GM Notebook Essentials #11: The In Game Log
This one is simple and easy to set up. Just put a sheet of graph paper in your notebook and label it “Game Log”.
That is it. You’re done.
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I guess I better explain that...
Most essentials require lots of work to set up. This one requires your input after you set it up, or in game more specifically. It is a combination quick note section of things you say or events in the game. It is also a handy means of tracking information or timed effects.
I basically use the left side of my graph paper for in game notes and the right for tracking timed effects. You can even draw a line down the middle to help.
Tracking Time:
On the right hand side of the graph paper, you can use the grids to track any effect that is timed. Torches, lanterns, 3.0 buff spells, etc…
I just write down the numbers 1 to 12 twice. And check off the boxes next to the number as the hours go by in game. If I write the word "Lantern" next to the first 8, for 8 in the morning, then I now have a way of measuring when the fuel burns out.
Time is an important element of the game but an incredible pain in the dice bag to deal with. Many GMs just skip tracking time and run on instinct, “Your spell runs out now” or “Just mark off two vials of oil per day if you are using your lantern”. There is nothing wrong with that. But some things, like spells need to be tracked in case there is an eventual issue with them. Not to mention it will do wonders to keep the players on their toes.
When a player casts a spell or uses something with a time effect, I make a note next to the checked off boxes when the effect started. No, I don’t track the hours to the minute, that would be suicidal, but I do track an average hour and check off the box as time passes. If a spell or some other effect expires then I can inform the players.
This easily modifies down to smaller effects like spells that last for only ten minutes or even one minute per level.
The simplicity is the fact that the game notes page should be readily available since you are already making notes as the game goes along. There is usually enough room for me to also use the grids to track initiative. It also allows me to write down odd things like poison or disease that will need to have a save at a later time plus make notes on any long term effects in the note section.
Notes:
As it suggests, the left side of the grid is for notes as the game progresses: Note days of the week, minor and major events, encounters with NPCs that may be useful later, or even a DNPC that may need to be fleshed out more for a return appearance later. Don’t try to copy every detail down. You’ll go crazy and have no fun. But any action the players do is fair game – if you think it is relevant or may be useful in the future.
As an example, all through these articles I have used an example of a barmaid from the
Old Mill Inn who had a gem stolen by the PCs. This story has been built slowly over the many posts I have made. This is an example of a GM’s Notebook in action. It went from a location and a DNPC who ended up needing a name to building a story of how the PCs somehow took a gem from her. Perhaps over many sessions I made little notes each week to the effect of:
- Week 1: “Old Mill Inn”
- Week 2: “Tana Northren the barmaid”
- Week 4: “Bard seduces Tana. Realizes she is in on the local problems. Swipes the gem from the necklace she wears – she is asleep at the time. The bard sneaks away to let her awaken alone”
- Week 9: “Players end up dueling with local guards when a tax collector spots them as marked men for the gem theft.”
As you can see, each note spurs an event later on as I bring back the information. And that connection is the whole point of keeping notes.
Continuity.
Continuity is what separates adventures from campaigns. It is what makes a campaign more than a sequential procession of modules. It is the glue of a campaign that is in effect more properly called “The Story”.
As you make little notes on facts, you increase your ability to remember these bits of history to use later on. Some times it is something little, and other times it is important.
Little Details:
If it is something little, as example the bard mentioned above likes to get into trouble with barmaids, then you have a fun detail to use again. Maybe this becomes a trend in the game (The barmaids always seem to like the bard) or an inside joke (every time the bard hits on someone, it turns into a problem). Little details can add lots of flavor and make the game come alive for the players.
Warning - Story Alert
The first time a player asked me “Hey! What is the room number I have at the Inn we are staying at?” I just blinked a little and said, “Ah… Room 13”. One of the longest running gags of those early games was born at that moment. Every time that player got a room, it was room 13. Soon players were paying extra to sleep separate, just in case. That character even stayed in the palace, where rooms were not numbered, and sure enough he had the 13th suite on the left (and of course the right was an open window). Once, the players came to a town where two wizards got drunk and burned the Inn down – except one room. You guessed it, room 13.
The point is; little facts can take on a life of their own if you get the chance to revisit them. I don’t think you need to start writing down every detail like room numbers, but basic events will go a long way towards adding flavor to your campaign.
Important Information:
Now if it is something important, essential to the main characters or ongoing story, then it is critical to make notes. Blowing a story or forgetting something you said would either get you jeers at best or frustrated players at worse. Nothing kills the mood like someone needing to remind the GM that “Last week you said the henchman was human, not a half-orc”. If you need to detail extra campaign information off the top of your head, like a name of an NPC or a location (from your lists of course!) then you better make a note to include this information later on. If you forget something then the continuity of your game is broken. This is the number one reason to keep game notes.
If you do only one thing I have suggested in all these articles, this is it. Period.
Keep notes on important story related information and any details you create about you world. You won’t be sorry. Seriously, this
is the number one essential of your notebook. If you botch continuity then your players are all over you. Trust me. Don’t let this happen. They can smell mistakes a mile away.
But the rewards are worth it. Having a game of consistency will make the world become real. Your players will become more and more involved in your game. And as your notes grow and you tie the past into the future, you will have a game so real the players can feel it. You’ll never be able to buy a game like that off the shelf, for a game like
that is priceless. And it will be
your game.
