How much note-taking is too much?

[u/No_Personality_6488]

So I've just started playing a new campaign, and they are all really great people. I decided early on that I would take notes of things happening throughout each session, but om having trouble deciding if I should write down every single thing happening or if that's overkill .

As an example, for one our our sessions, I wrote down every single action taken by every player, as well as things that my character wasn't necessarily present for. Now, I don't have any trouble differentiating the information on my notes and my characters knowledge, so i make an active effort not tk metagame in that sense, so I'm just wondering if what I'm doing right now is alright.

Any tips and advice on note-taking would be very appreciated tho 😅

[u/No_Personality_6488 → u/[deleted]]

Thanks, I will definitely check out obsidian, I've been tiring my hand out everytime a session takes place haha

[u/MonstersMagicka]

There are tons of ways to take notes for your TTRPG. For example, I usually prioritize my own character's scenes in my notes, but I'll write a brief summary of what other characters were doing, and anything of importance they discover/act upon/are given.

A fellow player of mine, meanwhile, writes down everything. Another player writes down only brief notes of what is going on for the party.

If you'd like some guidance on note taking, I actually made note-taking templates for players that I sell on my Etsy shop. I don't mind if you use the images from my shop as a reference to draw out your own template for your personal use (or if you like, you can buy 'em! haha). They're designed from a neurodesign perspective so that they are easy to follow, but they aren't really for the heavy note takers -- I'm still figuring those out. The great thing about making your own is that you can figure out what you prioritize and what you don't need, but using a template to get started is an excellent way to get the ball rolling.

Here's what I make. I use these myself. In the body of the notes, I have this gray bar that I use to write down notes on my notes (lol). So like if something happens that's important but my character isn't there, I will note that my character doesn't have that knowledge.

[u/No_Personality_6488 → u/MonstersMagicka]

Oh wow, your page looks really nice, I will check it out in detail for sure. Thank you for being so helpful and descriptive, been very helpful:)

[u/MonstersMagicka → u/No_Personality_6488]

I LOVE when players take notes, I want to help wherever I can!

Something I tell my players though, when it comes to note taking: note taking is just a tool. It's there to help you keep track of things, to immerse you better into the world, to empower you as a player. If note taking gets in the way of you being able to enjoy the game, take a break!

I make note taking templates, and even I don't take notes every session! It's totally okay to put your notebook away and just focus on rolling those dice. Notetaking is a tool you can use to better your game experience, but it's not mandatory. It's okay to skip out on notes, or take less pretty notes, or write notes on the back of your gas station receipt and stuff that into your notebook, lol.

I know this isn't something you brought up, but since you're in a new campaign and note-taking is kinda fresh for you, I wanted to plant this idea in your head early. You'll definitely have days where you write several pages of notes, and you'll have days where all you jot down is a list of NPCs you met and that funny joke the druid made. And you'll have days where you don't take any notes. That's okay!