Game Masters hold the keys to vast worlds, shaping adventures and share the burden of weaving tales with their players. As the responsibility falls to you for some of the heavy lifting of the story, the tools you choose can impact your planning. In this digital age, you are going to ask yourself if keeping a digital journal versus a traditional paper journal is going to help you more. Which one do I use? Well both. Here is why.
The Digital: Organization and Convenience
Keeping all of your notes on a google doc, and being able to access that from your phone, ipad, and computer no matter where you are pretty nice. Also if you are at work and don't want to take a break from the 9-5 opening the digital file is going to look a lot less suspicious then opening up a leather bound tome!
When planning your next TTRPG session, you can use map making tools, character creators, digital adventure modules its pretty great and thier are so many tools out there! A big part of the work for The Windstone Chronicles Melissa and I did was on ipads and InDesign. We couldn't have put together what we did without the digital tools.
Paper Journals or my wizard's tome!
For many, writing in a paper journal is the best conduit for your imagination to manifest in this reality. The act of putting pen to paper engages different senses, enhancing the imaginative process. Drawing dungeons, sketching maps, and jotting down adventure ideas on paper can ignite awesomess. Windstone's first adventure came to life in a journal. It's where it all started. It's also the place I go to when I am the most stumped creatively.
Flipping through the pages of a paper journal can evoke a sense of nostalgia that is like no other. You feel like a wizard flipping through his spell tome.
The Best of Both Worlds
Of course this is the way. Why not. At the end of the day we are telling stories together and every way that we can write down those ideas, come up with cool maps, create new characters and be prepared to run a night of gameplay. That's what we need!
Ultimately, the choice lies in your hands as the storyteller, and there is no right or wrong answer. What fuels your inspiration, unleashes your creativity, and enhances your ability to craft unforgettable adventures for your players? Thats what you should do. Its going to change over time so don't worry about it. The key is to find a way to get the cool ideas out of your head. Thats it! Now back to my wizard's tome, where did I leave my wizard specs?