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Campaign notebook / reference for DMs

A campaign notebook, not another session log.

Session notes hold what happened one night at the table. A campaign notebook holds the facts that stay true between games: the premise, the world, the story arc, the people, the promises, and the secrets only the DM should read. This page lays out what belongs where, and where each piece actually lives in Multiloop.

Every section below maps to a real place inside a Multiloop campaign. Copy any of it for a plain markdown notebook if that is how you work; the shape still holds.

See where each section livesLooking for a per-session log?

Example campaign record

One campaign, five durable sections.

Multiloop keeps the campaign itself as one record with five open-ended writing fields, plus a tone and a short set of themes. Four of the fields can feed the campaign share view when you enable them; DM secrets stays on your side of the screen.

The Saltwright LedgerTone: SeriousIntrigueCoastal tradeReligious cold war
PremiseThe one-paragraph pitch of the campaign.
The party are couriers for a failing seafaring guild. A rival chapel is buying the ports, and the old trade routes are closing one ledger at a time.
Setting summaryWhat the party can read about the world.
Saltwright is a city of piers and shrines. Five guild houses, two chapels, one customs wharf. The rain is new; so is the ledger fever.
Player guideHouse rules, tone expectations, and safety notes the table opted into.
Downtime every two sessions. Lines: on-screen cruelty against children. Veils: long interrogations. Healing potions work as written; rations are real.
Central conflictThe pressure every arc should answer to. Shared when the section is enabled.
Someone is buying the coast from inside the guild and outside the chapel. When the last pier falls, the party learns which side has been writing the letters they have been delivering.
DM secretsThe private hinge of the campaign. Never reaches the share view.
Factor Madric has been moving gold for the chapel for three seasons. The Rumerton archivist is the chapel's spymaster, and she will try to recruit the party once she reads their ledger trail.

Record crosswalk

Where each notebook section lives in Multiloop.

Six groups. The first three are writing you own: bible, session zero, and arcs. The last three hold records that evolve through play: people, world, and story in motion.

  1. The campaign bible

    DM writing

    The five durable writing fields on the campaign record. Edited directly in the campaign overview. Not touched by Analysis.

    PremiseLives in: Campaign overview / Bible

    The one-paragraph pitch. Why this campaign.

    • Couriers for a failing seafaring guild, carrying letters that matter more than the senders admit.
    Setting summaryLives in: Campaign overview / Bible

    The sentence you would read a new player before session one.

    • Saltwright: a coastal city of piers and shrines, five guild houses, two chapels, one customs wharf.
    Player guideLives in: Campaign overview / Bible

    Table rules, tone calibration, and safety notes.

    • Downtime every two sessions. Lines and veils called in session zero. Rations are tracked; healing potions work as written.
    Central conflictLives in: Campaign overview / Bible

    The pressure the whole campaign should answer to.

    • Someone is buying the coast from inside the guild and outside the chapel.
    DM secretsLives in: Campaign overview / Bible (DM only)

    The private hinge. What the party does not know yet.

    • Factor Madric has been moving gold for the chapel for three seasons.

  2. Session zero

    DM writing

    The conversation the rest of the campaign depends on. Stored alongside the bible, edited directly. Not touched by Analysis.

    Safety toolsLives in: Campaign overview / Session zero

    The lines, veils, and tools the table agreed to use.

    • Lines: on-screen cruelty against children. Veils: long interrogations. Tool: X-card called out loud.
    House rulesLives in: Campaign overview / Session zero

    Any deliberate deviation from the rules as written.

    • Inspiration resets each session. Critical hits are max damage plus a normal roll. Ammunition is tracked.
    Character guidelinesLives in: Campaign overview / Session zero

    Party composition rules, starting wealth, and background expectations.

    • One tie to the seafaring guild per party member. Starting money by background; no homebrew subclasses in the first arc.
    SchedulingLives in: Campaign overview / Session zero

    Cadence and contingency for missed players.

    • Every other Sunday. Four out of five players present to run. Missing players are run as side characters, not main PCs.

  3. Story arcs

    DM writing

    Long-arc structure. Each arc is its own record with its own writing fields. Edited directly; status moves by hand when an arc opens or closes.

    Arc name and statusLives in: Arcs

    A named arc set to planned, active, or completed.

    • Act I: The Ledger Fever. Status: active.
    • Act II: The Chapel Tide. Status: planned.
    Arc premiseLives in: Arcs / Premise

    The pressure inside this arc specifically.

    • The old trade routes close one pier at a time while the party learns who is signing the purchase letters.
    Setting notesLives in: Arcs / Setting notes

    Where this arc is set and what is different about it.

    • Rumerton nights are lantern-lit after the tenth bell. The Wardens close the north gate during fog.
    Story notesLives in: Arcs / Story notes

    What the arc is secretly about. The DM-side outline.

    • The archivist is recruiting. The factor is collecting. The party is the letter.

  4. People

    Evolves through play

    Party and non-party characters, plus the factions they belong to and the relationships between them. Evolves through play; Analysis can propose additions after a session.

    Player charactersLives in: Entities / PCs

    One record per PC, with identity, backstory, bonds, flaws, and story hooks.

    • Viv Serran, half-elf ranger. Bond: owes the Fellwake cook a debt.
    NPCsLives in: Entities / NPCs

    One record per non-player character, with a share-safe summary and DM-only Secrets and DM notes.

    • Factor Madric, Mireport customs. Cool after the skipped ledger. Secret: moving gold for the chapel.
    FactionsLives in: Factions

    Who wants what, who controls what, and what pressure is on them.

    • Saltwright Seafarers Guild. Wants: the old routes. Owes: three months of rent. Party knows: yes.
    RelationshipsLives in: Canvas / Relationships

    Typed edges between characters and factions, with a flag for what the party knows.

    • Madric owes the chapel. Hidden from the party.
    • Viv trusts the Fellwake cook. Known.

  5. World

    Evolves through play

    Places, objects, and handouts. Each is its own record. Evolves through play; Analysis can propose new locations and items after a session.

    LocationsLives in: Locations

    Parent chain, type, status, a share-safe description, and DM notes plus Secrets.

    • Rumerton / Dockside / Anchor and Lantern. Tavern. Known to the party. Secret: back room is a smuggler drop.
    ItemsLives in: Items

    Notable objects with a current holder and share-safe details; optional DM notes.

    • Sealed archivist letter. Held by Viv. Not yet read at the table.
    HandoutsLives in: Handouts

    Documents, images, and reveals the DM shows on demand.

    • The ledger page with the chapel's wax seal. Held back until the Mireport reveal.
    MapsLives in: World maps

    Primary and regional maps. Shared when enabled.

    • Saltwright harbor sketch as the primary map. Rumerton street grid kept DM-side for now.

  6. Story in motion

    Evolves through play

    The promises, set pieces, and history that move from week to week. Each is its own record. Evolves through play; Analysis can propose new quests, timeline entries, encounters, and relationships.

    QuestsLives in: Quests

    Named promises with a status, a player-visible next action, and DM-only pressure prep on active ones.

    • The Redmarket Job. Active. Next action: meet Quill in Rumerton inside a tenday. If they wait: the factor moves first.
    Timeline entriesLives in: Timeline

    Change-shaped moments tied to the session, the location, and the characters they touched.

    • Cass spares a thief at Mireport docks. Session S12. Location: Mireport docks. Characters: Cass, thief.
    EncountersLives in: Encounters

    Set-piece fights, skill challenges, and negotiations, with stakes and DM notes.

    • The Fellwake dawn departure. Skill challenge. Stakes: boarding without settling the ledger.
    SessionsLives in: Sessions

    One record per game. Share-safe Summary and Notes; DM notes and Thoughts for next stay private.

    • S12: Harvest's Turn. Summary: archivist's job accepted; Fellwake boarded.

Margin rule / write

DM writing, never Analysis.

These are the sections of a campaign that only get better when the DM writes them. Analysis does not propose or update them.

  • Campaign premise, setting summary, player guide.
  • Central conflict and the campaign share view copy.
  • DM secrets on the campaign record.
  • Session zero: safety tools, house rules, character guidelines, scheduling.
  • Story arcs: name, status, premise, setting notes, and story notes.

Margin rule / review

Evolves through play. Analysis can propose; you approve.

These are the records that grow week to week. Analysis reads DM session notes, shared player notes, and existing campaign context, then proposes supported changes for you to review.

  • New NPCs and NPC faction memberships.
  • New quests, including status and DM-only pressure prep on active rows.
  • New locations, including a proposed parent location when mentioned.
  • New factions.
  • New timeline entries linked to the session and characters, with a location label from the notes.
  • New encounters linked to a location or a quest.
  • New items, plus item transfers that change the current holder.
  • New relationships, plus label updates to an existing relationship.
  • Combat outcomes that update a character's status and record a timeline entry.
  • Quest and session links for the session the note was written about.

Copy the outline into your notes app.

Markdown / plain text

Works in a plain document, a markdown file, a notebook page, or a shared drive. Each section label matches a real record name in Multiloop, so the outline carries over one-to-one when you open a campaign.

# Campaign notebook: [campaign name]

I. Campaign bible
   Premise:
   Setting summary:
   Player guide:
   Central conflict:
   DM secrets:

II. Session zero
   Safety tools:
   House rules:
   Character guidelines:
   Scheduling:

III. Story arcs
   Arc name and status: [planned | active | completed]
     Arc premise:
     Setting notes:
     Story notes:

IV. People
   Player characters: [name, identity, bonds, story hooks]
   NPCs: [name, share-safe summary, DM secrets]
   Factions: [name, wants, controls, owes, party knows]
   Relationships: [from, to, label, known or hidden]

V. World
   Locations: [parent chain, type, description, DM notes, secrets]
   Items: [name, holder, description, DM notes]
   Handouts: [title, what it is, when to reveal]
   Maps: [name, scope, shared with party]

VI. Story in motion
   Quests: [name, status, next action, if they wait]
   Timeline entries: [session, location, characters, event type]
   Encounters: [name, stakes, location, quest]
   Sessions: [number, title, summary, DM notes, thoughts for next]

Writing rhythm

Write the bible once. Review each week. Edit only when the world moves.

Campaign notebooks fail when DMs try to rewrite them every week. Session-level change belongs in a session note or a record, not in the bible.

  1. 01

    Write

    Session zero, once

    Fill the five bible fields and the four session-zero fields the first time the table sits down. Short is fine. The pitch belongs in Premise; the lines and veils belong in Safety tools.

  2. 02

    Session-first

    After each session

    Write the DM session note. Open player notes if the table wants to contribute. Run Analysis. Review each suggestion and approve the ones that match what actually happened.

  3. 03

    Only what changed

    Between sessions

    Edit a bible field, a session-zero line, or an arc only when the campaign actually shifts. Rewriting the notebook every week is a signal that something belongs in a session note or a record, not in the bible.

A lamp-lit war-room table covered with campaign maps and rolled documents.

The campaign notebook is the map of the maps. Every section points at a record the DM can reach for in play.

Analysis scope

What Analysis touches, and what it leaves alone.

Analysis is a reviewed assistant, not a background writer. It reads the DM session note, shared player notes, and existing campaign context. Approved suggestions act on supported records; nothing is written silently.

Can create, with approval

  • NPCs, and NPC faction memberships when a faction is named.
  • Quests, including status and DM-only pressure prep on active rows.
  • Locations, including a proposed parent when mentioned.
  • Factions, including a proposed headquarters location.
  • Timeline entries, linked to the session and characters, with a location label from the notes.
  • Encounters, linked to a location or a quest when named.
  • Items, including the current holder.
  • Relationships between named characters.

Can update supported fields

  • Relationship labels on an existing relationship.
  • Item holder on an existing item, recording the transfer.
  • Character status and a timeline entry when a combat outcome names them.
  • Session and quest links for the session the note was written about.
  • Specific character fields where the suggestion points to one: status, story hooks, important people, quotes, plus appended secrets or notes.

Leaves alone

  • Campaign premise, setting summary, central conflict, player guide, and DM secrets.
  • Tone, themes, and the session-zero fields.
  • Story arc name, status, premise, setting notes, and story notes.
  • Anything the apply path does not support. Those edits stay in the real record editor.

FAQ

Before you start writing the bible tonight.

How is a campaign notebook different from session notes?
Session notes hold what happened in one game. A campaign notebook holds durable facts that stay true between sessions: the premise, the world, the story arc, the people, the promises, and the DM-only secrets. Both live inside the same Multiloop campaign, just in different places on the record.
What do I write in the campaign bible, exactly?
Five short fields on the campaign record: Premise, Setting summary, Player guide, Central conflict, and DM secrets. Four can be exposed in the campaign share view when you enable them; DM secrets stays on your side of the screen. Most DMs write a paragraph per field at session zero and edit them only when the campaign actually shifts.
Do I have to use Analysis, or can I keep editing everything by hand?
Either works. Every record on this page has a real editor you can open and write into directly. The recommended rhythm is to write the session note, let players add their own notes if they want, then run Analysis and review each suggestion before approving. Bible, session zero, and arc fields are always manual.
Does Analysis silently update my campaign?
No. Suggestions are queued and reviewed. Approving a suggestion creates a record or updates a supported field; rejecting it leaves everything as it was. DM secrets, premise, setting, player guide, arc fields, and session zero are never proposed.
Can I use this notebook shape outside D&D?
Yes. The bible, session zero, story arcs, people, world, and story-in-motion shape is system-agnostic. It works for Pathfinder, Call of Cthulhu, Blades in the Dark, and most campaign-based tabletop RPGs.

Keep the notebook connected to the campaign it describes.

A plain notebook works. A notebook that is the campaign, where every section maps to a real record and Analysis turns session notes into reviewable cleanup, works harder.