Dungeons & Dragons campaigns can be lengthy and filled with complex puzzles to solve, interwoven storylines to untangle, and all manner of worldbuilding essential to know in every encounter. Due to this, players and DMs all take notes. However, some players take their notes to the next level, and a recent Reddit thread with comments from dozens of DMs shows just how far some people have gone with theirs.
A recent thread in the DnD subreddit has been popping off because of the many absurd stories of unique note-taking DMs have to share. They range from awful examples of the most inefficient note-taking on the planet to some of the best role-playing that ensures someone never breaks character.
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Some Players Don’t Even Break Character to Take Notes While Playing DnD
User Dave37 started the post on Reddit as they shared their story about a player who used the search bar in an internet browser to take notes. All in all, they had over 800 open, and the entire game had to stop while each person took in the weight of how those notes had been tracked for the entire campaign.
While it might have begun with a disparaging story, this thread is full of some of the most wonderful tidbits about DnD campaigns anyone could imagine. For example, one player explained how, in their campaign, someone playing a goblin took notes by drawing crude scribbles with a crayon on construction paper. Another player playing a Dwarven fighter takes notes after rolling to see how effective those notes are. A 1 results in a useless scrawl, while a 20 captures everything.
One of the most interesting forms of note-taking is being used in a Cyberpunk campaign. This group happened to make a breakthrough in an investigation while playing cards, so they built a conspiracy board using playing cards with names scrawled on them. The entire group now uses the same format, and it’s become part of the DNA of that campaign.
This creative form of note-taking, in character or not, adds to the overall DnD experience. Some players even go as far as having their notes printed out in books for the entire group once a campaign ends. These act as a fun way to remember the highs and lows of that campaign as they move on to more in the future. While there’s lots of blood, guts, gore, and high fantasy action in any DnD session, this thread shows that there’s also an extremely wholesome side to the hobby, one that fosters creativity and friendship.
