Best way to keep GM Notes for campaign, world, plot, etc.? (New GM)

Hi all - New GM here - I'm building a campaign to run for my family, and have mastered the basics of mapmaking, sheets, tokens, rolls, etc. I'm starting to build up the pages where encounters will happen, and in my head have plot points, character bios and motivations, places, political notes, historical notes, etc. that will make up the milieu and backbone of the story, however I don't see anywhere handy to keep it all. I want a single place - like a wiki, so it can be internally linked, kind of like the player journals - to keep this all. Ideally it would self-reference, so if I type a character's name, it will auto-complete a link to that page, etc. I could set up a resource external to roll20 (my own wikipedia, or whatever), but wanted to see if I was missing something. I've started by creating a folder/handout structure for the different chapters, but it looks like that will become unwieldy as it grows. I looked through the forums and didn't see an obvious answer - the closest I saw was reference to the fact that GMs can make a new, empty journal for each player. Can I make one just for me? Another complaint I have about journals, though, is that it looks like you're limited to those small, 5-line text entry fields. I want a nice big sheet where I can see a lot of info at once. Any tips and tricks from the pros much appreciated! Thanks!

Hello!  I'm relatively new, but can give you my experience. Any "Handouts" you create (In Game, go to the Journal tab, click on +Add, and choose Handout), but default can only be seen by the DM/GM.  So I create one called "DM Notes", although you can have more than one / many. Also note there is an area in all Handouts (and Character Journals) that is "GM Notes (Only Visible to GM)", so this can be helpful as well.  For example, my party has Party Notes (and Handout I created, then gave them all access to), to add notes of what they've learned, names they've been told to watch out for, etc.  In the same Handout, I make GM Notes that, as are revealed in the adventure, I can cut and paste into the Party area as needed. For example, the Party Notes may say "found a glowing sword" and GM Notes say "glowing sword is +2 attack magical sword", and until the party figures out what the sword is (via detect magic, etc.), I can keep track of what they actually have. Another example is when they've been told where a location is (so now they not only know a certain location exists -- like The Mage's Castle, but they now can navigate to that place via directions from an NPC, map they found, etc.), I'll add to the GM notes "Mage's Castle location known, via doppelgänger".   So I remember they know the location (and therefore can now travel there), but how they found out (if that's important to the adventure). I hope that helps!

Hi Brett - Thanks for the reply! It's definitely helpful. Thanks for the detailed writeup. That's basically the solution I'd come up with so far, as well, so it's nice to know I'm not totally crazy. :) My concern with this is that the 'handout' system is really geared for just that - a one-shot handout, like a graphic, maybe a small description, etc. The "Put stuff in GM Notes and then copy/paste as they discover it" is a good trick, though - I'll use that! I also don't like being limited to reading only 5 lines of text at a time (at least while editing), and what I want to create is a much, much larger database of info related to the entire campaign, not a single encounter, item, enemy, or location. So, I'm pretty sure the handout system won't work. In the old days, this would be a three-ring binder with pages of handwritten design, but I thought in the modern age, and since R20 has so much more to offer, maybe there'd be an integrated way to do it. A wiki for the GM would be an amazing feature, if it were integrated into the rest. EDIT: In the meantime, I think I'm going to explore setting up a personal wiki, like one of these: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_wiki" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_wiki</a> EDIT2: After playing with a few, I chose this one to run as a standalone Windows app that I can alt-tab to while running the game itself on Roll20: <a href="http://www.glump.net/software/zim-windows" rel="nofollow">http://www.glump.net/software/zim-windows</a> It's pretty easy to use, full featured, and ... free. :) Thanks again!

Handouts are the place to put lot's of text. &nbsp;You can link to other handouts by inserting a handout's name inside square brackets [Handout A]. &nbsp;You can make an index if needed that links to all of your handouts. &nbsp;You can archive all your handouts and use your "Index" to open other handouts as needed. &nbsp;You can also use the show to players option and/or give permissions to view/edit as needed. &nbsp;You can assign each player their own "Adventure journal" so they can keep notes. &nbsp;Lot's of uses. &nbsp; Character/Journal Bio is probably the next best place to store info. &nbsp;If you do not give permission to view (in players journals and or edited/controlled by), you as the GM are the only one that can see that info. &nbsp;So use that for all of your juicy info as well. &nbsp; My least favorite option is the GM Notes area of a character/journal. &nbsp;As you mentioned it's small and kind of hidden away. &nbsp;It's nice since players can NEVER see this info, but I think it should only be used for sparse notes. A few tips. &nbsp; You can copy/paste from lot's of sources and it will often keep the formatting. &nbsp;So this means you can edit outside of roll20 if needed. &nbsp;I find editing in a word processor and pasting into roll20 works well. &nbsp;Experiment. Links. &nbsp;As I mentioned before, you can link to other handouts by name ie "[Handout_Weapons]" &nbsp;So, link your handouts. &nbsp;You can also link archived handouts and to resources outside roll20. folders and tags. &nbsp;I use them both to organize my documents. external docs. &nbsp;Google docs or similar can also come in handy,&nbsp;especially&nbsp;if you have LOTS of info.

I've found you can paste in images. So say you have a weapons index. Instead of using the built in Image for the journal you can copy and paste an image, format the text to wrap around it and you can do a compendium of sorts for a special weapon with a description. Same could be done for a dossier of NPCs. Pasting in pre-formatted text like Vince suggested is something I've found very useful, particularly with tables.

Sweet - thanks, all! Great tips.

I do basically what's been described with the handouts. One handout for each "chapter" with linked handouts to different encounters. Recently I've started using Dungeon World Fronts in Pathfinder, so the ones that are relevant to a given chapter are normally stuck in there. One thing I do that I didn't see mentioned above, is for things like dungeons or locations where I have preset room descriptions, instead of making a handout that describes the dungeon/encounter, I create a "character" and use the macros as a way to handle the read aloud text. This is one HUGE thing I miss from Fantasy Grounds...there when you write up a paragraph in a handout, you can highlight it and set it as read aloud text, so afterward all you have to do is click on the paragraph and it'll send it to the chat window. Here's an example...say the party is farting around in a dungeon somewhere and they come into a room, this is what the macro for that room would look like. Scholar's Chamber /desc This is a stone chamber, roughly ten by twenty feet, lit by a small fireplace in the far wall and number of candle stands in the middle of the room. Nearly all the available wall space is taken up by ornately carved shelving, housing books, tombs, scrolls, and various arcane knick nacks. /w GM Creatures: The scholar's familiar, a black cat, is hiding in the shelves and will watch the PCs as they explore the room. Stealth 22. /w GM Hazards: Just inside the room is a pressure plate that will set off an arrow trap. The plate will activate if more than 200 lbs is placed on it. Perc DC 25, Disable Device DC 25. Arrow +10 Rng Atk, 2d8 Pierc Dmg. /w GM Treasure: The scroll of Ultimate Campaign Goal is stuffed into a nook on the shelves and will require a Know (Arcana) or similar test at DC 20 to find. There may be other arcane scrolls here or valuable books, likely with magical traps of their own. Then, I can set the macros as Token Actions, create some random token to put on the GM layer, or hidden on a Fog of War section of the map, and as the players enter rooms I just click on the corosponding token.&nbsp;

Fraust said: I do basically what's been described with the handouts. One handout for each "chapter" with linked handouts to different encounters. Recently I've started using Dungeon World Fronts in Pathfinder, so the ones that are relevant to a given chapter are normally stuck in there. One thing I do that I didn't see mentioned above, is for things like dungeons or locations where I have preset room descriptions, instead of making a handout that describes the dungeon/encounter, I create a "character" and use the macros as a way to handle the read aloud text. This is one HUGE thing I miss from Fantasy Grounds...there when you write up a paragraph in a handout, you can highlight it and set it as read aloud text, so afterward all you have to do is click on the paragraph and it'll send it to the chat window. Here's an example...say the party is farting around in a dungeon somewhere and they come into a room, this is what the macro for that room would look like. Scholar's Chamber /desc This is a stone chamber, roughly ten by twenty feet, lit by a small fireplace in the far wall and number of candle stands in the middle of the room. Nearly all the available wall space is taken up by ornately carved shelving, housing books, tombs, scrolls, and various arcane knick nacks. /w GM Creatures: The scholar's familiar, a black cat, is hiding in the shelves and will watch the PCs as they explore the room. Stealth 22. /w GM Hazards: Just inside the room is a pressure plate that will set off an arrow trap. The plate will activate if more than 200 lbs is placed on it. Perc DC 25, Disable Device DC 25. Arrow +10 Rng Atk, 2d8 Pierc Dmg. /w GM Treasure: The scroll of Ultimate Campaign Goal is stuffed into a nook on the shelves and will require a Know (Arcana) or similar test at DC 20 to find. There may be other arcane scrolls here or valuable books, likely with magical traps of their own. Then, I can set the macros as Token Actions, create some random token to put on the GM layer, or hidden on a Fog of War section of the map, and as the players enter rooms I just click on the corosponding token.&nbsp; I was doing that kind of thing but using macros in the "My Settings" gear tab but this is way better.

I tend to use Google drive for most of my notes and stuff. I keep to folders one for DM only and one for party, then share the party one with the group. I have found it easier to reference that then use the Notes in game. I do like Fraust's suggestion of using a sheet for printed text, though I tend to use the notes for that. I just 'reveal'(make visible to players) then appropriate.

Aaron C. said: Hi Brett - Thanks for the reply! It's definitely helpful. Thanks for the detailed writeup. You're welcome. Great question, as it's starting a great thread!

Fraust said: One thing I do that I didn't see mentioned above, is for things like dungeons or locations where I have preset room descriptions, instead of making a handout that describes the dungeon/encounter, I create a "character" and use the macros as a way to handle the read aloud text. This is one HUGE thing I miss from Fantasy Grounds...there when you write up a paragraph in a handout, you can highlight it and set it as read aloud text, so afterward all you have to do is click on the paragraph and it'll send it to the chat window. Fraust -- I believe I've seen this done on videos I've watched, but haven't seen it actually set up. &nbsp;I understand the macros you're talking about, but can you explain how you create a "character"? For example, the videos I've seen, the GM has a coloured square or something on the GM Layer, and then clicks it to open it, which then holds the notes for that area. &nbsp;How do you place a "character" or coloured square to do the same (assuming what you're describing and what I've seen is the same). &nbsp;Thanks!

As a GM I sometimes pick out a token (usually a ? or something similar) and have a character sheet created that it titled Room5: trap and treasure then attach the token to the sheet (just like a character) with the ability macros being made with the "@{selected| "or the "@{target| " being part of the macro depending what is needed. Most traps have the target so they can affect the token that would set off the trap. I use the macros for scene descriptions a lot of the time or for physical description of an npc for the first time. Those are usually set pieces that don't change and can be reused if needed.

Perfect -- thanks!

There are some cool scripts, if you ever decide to go pro subscriber, that almost automates the traps and some other things. Skim the&nbsp; API script index and be amazed at what is being done. I'm talking about "It's a Trap" in this&nbsp; section and there are more on that page that are amazing.

Hi Aaron C. - you may also find some great advice in our forum thread -&nbsp; [Discussion] Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Using Roll20 - have fun!

I was just thinking to myself last night that I could probably poke around in the forums for "Look what I figured out" posts. Thanks for the direct link, @Avacyn. And I'm a web developer and game designer, so I was planning on cuddling up to the API real soon now - thanks for that as well!

Brett...Any chance you have a link to any of those videos? Not sure if I'm doing the same thing, and I'm interested to see an example of what you're talking about. For what I do, I go to the journal tab, create a new character, name it the name of the dungeon level, or location, or whatever. Then look through the art library for some graphic or another I'm sure I'm not going to use for anything else, use that to make a token, connect the token to the dungeon character, and essentially bob's your uncle. After that it's just a matter of setting the macros to show as token actions, so when I click on the token the list of rooms pop up at the top of the screen.&nbsp; Let me know if that doesn't answer things well enough :)

Fraust -- that answers it perfectly. I'll try to find the video. It was on YouTube of a gang using Roll20. &nbsp;As a DM I watched it to get an idea of how DMs used Roll20. It was about a week ago, so don't know if I can pinpoint it in my history. However, from the above I think I now have a sense on how to do it. Thanks!

This guy has lots of info. Tons of tutorials.&nbsp;Also, he has done an insane amount of work (IMHO) for his own character sheets.... check it out

Doug E. said: This guy has lots of info. Tons of tutorials.&nbsp;Also, he has done an insane amount of work (IMHO) for his own character sheets.... check it out Thanks Doug! &nbsp;I've seen his stuff too. &nbsp;Amazing!