a personal character journal, and am wondering what to write about in it. If anyone can please help me, I am really stuck on this.