Capturing Essentials - Layouts, Part 1

Part 1: For Players

One of the biggest tips we recommend over and over again is that you need to make your notebook work for YOU. Whether you're the type of gamer who enjoys taking simple, bullet point notes or who enjoys journalling from the perspective of your character, you need a way to lay those scribbles out in a way that will make sense to you in the future. This comes in especially handy when you're trying to do things such as remember what NPCs you met three sessions ago or when it was that you encountered that group of gnolls just outside of town. 

One way of doing this, is to create a layout (or a spread, in bujo terms) for each session you participate in. Here are some tips on creating your own layout, which can easily be adjusted to suit whatever you might need to capture.

Where do I start?

First thing's first. Make a list of all the "housekeeping" or quick notes type of things you know you will want to remember during each session. Things like:

• Date
• Session number
• Who was playing/names of their characters
• XP gained

Some of these things might not become apparent until you're one or two sessions into your campaign; so, it's totally okay to start with a handful of things and then adjust as you go along.  

Then, decide how you'd like to lay those things out in a manner that will remain consistent every session. This will allow you to easily thumb through your notebook to easily reference it. For example, you might choose to always place your date, session number, and XP gained on the very top of your layout, so that you can flip through your notebook and quickly land on the last session when your party got XP.

Okay, what else do I add?

Following the top section of things that can easily be entered every session, the rest of your layout is entirely up to you and what is important for you to remember in your game.  You might decide that you just devote the rest of your layout to random notes.  You might have a few sections devoted to writing down a quick summary of events that occurred, such as monster encounters, treasure found, or even a collection of thoughts you might have as you piece together the larger plot. Either way, try to eventually land on a layout that will remain consistent throughout your notebook.

QUICK TIP: Consider leaving an intentional space to jot down a line or two describing where that gaming session left off. 

Creating a layout (or spread) is an excellent way to organize your session notes. It only takes a couple of minutes to set up, so you can create it ahead of your session or make it up quickly just before gaming begins.  Either way, ​it's a great tool that can help provide you with a consistent focus on what you have decided is important to remember, especially during those moments when you're swept up with whatever shenanigans might be going down!