DM Binder

[Asmor]

Alright, so in my quest to be more organized for my next D&D game, I'm making a tabbed 3-ring binder. I've got 8 tabs. Here's how I'm thinking about organizing it right now:

Cheat sheets (You know, DCs, combat modifiers, frequently looked up rules, etc)
Public notes (Anything the PCs should know)
Private notes (Anything the PCs shouldn't know, but I want to keep track of. Also, ideas)
Current session (Maps, NPCs, etc)
Future sessions (Ditto)
Past sessions & notes (Archive)
Reference (Map of world, map of cities, lists of names, etc etc)
?????

Do you see any glaring omissions? Think I should consolidate certain sections?

Also, anyone have suggestions for cheat sheets I could download, especially ones which aren't adversely affected by 3-hole punch? Or suggestions for what I should put on a cheat sheet if I make my own?

Oh, and one last thing... I need a nice full-page graphic to print out and use as a cover. Suggestions?

 

[TheAuldGrump]

Not a cheat sheet or anything like that, but darned handy if you can find one: An easel backed binder, they are designed to stand at a convenient angle for reading, and can double as a DM screen.

The Auld Grump, who used to have one, but hasn't seen one in years...

 

[Droogie]

This is an excellent idea. Do it. I use a binder myself, and it's a lifesaver.
You are more ambitious in the # of tabs than I was, so your list sounds good to me. I only have 4 tabs myself:

People
Places
Events
Rules

I keep college-ruled loose-leaf paper before the tabs for scrap, scribbling notes, or whatever.

The pockets in the front and back of the binder are the catch-all.

I find this more than adequate.

There's some ref sheets here at ENworld, and I have mine attached below. They're 16 pages, but you can just print the pages you think you'll use. They're a word doc. as well, so formatting might be an issue, but I took care to use really common fonts to minimize that. Or, feel free to edit.

BTW, I can't guarantee they're hole-punch friendly. I've slipped them into plastic page protectors, which makes them easier to find anyway.

 

[Ry]

I use a very similar system, although all my notes are point form lists. I think your Private Notes section can probably get divided into, Current Session, Future Sessions, and Reference, since they will probably run into each other. Throw a "Don't Forget" page in front of Future Sessions, a la "Don't Forget: Roy's new Sword is Horribly Cursed."

To replace it, I'd recommend at least some kind of PC-specific section, where you keep track of things that are specific to each PC (items they have, sideplots that focus on them, notes on their contacts, NPCs they individually responded well to, etc.) I find that when I spend about half my prep time on the campaign's plot, and the other half split up over the player-characters, they feel more gratified by the games.

As far as Public Notes and Past Sessions, you might want to consolidate them as well. If Public notes is world-oriented stuff that just anybody knows, then it might be better keeping it all together in your reference section, with asterisks or a different font for that kind of information (that way, if you update new world facts, you don't have to go to two sections). If Public notes also contains "stuff the PCs learned in-game" then I'd throw that to the front of Past Sessions, in a quick-reference format.

You'll want to throw your house rules somewhere (with cheat sheets would be fine).

Of course, if your mind immediately found retorts/counterarguments for my suggestions, then you've likely built the system you want.

 

[Stone Angel]

I don't use a binder persay but I do make notes a summary of the session then I go over them through the week and such. One more section you may want to add is a misc. section one that contains stuff for some impromptu ideas. Pub conversations, rumors (truthful or not) maps (real and fake) NPC name list, Town list. A sort of first aid kit for when parties go "off the map". Good luck


The Seraph of Earth and Stone

 

[MrFilthyIke]

There's some ref sheets here at ENworld, and I have mine attached below.

Droogie rules, I haven't found these before now...NOW they live with me!

 

[philreed]

You may find my "Campaign Planner" products useful. They're packs of forms designed for DMs that like to keep a binder of material. There are currently two for fantasy games:

http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=2097&SRC=EnWorld

http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=4085&SRC=EnWorld

If you ask around you're likely to hear some good things about both of these products. And since these are PDFs you can print only the pages you need AND as many pages as you need.

 

[hong]

I would put the following DMs in my DM binder:

Piratecat (for general DMing duties)
Diaglo (for historical perspective)
Hypersmurf (for rules questions and/or arguments about the non-existence of God)

 

[Hand of Evil]

I set mine up:

Quick Ref material - Cheat sheets
..Combat Ref
..Useful Pages and comments
..Useful words to describe things
Party Information
..Character 1
..Character 2
..Character 3
..so on
Generic NPCS
..City Watch Stat Block - personalities and names
..Travellers on the Road - personalities and names
..so on
Campign Information
..House Rules
..Map and World​

Now I have my eye on this binder that closes as a box, opens wide with three ring binder to the left and another three ring binder on the right!

 

[Gez]

I would put the following DMs in my DM binder:

Piratecat (for general DMing duties)
Diaglo (for historical perspective)
Hypersmurf (for rules questions and/or arguments about the non-existence of God)

You forgot:
Sepulchrave (for session report writing)
(Contxt) (for killing all PCs when they get too cocky)
Forrester (for random mocking of silly elven names, and for attacking the PCs with totally cheesed-out half-ooze bionic drow ninjae)
Bugaboo (for getting paid for all your hard work)
CarpeDM (just because his name is a good advice)

Alright, with that selection, all 8 tabs of the binder are filled.