The Essential Guide to a GM’s Notebook *Updated 11/10 - Chapter 12*

The Essential Guide to a GM’s Notebook *Updated 11/10 - Chapter 12*

This thread is a spin-off of BardStephenFox’s excellent “The Fine Art of Winging It” thread. It will be a list of items essential to a GM’s notebook. Before I start the process of listing essentials there is a few things in general to address:

1. Why a notebook?
Well, because you need it that’s why! Well, seriously, the notebook is nothing more than a GM Survival Guide^TM to provide you a place to store all of the game materials essential to the current game plus provide you with prep material to add when the characters do something outside of your plans. Organization will save you every time.

And lets face it; they will do something you didn’t plan on. Whether it’s going to a merchant you didn’t consider they needed, or requiring you to roll a skill check or interact with an otherwise nameless NPC, or if they up and decide to leave the road their on and investigate something not in your story. Trust me, they’ll do it.

2. What should I use for a notebook?
I have seen many things used, from index cards to 5 subject notebooks, to graph paper, to 3 ring binders, to laptop computers now days. I recommend a 3 ring binder. It gives you space to add and remove things, the ability to organize it in an order convenient to you, it’s economic, and finally, it allows you to print whatever from your computer and add it directly. You want to print some cool things from a website or copy, paste, and print some monsters from SRD, then have at it and add it directly to your notebook.

3. How much should I put into the notebook?
Well, that is up to you. How much time can you donate to preparation? What will help your game? I have a list of at least 12 things I’m going to list and I hope to add a few more, plus others will hopefully add as we go. But only you can decide what you like and don’t like.

And now...

GM Notebook Essentials #1: NPC Names


This is quite the life saver. It may not be the most important to running a game as other essentials might be, but this one covers a subject that is the most annoying. Creating names puts you on the spot and the name you do come up with might end up sounding weird, funny, or the worse of all – invoke a bad pun. Then the verisimilitude of your game is shot, and the players will never let you live it down. And may the gods of roleplaying have mercy on you if the characters find a reason to keep visiting the NPC. Do yourself a favor; don’t consider this essential an “option”. You’ll be happy you did it, trust me.


Remember when 3E came out and you were so geeked over the rules that you bought everything 3E. Including the first release after the Players Handbook, the now infamous Hero’s Builders Guide. You know that book; it’s the one with all the dust on it from sitting on your shelf unused. Go get it, flip to the back, and you’ll find a treasure trove of names. And even better, they are listed by gender and race! Just copy down the names you like onto your list and add it directly to your notebook. It will make the purchase almost worth it (almost). If you have access to a copy machine, just copy the pages, punch it, and add it directly to your notebook.

If you were one of the players out there who didn’t by the book, well that’s OK. You can just do the same thing on your own. Start a list of cool names, say them out load to make sure there is nothing wrong with them (make them PC proof) and write them down. If you can, make a separate list for male and female names, and then a list for the different races your characters are likely to interact with. Don’t forget a few monsters with a language in case a crafty mage decides to start negotiating with that Mind Flayer.

If you are stuck for names, do a web search for names and languages. Scroll through a few fantasy novels you liked for more inspiration. Even go through all those RPG books on the shelf and pick out some cool names. You can even “tweak” the spelling to “file off the numbers” if it may be something your players may know. The important thing is, just start looking at names and let the creative juices roll.

Don’t forget, if you use a name, check it off so you don’t use it again. Make a note in your campaign notes about the NPC and the new name so you’ll remember his name once the players try to go back. Consistency is the other reason to have the notebook in the first place.

Now, the next time your players decide to start random conversations with the city guard or visit a merchant or even question that drow bandit they were suppose to kill, you’ll be prepared.



Great Links of Names:

Medieval Names Archive: Real names from medieval times!

On the subject of names: There are some PDFs out there that have a variety of names. Elvish, Orcish, Halfling, Roman, English, French, Gaelic, etc. These are pretty big, but they do a good job with regional flavor.

Name sites are a good option.

A few weeks ago, there was a thread where somebody started mining their spam email for NPC names.

Anyplace you can get names is a good resource. As Nightcloak said, do yourself a favor and take some time to make at least one name list for NPCs.

The Bard has given me a great idea (again).

If anyone wants to add a great product to go with a subject or a website for people to visit, I’ll add it back to the post it references. That way, we can keep all the ideas together for easy reference in one post. Then if someone wants to backtrack later on a given subject, they can just go to that one post and find the product/link immediately.

Maximum utility for us GMs

Don't even get me started on the problems of split second namings. YOU should have seen the looks on my PCs faces when they learned that my bard DMPCs name was "Fredegar Tallcandle". I kept Tallcandle, but the first name is now Vallin, my classic bard name (all my NPC bards have been named Vallin).
This thead is a great idea!

GM Notebook Essentials #2: Names of Locations

Another issue that crops up in games is when PCs go to visit the local merchant. It may be a sage, an armory, a general store, an alchemical shop, or even the local tavern. You can count on a PC to want to visit a tavern in the wrong part of town or to decide that they really want to find a library for the first time evah…

It’s the GMs Notebook to the rescue! Just like you did with NPC names, with this addition to your notebook you create lists of names for the various businesses your players will visit. Add a few names for the places they never visit. Why? They will. Eventually.

A useful list of appropriate shops to consider is:

Inn
Tavern
Farm/Food Market
Merchant Shops
Libraries, Scholars, and Mage/Cleric Supply Stores (Scroll Depot?)
Alchemists
Sages
Spellcasters
Smiths
Armories
Moneychanger
Jeweler
Tailor
Weaponsmith
Stable
Cartwright
Leatherworker
Brewer, Baker, Butcher, Cheese-maker, Winemaker

Naturally, names should be appropriate to the business. The Silver Rose makes a great name for a tavern or jeweler shop in a well to-do part of town, but would really stand out as the name of a tavern in a seedy area or the name of a leather worker.

Again, be creative. Go through all those books on the shelves for inspiration. There are tons of name generators running around and sites on the Internet.

Write down all those names onto a list. Popular places like taverns and weaponsmiths may need a whole page. Places like the Winemaker may only need one or two names and you can place half a dozen on a single page. If you can find sites on the Internet, all the better! Just print them out, punch 3 holes into the pages, and plop it right into your notebook.

If all else fails, you can always take the easy way out. Look back at your list of NPCs, take a name for the owner of the place, and just add to the name what the shop is. The PCs need to buy a suit of chainmail while visiting a non-descript town that was flavor text before they arrived and decided to “rest a day or two”. No problem, checking your NPC list you spot the name: Radagar.

Bam: Radagar’s Smithy

They want to stay the night. Check your list and bam: The Old Mill Inn.

They flirt with the waitress. Check your NPC list and bam: Serina

This option is like the NPC list above. Just do it. You really won’t regret it.



Great Sources for Names:

Dragon Annual #5 (Annual 2000): This has many great random generators for many kinds of businesses including a separate article just for taverns.



Great Links for Names:

Tavern Generator: Complete with rumors, menu of the day, and the costs are based on the quality of tavern you want! Print tons of places within seconds and add directly to the notebook.

And if you have the money (or have one just lying around) a labtop, I have found, makes an excellent place to store notes. It also makes a good GM screen and alows you to have any number of GM help programs avalable at any time, from name generators to calculators.

GM Notebook Essentials #3: In Game Treasure List

Ever have a player get to town, want to sell an item, and suddenly realize that the item in question was from an adventure months ago. “Ah… was that the gem from the ‘Old Tower in the Woods’ or the gem from the ‘Dungeon of Anguish’?” “No, I think that was the gem I stole from Serina at the Old Mill Tavern 3 months ago”.

Having a simple spreadsheet can save you a lot of time and hassle with just a little organization. I’ve provided mine as an example. You can adjust it from there to fit what you need or create your own that suits your style. If you change the spreadsheet, remember to adjust the printer settings for the page so everything fits.

Using the spreadsheet:

Just print and add to your notebook.

During the game, when the players get a magic item or an object they wish to save do to an unknown value (like gems or art), then add it to the list. First the name, then the description, then where it came from (incase you need to look it up later), then the date (sometimes relevant in my game, YMMV), the real value, what the appraisal skill tells the PC, then finally any side notes you may need later.

Real Game Example: The players find a longsword. Under #1 I would write:

1. Longsword……..+4 undead bane…….Tower of Madness…….10/31……. <GP value>….. (blank) …….Hilt is covered to hide a phylactery for the Beholder Lich


I tell the players to write a “1” next to the long sword. Later, when they cast identify on the longsword labeled #1, I tell them it’s a plus 4 weapon and lightly put a slash through the +4. Now I now what parts of the weapon have been identified and which parts are still a mystery. If I need more info, then I can always look up my notes from the “Tower of Madness” adventure.

If the players find a gem, I would write:

2. Gem……..Amethyst…….Bandits on the “Road of Kings”…….12/25……. 500 GP….. (blank) ……. Good quality. Rosy coloration.

If the players make an appraised check, I make a roll and write down the “players perception” of 400 GP as I tell the player the result. Now I know what he thinks of the Amethyst and keep that consistent. When he sells it, he tells me he’s selling the Amethyst labeled #2, I know the base it 500 GP for the Gem Cutters appraisal roll.

I guarantee, even though the sheet starts out empty, you’ll quickly fill it up with magic items, gems, jewelry, art, and other odd-and-ends. And when the players finally get around to needing to know more about all that loot, you’ll be happy you have it on hand at a moments notice in the notebook, with all the info ready to roll.

Brilliant! Keep this thread going its already hittingme how much this will save me from those awkward silences and such

Nightcloak said:

Start a list of cool names, say them out load to make sure there is nothing wrong with them (make them PC proof) and write them down.

Click to expand...

I have to say that saying the names out loud is a must. Also, attempt to rhyme them with anything that a 5 year old might find hilarious. Unfortunately, some PCs out there enjoy tearing apart NPC names (even though said individuals need me to make thier character names for them.)