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Session log / template for DMs

Session notes that still make sense next week.

This is a working session log, not a template gallery. The seven sections are what to write during play, what to clean up in the ten minutes after the game, and what to read before next prep. Copy it into any notes app, or use it as-is.

Every section has a short prompt and an example of what a useful entry looks like. The examples are generic; the structure is yours.

Copy the outlineSee the full campaign workflow

Example session record

One session in Multiloop.

Multiloop stores each session as one record with four narrative fields. The two share-safe fields feed the campaign share view when you choose to let the party read them; the two DM-only fields stay on your side of the screen.

S12Harvest's TurnCompleted2026-04-14
SummaryShort share-safe recap of what happened.
The party took the archivist's job over the smuggler's, spared a Rumerton thief, and boarded the Fellwake at dawn for Saltwright.
NotesFull play-by-play the party can read when the session is shared.
Opener: Quill paid 500g for the Redmarket job; party accepted openly. Turn: Cass spared a thief instead of turning him over; the thief owes a favor. Ending: sailed on the Fellwake without settling Factor Madric's ledger.
DM notesPrivate prep, reveals, and reveal-triggers. Kept out of the share view.
Madric noticed the skipped ledger; he will talk to someone in Rumerton. Quill's sealed letter names him. Thief runs Rumerton smuggling; debt repays with a Madric hook.
Thoughts for nextThe handoff into next prep. The first thing you read before writing the next session.
Open next session with the Fellwake cook pulling Viv aside before landfall. Prep one dockside NPC at Saltwright and one Rumerton smuggler complication.

The seven-section session log

  1. Session header

    Stamp the note so future-you can find it by date and session number.

    • Campaign, session number, table date, and in-world date.
    • Who played and who was absent; any character status or level changes.
    • Where the party was when play started and where they were when it ended.

  2. Three beats that happened

    Shape of the session in three bullets. Not a transcript.

    • Opener: the party took the archivist's job over the smuggler's.
    • Turn: Cass spared the thief; the thief now owes a favor.
    • Ending: boarded the Fellwake at dawn. No goodbye to Factor Madric.

  3. Decisions and consequences

    Split what the party chose from what the world will do about it.

    • Chose the archivist job. Now: smuggler knows they refused. Later: missed window on the counterfeit crate.
    • Spared the thief. Now: new contact in Rumerton. Later: the thief's crew expects something back.
    • Left without settling the factor's ledger. Now: cool reception. Later: he will talk to someone.

  4. NPC and faction changes

    One line per person. Keep them alive after they leave the scene.

    • Quill Harrowfen, archivist. Agreed to help for 500g; expects payment in Rumerton inside a tenday.
    • Factor Madric, Mireport. Was warm. Cooled when they skipped the ledger. Not an enemy yet.
    • Improvised tonight: the dockside cook on the Fellwake. Keep the name. She noticed Viv.

  5. Locations, clues, and objects

    Anything the party might ask about three sessions from now.

    • Mireport docks at night. Lanterns out after the tenth bell. Rain-heavy.
    • Clue: the wax seal on the archivist's letter matches the seal on the warehouse crate.
    • Object: silver pendant kept from the thief. Sigil not identified; nobody at the table recognized it.

  6. Open questions

    Uncertainty, turned into the next prep list.

    • Players asked: who paid the smugglers?
    • DM needs to decide: what does the archivist actually want the ledger for?
    • Loose thread: the pendant's sigil. Someone should recognize it next time.

  7. Next-session handoff

    The first thing you will read before writing next session's prep.

    • Heading for Saltwright by sea. Overnight sail.
    • Likely opener: the cook pulls Viv aside before landfall.
    • Prep: one dockside NPC at Saltwright; one complication for the Rumerton smugglers.

Copy the outline into your notes app.

Markdown / plain text

This works in a plain document, a markdown file, a notebook page, or a campaign workspace. Select and copy.

# Session [number]: [title]

I. Session header
   Campaign:
   Date:
   In-world date:
   Players present:
   Started at:
   Ended at:

II. Three beats that happened
   - Opener:
   - Turn:
   - Ending:

III. Decisions and consequences
   - Decision:
     Consequence now:
     Consequence later:

IV. NPC and faction changes
   - Name:
     New status:
     What they want now:

V. Locations, clues, and objects
   -

VI. Open questions
   - Player question:
   - DM question:
   - Loose thread:

VII. Next-session handoff
   - Likely opener:
   - Party plan:
   - Prep tasks:

Writing rhythm

Write less during play, then clean up while it is fresh.

A good session note is made in three small passes. Two of them take minutes. The third makes the next session easier to start.

  1. 01

    Scribble

    During play

    Catch names, choices, clocks, promises, clues, and anything improvised you will need again. Short phrases only. The goal is the scribble; the cleanup turns it into the note.

  2. 02

    Clean up

    Ten minutes right after

    Before the session becomes memory soup, sort the scribbles into the seven sections. Write the handoff last, because it names the first thing you will do next time.

  3. 03

    Read first

    Before next prep

    Start with the handoff. Only then touch your NPC, quest, location, and timeline records. If a change did not start in a session note, it usually does not need to happen.

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

Usable notes beat perfect ones. The goal is what you will read before next prep.

Margin rule / cut

Do not track everything.

Session notes fail when they become a second job. Leave these out of the log unless they change future play.

  • Every line of table dialogue.
  • Every die roll.
  • Rules lookups unless the ruling will come back.
  • Long scene prose you will never reread.
  • Worldbuilding that did not touch the session.
  • Tidy formatting. Ugly bullets beat a pretty journal.

Margin rule / write

How this fits Multiloop

The session note is the row you actively write, but it is not the whole job. Multiloop keeps the note connected to the campaign records it references and turns what it recognizes into reviewable suggestions.

  1. 01Drop the rough scribbles into the session note after play. When the session is open for player notes, party members can add their own perspective too.
  2. 02Analysis reads the DM note, shared player notes, and existing campaign context. It can propose new NPCs, quests, locations, timeline entries, factions, encounters, relationships, items, combat outcomes, character updates, writings, and session links.
  3. 03You review every suggestion and approve only what you want. Approved suggestions can create records or update supported records, such as character fields, relationships, item holders, combat status, and quest-session links. Unsupported field edits still belong in the native editor.

Next prep opens with the handoff, approved suggestions already in place, the session-quest links recorded for continuity, and the open questions from the last session ready to answer.

FAQ

Before you start writing tonight.

What is the difference between session notes and a session recap?
Session notes are for the DM. They hold private consequences, prep tasks, and unresolved questions. A recap is player-facing and only covers what the table should remember.
Should I take notes during the game or after?
Both, in different modes. During play, scribble only the things you cannot remember: names, decisions, clocks, promises, clues. After play, spend ten minutes rewriting the scribbles into the seven sections while they are still fresh.
How long should D&D session notes be?
Long enough to answer what happened, what changed, who matters now, and what comes next. For most sessions, one page of sharp bullets is more useful than five pages of prose.
Does this work outside D&D?
Yes. The structure is system-agnostic. It works for Pathfinder, Call of Cthulhu, Blades in the Dark, and most campaign-based tabletop RPGs.
Do I need a tool, or will a plain document work?
A plain document works. Many DMs run a whole campaign on one markdown file, one doc per session, sorted by date. A campaign manager like Multiloop helps once the note starts touching many NPCs, quests, and locations at once.

Keep the note connected after the game.

A good session note is the start of the next prep. Multiloop picks up from that handoff and keeps the story, session history, and shared pages connected.