Session notes
How to take D&D session notes (without writing during the game)
You remember the bargain, but not what the party promised in return. Your notes say “Maelis, bridge, favour”, and the next game starts in an hour.
Useful session notes keep the decisions, names and loose ends you will need again. You can capture a few words during pauses, hand the shared log to a player, or record with everyone’s agreement. Here is a template and a worked example to help you choose what to keep.
Agree who keeps the shared record
A player scribe can keep the party’s log while the GM runs the game. Agree what needs capturing and rotate the job if someone wants a break. If you keep your own notes, jot fragments during natural pauses and expand them afterwards.
Players need the names, discoveries and decisions their characters know about. GMs may also need a record of improvised details and consequences to prepare. Keep unrevealed motives and future plans in a separate private document so they do not slip into the shared log.
If nobody wants to write during play, recording can provide material to return to. Ask everyone first. A short spoken summary after the game is another option if the table prefers not to record the whole session.
Capture details that affect the next game
A note becomes useful when it tells you why a detail matters. “Maelis, favour” leaves you guessing. “Maelis will guide us after we recover her ledger” gives you a condition you can act on.
Separate what happened from what the party suspects. Write “Toben suspects the guard took the ledger” until you have evidence. If memories disagree, leave the question open and check with the table instead of choosing a convenient answer.
- Decisions and promises: who agreed to what, and whether there is a deadline.
- NPCs and discoveries: names, what the party learned, and where to find them again.
- Quests and loose ends: what started, changed or finished.
- Important items and rewards: what the party gained and who is carrying it.
- The stopping point: the exact place, immediate situation and intended next step.
Copy this one-page session notes template
Make one copy per session in the document or notes app your group already uses. Fill in fragments during play, then clarify anything that will be hard to understand later. Leave a heading blank when nothing relevant happens.
SESSION ___ · DATE ___ PLAYERS PRESENT: WHERE WE STOPPED (place / immediate situation): DECISIONS AND PROMISES (who / what / deadline): - NPCS AND DISCOVERIES (name / what the party learned): - OPEN THREADS AND QUESTS (new / changed / completed): - LOOT AND REWARDS (item / who has it): - UNANSWERED QUESTIONS (known facts / suspicions): - NEXT SESSION (what the party plans to do):
Keep this shared sheet free of unrevealed GM information. Put hidden motives and future plans in your private prep.
See how a rough note becomes useful
Here is a fictional example of a note taken during play and expanded afterwards.
During play: “Maelis / bridge / ledger first / Toben key / east gate”.
After checking the details: “Maelis agrees to guide the party across the bridge after they recover her missing ledger. Toben keeps the iron key found beside the river. Its lock is still unknown. The party stops outside Greyford’s east gate.”
The expanded version records the condition of the bargain, the item’s owner and where play resumes. It leaves the key’s purpose unresolved. You can now find the useful details without turning the evening into a polished story.
Review the notes while the details are fresh
Before everyone leaves, confirm where the party stopped and what they intend to do next. After the game, expand unclear fragments, check names and flag anything you cannot confidently reconstruct.
Before the next session, reread the stopping point and open threads. Keep the full record available, then choose the few details the group needs to resume play. A brief reminder can point back to the longer notes when someone wants the context.
If a player missed the session, check what they need to know before their character rejoins. Our player catch-up guide covers that conversation, including how to return to play without retelling the whole evening.
Use recording when it suits your table
For games on Discord, Recap Raven’s Discord bot can record and transcribe the conversation, then create a recap. Every plan also accepts a Craig multitrack link. Our recording guide explains how to prepare for a session.
Premium + Memory adds searchable campaign memory for eligible sessions, with cited answers when you need to check an old promise or rediscover a forgotten NPC. Give important names and details a quick review after each game.
Explore Campaign Showcase to read recaps that campaign owners have chosen to publish, then try the recording workflow with your own group.
Frequently asked questions
How do I take session notes without slowing down the game?
Jot fragments under a few fixed headings during pauses, then expand unclear details afterwards. A player scribe can keep the shared log while the GM runs. If everyone agrees to recording, a tool such as Recap Raven can create a recap for you to check.
What should I write down during a D&D session?
Capture decisions, promises, NPC names, discoveries, important items and unresolved questions. Finish with where the party stopped and what they plan to do next. Include who made a promise or holds an item so the note is useful later.
Is it better to record the session or write notes by hand?
Written notes are quick to scan and need little setup. Recording gives you more conversation to work from, but everyone must agree and audio or transcription problems can leave gaps. You can combine recording with a few notes about the details you especially want to remember.
How do I remember what happened across a long campaign?
Keep the session records in one consistent place, with dates or session numbers. Update unresolved threads as the campaign develops, and check the original notes when a detail is disputed. Eligible Premium + Memory sessions in Recap Raven add campaign questions with cited answers that you can verify.
If nobody wants the scribe job, try recording your next Discord game with Recap Raven and review the recap together.
Free Tier includes 5 Standard sessions in your first 30 days, then 2 every 30 days, each up to 3 hours long, with best-effort multilingual support. A title, short summary and scenes, with basic AI and standard transcription quality. Premium adds richer recaps, PDF exports and GM insights; Memory plans add campaign Ask.
