In looking at the methods that Game Masters use to keep themselves organized, I was intrigued by what types of things they were recording. Their records could be broken up into two groups: 1) current adventure plans and preparation and 2) a collection of ideas for future adventures. Focusing on the idea side, I wondered what kinds of things I might put in my Game Master Idea Notebook.
Connections are some of the most helpful things you can gain from any idea notebook. The more ideas you can cram onto those pages, the greater your chances of connecting two or more of these ideas to create something new. So, what kinds of things do I need to put in my Game Master Idea Notebook? Your notebook is a place to collect your thoughts and burgeoning game concepts. You might record them using words, diagrams, or pictures (or even find a picture online). Below I have come up with 30 ideas of what you might include in your notebook.
- Adventure Ideas – Brief phrases that describe possible scenes, quests, and campaign ideas. You might also include pictures that help evoke the feeling of your adventure idea.
- Game Happenings – Items of note that occurred during your current game. Use them as springboards for the next adventure.
- Signs and Codes – As you observe icons and symbols in real life, note them in your idea notebook. With a little modification, you could use them in your game. You can even channel your inner-Tolkien and start working on your own language.
- Player Character and Non-Player Character Information – List a few aspects of each character including their names. They are then part of the connection system that idea notebooks provide.
- Fantastic Locations – The Queen in Alice in Wonderland said, “Sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” Your idea notebook is the place to conceive of impossible locations.
- Possible Interactions – Robert Nisbet suggested that there are five types of social interactions: coercion, conflict, conformity, cooperation, conflict, and social exchange. Walk through your NPCs and PCs and ponder how each combination might interact.
- Picture Prints – Print or trace pictures to put in your notebook.
- Personal Likes & Dislikes – More than a form of self-therapy, you might identify some things that could inform your next adventure or the characters therein. Do you despise tardiness, then maybe you will create an NPC that is always late.
- Player Likes – Write down what your players enjoy in-game and out-of-game. Include appropriate ideas in future games. You might also notice their dislikes so you can avoid them.
- Signatures of Your Players – If you finish a one-shot or a campaign, have each of your players sign your notebook.
- Characters from Movies – Just a few facts about well-written characters in movies: Character Name, Movie Name, Distinguishing Trait, or Mannerism.
- Cool Phrases – Great phrases from movies, novels, or a conversation with someone you know.
- Notes from Novels – In addition to great dialog, take notice of place descriptions, interactions between characters, plans characters make, and anything else that stands out to you.
- DM Tips – The internet is full of great tips for Game Masters. Write those down in your idea notebook so you can personalize them for your table. You can also find these tips by reading new RPG books or adventures. Create your own Dungeon Master Guide by highlighting these ideas in a special way.
- Description of Real Places – Slow down when you go to a new place. In addition to taking a picture, stop and describe it in your idea notebook. Sketch (even if you do so poorly) the area and label it. This will help your memory when you need to describe a location.
- Puzzles and Puzzle Parts – Collect puzzles as you run across them. On top of that look for the various parts of puzzles. Start a page in your idea notebook just to record triggers, baits, and dangers (check out this great video from Runehammer for more ideas). You might also look at how rooms and objects become puzzles in the Legend of Zelda games.
- Pressed Leaves and Flowers – Did you find a cool-looking leaf or flower? Keep it in your idea notebook for future inspiration.
- Rubbings – Relief pictures, gravestones, and even the handwriting of another person can be recorded by making a pencil- or crayon-rubbing.
- Doodles – While in the doctor’s office waiting room, you could pull out your notebook and start doodling. Your pictures do not need to be impressive, but getting your pen moving might also get your mind moving.
- Questions – Questions come from so many places: rules questions during a game, wonderings while you go on a walk, or curiosity stemming from a Youtube video. Write down your questions now and look up the answer later. (Maybe even a list of questions you would ask another GM to help improve your game.)
- Writing Prompts – These prompts help prime your brain for writing. You can find lists of hundreds of writing prompts on the internet. You could look through some of these lists and include those that intrigue you. Don’t forget to include your own prompts.
- Museum or Zoo Pamphlets – Just fold them up and place them inside. Alternatively, secure them with a piece of tape. Both the pictures and the text can spur future ideas.
- Souvenirs and Trinkets of Places You Have Been – As you travel, you will likely pick up souvenirs. Include a picture of that item in your notebook and a phrase about it.
- Treasure Inspiration – The world is full of treasure, put some of it into your adventure. Your player characters could soon be carrying around the treasures of the ancient world that are safely behind glass at your local museum.
- Menu Items – Jot down the ideas that come to you as you read through the menu at the next restaurant you eat at. Perhaps focus on the ingredients and make yourself a small table.
- Names – If you hear a name that stands out to you, write it down. You can do the same with titles and nicknames.
- People Watch – Sit and observe those around you. How do they act or react when angry, happy, sad, or afraid? Write those ideas down for future characterization in your game.
- Take Something Apart – Mentally dismantle an object or a philosophy. Record the various parts and their relationships in your notebook. Draw and diagram to increase understanding.
- Create an Experiment – Map out how you might use a new technique in your next game and then write down the results. Tweak them and then try again in the following game.
- Index – On the last page of your idea notebook, create an index of common topics. Then each time you add an idea of that type, record the page number in your index.
Hopefully, this list will help you fill up your Game Master Idea Notebook. It includes ideas for writing, sketching, diagramming, and drawing in your notebook. Some of them you can do by yourself and others will require you to get out in the world. But if you will put them all together, you will soon have a book teeming with creative ideas.
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