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Message: <blockquote data-quote="RangerWickett" data-source="post: 5409769" data-attributes="member: 63">When I run games, I print out monster stats, and have a page of notes for the encounter. I don't want the map on the same page as the stats or encounter notes, because, well, the map will be on the table for all to see. I need a version I can use to guide my drawing of it, but that version should not clutter the same pages I have the stats and stuff on.When I read a published adventure, I'm fine with the bulk of the stats being in the back -- especially if the adventure is digital, and I can just click a link to hop to the appropriate encounter. But I want to at least get a sense of what the encounter is. It's been a while since I've looked at a Dungeon adventure, but my recollection is that there was a lot of:At least put in a descriptive tagline, like:That format, particularly the Timeline entry, is something I'm thinking might be showing up in future products of a particular publishing company. Timeline tells you whether the scene is:* Tactical (measured in rounds)* Normal (events occur roughly in real-time, as people talk and describe their actions)* Extended (events of several hours or days are synopsized, usually for skill challenges)* Bridging (descriptions of events that lead from one encounter to another)So the first Lord of the Rings movie (assuming Frodo's a PC) would be something like:Gandalf's Arrival (normal).Birthday Party (bridging).Bilbo's Vanishing and Gandalf's Explanation (normal).Leaving the Shire (extended).Black Rider (tactical).Buckleberry Ferry (extended).... fast forwarding a bit to the action ...What About Second Breakfast (bridging)Weathertop Camp (extended)Nazgul Attack (tactical)Arwen's Aid (normal)etc.As for how to lay that out? Have a page at the beginning of each Act of the adventure that just has the abstract version above, but then make the main body include full encounters. If it's a physical book people are going to reference at the table, you get better reability when the DM's preparing, though you sacrifice a bit because monster stats might be spread across a few adjacent pages.If it's a pdf, I say do the same as above, but also have the maps and stats for each encounter in a separate file, so folks who want to print them out and have the most efficient use of paper during combat can do so.Ultimately this will be moot, as soon we'll all be releasing apps with each adventure. The apps will have all the monster stats, accessible and updatable via your touchscreen phone.</blockquote>

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