Players: Do you keep a character journal?

[Ktulu]

I always do, when I play. I use Epic Words - a home for your RPG - Role-playing Game Blogs and Wikis and usually post comments about the session, from an in-character perspective.

The rest of the group isn't usually so... consistent.

In fact, the last game we played in, only one other person posted anything, and the DM never followed suit, either. So the whole campaign blog looks like a personal journal of my character.

 

[tyrlaan]

I've done it a few times, but it definitely depends on the character and whether they would do it or not. So I suppose I treat any journal I write as in game.

My problem is I seem to always make my intentions too complex and I eventually stop writing because I've made too much work for myself. Like my dwarven cleric who wrote his journal in dwarven (and since I love messing with language I was inventing the dwarven language and writing it in dwarven - yes I am insane). Or my very paranoid bard who was keeping a journal for herself but was worried someone would read it and therefore wrote in code (what she intended to write was every other line and the lines in between were filler).

 

[Ahnehnois]

As a DM, sure. I find it hard to imagine doing one in character, as most of my PC stints have been short and it would be redundant with a DM's such journal.

 

[Nifft]

Often, yes.

It's a good way to help remember what went on during a game.

Cheers, -- N

 

[coyote6]

I voted other: sometimes yes, sometimes no. I almost always take notes of some kind when I'm a player, but sometimes the notes are very sketchy and ephemeral (scribbled names, used to remind me of something from week to week, and prone to being discarded).

Once in a while, they'll be more extensive. I took fairly extensive notes for a few games -- mostly when I was in college, so it was probably just that I was used to paying attention and scribbling.

 

[Moogleproof]

I can't imagine using one. Thinking over my current campaign, such seems silly.

Here's what I imagine it would be like:
So I was sitting at a table, minding my own business, drinking tea, when Hobgoblins burst in and start trying to kill people. They just kept coming and coming. Whatever. Some guards show up and drag me and a few other people outside where we find an Ogre trying to burn things. What a dick.

Following day:
Some councilman, I forget his name, wants us to go looking for kidnapped townfolk. He seemed to be a bit of a .

Following some leads, we find out they were taken to Castle Rivenroar. On the way, Penden... whatever. The Elf Wizard guy twist an ankle. I laughed at him. Good times.

Cracked me up.


....

 

[Crothian]

I wish my players would do this.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

I have afew times...


My wiz/cleric of vecna/Mystic theurge kept a log in game of a 473 day expadtion to a new land... I have about 50 pages of between 1/2 and 3/4 page long entreis... the back half has all the tresure in it, and some out of game notes (Includeing my DMs scetch of a cool item)

My fighter/rouge/sorcerer has a diary that is very in game... every entry is too my character's dead wife explaining what happened that day, in game a burned them every night and asked the owls to carry the message to her in the underworld...

My half elf Fighter/Wizard (Bladesinger) kept a warjournel of her days retaking the elvin homeland... intermixed are my notes on how to take out each of the PCs/important NPCs when/if they turned against the cause... the back of that note book has some maps, and some weird stick figure cartoons of dumb moments in the game...

all three are compastion books, and all have character sheets/mapps/ and handouts shoved in it... that was a 3.5 game (The first one we played after gen con that year), my first 3e game I played, and a 2e game from the 90's... so they were pretty far apart. I still laugh when I look through them though.

I wish I could do so again and again, but it doesn't always feel right...

 

[Dice4Hire]

I play mostly on Yahoogroups and my players never seem to keep old emails, and are always getting in trouble for it......

I always find players get 90% of the rope they need to hang themselves by forgetting things. I, as the DM, only need provide the rest.

 

[darjr]

I do. Not a very detailed one.

One of my players does as well, though his is usually VERY detailed. He even keeps track of damage and heals and actions per round, of OTHER players. He also does initiative.

I'm usually in awe after reading his notes. Though I've noticed he isn't consistent, his level of detail changes.