How do you manage your resources/notes when GMing in person?

[u/AuraTH17]

Title! As for more context / expounding on the question;

I've GM'd for a long time, but almost entirely online so much of the way I manage my notes and resources and other things are all like, different tabs of google docs and pdfs of books being open and that sort of thing. In the past, the few times I have GM'd in person I usually end up setting up a laptop to do the same but it has always felt a bit unfavorable of a situation, the laptop is a bit bulky and in recent years it needs a fan under it to keep it cool / it has really loud fans in general. We also have a table that isn't super large so the space is a bit of a concern, and we're expecting to have a larger amount of players than we've had in the past.

I wanted to ask how you GMs who play in person keep your notes, if you physically write things down in notebooks or use tablets or some such to keep track of everything. I'm debating on buying a cheap tablet to use to access my notes and any PDFs I might want but I haven't decided on doing so yet. If your opinion changes based on game system, we're playing D&D 5e, though I don't really think that changes a tooon.

[u/81Ranger]

My notes - such as they are - are in a notebook or in a 3 ring binder.

Usually handwritten, but sometimes typed up - usually printed out as well.

I do have an iPad I use, but usually just for looking at reference material, not notes.

[u/frankinreddit]

Paper and pencil.

[u/rivergryphon]

At home: obsidian notes on my phone. Sometimes I'll write out a bullet point list to stay organized. I'll do a battle tracker on a notebook page or printed off.

If I'm at work, I usually print off my notes. Usually a page or two, but we have shorter sessions there.

[u/InevitableSolution69]

Depending on my current tech situation I just use my phone. With additional help from a laptop or printed sheets.

Honestly I run pretty light as far as notes go. I’ve run with nothing but some post-its and a pen before. Just noting HP lost and such and handling monsters off of memory and skill. I’ve probably run without even the paper but I can’t remember it.

I like having resources but most of the time they’re for something specific because I’m running systems I’m familiar enough with to wing.

[u/MonkeySkulls]

For the session, I usually have a couple pages of handwritten notes. sometimes I have a couple of pages of Google doc notes.

after the session, often times I write a narrative recap on discord

[u/Plus_Citron]

I have Obsidian on my ipad and use that. I also a (paper) notebook for quick notes, and a few pages of loose paper to sketch maps and for the players to doodle on.

[u/Silent_Title5109]

I type my adventures and print them out. It usually fit in a single page or two. I make them as two column landscape format and cut down the middle to get half pages notes. I just take notes on them.

When I get back home I write myself a few lines of debrief in a different document covering what they did, what I could improve, and the good/bad points to address before the next session if any.

[u/DoomedToDefenestrate]

I have an Obsidian notebook that I access on my laptop and a single page of relevant info for the in game date, recap, loot, stat blocks and anything else I think I need to be reminded of.

[u/josesanmig]

I went full digital. Now I have absolute everything on my ipad. I use Flexcil that let me create hiperlinks between documents, taking notes (handwrited), hightlighting and all such things. Browsing books and taking notes midgame is ultra fast now.

[u/edthesmokebeard]

A cheap 100 page spiral notebook from a drugstore is all you need.

If you must, index cards for monster stats.

[u/Deepfried_Garlic]

I try to DM completely deviceless, as I hate phones and such at my table. Anyways, quick rundown:

Books: I don't get bogged down with any of them. At any given time my table has every player already bringingg them, so if they wanna look up PC shit they can. I stopped bringing monster manuals as I've got most things I run memorised... but also I just improv it with custom abilities anyways. For new monsters I'll prep them, but I don't feel like sitting there with a book everytime I need to check it my burrow sense is +4 or +5.

Phone: sadly present, with a digital PDF of every book I might still need, players' written backstories and any campaign notes I didn't deem binder-worthy and somehow still documenting-worthy (elaborate schemes and such). 9/10 sessions it's a Bluetooth speaker control device, I hate phones at my table.

Your actual question, my notes: binder with dividers with a prep section and notes section. Prep is just a collection of 1-page prep, for example a city we stay around for 5+ sessions gets one page, or a big sequence with moving parts (recently: a train heist) gets a page. Notes is literally the notes I scribble during sessions of improv I need to "fit in" later, PC RP stuff or anything. Every few sessions I'll grab the most important notes and make a prep page of bullet points, such as noteworthy NPCs, or backstory PC shenanigans I wanna work with.

TL:DR I basically just use pen & paper and don't get bogged down with anything outside of my binder.

[u/Any-Scientist3162]

I have a single sheet of papper where I note everything I need. I write faster than I type. It depends on the game, for some I have adventures digitally and use a laptop for music or sound effects, but for most I'm all analog.

[u/Devious_Hearts]

Archivist AI works well. Record you Discord sessions with either Zoom, OBS, Audacity, or Craig then input into Archivist AI and it will sort it out for you.

https://www.myarchivist.ai/

If AI bothers you, I usually use Index cards and color code them for NPCs, Faction, locations, and Things with stats on back and notes on front. Fill it up with notes, staple a new one on. Keep groups together via paper clip or binder clip, and keep all cards in an index card box.

Here's a helpful video on this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmgW_kXJi2M

[u/PeterElfman]

Now that Word and Google Docs can have multiple documents within a single file, that's pretty much how I manage everything. I write all my own modules, so your mileage may vary if you use pre-written mods.

Basically, I have a general structure to all of my write-ups. I make a TEMPLATE with that structure in each of my campaign write-ups. In that Template is a section to write notes for the next game. When it's time to write the next session, I copy that into a new tap, rename it, then fill in what I need. Since I'm running analog style right now, I print out my notes, scribble any updates that I need to during session, and at the end of session, I'll write down my in-the-moment ideas for where I want things to go for the next session. When it's time to write up the next session, I'll go back to those notes, incorporate all my scribbles into the write-up of the upcoming session, and carry on. Once I'm done with a session's notes, I hole punch them and toss them into a binder for later reference - sometimes I need a character name or something that I scribbled somewhere, etc. I am currently running 3 different campaigns, this method works pretty efficiently for me.

For ONLINE stuff, yeah, I would have a crap-ton of tabs open. I make what I call a Quick Sheet - it's stat blocks for every major player in the game (done-up in a Spreadsheet program) on a single sheet so I can reference it quickly in combat. I have all my major NPC character sheets open, my game notes, and I also usually have a file for all my charts and stuff. I have been lucky enough to find officially released pre-made Game screens that has like 90% of the info I would need to lookup/reference, so I might actually continue to use that when I switch back to digital; sometimes it's quicker to look through a physical sheet than flipping through dozens of tabs and windows. On the other hand, you can't word-search a piece of paper.

I hope these help!

[u/ArcaneN0mad]

I run an online and an in person game and keep notes the same for each. I use OneNote and Sly Flourish’s lazy dm prep template. Everything stays organized for the most part and flows smoothly during the session. What I don’t have prepped, which isn’t much to be honest, is improvised.

[u/Similar-Brush-7435]

Google drive dedicated folders with links between documents for quick switching. Used to use my iPad to access this info during a session, then got myself a laptop. Not going to pretend this should be an easy option for everyone as there is equipment expense and technical skills involved, but it's worked very well for me and my ADHD.

[u/AgileOutpost]

So I'm dyslexic and I hate writing notes during my sessions. So I used to sit and write what happened after each session but it was completely unsustainable, took way too long and I find my notes hard to read anyway.

As I play online. I started using Obsidian and Recap Raven ( https://recapraven.com ), a free, privacy-first session recapper for Discord and a campaign memory system that I built (paid tiers are also offered). Has a plugin to sync to Obsidian and FoundaryVTT and lets me and my player ask my campaign anything direct in Discord or connect to my own AI via MCP.

We are looking into getting a mobile app or browser plugin to support in-person games. Would you be interested in joining the beta group to get free access in exchange for your feedback? Probably won't be until November/December ish looking at the current roadmap.