Found my campaign notes from 2018 and realized I was tracking adventures wrong the whole time

I ran a 6 month D&D campaign back in 2018 and kept notes in a spiral notebook. Just found it in a box last week. I used to write down every single NPC name and every shop they visited. Took up pages and pages. Turns out I only needed to track three things: player choices that changed the world, key items they found, and which factions they made mad. Everything else was filler. Saved me probably 15 minutes per session prep. Anybody else trim down their note system over time?

2 comments

2 Comments

amybarnes1mo ago

Have you tried doing a minimalist approach too? I actually read this blog from a GM who said they only write down three bullet points per session now. They focus on consequences, like "the goblins got revenge" or "the village lost trust in the party". That stuck with me because it cuts out all the fluff. I've been doing that for my current game and it helps a ton with staying focused on what actually matters.

charliehill1mo ago

Yeah I was totally on the other side of this for years, thought I needed every detail written down or I'd forget something important. But reading this and seeing how you guys track consequences instead of just listing stuff, that actually makes a lot of sense to me now. Definitely rethinking how I'll handle notes next time I run a game.