Until recently I've been using a notebook and binder to keep all my campaign notes and maps and other misc. information in. But it's 2024 and I feel there has to be a digital solution that works just as well as my notebook and binder solution. Hopefully something that is completely free.
Anyone got any suggestions on where to keep all my DM stuff for free in these increasingly digital times?
I use an app called Obsidian. It is a notetaking software which allows you to link between documents, meaning your notes function similarly to wikipedia.
EG, if you write:
The party left [[Uncle Todds Basement]] and then headed to [[the Arcade]]...
those ones in double-brackets become files which you can click, opening a new page to write notes about Uncle Todds Basement or the Arcade. These can all link and re-link, and you can then map it as a very pretty and cool starmap of all your notes and how they link, which looks something like this:
Where each line is a link and each dot is a note. You can add hashtags to notes to differentiate them, EG I use "#session", "#character", and so on to colour the dots using filters.
Overall it ends up looking impressive and, if you keep on top of it, makes planning and linking sessions really easy!
I use a Word doc with expandable headers (and navigation pane turned on in View). Each 'adventure' is numbered and listed under its own header, with additional headers for "Royal Family", "House Rules", etc. Click on the header name in the navigation pane, takes you right to it. Especially handy if you set the default to collapse all headers.
Nevertheless I still end up with hundreds of word docs, spreadsheets, maps, pics of npcs, etc.; but the main 'adventure' doc is kept in one file.
I keep all my D&D planning and note-taking in OneNote. It isn't especially fancy, but it gets the job done. And if I accidentally yeet my laptop into a lake, I can still get to everything on my phone until I replace the laptop.
So I started using one note as well, but then there were SO many problems accessing it and opening it from other devices that it drove me insane and I thought I lost all my notes---a friend of mine lost 3 years of notes using One Note as well. Due to that, I've moved back to word. Not saying this is the best way to organize things, but its been quite effective so far. I don't really like 3rd party apps because I want to be able to quickly and easily access from any device--laptop, desktop, tablet, or phone.
Here is what I currently use, google docs to keep track of things Google Docs Organization The key to using Word in google docs is to have the outline view open (like in the picture) and using "Paragraph Styles" for organization. I have a session template that I just copy and paste for new sessions. When you click each area in the side bar, it instantly brings you to that section. It's super easy now. So category header I just highlight text and hit ctrl+alt+1, and then subsections are just cntrl+alt+2 (2..3...4..5..6...etc.). It's really well organized and suits my needs perfectly.
Realizing there was a way to organize sections and subsections really easily within google docs was the game changer for me--wish I had known that in grad school. :)
I'm using Legend Keeper, and it works really well for me. As the owner you have private pages, and you can allow public pages, so I let the players write the Session Log, and help add to Lore, but I have private tabs on those pages for the secrets etc. The linking methodology is really easy, sort of like an auto-Wiki, when it identifies the names of other pages in the text.
It's also got an amazing map tool that can help you link pages to locations including hiding elements for prep and later reveals.
I use an app called Obsidian. It is a notetaking software which allows you to link between documents, meaning your notes function similarly to wikipedia.
EG, if you write:
The party left [[Uncle Todds Basement]] and then headed to [[the Arcade]]...
those ones in double-brackets become files which you can click, opening a new page to write notes about Uncle Todds Basement or the Arcade. These can all link and re-link, and you can then map it as a very pretty and cool starmap of all your notes and how they link, which looks something like this:
Where each line is a link and each dot is a note. You can add hashtags to notes to differentiate them, EG I use "#session", "#character", and so on to colour the dots using filters.
Overall it ends up looking impressive and, if you keep on top of it, makes planning and linking sessions really easy!
I second Obsidian. It has a learning curve, but it's got features you didn't know you needed. Mike Shae (of Sly Flourish fame) has some articles and videos about using Obsidian for DM prep.
I use like seven different note taking options (It's a ball when I try to find something I made just a week ago). Color note, notebooks, binders, Google docs, Google slides, and ChatGPT are constantly used. (You can save chats on ChatGPT, so yeah)
EDIT: I agree with everyone who loves Obsidian. I just got it like three days ago and have fallen in love. It works so well and the dots thing actually is very cool and NOT (at least for me) super confusing and annoying. No complaints.
Obsidian looks like a mess. A giant picture with a bunch of dots? How is that organized? How do you distinguish zones/session notes/npc notes/player notes etc in an organized fashion?
It LOOKS cool, but how is it preferable over just a simple word document with notes? I haven't used it, so I'm curious why its a choice if when someone asks what you use for keeping notes they show a picture with a bunch of dots and no notes--makes me think its just a cool visual gimmick, because its not showing any content organization.
Obsidian looks like a mess. A giant picture with a bunch of dots? How is that organized? How do you distinguish zones/session notes/npc notes/player notes etc in an organized fashion?
It LOOKS cool, but how is it preferable over just a simple word document with notes? I haven't used it, so I'm curious why its a choice if when someone asks what you use for keeping notes they show a picture with a bunch of dots and no notes--makes me think its just a cool visual gimmick, because its not showing any content organization.
That's just one way of visualizing documents in Obsidian. You can view them as you would a regular directory in the regular view.
Ah--from the other view it looks a lot like One Note. The visual representation certainly seems gimmicky though, cool, sure--but still.
What's interesting is that Google Docs JUST released new formatting to the headers as collapsable subsections--which instantly launches it ahead of everything in my opinion. Google docs is now a lot closer to One Note without the nonsense of Microsoft.
What's interesting is that Google Docs JUST released new formatting to the headers as collapsable subsections--which instantly launches it ahead of everything in my opinion. Google docs is now a lot closer to One Note without the nonsense of Microsoft.
I think lots of markdown-based editors can do that, Obsidian being no exception.
I'm a bit of an evangelist for them yeah, but the thing I like most is that Obsidian documents are hosted locally by default, so you don't need the internet to access them. If you need to link documents across devices, you'd have to pay a bit for cloud access, though. I was really just looking for a software as close to a group of notepad documents with markdown formatting.
Until recently I've been using a notebook and binder to keep all my campaign notes and maps and other misc. information in. But it's 2024 and I feel there has to be a digital solution that works just as well as my notebook and binder solution. Hopefully something that is completely free.
Anyone got any suggestions on where to keep all my DM stuff for free in these increasingly digital times?
I use an app called Obsidian. It is a notetaking software which allows you to link between documents, meaning your notes function similarly to wikipedia.
EG, if you write:
The party left [[Uncle Todds Basement]] and then headed to [[the Arcade]]...
those ones in double-brackets become files which you can click, opening a new page to write notes about Uncle Todds Basement or the Arcade. These can all link and re-link, and you can then map it as a very pretty and cool starmap of all your notes and how they link, which looks something like this:
Where each line is a link and each dot is a note. You can add hashtags to notes to differentiate them, EG I use "#session", "#character", and so on to colour the dots using filters.
Overall it ends up looking impressive and, if you keep on top of it, makes planning and linking sessions really easy!
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I use a Word doc with expandable headers (and navigation pane turned on in View). Each 'adventure' is numbered and listed under its own header, with additional headers for "Royal Family", "House Rules", etc. Click on the header name in the navigation pane, takes you right to it. Especially handy if you set the default to collapse all headers.
Nevertheless I still end up with hundreds of word docs, spreadsheets, maps, pics of npcs, etc.; but the main 'adventure' doc is kept in one file.
Playing D&D since 1982
Have played every version of the game since Basic (Red Box Set), except that abomination sometimes called 4e.
I like world anvil. Really good for world building and keeping things updated. Theres a free version and a pay version.
I keep all my D&D planning and note-taking in OneNote. It isn't especially fancy, but it gets the job done. And if I accidentally yeet my laptop into a lake, I can still get to everything on my phone until I replace the laptop.
So I started using one note as well, but then there were SO many problems accessing it and opening it from other devices that it drove me insane and I thought I lost all my notes---a friend of mine lost 3 years of notes using One Note as well. Due to that, I've moved back to word. Not saying this is the best way to organize things, but its been quite effective so far. I don't really like 3rd party apps because I want to be able to quickly and easily access from any device--laptop, desktop, tablet, or phone.
Here was my one-note doc:
One Note Method
Here is what I currently use, google docs to keep track of things
Google Docs Organization
The key to using Word in google docs is to have the outline view open (like in the picture) and using "Paragraph Styles" for organization. I have a session template that I just copy and paste for new sessions. When you click each area in the side bar, it instantly brings you to that section. It's super easy now. So category header I just highlight text and hit ctrl+alt+1, and then subsections are just cntrl+alt+2 (2..3...4..5..6...etc.). It's really well organized and suits my needs perfectly.
Realizing there was a way to organize sections and subsections really easily within google docs was the game changer for me--wish I had known that in grad school. :)
Notebook per campaign in a amazon kindle scribe - nothing better it rocks
I use notion.so
I'm using Legend Keeper, and it works really well for me. As the owner you have private pages, and you can allow public pages, so I let the players write the Session Log, and help add to Lore, but I have private tabs on those pages for the secrets etc. The linking methodology is really easy, sort of like an auto-Wiki, when it identifies the names of other pages in the text.
It's also got an amazing map tool that can help you link pages to locations including hiding elements for prep and later reveals.
I second Obsidian. It has a learning curve, but it's got features you didn't know you needed. Mike Shae (of Sly Flourish fame) has some articles and videos about using Obsidian for DM prep.
I use like seven different note taking options (It's a ball when I try to find something I made just a week ago). Color note, notebooks, binders, Google docs, Google slides, and ChatGPT are constantly used. (You can save chats on ChatGPT, so yeah)
EDIT: I agree with everyone who loves Obsidian. I just got it like three days ago and have fallen in love. It works so well and the dots thing actually is very cool and NOT (at least for me) super confusing and annoying. No complaints.
I use World Anvil and Google Docs (just in case I guess)
Obsidian looks like a mess. A giant picture with a bunch of dots? How is that organized? How do you distinguish zones/session notes/npc notes/player notes etc in an organized fashion?
It LOOKS cool, but how is it preferable over just a simple word document with notes? I haven't used it, so I'm curious why its a choice if when someone asks what you use for keeping notes they show a picture with a bunch of dots and no notes--makes me think its just a cool visual gimmick, because its not showing any content organization.
That's just one way of visualizing documents in Obsidian. You can view them as you would a regular directory in the regular view.
Check the views on their website: https://obsidian.md/
Ah--from the other view it looks a lot like One Note. The visual representation certainly seems gimmicky though, cool, sure--but still.
What's interesting is that Google Docs JUST released new formatting to the headers as collapsable subsections--which instantly launches it ahead of everything in my opinion. Google docs is now a lot closer to One Note without the nonsense of Microsoft.
I think lots of markdown-based editors can do that, Obsidian being no exception.
I'm a bit of an evangelist for them yeah, but the thing I like most is that Obsidian documents are hosted locally by default, so you don't need the internet to access them. If you need to link documents across devices, you'd have to pay a bit for cloud access, though. I was really just looking for a software as close to a group of notepad documents with markdown formatting.
I also use obsidian. I thought it was a real gem of a find. It has been great.
Slight necro here, but this article has a ton of resources for using Obsidian in D&D:
https://slyflourish.com/obsidian.html