Does it look like a piece of paper where you jot down everything important, is it told like a story? I have a story plotted out but I want to keep notes on what happens, so what does taking notes look like?
Whatever you want or need it to look like. My group goes so long between sessions that I take notes on where we left off. If major NPCs died that session, I note it. We're running a module so the notes are fewer than there would be for a homebrew campaign, IMHO. Notes are there to help you remember what went down that wasn't planned, IMO. So it's really what you make of it.
Every DM takes notes in different ways, and as you play you'll figure out what is necessary/important to you. You might start one way and adjust as you figure out what you prefer. I know my own post game notes have changed a lot over the years!
My suggestion at first is to keep your post game notes simple. Bulletpoints of major events, NPCs met (especially if you made them up on the spot), what the group is thinking about doing next session, and any other details you think are important. Something you can read over very quickly to remember what happened before you run again.
For me personally I enjoy taking notes on paper during the game, partially because I enjoy the old school pencil paper feel but also because it's a little less distracting then keyboard noises. I use the bulletpoints system I mentioned above, short and sweet. Then sometime between the last game and the next game I sit with my notes and my online campaign notes, typing them out in something more readable and easier to CTRL-F search, and then create a new list of things I want to have prepared for the next session. All simple, short bulletpoints. Bulletpoints are my friend.
I tend to jot down the outcomes of major events, new NPCs, anything unexpected, or with lasting consequences in a notebook. Then when I get home write up a short session summary in the OneNote file I use for all my campaign plotting. Then a super condensed reminder goes in the calendar I have with me every session. This reminds me of past events on the fly, as well as acting as a reminder of upcoming festivals, lunar cycles, when characters contract a long term illness/curse, milestones in the plot of the bbeg...
Oh god, I think I'm the worst note taking DM ever. We had a 3hr session and I wrote 14 words. That's it. Archimedes Yungstrung, Silken Sylph Bar, House of Purple Silks, Thalmor - never forgive the dworcs. But afterwards I flesh them out to make a lot more sense so I can keep things together. And then I use those notes to write a bit of a prologue for the next session. But yeah, locations, NPC's, important plot events.
Does it look like a piece of paper where you jot down everything important, is it told like a story? I have a story plotted out but I want to keep notes on what happens, so what does taking notes look like?
My druid character I played with a few months ago I just took notes with her. But my new Monk who is a scribe from Candlekeep I wanna make true field notes with her. So however fits you best. It's a very difficult task for me personally to take notes, so I'm REALLY bad at it. But it's mostly what suits your purposes/whatever is the most comfortable for ya. ^^ I could "try" to smack in a picture of my notes if it would help, though I'm not sure if you can do that in D&D Beyond's chat box.
My notes tend to be mostly illegible words and phrases sometimes connected by arrows. It’s usually enough to help me remember what happened but you should probably find a better system.
I don't take notes during play. Got a good memory and can recall everything when writing a re-cap for my players.
Then i take my memory and work out elements regarding what happened in the game. Which leads to notes I use as reference during the upcoming play sessions. Over the decades I collected a lot of index cards for villages, npc's, items etc. Which I whip out during play if needed. My actual campaign notes are quite extensive. At least I find it extensive. Got around 100 pages with notes for the current campaign my players are going through. And I work out each aspect when it actually becomes relevant in the next session.
I write down highlights and crits as I DM. My campaign journal is usually written in story-recap form. Occasionally, someone in the party says something hilarious and I try to capture those quips, too.
Usually names, places, order of things being done, and notes to myself if they trigger something that is "off camera" that they don't know about.
I sometimes jot this down on paper, or in like Google Notes (all my campaign notes end up in my Google Drive one way or another).
Sometime between sessions (we play Friday nights) I will update a synopsis of the story on the campaign page (we use DnD Beyond for it) of the important events that happened during the game session. This serves as not only a reminder to me and the players, but also lets anyone who is joining in or missed a session get a brief update on what has happened so far.
Really, as long as you give yourself enough information to call back on, that's all you need for notes.
I jot down things that I needed to make up on the fly ( names, place names, organizations, titles that I had to pull out of mid-air because the Players asked something I hadn't prepared ahead of time ).
However - like Giblix - after I get home after the session, I write a 1/2 to 3/4 page recap summary. This will be the summary I present to the Players at the beginning of the next session.This collapses the recap and the notes together into one canonical version.
As for Player notes - my wife is the Party stenographer - and she takes pretty detailed and accurate notes from what I've seen.
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I find the need to take notes varies somewhat in inverse proportion to the amount of prep done.
If the module is well laid and the players don't diver out of the sandbox then a few point form notes on the outcomes of encounters or significant events is all you might want.
On the other hand, if the module is being created as you go along then you need some extra notes on what encounters happened, what was found, how the NPCs acted, what NPCs appeared, any random events so that you can tie the next sessions seamlessly into what occurred in the current session. Modules don't necessarily need preparation but they require continuity and internal logic which only happens if you recall what happened in the last few sessions. :)
My suggestion is to have a player take notes. Something that worked really well for a group I used to DM for was to give out some XP to one player each session (volunteer) who would take the official Notes Notebook and keep track of what happens during that gaming session. XP based on how good the notes were. It doesn't have to be a lot of XP--and can be a handy way to reward a player who has had to miss a session and is behind in XP. It's a reward for a very useful task, and helps the players themselves remember events months later, because one of them was writing it down when it happened.
Does it look like a piece of paper where you jot down everything important, is it told like a story? I have a story plotted out but I want to keep notes on what happens, so what does taking notes look like?
Whatever you want or need it to look like. My group goes so long between sessions that I take notes on where we left off. If major NPCs died that session, I note it. We're running a module so the notes are fewer than there would be for a homebrew campaign, IMHO. Notes are there to help you remember what went down that wasn't planned, IMO. So it's really what you make of it.
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InsiderEvery DM takes notes in different ways, and as you play you'll figure out what is necessary/important to you. You might start one way and adjust as you figure out what you prefer. I know my own post game notes have changed a lot over the years!
My suggestion at first is to keep your post game notes simple. Bulletpoints of major events, NPCs met (especially if you made them up on the spot), what the group is thinking about doing next session, and any other details you think are important. Something you can read over very quickly to remember what happened before you run again.
For me personally I enjoy taking notes on paper during the game, partially because I enjoy the old school pencil paper feel but also because it's a little less distracting then keyboard noises. I use the bulletpoints system I mentioned above, short and sweet. Then sometime between the last game and the next game I sit with my notes and my online campaign notes, typing them out in something more readable and easier to CTRL-F search, and then create a new list of things I want to have prepared for the next session. All simple, short bulletpoints. Bulletpoints are my friend.
Find me on Twitter: @OboeLauren
I tend to jot down the outcomes of major events, new NPCs, anything unexpected, or with lasting consequences in a notebook. Then when I get home write up a short session summary in the OneNote file I use for all my campaign plotting. Then a super condensed reminder goes in the calendar I have with me every session. This reminds me of past events on the fly, as well as acting as a reminder of upcoming festivals, lunar cycles, when characters contract a long term illness/curse, milestones in the plot of the bbeg...
Oh god, I think I'm the worst note taking DM ever. We had a 3hr session and I wrote 14 words. That's it. Archimedes Yungstrung, Silken Sylph Bar, House of Purple Silks, Thalmor - never forgive the dworcs. But afterwards I flesh them out to make a lot more sense so I can keep things together. And then I use those notes to write a bit of a prologue for the next session. But yeah, locations, NPC's, important plot events.
My druid character I played with a few months ago I just took notes with her. But my new Monk who is a scribe from Candlekeep I wanna make true field notes with her.
So however fits you best. It's a very difficult task for me personally to take notes, so I'm REALLY bad at it. But it's mostly what suits your purposes/whatever is the most comfortable for ya. ^^ I could "try" to smack in a picture of my notes if it would help, though I'm not sure if you can do that in D&D Beyond's chat box.
My notes tend to be mostly illegible words and phrases sometimes connected by arrows. It’s usually enough to help me remember what happened but you should probably find a better system.
I don't take notes during play. Got a good memory and can recall everything when writing a re-cap for my players.
Then i take my memory and work out elements regarding what happened in the game. Which leads to notes I use as reference during the upcoming play sessions. Over the decades I collected a lot of index cards for villages, npc's, items etc. Which I whip out during play if needed. My actual campaign notes are quite extensive. At least I find it extensive. Got around 100 pages with notes for the current campaign my players are going through. And I work out each aspect when it actually becomes relevant in the next session.
I write down highlights and crits as I DM. My campaign journal is usually written in story-recap form. Occasionally, someone in the party says something hilarious and I try to capture those quips, too.
Usually names, places, order of things being done, and notes to myself if they trigger something that is "off camera" that they don't know about.
I sometimes jot this down on paper, or in like Google Notes (all my campaign notes end up in my Google Drive one way or another).
Sometime between sessions (we play Friday nights) I will update a synopsis of the story on the campaign page (we use DnD Beyond for it) of the important events that happened during the game session. This serves as not only a reminder to me and the players, but also lets anyone who is joining in or missed a session get a brief update on what has happened so far.
Really, as long as you give yourself enough information to call back on, that's all you need for notes.
I don't take a lot of notes during the session.
I jot down things that I needed to make up on the fly ( names, place names, organizations, titles that I had to pull out of mid-air because the Players asked something I hadn't prepared ahead of time ).
However - like Giblix - after I get home after the session, I write a 1/2 to 3/4 page recap summary. This will be the summary I present to the Players at the beginning of the next session.This collapses the recap and the notes together into one canonical version.
As for Player notes - my wife is the Party stenographer - and she takes pretty detailed and accurate notes from what I've seen.
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
Disclaimer: This signature is a badge of membership in the Forum Loudmouth Club. We are all friends. We are not attacking each other. We are engaging in spirited, friendly debate with one another. We may get snarky, but these are not attacks. Thank you for not reporting us.
It varies by DM.
I find the need to take notes varies somewhat in inverse proportion to the amount of prep done.
If the module is well laid and the players don't diver out of the sandbox then a few point form notes on the outcomes of encounters or significant events is all you might want.
On the other hand, if the module is being created as you go along then you need some extra notes on what encounters happened, what was found, how the NPCs acted, what NPCs appeared, any random events so that you can tie the next sessions seamlessly into what occurred in the current session. Modules don't necessarily need preparation but they require continuity and internal logic which only happens if you recall what happened in the last few sessions. :)
My suggestion is to have a player take notes. Something that worked really well for a group I used to DM for was to give out some XP to one player each session (volunteer) who would take the official Notes Notebook and keep track of what happens during that gaming session. XP based on how good the notes were. It doesn't have to be a lot of XP--and can be a handy way to reward a player who has had to miss a session and is behind in XP. It's a reward for a very useful task, and helps the players themselves remember events months later, because one of them was writing it down when it happened.
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