Sorry for the out of sync audio, team; had a heap of render problems with this video (as people who caught the first upload probably noticed) and this was the best option. Growing pains of switching to a new editing program, I'm afraid!
Love the idea of color-coding each character so their sheet has the color, their mini base has the color. That's dope, if I am sufficiently organized I could get the players to pick their character's outfit's dominant color and paint their mini with that color dominant.
I did that as well. The moon elf wizard is light blue (as is her player's character sheet folder), the dragonborn warlord is yellow (because that's the color of his scales), the wood elf bladesinger is green (because wood elf) and the rogue's color is crimson (because he's a backstabber). The tiefling bard will get the color orange, because of her hellish origin and fiery nature. :D
I do like this idea but It is fun to just name some people on the spot. like some people arent gonna be like "Wow my mum named my Sly and I grew up to be a thief, what a woman of foresight!" Sometimes they're just named Greg
Yeah, I mean you're not going to do it every time. Sometimes you do need to just have a guy called Dave. But I like the notion of names being onomatopoeic.
I had a baby names book (now replaced by equivalent websites like Behind The Name) as a game accessory. I align many cultures in my world with real-world cultures so knowing origins was useful and also knowing meanings, because I did tend to give NPCs names that were relevant to who they were, even if that's not remotely realistic. :)
There have been studies that show names actually have a correlation to outward appearance/personality on a large scale. No way to know the cause of the correlation, but it is interesting to think about.
Squeeze a few stats for your monstrous beasties, Squeeze a few stats for your monstrous beasties, Squeeze a few stats for your monstrous beasties, Early in the mornin'
I organize things really weirdly. Instead of doing practical things like binders for NPCs and character details I actually write all my notes like some sort of campaign guide. I create different authors In my d&d world and use them to create the story, writing all my lore and information like some sort of encyclopedia Britannica. Everything else I just keep in my head. I play pretty often so that works well for me :)
I am working currently on a players guide, written in the spirit of a travel guide. Saves me the spouting reams of lore players may or may not be of use. Can not imagine trying to have 1 binder.
Asmaron “monarch” is a blanket term for a ruler who inherited his position (like a king) and a mill is a building used to produce grain, wool, steel or something like that. It’s a specific type of factory. So there you go.
Its all about spending half of your free time writing a fantasy world down on every piece of paper not already covered in text and over the course of seven years getting to the point where you no longer know where anything in in your two sketchbooks of densely packed text and the dozens of folders full of loose, random notes you lie to yourself about by saying "I'll go through all of this and make a comprehensive google doc of" but never do.
This video resonated with me so hard when I first saw it while looking for what to put in my own GM binder. I’ve really wanted to run a campaign after 30+ years not sitting down at that table.I’m visual and used to keep a binder when I GM’d, but drew a blank on what might work for me now. I watched and immediately re-watched, and have watched this video again several more times in the months (2+ years, lol) since. I’m neurodiverse and since I started treatment a few years ago I’ve found I’m having difficulty with things I used to do fairly easily; in particular: writing and world-building. I still don’t have my binder started, I still haven’t run my session zero. I hoped your organization method would soak into my brain through osmosis and suddenly spawn into reality in my empty binder, but nothing yet. I would love to see a follow-up video for this, where you show what your current GM binder is like. How its organized and laid out - what you still use, what you don’t use anymore; that kind of thing.
I use two binders for each genre: 1) A campaign binder with specifics about the region/world, NPCs, characters, and campaign specific rules and items; 2) a genre GM binder, with general rules for the system I am using, adventure ideas and other out-of-session things I want handy. Currently I am running an episode-of-the-week sci-fi game with two characters - a smuggler/pilot and a gunner/bounty hunter. The binders are working well.
Nice organization. It took me DECADES to learn how to take...and to actually DO it...notes during the session. I use a sort of "spider-web" method. If something important comes up during the session, I write it in the middle of a sheet of paper. If something else happens, I write it somewhere else on the sheet, randomly'ish ('good' stuff goes higher, 'bad' stuff goes lower on the sheet). If something is connected to another, I draw a line with an arrow. If something happens to affect that 'line of connection', I write it along the line or branch off the line. I find this method of note taking "flows naturally" and because it's not really organized I'm not spending brain power to try and organize it other than the lines of connection. Having arrowed lines pointing from one thing to the other also helps me remember the "flow of the game" (what happens first, then next, etc). As for names...I am blessed in that I can come up with interesting names on the fly, over and over and over. My players frequently ask me for a name when creating their PC's. Takes all of three seconds for me. Yay me!
Names by dominant stat, now that's a really, really good idea, especially for settings where a certain on-the-nose hokeyness is called for - which would be most D&D-ish fantasy, sword & sorcery, and space opera... so, yeah, most of all the things. If nothing else, it gives you a thematic division that's easy to utilize on the fly. I'd love to see some examples of what you've collected! Please, please tell us more about that 'mundane medicine only' condition that you've cooked up! One of my frustrations is how marginalized medical skills are in D&D. It's almost meaningless on the skill list. While I'd switch over to something like Zweihänder RPG if I wanted a heavy emphasis on the physician's trade, that sort of grim and gritty approach doesn't really mesh well with the light-hearted adventure that I so often crave, so finding something to use in my D&D games that could make medicine relevant again would be more than welcome. Overall, a great video! Keep'em coming! Also, really envious of your organizational skills. :)
I’m more of an improvisational DM. I use a version of the Sly Flourish Notion system. But this is really awesome for organized people, I love seeing this type of organization, because I could never do it haha. Very impressed
I would never ever find anything in a binder like that. My brain organizes like this: The rune thingies are on the folded piece of paper with the oil smudge because you were mid fixing the weed whacker when you figured that out. It is somewhere; definitely, near.. the... combat page from about... a... month ago...there it is.
My DM Binder has these tabs: When - campaign calendar, weather, special events Where - maps and map keys Who - PC and NPC info What - adventure and encounter details Why - motivation/ plot hooks, rewards How - key information, true rumors, spacial items, skills, spells, etc. useful for adventure.
I'm a newbie GM (4 sessions in currently) and I was just considering how I could better organize my notes for in-session play instead of flipping through 4 different notebooks. Definitely borrowing pretty much all your ideas -- thanks so much!!
Last session I did not have my npc names list with me, so that's how we ended up with a halfling temple warden named brother Nicodemus, a human street urchin named Tim Becker, and two human town guards named Corporal Jensen and recruit Derrik, and their guard dog Gorris.
Very helpful video for a new player like me. I am currently creating three characters and want to make a binder for when I find a group to play with I have everything ready.
I know its an old vid.. But I'm about to run my first DnD game, and I had started a binder with some dividers....and THIS IS AMAZING. I "swear I'm cool", yes.. yes you are hehe and THANKS!
This came up on my list as a suggestion. I’m super glad it did! Excellent binder. I can see the benefits pretty readily. I’ve just been juggling a notebook thus far.
Medicine skill can have many applications, not just healing. If you put it as Intelligence (Medicine) check, you made it into a Medicine Lore check. You can use it for Rangers and other hunters that like to take trophies from their hunts or for those who want to harvest the organs and skin of the beasts to make leather work, potions, weapons, etc... Interesting video. Thanks for sharing.
I always wondered what is written in such a binder. As it seems I am using OneNote for this so everyone can read everything that happened, where they were which Quests are not closed by now etc etc. But this was a nice video! Good job!
Getting a look into a DM's journal or record-keeping system is always very intriguing and informative. There is almost always something to gain by watching videos like this, whether it's how to organize, ideas for content of their own campaign, or just getting a look at how the DM operates and thinks. Always a pleasure to watch these sorts of videos.
This comment might be little bit off. But when I was searching for some videos about Australian accent, this was suggested on the list. This is just technically to let you @MonarchsFactory know that your videos are cute and full of learnings. 😊🤘 Cheers!🍷🍾
i typicly DM with my computer near by. i keep a folder full of character art handy to add for random NPCs the players are talking too or fighting. if the NPC becomes important, i make a folder for the location/city/town, all the relavent NPCs stay in that folder unless the travel. I keep a notebook with names for people, inns, towns handy jic. If i have a planed event/quest, i put the NPC art in those folders already named. i dont keep alot of info on the players characters cept things like AC and HP, for quick reference. at the end of the session i keep notes on any loose ends they left unfinished.
Interesting timing. I think it was reddit, brought me to your last video, on overland travel. I liked it to much I subbed. Today I went out and bought a physical binder and some page protectors for easy page swapping, and here's this video. I have most of my notes in OneNote right now, but after seeing the last video I just felt like the physical thing will help me find holes to fill since I wont have to go through tabs and sub tabs and pages.
Mood boards...ive literally been trying to figure out what those things were called for nearly a decade now...thank you for finally informing me! My life is now complete
I watched your over land video and was thinking to myself "Man i wish i knew how she organized her binder" then boom next video lol perfect thank you for explaining its actually very helpful.
OMG, I love your organisation skills. I for one would never be this organized, not even after thir(muffled sound) years running various campaigns that ran concurrently and erratically.
Hm, I never really saw the need of a DM Binder until now. I exist in a state of constant chaos and organisation of any meaningful kind has always eluded me. I DM behind my laptop cause I got PDFs, easy access to googling, music etc, and it's large enough it functions as a screen as well haha. All my notes are in specific folders, which, honestly could probably use better organisation. Most of my session files are basically empty documents filled with initiative lists or random buzz words for the session. It's only when I really get a break between sessions and I've got the energy do I get the chance to take my plans from the primordial soup that is my brain into writing. I think there's a bunch of really good ideas you have that are applicable to even digital DM binders that I'm totally going to be (stealing) borrowing. Thanks for the video and I look forward to the next! Promise us another Campaign Diary video, Colville style, once you've met again?
My ex-wife has Synaesthesia so I totally get what you mean. Chose the color for the character that has the same emotional feel as that character. That’s the way to leverage your advantages!
This was great! I've literally never thought to have a binder to organise stuff I just have a notepad that's all over the place but now that you've shown me the light it makes perfect sense.
Very helpful. I never did this amount of preparation (partialy because of specific nature of game I played - in my case homebrew StarGate campaign in heavily customized nWoD) but since I'm going to GM D&D soon, I might go towards more detailed preparation and this would save me a lot of time. Thank you.
Dam Dael! you organise so much in advance! I got some notes on major plot points and a few major npcs and how the players alter them through the session, Im absolutely gonna give your overland travel system a try as well.
I'm like you. I've got session 4 of Lost Mines of Phandelver to run on Friday and I only just read ahead. I'm like "oh, s!*t! THAT'S who that guy is!? I should probably have known that!" I need to be more organised.
Useful! I really miss having all my stuff in notebooks and having physical copies of the DMG and PHBs. Transporting it all was sometimes a problem, but I was so much more organized and expedient than I am with a laptop. I think I'm going to follow suit, and go back to to having the info at my fingertips, ASAP.
I would love to hear more about how you DM. Your D&D videos always contain lots of interesting and useful tips that both make me excited to try to DM in the future and make it more likely that it will actually turn out good.
Hey in case you hadn't noticed, yer audio track gained sentience and is doing it's own thing. But I'm all seriousness as my first swing as a DM, this is super helpful
Very organized, I like the enthusiasm. I am going to convert my binder to having the plastic see-through screens like you got, because my pages kept ripping. I also like the idea of having the monster stats on specific pages because I was putting my monster stats on blank index cards but this makes finding the stats hard. Index cards are good for the magic loot.
Aye! Mat Colville! I ended up making individual flashcards and have homes with clips to sperate them with a front flashcard with the pack name....I feel though as I already things more difficult..... probably gonna get a binder later to add them there....
I wish I could keep organized like this. I basically just have a Tome filled with everything DnD I've played in the last few months, from characters I played in one shots, to the entire campaign I've been running for almost a year. I have several notebooks I've finished and enjoy going back and looking at them, it's almost like a weird form of scrapbooking my DnD games. Also it's always fun to use different and new notebooks
I find it incredibly interesting to see how other DMs do things. I've altered my way of running a game over the years -- largely influenced by experience with other, simpler systems -- so that instead of having a big binder full of notes (usually I'll have a plot summary I've studied _before_ the session and a couple outlines of major NPCs) I just wing it, improvising the story on the fly based on some main points. I've become very confident with the approach and I think I do better this way, because back when I'd have a ton of materials on hand and notes and such, I'd stumble a lot and I think give a rather poor presentation to the players. Now then, after a session I'll often sequester myself and run through what happened, mull over things, consider NPC/Villain/Ally reactions and how their plans and attitudes toward the characters may change and jot down notes to review later. Once in a while I may jot down a note or two on some note cards to keep with me behind the screen, but that's often it. Usually my reference materials are only the books and maybe a dungeon map. Sometimes I'll make a list of names to pick from, which _is_ rather useful in a game with fantasy names like D&D. I was actually a bit surprised when, as a player in a game a longtime friend just started, I saw that the DM had several Word docs on his laptop to outline all sorts of factions and histories and what appeared to be full write ups of side quests -- and he had opened one to read through in order to answer a question my character had about something. When we used to play a handful of years ago I don't recall him being that organized... but it seems to be working for him which is cool because I'm rather enjoying his game so far. I think each person has to find the style that works best for them. Despite my more "loose" approach to DMing, I'm actually incredibly organized and tend to always have a file folder at hand with spare character sheets, copies of all the players' sheets, printouts of maps and other handouts, custom-made spell cards or magic-item cards, etc. For my own character I have a page where I've typed up all the rules text for special abilities/spells so that I don't have to thumb through the book when I need to reference them.
would love a 1 year anniversary video of what has survived. As a new dm there has been a large shift in what i take notes on at the beginning vs what I bother keeping track of 6 months later.
Great ideas on organizing the NPCs and naming. I need to work on keeping track of my NPCs and having a few extras ready for when my players go off on a side path I didn't anticipate.
simon Emmett I also use one note. It is perfect for a DM binder!! The more you use it the more you discover how flexible it is. Really good for organizing pretty much any info.
I started using Onenote for taking notes at work because tapping out a note on my phone was a ton easier than keeping a legal pad and pencil/pen while working, and since I have found a ton of other places to use the software. It's great for creating a campaign outline and NPC info and so on, while on the fly so you don't forget them. You could however, go full blown insane with it, import your game maps, whole character sheets, player artwork, and more, the limits are really only what you can find a way to make digital and how dependent on your phone/laptop/tablet you really want to be in session.
I use OneNote too, and while I find really useful for making a repository of info, or my session notes, it's hard for me to switch between that and like, the PDF pathfinder books when I need info I didn't write down in the notes. Especially since over the years, I've gotten a lot of splat books, and integrated them into the world. How do Emotional spell components work again? Ugh, let me go find the PDF that has that info...
onenote is pretty awesome for dm binders, I use it too for tracking the overall plot, the interactions of the provinces (they are in a civil war), and the adventure paths of the current session or future sessions.
You should check Tabletop Weekly's DM 101 video on writing DM notes. I've been watching Mark's stuff and it's been insanely helpful, especially because I'm a first-time DM.
Hi Dael, great video...brings back memories of some fantastic campaigns that I have been a part of (both as a player and DM, although I prefer player). One of the tools we used to use to supplement over land travels back in my 2nd Ed days were charts from the Ivinia modules from the world of Harn. They had great travel (by foot, horse, cart) , calendars, weather, NPC and random encounter charts (by city, country and terrain)! It was perfect for a DM to randomly pre-generate encounters and keep the campaign flow going. I'd be willing to share if interested. The sign of a great DM is investment into these little encounters, and just "going with the flow". You have all these traits! Cheers!
I don't use a binder to organize my tabletop rpg stuff, but I do have separate files with pockets for my maps, npc's, npc illustrations, and my own player characters for DnD Adventure League and Pathfinder Society. I even have an official folio file with pockets for my Starfinder player character.
Super cool channel you have here. I'm really digging your organization. My binder isn't as organized but the stuff in mine is similar. I wish i had more time to prepare before my next sessions. Too often i'm winging it! >,
all your dnd stuff is starting to show up in my feed. i see its from almost a year ago! but i like the ideas and i subed for hopefully more DM stuff as im new at it. ty for the content!
The notebook is a fantastic idea. I've been GMing for years and for some reason never thought of this. THANKS! Also, that notebook is awesome, it's true, but can I toss some appreciation at those wicked amazing earrings? They are incredible!
Really admire your organisation skills. Personally I prefer soft copy notes so my binder is basically OneNote. Your video also reminded me that I've been meaning to make handouts for each magic item to hand out to my players. Good stuff Dael, keep the D&D content coming 😄
Oooooooh gurrrrrrrrl, you are giving me so many ideas here, thank you! I'm running a game in January (Tomb of Annihilation) and I need all the help I can get.
I don't think that I alluded to this fully on your last video, but that binder is a thing of wonder to me. Mercer, too, has a serious DM binder. I have been getting by in my campaign by making notes on the backs of literal envelopes (to the point where I saved particularly large envelopes for the more involved adventures), and a "dream journal except for D&D" email chain to myself (really useful when recovering from surgery, totally impractical for actual sorting). It's so absurd that one of my players bought me an actual diary (with iridescent Celtic knots on the covers) for my birthday. I swear that I will collate and transpose character details and plot points to it. Some day. When I have time. Oh, like when I'm recovering from surgery. Damn, I missed that window... On the productive side I have selected some wonderful quotes (from all sorts of places) for the introduction to the campaign diary that I think belongs in every DM's brain: Shel Silverstein's "flax-golden tales", a line from Tina Fey's autobiography about how there are no mistakes in improv, Carl Sagan on imagination, and this great pair of ideas from Sonya Huber's secrets about teaching.
Great video! It's so interesting to see how other gms do their prep/organisation stuff! I currently use just a A5 notebook where I've written down stuff like what could happen/what actually happened/stuff to think about til next session. I'm planning on putting more stuff in, but I've so far only done three sessions, and kinda winged it on all three occasions so... XD wanna put in a bunch of my worldbuilding, but outlining stuff first in a google doc.
On the winging it front you will be able to do it more to your satisfaction as your experience grows, I use bullet points that give me the rough info I need and then a link to deeper info if needed. I find this works for me better than having a wall of text while still having access to depth of knowledge you want to include. On the notes front have you considered recording your sessions, this do not have to be good quality just so you can here it. I will do this then take the relevant info from the session and add it into my notes, eg a pub they found, where it was, who ran it and details in case the encounter again. Interesting idea on the naming front would not work as is for me as my racial names are very different per race but as a sub group for each race, especially if nicknames are included. One of best thing about the internet is we can all see how different dm's do things, cherry pick ideas we like and also realise their is no right way but there will be a way that works for you :) Keep up the vids
For real I need to get a binder. I use two folders, a graph pad, and a manilla folder. Recently I'm constantly misplacing shit I need. ugh. I swear I'm usually an organized person.
Shoot, whelp now I need to do a swanky organization scheme for my dnd Ideas . . . Thanks for the Tips Dael! Also, that moment you mention Geek and Sundry Vlogs and I realize how long it's been.
Sorry for the out of sync audio, team; had a heap of render problems with this video (as people who caught the first upload probably noticed) and this was the best option. Growing pains of switching to a new editing program, I'm afraid!
At least it was in focus, eh? ;)
Great video btw! Starting DM'ing soon myself, so this was super useful and cool to watch.
No worries, took only a minute and then I didn't notice it.
Didn't really notice. But I grew up watching the *original* Godzilla movies.
I keep watching you and I do not know why but I keep getting a weird connection to Beatemups, maybe its the accent. I have no idea.
MonarchsFactory very cool my co worker had said he plays dungeons and dragons but I had never played myself personally. So I sent him your videos.
Love the idea of color-coding each character so their sheet has the color, their mini base has the color. That's dope, if I am sufficiently organized I could get the players to pick their character's outfit's dominant color and paint their mini with that color dominant.
I did that as well. The moon elf wizard is light blue (as is her player's character sheet folder), the dragonborn warlord is yellow (because that's the color of his scales), the wood elf bladesinger is green (because wood elf) and the rogue's color is crimson (because he's a backstabber). The tiefling bard will get the color orange, because of her hellish origin and fiery nature. :D
Ooh, I like the idea of naming NPCs based on their prominent stat. I'm definitely stealing that idea!
I do like this idea but It is fun to just name some people on the spot. like some people arent gonna be like "Wow my mum named my Sly and I grew up to be a thief, what a woman of foresight!"
Sometimes they're just named Greg
Yeah, I mean you're not going to do it every time. Sometimes you do need to just have a guy called Dave. But I like the notion of names being onomatopoeic.
I had a baby names book (now replaced by equivalent websites like Behind The Name) as a game accessory. I align many cultures in my world with real-world cultures so knowing origins was useful and also knowing meanings, because I did tend to give NPCs names that were relevant to who they were, even if that's not remotely realistic. :)
There have been studies that show names actually have a correlation to outward appearance/personality on a large scale. No way to know the cause of the correlation, but it is interesting to think about.
How did you go about putting names to stats through? I can't seem to find a random name generator to generate that way.
What should you have in a DM binder?
What should you have in a DM binder?
What should you have in a DM binder
Early in the mornin'?
PD Comic Book Network
Throw in some notes and the npcs
Throw in some notes and the nocs
Throw in some notes and the npcs
Early in the mornin
Wey hey dice are rollin',
Wey hey dice are rollin',
Wey hey dice are rollin'
Early in the mornin'
Toss in some cursed items for greedy PCs,
Toss in some cursed items for greedy PCs,
Toss in some cursed items for greedy PCs,
Earlie in the mornin’!
Don't forget about the treasure
Don't forget about the treasure
Don't forget about the treasure
Early in the mornin'!
Squeeze a few stats for your monstrous beasties,
Squeeze a few stats for your monstrous beasties,
Squeeze a few stats for your monstrous beasties,
Early in the mornin'
I keep a big photo of Ian McKellen as Gandalf in mine for inspiration.
The greatest DM binder of all.
I hope that's all you have in there. Like every page is a different picture of Gandalf.
I organize things really weirdly. Instead of doing practical things like binders for NPCs and character details I actually write all my notes like some sort of campaign guide. I create different authors In my d&d world and use them to create the story, writing all my lore and information like some sort of encyclopedia Britannica. Everything else I just keep in my head. I play pretty often so that works well for me :)
VERY cool!
Sounds really awesome! And congrats on getting to play very often :D I think it really helps to stay in shape as a DM.
I am working currently on a players guide, written in the spirit of a travel guide. Saves me the spouting reams of lore players may or may not be of use.
Can not imagine trying to have 1 binder.
Humm... your name is Kingsmill, the channel is MonarchsFactory, that's clever.
My sister came up with it! I think you might have figured it out fastest of anyone so far, haha
This is actually the first time i realized this... thank you!
Oh man! I was reading it as "King's mail" (like armor), which it doesn't say at all.
Can you explain it to me?
I’m not a native English speaker, so I might not get the reference
Asmaron “monarch” is a blanket term for a ruler who inherited his position (like a king) and a mill is a building used to produce grain, wool, steel or something like that. It’s a specific type of factory. So there you go.
Loved it! And I think Leslie Knope would loved it too!
I don't put that much effort into my actual job. I am in awe of you.
Cute AF and supercool in my book. Love the vids! Thanks for making them and looking forward to checking out rest of your stuff. 🤘🏽📚🎲
That is a +3 Binder of Holding if I've ever seen one.
XD I'm going to call these that in my classroom now, my student's cringe is now your fault! Mwuahahaha
Its all about spending half of your free time writing a fantasy world down on every piece of paper not already covered in text and over the course of seven years getting to the point where you no longer know where anything in in your two sketchbooks of densely packed text and the dozens of folders full of loose, random notes you lie to yourself about by saying "I'll go through all of this and make a comprehensive google doc of" but never do.
This video resonated with me so hard when I first saw it while looking for what to put in my own GM binder. I’ve really wanted to run a campaign after 30+ years not sitting down at that table.I’m visual and used to keep a binder when I GM’d, but drew a blank on what might work for me now. I watched and immediately re-watched, and have watched this video again several more times in the months (2+ years, lol) since.
I’m neurodiverse and since I started treatment a few years ago I’ve found I’m having difficulty with things I used to do fairly easily; in particular: writing and world-building.
I still don’t have my binder started, I still haven’t run my session zero. I hoped your organization method would soak into my brain through osmosis and suddenly spawn into reality in my empty binder, but nothing yet.
I would love to see a follow-up video for this, where you show what your current GM binder is like. How its organized and laid out - what you still use, what you don’t use anymore; that kind of thing.
"How Do You Want To Do This?" t-shirt - niiiiiice.........
I use two binders for each genre: 1) A campaign binder with specifics about the region/world, NPCs, characters, and campaign specific rules and items; 2) a genre GM binder, with general rules for the system I am using, adventure ideas and other out-of-session things I want handy.
Currently I am running an episode-of-the-week sci-fi game with two characters - a smuggler/pilot and a gunner/bounty hunter. The binders are working well.
I'm glad "Barbara is green" it happens to be my favorite color....splendid.
Oh wow, so much organization, beats my "one word document per campaign"
Okay, your DM binder is cool and all, but I cannot get over how good that orange lipstick looks on you.
Nice organization. It took me DECADES to learn how to take...and to actually DO it...notes during the session. I use a sort of "spider-web" method. If something important comes up during the session, I write it in the middle of a sheet of paper. If something else happens, I write it somewhere else on the sheet, randomly'ish ('good' stuff goes higher, 'bad' stuff goes lower on the sheet). If something is connected to another, I draw a line with an arrow. If something happens to affect that 'line of connection', I write it along the line or branch off the line. I find this method of note taking "flows naturally" and because it's not really organized I'm not spending brain power to try and organize it other than the lines of connection. Having arrowed lines pointing from one thing to the other also helps me remember the "flow of the game" (what happens first, then next, etc).
As for names...I am blessed in that I can come up with interesting names on the fly, over and over and over. My players frequently ask me for a name when creating their PC's. Takes all of three seconds for me. Yay me!
Names by dominant stat, now that's a really, really good idea, especially for settings where a certain on-the-nose hokeyness is called for - which would be most D&D-ish fantasy, sword & sorcery, and space opera... so, yeah, most of all the things. If nothing else, it gives you a thematic division that's easy to utilize on the fly. I'd love to see some examples of what you've collected!
Please, please tell us more about that 'mundane medicine only' condition that you've cooked up! One of my frustrations is how marginalized medical skills are in D&D. It's almost meaningless on the skill list. While I'd switch over to something like Zweihänder RPG if I wanted a heavy emphasis on the physician's trade, that sort of grim and gritty approach doesn't really mesh well with the light-hearted adventure that I so often crave, so finding something to use in my D&D games that could make medicine relevant again would be more than welcome.
Overall, a great video! Keep'em coming!
Also, really envious of your organizational skills. :)
I’m more of an improvisational DM. I use a version of the Sly Flourish Notion system. But this is really awesome for organized people, I love seeing this type of organization, because I could never do it haha. Very impressed
I would never ever find anything in a binder like that.
My brain organizes like this: The rune thingies are on the folded piece of paper with the oil smudge because you were mid fixing the weed whacker when you figured that out. It is somewhere; definitely, near.. the... combat page from about... a... month ago...there it is.
My DM Binder has these tabs:
When - campaign calendar, weather, special events
Where - maps and map keys
Who - PC and NPC info
What - adventure and encounter details
Why - motivation/ plot hooks, rewards
How - key information, true rumors, spacial items, skills, spells, etc. useful for adventure.
Organizing character names by stat is brilliant! It helps recall and feels more thematic, so very cool!
Gerret P yes that was hella clever!
the color-coding the character sections and using color-coded character stands was a smart move. do like.
I'm a newbie GM (4 sessions in currently) and I was just considering how I could better organize my notes for in-session play instead of flipping through 4 different notebooks. Definitely borrowing pretty much all your ideas -- thanks so much!!
I was going to write a bunch of stuff down, but that's basically what I do with my binder, with some variation for Shadowrun
Oh I love your binder! I'm still working out exactly how to organize mine, but we're getting there!
Last session I did not have my npc names list with me, so that's how we ended up with a halfling temple warden named brother Nicodemus, a human street urchin named Tim Becker, and two human town guards named Corporal Jensen and recruit Derrik, and their guard dog Gorris.
Very helpful video for a new player like me. I am currently creating three characters and want to make a binder for when I find a group to play with I have everything ready.
I’m currently working on redoing my own. It’s going to be much more personalized than previously.
You get a like for that classic Talisman behind you
I know its an old vid.. But I'm about to run my first DnD game, and I had started a binder with some dividers....and THIS IS AMAZING. I "swear I'm cool", yes.. yes you are hehe and THANKS!
This came up on my list as a suggestion. I’m super glad it did! Excellent binder. I can see the benefits pretty readily. I’ve just been juggling a notebook thus far.
Thank you for this video. Some good ideas are shared.
there it is!
Runehammer -like always, Hankrin knows whats up
Jedi master HAnk? What are ye doin' here ?
The man, the myth, the legend, HANKERIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Graced by royalty!
Raise a toast to DM binders made with fine Dwarven craftsmanship!
Okay, after watching this I made my own DnD binder and I love it! It makes my life so much easier! Thanks so much for posting this!
Medicine skill can have many applications, not just healing. If you put it as Intelligence (Medicine) check, you made it into a Medicine Lore check. You can use it for Rangers and other hunters that like to take trophies from their hunts or for those who want to harvest the organs and skin of the beasts to make leather work, potions, weapons, etc...
Interesting video. Thanks for sharing.
I always wondered what is written in such a binder. As it seems I am using OneNote for this so everyone can read everything that happened, where they were which Quests are not closed by now etc etc. But this was a nice video! Good job!
Getting a look into a DM's journal or record-keeping system is always very intriguing and informative. There is almost always something to gain by watching videos like this, whether it's how to organize, ideas for content of their own campaign, or just getting a look at how the DM operates and thinks. Always a pleasure to watch these sorts of videos.
This comment might be little bit off. But when I was searching for some videos about Australian accent, this was suggested on the list.
This is just technically to let you @MonarchsFactory know that your videos are cute and full of learnings. 😊🤘
Cheers!🍷🍾
I love this! I'm about to start DMing my first campaign, and this is probably the first organization method my over-organized heart loved
Love your d&d videos, also love the myth videos
i typicly DM with my computer near by. i keep a folder full of character art handy to add for random NPCs the players are talking too or fighting. if the NPC becomes important, i make a folder for the location/city/town, all the relavent NPCs stay in that folder unless the travel. I keep a notebook with names for people, inns, towns handy jic. If i have a planed event/quest, i put the NPC art in those folders already named. i dont keep alot of info on the players characters cept things like AC and HP, for quick reference. at the end of the session i keep notes on any loose ends they left unfinished.
The colour coding is genius.
Interesting timing. I think it was reddit, brought me to your last video, on overland travel. I liked it to much I subbed. Today I went out and bought a physical binder and some page protectors for easy page swapping, and here's this video. I have most of my notes in OneNote right now, but after seeing the last video I just felt like the physical thing will help me find holes to fill since I wont have to go through tabs and sub tabs and pages.
Haha, that's is weird timing! And welcome, thanks so much for subscribing!
"I am cool, i swear!"
Read it when she said it
Mood boards...ive literally been trying to figure out what those things were called for nearly a decade now...thank you for finally informing me! My life is now complete
I watched your over land video and was thinking to myself "Man i wish i knew how she organized her binder" then boom next video lol perfect thank you for explaining its actually very helpful.
Names by dominant attribute. Now i'm going to steal that!
OMG, I love your organisation skills. I for one would never be this organized, not even after thir(muffled sound) years running various campaigns that ran concurrently and erratically.
Hm, I never really saw the need of a DM Binder until now. I exist in a state of constant chaos and organisation of any meaningful kind has always eluded me. I DM behind my laptop cause I got PDFs, easy access to googling, music etc, and it's large enough it functions as a screen as well haha. All my notes are in specific folders, which, honestly could probably use better organisation. Most of my session files are basically empty documents filled with initiative lists or random buzz words for the session. It's only when I really get a break between sessions and I've got the energy do I get the chance to take my plans from the primordial soup that is my brain into writing.
I think there's a bunch of really good ideas you have that are applicable to even digital DM binders that I'm totally going to be (stealing) borrowing. Thanks for the video and I look forward to the next! Promise us another Campaign Diary video, Colville style, once you've met again?
My ex-wife has Synaesthesia so I totally get what you mean. Chose the color for the character that has the same emotional feel as that character. That’s the way to leverage your advantages!
This is super helpful. Thank you !
Could we get a copy of those npc names? The idea of breaking them down into attributes is dope.
Just dropped in on the video randomly. I like the energy. Thank for the video.
I don't know why your videos stopped appearing for me, but I am very glad they appearing now :D
i legit love your organization :D
This was great! I've literally never thought to have a binder to organise stuff I just have a notepad that's all over the place but now that you've shown me the light it makes perfect sense.
This was great! definitely going to borrow some of these ideas.
Very helpful. I never did this amount of preparation (partialy because of specific nature of game I played - in my case homebrew StarGate campaign in heavily customized nWoD) but since I'm going to GM D&D soon, I might go towards more detailed preparation and this would save me a lot of time. Thank you.
Dam Dael! you organise so much in advance! I got some notes on major plot points and a few major npcs and how the players alter them through the session, Im absolutely gonna give your overland travel system a try as well.
I'm like you. I've got session 4 of Lost Mines of Phandelver to run on Friday and I only just read ahead. I'm like "oh, s!*t! THAT'S who that guy is!? I should probably have known that!" I need to be more organised.
Saw you reference your beautiful binder the other day - had to look this up! Glad you'd already posted
You're really organized. color coded and in order
This makes me chuckle
Useful! I really miss having all my stuff in notebooks and having physical copies of the DMG and PHBs. Transporting it all was sometimes a problem, but I was so much more organized and expedient than I am with a laptop. I think I'm going to follow suit, and go back to to having the info at my fingertips, ASAP.
I would love to hear more about how you DM. Your D&D videos always contain lots of interesting and useful tips that both make me excited to try to DM in the future and make it more likely that it will actually turn out good.
God knows high above we have the best hobby on planet earth. I send you love n respect from Rio, Brazil.
Hey in case you hadn't noticed, yer audio track gained sentience and is doing it's own thing.
But I'm all seriousness as my first swing as a DM, this is super helpful
Very organized, I like the enthusiasm. I am going to convert my binder to having the plastic see-through screens like you got, because my pages kept ripping. I also like the idea of having the monster stats on specific pages because I was putting my monster stats on blank index cards but this makes finding the stats hard. Index cards are good for the magic loot.
My friends and I are going to start playing soon. This was well timed.
Aye! Mat Colville!
I ended up making individual flashcards and have homes with clips to sperate them with a front flashcard with the pack name....I feel though as I already things more difficult..... probably gonna get a binder later to add them there....
I wish I could keep organized like this. I basically just have a Tome filled with everything DnD I've played in the last few months, from characters I played in one shots, to the entire campaign I've been running for almost a year. I have several notebooks I've finished and enjoy going back and looking at them, it's almost like a weird form of scrapbooking my DnD games. Also it's always fun to use different and new notebooks
Nicely done
I find it incredibly interesting to see how other DMs do things. I've altered my way of running a game over the years -- largely influenced by experience with other, simpler systems -- so that instead of having a big binder full of notes (usually I'll have a plot summary I've studied _before_ the session and a couple outlines of major NPCs) I just wing it, improvising the story on the fly based on some main points. I've become very confident with the approach and I think I do better this way, because back when I'd have a ton of materials on hand and notes and such, I'd stumble a lot and I think give a rather poor presentation to the players.
Now then, after a session I'll often sequester myself and run through what happened, mull over things, consider NPC/Villain/Ally reactions and how their plans and attitudes toward the characters may change and jot down notes to review later. Once in a while I may jot down a note or two on some note cards to keep with me behind the screen, but that's often it. Usually my reference materials are only the books and maybe a dungeon map. Sometimes I'll make a list of names to pick from, which _is_ rather useful in a game with fantasy names like D&D.
I was actually a bit surprised when, as a player in a game a longtime friend just started, I saw that the DM had several Word docs on his laptop to outline all sorts of factions and histories and what appeared to be full write ups of side quests -- and he had opened one to read through in order to answer a question my character had about something. When we used to play a handful of years ago I don't recall him being that organized... but it seems to be working for him which is cool because I'm rather enjoying his game so far.
I think each person has to find the style that works best for them. Despite my more "loose" approach to DMing, I'm actually incredibly organized and tend to always have a file folder at hand with spare character sheets, copies of all the players' sheets, printouts of maps and other handouts, custom-made spell cards or magic-item cards, etc. For my own character I have a page where I've typed up all the rules text for special abilities/spells so that I don't have to thumb through the book when I need to reference them.
would love a 1 year anniversary video of what has survived. As a new dm there has been a large shift in what i take notes on at the beginning vs what I bother keeping track of 6 months later.
Any and all of those topics sound super duper fun. I love D&D content, it's honestly just so enjoyable and I love your style and personality! :)
Very good video. Information like this is really hard to find. Thanks
Great ideas on organizing the NPCs and naming. I need to work on keeping track of my NPCs and having a few extras ready for when my players go off on a side path I didn't anticipate.
I like your binder, I uses a program called onenote it's rally good at doing all.the prep stuff like this
simon Emmett I also use one note. It is perfect for a DM binder!! The more you use it the more you discover how flexible it is. Really good for organizing pretty much any info.
bodywhey8 and a great thing it's available on multy platforms
I started using Onenote for taking notes at work because tapping out a note on my phone was a ton easier than keeping a legal pad and pencil/pen while working, and since I have found a ton of other places to use the software. It's great for creating a campaign outline and NPC info and so on, while on the fly so you don't forget them.
You could however, go full blown insane with it, import your game maps, whole character sheets, player artwork, and more, the limits are really only what you can find a way to make digital and how dependent on your phone/laptop/tablet you really want to be in session.
I use OneNote too, and while I find really useful for making a repository of info, or my session notes, it's hard for me to switch between that and like, the PDF pathfinder books when I need info I didn't write down in the notes. Especially since over the years, I've gotten a lot of splat books, and integrated them into the world. How do Emotional spell components work again? Ugh, let me go find the PDF that has that info...
onenote is pretty awesome for dm binders, I use it too for tracking the overall plot, the interactions of the provinces (they are in a civil war), and the adventure paths of the current session or future sessions.
such crazy good organization. your players are quite lucky.
Love the naming idea based on stats!!
You should check Tabletop Weekly's DM 101 video on writing DM notes. I've been watching Mark's stuff and it's been insanely helpful, especially because I'm a first-time DM.
Hi Dael, great video...brings back memories of some fantastic campaigns that I have been a part of (both as a player and DM, although I prefer player). One of the tools we used to use to supplement over land travels back in my 2nd Ed days were charts from the Ivinia modules from the world of Harn. They had great travel (by foot, horse, cart) , calendars, weather, NPC and random encounter charts (by city, country and terrain)! It was perfect for a DM to randomly pre-generate encounters and keep the campaign flow going. I'd be willing to share if interested. The sign of a great DM is investment into these little encounters, and just "going with the flow". You have all these traits! Cheers!
I love your editing style and your exaggerated body language, makes even the driest topic funny.
My god. Your shirt. Love it.
These are the most amazing, I'm so happy I ran across this.
I don't use a binder to organize my tabletop rpg stuff, but I do have separate files with pockets for my maps, npc's, npc illustrations, and my own player characters for DnD Adventure League and Pathfinder Society. I even have an official folio file with pockets for my Starfinder player character.
Super cool channel you have here. I'm really digging your organization. My binder isn't as organized but the stuff in mine is similar. I wish i had more time to prepare before my next sessions. Too often i'm winging it! >,
all your dnd stuff is starting to show up in my feed. i see its from almost a year ago! but i like the ideas and i subed for hopefully more DM stuff as im new at it. ty for the content!
I love roleplaying so keep this stuff coming.
The notebook is a fantastic idea. I've been GMing for years and for some reason never thought of this. THANKS! Also, that notebook is awesome, it's true, but can I toss some appreciation at those wicked amazing earrings? They are incredible!
Really admire your organisation skills. Personally I prefer soft copy notes so my binder is basically OneNote. Your video also reminded me that I've been meaning to make handouts for each magic item to hand out to my players.
Good stuff Dael, keep the D&D content coming 😄
Oooooooh gurrrrrrrrl, you are giving me so many ideas here, thank you! I'm running a game in January (Tomb of Annihilation) and I need all the help I can get.
I don't think that I alluded to this fully on your last video, but that binder is a thing of wonder to me. Mercer, too, has a serious DM binder. I have been getting by in my campaign by making notes on the backs of literal envelopes (to the point where I saved particularly large envelopes for the more involved adventures), and a "dream journal except for D&D" email chain to myself (really useful when recovering from surgery, totally impractical for actual sorting). It's so absurd that one of my players bought me an actual diary (with iridescent Celtic knots on the covers) for my birthday. I swear that I will collate and transpose character details and plot points to it. Some day. When I have time. Oh, like when I'm recovering from surgery. Damn, I missed that window...
On the productive side I have selected some wonderful quotes (from all sorts of places) for the introduction to the campaign diary that I think belongs in every DM's brain: Shel Silverstein's "flax-golden tales", a line from Tina Fey's autobiography about how there are no mistakes in improv, Carl Sagan on imagination, and this great pair of ideas from Sonya Huber's secrets about teaching.
Great video! It's so interesting to see how other gms do their prep/organisation stuff! I currently use just a A5 notebook where I've written down stuff like what could happen/what actually happened/stuff to think about til next session. I'm planning on putting more stuff in, but I've so far only done three sessions, and kinda winged it on all three occasions so... XD
wanna put in a bunch of my worldbuilding, but outlining stuff first in a google doc.
On the winging it front you will be able to do it more to your satisfaction as your experience grows, I use bullet points that give me the rough info I need and then a link to deeper info if needed. I find this works for me better than having a wall of text while still having access to depth of knowledge you want to include.
On the notes front have you considered recording your sessions, this do not have to be good quality just so you can here it. I will do this then take the relevant info from the session and add it into my notes, eg a pub they found, where it was, who ran it and details in case the encounter again.
Interesting idea on the naming front would not work as is for me as my racial names are very different per race but as a sub group for each race, especially if nicknames are included.
One of best thing about the internet is we can all see how different dm's do things, cherry pick ideas we like and also realise their is no right way but there will be a way that works for you :) Keep up the vids
For real I need to get a binder. I use two folders, a graph pad, and a manilla folder. Recently I'm constantly misplacing shit I need. ugh. I swear I'm usually an organized person.
Very useful vid and gave me ideas thanks
Shoot, whelp now I need to do a swanky organization scheme for my dnd Ideas . . . Thanks for the Tips Dael! Also, that moment you mention Geek and Sundry Vlogs and I realize how long it's been.