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Session log / template for DMs

Session
12
Title
Harvest's Turn
Date
2026-04-14
In-world
14 Redwane, 827 AE
Players
Neris / Cass / Rook / Viv (all present)
Started
18:30 / Rumerton Commons
Ended
22:10 / Mireport docks, aboard the Fellwake

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

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. Clean up while it is still 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 one row you write. Multiloop keeps it connected to the people, places, quests, and timeline records it touches.

  1. 01Drop the rough scribbles into the session note after play.
  2. 02Analysis reads the note and proposes updates for NPCs, quests, locations, and timeline events.
  3. 03You review every suggestion and approve only what should change. Nothing updates on its own.

Next prep opens with the handoff, the approved changes already in place, 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.