I'm always looking to improve the way I write out my sessions or create towns. So how do you layout your documents? Is there a specific form or format that you use? Do you mind sharing that with me and others? Any insights would be awesome!
I like creating small charts for adventures that show how all the elements of the adventure connect to each other, helps me visualize how the adventure changes as the PCs pull on elements of the adventure. For towns I use this generator https://watabou.itch.io/medieval-fantasy-city-generator, unless the location is gonna be important or long term then I sketch it out and pay more attention to the details.
I tend to bullet point pertinent things, for instance the Tavern(s) names, what other shops there are and the general building designs. For the more important areas I use a rough sketch of the town but nothing too detailed as I may change things on the fly depending on what the party is doing. I feel as if writing too much locks you in and doesn't give you breathing room to switch it up without the characters realising.
For other notes I use a similar method, just bullet point the main things and then go with the flow of the party. I think it makes it easier in case the group decide to go off away from the core adventure, which happens more often than not. Then you can slot in your dungeon/adventure/campaign hook later on rather than railroading them to 'your plan'.
I like to keep most of it simple ( I like having all of my information close to me though ). I usually keep 2 binders (or folders) and 1 is for the bullet-point type of information divided into categories. The other one is the detailed versions of everything, lemme break it all down by binder. So first binder ( The Quick-Access binder ): first I put the map of the region the players currently are ( the parts which are in walking distance and local dungeons, taverns, villiages and the likes ) and the second map is the world map with only more important details marked down ( cities, villiages, forrest, mountains, lakes and the likes ). Then I like to have one emergency page ( List of some random NPCs and a couple of random quests which could come in handy (shorter quests), some little hooks I can use and some a couple of hints for me about the storyline ). Then I have a City-Villiage-Town part ( Map of it, list of important NPC's and their jobs, names, families and the likes, quests in it a small map if they are in a dungeon or something like that, list of important things like their rewards, items and such). Then I have a couple of paper dedicated to the current storyline if i need a quick reminder to what happend last time and in the end i have a random collection of papers ( Prices of things at the shop, types of things the local blacksmith can do for the at what price, things in the tavern, some drawings i use for inspiration and some sketches of some important characters so I can describe them better). That binder stand in the middle of my part of the table ( i roll dice over it ), on the right I hold an empty notepad for writing down ideas, important notes and such ( I later type them in Word in a more organised manner ). Second binder (which stands on the on the far left side) is a detailed storyline, current political climates, list and history of factions, detailed story of the Pantheon of gods, a couple of pages of the history and culture of the land ( mostly unnessecary but I really enjoy doing it ). On my DM Screen i hold a little piece of paper for random encounters and random NPCs. Hope it helps :)
Aloxys let the Gnome siblings Tic and Tac escape, bringing an elf body to prove their success in the first mission.
The group found a cave to the South of Talmond, killing blights and finding out that there was a ritual cave to Malar. They noticed the vacant hole in a small obelisk with some bone dust in it. Saved Kelvin from false imprisonment due to the “plants trying to kill him” and his subsequent forest fire to kill the creatures.
Met a dryad, Elondra, in the cave who spoke of an blight on land around her tree which she believes stems from this cave. Turned down their help claiming she could fix it herself.
Aerik started to tell them the story of his past, the group was distracted and only caught parts of his story. He also mentioned that there was glory and respect to be earned from advancing ranks in the guild.
Tillie from the Glass Acorn sent a worker to the Boar’s Head to collect Karrana and the group to help with a strange illness which has stricken some of the residents of Talmond.
The group set sail on the Kossama captained by Kaleal, set out to the sea to gather the plants Tillie asked for. They fought off Sahguin, spoke to Merfolk (who they are considering making allies), and collected the herbs which they brought back to Tillie.
Mhurren spoke to Captain Graysin who made him an emissary of Talmond.
Vistra found evidence in a tome at the Silver Kraken which mentioned ancient artefacts and one page was torn from the book. Scholars said they were folklore and would not let her take the materials with her.
Karrana got her family name “Bearheart”
Aloxys was informed her past does not exists, she has been stricken from all history books for some unknown reason..
Vistra has no information on her friend yet but Aerik is looking into it.
Nivarrah is waiting for her family’s house key and knows her parents are out mapping the continent.
Vlad and Mhurren are orphans from the same war, the only surviving children.
Everyone got their tattoos, Aerik on his right knee. Aerik sent them to Whitebridge to finish registering the guild.
Mhurren was given a trade treaty from Talmond to any willing civilization.
Enough to keep the session flow going, and written in a way that it usually prompts me to be able to relive the moments as needed. It's also very helpful when I have to bring past events back to haunt/help the players as the game goes on.
---
Current session notes (what "should" happen during this game)
See strange meteors in the night to the west
Aloxyis sees friends being carted off toward Narthen
Gazmon tries to convert party members
The Grey helps Aloxyis
Malar helps Mhurren
As you can see, just brief comments so that I can slip them in anywhere and move them around based on what the players choose to do. It allows me the freedom to slip story beats in when needed rather than force the players to do/make specific things.
---
Town Notes
Kald (Hill Dwarf) - Open trade with Watford (Rock Gnomes) - Distrusting of any other races - Serious Iron and Copper exports - Monarchy (King is about to pass) - Unrest due to Troglodyte attacks - 1 Greater Rift
Inns: Nugget's Rest, Cobalt B&B
Almost any other information, such as taverns, inns, and NPCs I make up on the fly since I generally don't flesh out towns much. I find myself making shops and locations for my players based on their needs and wants. However, I do make sure to write down the NPCs and locations I create so that I can put them into the description later.
I write a plot where I think the party starts here, meets this guy, goes over there, fights some goofs on the way, finds a clue, goes to see another fellow ...
Then with that, I draw up a map and I create major terrain and cities, paying particular attention to where the cities get their water and make sure there is a coherent economy, usually an agrarian economy.
With the map set, I have to create a government and an economy. I then fill in the location of merchants, magic users, clerics, armorers, horse farms, the stuff the party may need to visit while they negotiate the environment and the story.
My city / town maps have to be drawn out with some logic to make sure the merchants are in an area together, the government is in another part of the town and the town has enough living space for the other inhabitants.
For the significant players in the town I write down a dialogue that will happen when they meet the merchant or government official for the first time. Of course, if the circumstances don't fit when they bump into each other, I just have to ad-lib it. This will help me remember to introduce some clues to the party about what is going on around them.
I write down some combat encounters, minor stuff, that I want them to experience as they move around the map, and if the combat is specific to a location I mark the location with a letter on my map, and tab the encounter information with the same letter.
With all that done, I can now design the main dungeon crawl. I check out the location on my map and I create a map of the region near the entrance figuring the party will approach and camp within sight of the entrance so they can prepare for the affair. Building the dungeon is the easy part. I need a big bad guy but with all the other stuff I've done I've already figured out who that is and what sort of fellow he is. Based on the party size and level, I set up henchmen with some sergeants of the appropriate number. Sometimes I'll throw in a trap or puzzle. I like to give an opportunity for the party to find a secret door so they can jump the guards at least once as a reward for being observant.
Then at the end I have to figure out what the treasure will be. Generally one special item for each member of the party and a fair bit of gold.
I also write a finish by getting the party to go to another town / city and cash out, maybe giving them their next quest.
I don't always use all the NPCs so I just recycle them in future campaigns.
Aloxys let the Gnome siblings Tic and Tac escape, bringing an elf body to prove their success in the first mission.
The group found a cave to the South of Talmond, killing blights and finding out that there was a ritual cave to Malar. They noticed the vacant hole in a small obelisk with some bone dust in it. Saved Kelvin from false imprisonment due to the “plants trying to kill him” and his subsequent forest fire to kill the creatures.
Met a dryad, Elondra, in the cave who spoke of an blight on land around her tree which she believes stems from this cave. Turned down their help claiming she could fix it herself.
Aerik started to tell them the story of his past, the group was distracted and only caught parts of his story. He also mentioned that there was glory and respect to be earned from advancing ranks in the guild.
Tillie from the Glass Acorn sent a worker to the Boar’s Head to collect Karrana and the group to help with a strange illness which has stricken some of the residents of Talmond.
The group set sail on the Kossama captained by Kaleal, set out to the sea to gather the plants Tillie asked for. They fought off Sahguin, spoke to Merfolk (who they are considering making allies), and collected the herbs which they brought back to Tillie.
Mhurren spoke to Captain Graysin who made him an emissary of Talmond.
Vistra found evidence in a tome at the Silver Kraken which mentioned ancient artefacts and one page was torn from the book. Scholars said they were folklore and would not let her take the materials with her.
Karrana got her family name “Bearheart”
Aloxys was informed her past does not exists, she has been stricken from all history books for some unknown reason..
Vistra has no information on her friend yet but Aerik is looking into it.
Nivarrah is waiting for her family’s house key and knows her parents are out mapping the continent.
Vlad and Mhurren are orphans from the same war, the only surviving children.
Everyone got their tattoos, Aerik on his right knee. Aerik sent them to Whitebridge to finish registering the guild.
Mhurren was given a trade treaty from Talmond to any willing civilization.
Enough to keep the session flow going, and written in a way that it usually prompts me to be able to relive the moments as needed. It's also very helpful when I have to bring past events back to haunt/help the players as the game goes on.
---
Current session notes (what "should" happen during this game)
See strange meteors in the night to the west
Aloxyis sees friends being carted off toward Narthen
Gazmon tries to convert party members
The Grey helps Aloxyis
Malar helps Mhurren
As you can see, just brief comments so that I can slip them in anywhere and move them around based on what the players choose to do. It allows me the freedom to slip story beats in when needed rather than force the players to do/make specific things.
---
Town Notes
Kald (Hill Dwarf) - Open trade with Watford (Rock Gnomes) - Distrusting of any other races - Serious Iron and Copper exports - Monarchy (King is about to pass) - Unrest due to Troglodyte attacks - 1 Greater Rift
Inns: Nugget's Rest, Cobalt B&B
Almost any other information, such as taverns, inns, and NPCs I make up on the fly since I generally don't flesh out towns much. I find myself making shops and locations for my players based on their needs and wants. However, I do make sure to write down the NPCs and locations I create so that I can put them into the description later.
I do exactly this. I also keep a list of NPC names behind the DM screen just in case the party decide they want to talk to someone random.
It's good fun to write up a summary of the session and see how the story unfolds. Good way to make sure no-one forgets an NPC or key moment too.
The other thing I do in my notes is use symbols for potential encounters and skill checks the party will happen upon:
△ For skill checks that might apply, for example a DC10 strength check is required to force open an old door with a rusted shut lock.
■ For encounters, followed by the name of the foe, AC and HP.
● For traps!
This makes it easier to throw some surprises at the party!
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Sir, the possibility of successfully navigating an asteroid field is approximately 3,720 to 1!
I've started to keep spreadsheets with NPCs and Locations. The NPC lists their names, key stats, quick description, a role-playing tip (so I can do the same voice/manners the next time the PCs meet them), information they know, and locations where they are likely to be found. When the PCs return to a location, I can quickly find all the NPCs likely to be found there. I got the idea from Tarol Hunt's video on creating fantasy cities: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RvNaU5UnII
I plot out things on paper/long hand but then keep my notes digitally in an assortment of files.
I keep a file for each major encounter, a file for each location (ie towns) and a file with the pre and post notes of each session.
So let's say my party begins by adventuring in a swamp and they find a sunken temple, and lets call the name of the campaign... swampwalkers.
I would have: sw-sess01 (for session notes) sw-loc-swamp (for a general overlay of the swamp) and sw-enc-sunkentemple (for detailed encounters in the temple).
It may be a bit overkill but it helps me keep things organized and I can do prep for other locations and encounters as they come to mind (even if they may not be needed).
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"An' things ha' come to a pretty pass, ye ken, if people are going to leave stuff like that aroound where innocent people could accidentally smash the door doon and lever the bars aside and take the big chain off'f the cupboard and pick the lock and drink it!"
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Hey Everyone,
I'm always looking to improve the way I write out my sessions or create towns. So how do you layout your documents? Is there a specific form or format that you use? Do you mind sharing that with me and others? Any insights would be awesome!
Thanks!
I like creating small charts for adventures that show how all the elements of the adventure connect to each other, helps me visualize how the adventure changes as the PCs pull on elements of the adventure. For towns I use this generator https://watabou.itch.io/medieval-fantasy-city-generator, unless the location is gonna be important or long term then I sketch it out and pay more attention to the details.
I tend to bullet point pertinent things, for instance the Tavern(s) names, what other shops there are and the general building designs. For the more important areas I use a rough sketch of the town but nothing too detailed as I may change things on the fly depending on what the party is doing. I feel as if writing too much locks you in and doesn't give you breathing room to switch it up without the characters realising.
For other notes I use a similar method, just bullet point the main things and then go with the flow of the party. I think it makes it easier in case the group decide to go off away from the core adventure, which happens more often than not. Then you can slot in your dungeon/adventure/campaign hook later on rather than railroading them to 'your plan'.
Hope this helps!
I like to keep most of it simple ( I like having all of my information close to me though ). I usually keep 2 binders (or folders) and 1 is for the bullet-point type of information divided into categories. The other one is the detailed versions of everything, lemme break it all down by binder. So first binder ( The Quick-Access binder ): first I put the map of the region the players currently are ( the parts which are in walking distance and local dungeons, taverns, villiages and the likes ) and the second map is the world map with only more important details marked down ( cities, villiages, forrest, mountains, lakes and the likes ). Then I like to have one emergency page ( List of some random NPCs and a couple of random quests which could come in handy (shorter quests), some little hooks I can use and some a couple of hints for me about the storyline ). Then I have a City-Villiage-Town part ( Map of it, list of important NPC's and their jobs, names, families and the likes, quests in it a small map if they are in a dungeon or something like that, list of important things like their rewards, items and such). Then I have a couple of paper dedicated to the current storyline if i need a quick reminder to what happend last time and in the end i have a random collection of papers ( Prices of things at the shop, types of things the local blacksmith can do for the at what price, things in the tavern, some drawings i use for inspiration and some sketches of some important characters so I can describe them better). That binder stand in the middle of my part of the table ( i roll dice over it ), on the right I hold an empty notepad for writing down ideas, important notes and such ( I later type them in Word in a more organised manner ). Second binder (which stands on the on the far left side) is a detailed storyline, current political climates, list and history of factions, detailed story of the Pantheon of gods, a couple of pages of the history and culture of the land ( mostly unnessecary but I really enjoy doing it ). On my DM Screen i hold a little piece of paper for random encounters and random NPCs. Hope it helps :)
Anybody willing or able to share examples of some notes?
Oh let's see
End of Session notes:
Enough to keep the session flow going, and written in a way that it usually prompts me to be able to relive the moments as needed. It's also very helpful when I have to bring past events back to haunt/help the players as the game goes on.
---
Current session notes (what "should" happen during this game)
As you can see, just brief comments so that I can slip them in anywhere and move them around based on what the players choose to do. It allows me the freedom to slip story beats in when needed rather than force the players to do/make specific things.
---
Town Notes
Kald (Hill Dwarf)
- Open trade with Watford (Rock Gnomes)
- Distrusting of any other races
- Serious Iron and Copper exports
- Monarchy (King is about to pass)
- Unrest due to Troglodyte attacks
- 1 Greater Rift
Inns: Nugget's Rest, Cobalt B&B
Almost any other information, such as taverns, inns, and NPCs I make up on the fly since I generally don't flesh out towns much. I find myself making shops and locations for my players based on their needs and wants. However, I do make sure to write down the NPCs and locations I create so that I can put them into the description later.
I write a plot where I think the party starts here, meets this guy, goes over there, fights some goofs on the way, finds a clue, goes to see another fellow ...
Then with that, I draw up a map and I create major terrain and cities, paying particular attention to where the cities get their water and make sure there is a coherent economy, usually an agrarian economy.
With the map set, I have to create a government and an economy. I then fill in the location of merchants, magic users, clerics, armorers, horse farms, the stuff the party may need to visit while they negotiate the environment and the story.
My city / town maps have to be drawn out with some logic to make sure the merchants are in an area together, the government is in another part of the town and the town has enough living space for the other inhabitants.
For the significant players in the town I write down a dialogue that will happen when they meet the merchant or government official for the first time. Of course, if the circumstances don't fit when they bump into each other, I just have to ad-lib it. This will help me remember to introduce some clues to the party about what is going on around them.
I write down some combat encounters, minor stuff, that I want them to experience as they move around the map, and if the combat is specific to a location I mark the location with a letter on my map, and tab the encounter information with the same letter.
With all that done, I can now design the main dungeon crawl. I check out the location on my map and I create a map of the region near the entrance figuring the party will approach and camp within sight of the entrance so they can prepare for the affair. Building the dungeon is the easy part. I need a big bad guy but with all the other stuff I've done I've already figured out who that is and what sort of fellow he is. Based on the party size and level, I set up henchmen with some sergeants of the appropriate number. Sometimes I'll throw in a trap or puzzle. I like to give an opportunity for the party to find a secret door so they can jump the guards at least once as a reward for being observant.
Then at the end I have to figure out what the treasure will be. Generally one special item for each member of the party and a fair bit of gold.
I also write a finish by getting the party to go to another town / city and cash out, maybe giving them their next quest.
I don't always use all the NPCs so I just recycle them in future campaigns.
First off, what a great discussion. How other folk record and plan is fascinating and generates ideas in all sorts of ways.
Secondly, my wonder is, how useful do people find the dndbeyond campaign tool? I'm struggling to make use of it.
Thirdly, once I'm back with my note books I'll share some images. Give everyone a good laugh!
I do exactly this. I also keep a list of NPC names behind the DM screen just in case the party decide they want to talk to someone random.
It's good fun to write up a summary of the session and see how the story unfolds. Good way to make sure no-one forgets an NPC or key moment too.
The other thing I do in my notes is use symbols for potential encounters and skill checks the party will happen upon:
△ For skill checks that might apply, for example a DC10 strength check is required to force open an old door with a rusted shut lock.
■ For encounters, followed by the name of the foe, AC and HP.
● For traps!
This makes it easier to throw some surprises at the party!
Sir, the possibility of successfully navigating an asteroid field is approximately 3,720 to 1!
Never tell me the DC.
I've started to keep spreadsheets with NPCs and Locations. The NPC lists their names, key stats, quick description, a role-playing tip (so I can do the same voice/manners the next time the PCs meet them), information they know, and locations where they are likely to be found. When the PCs return to a location, I can quickly find all the NPCs likely to be found there. I got the idea from Tarol Hunt's video on creating fantasy cities: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RvNaU5UnII
I plot out things on paper/long hand but then keep my notes digitally in an assortment of files.
I keep a file for each major encounter, a file for each location (ie towns) and a file with the pre and post notes of each session.
So let's say my party begins by adventuring in a swamp and they find a sunken temple, and lets call the name of the campaign... swampwalkers.
I would have: sw-sess01 (for session notes) sw-loc-swamp (for a general overlay of the swamp) and sw-enc-sunkentemple (for detailed encounters in the temple).
It may be a bit overkill but it helps me keep things organized and I can do prep for other locations and encounters as they come to mind (even if they may not be needed).
"An' things ha' come to a pretty pass, ye ken, if people are going to leave stuff like that aroound where innocent people could accidentally smash the door doon and lever the bars aside and take the big chain off'f the cupboard and pick the lock and drink it!"