Guides for Game Masters
Practical, tool-agnostic guides for running tabletop campaigns: recaps, session prep, NPC notes, absent players, and the routines that keep a long game alive.
24 short guides for common table problems. Pick the one that matches what you need help with tonight.
Start with the question in front of you
You do not need to read the whole collection. Choose a problem, try the example, and adapt the notes to your table. If you are starting from a pile of documents, the campaign organization guide is a useful first stop.
Start with organizing your campaign notes
Find the right kind of help
- Get ready for the next session. Prepare a playable opening, keep useful NPC notes, and build a post-session routine.
- Bring players into the story. Write readable recaps, welcome a new player, catch up someone who missed a game, or restart after a break.
- Keep a changing world understandable. Organize sandbox and mystery games, track factions and promises, and sort out conflicting notes.
- Agree on what the table shares. Record Session Zero decisions, keep spoilers private, and give player journals room for different perspectives.
- Decide how Storywright fits. See a complete walkthrough, move existing notes, or learn how Storywright connects to AI assistants and which tools stay separate.
Methods, examples, and product limits
These 24 guides explain practical methods and show completed examples. The examples are fictional, so you can adapt them without mistaking them for customer stories. Product guides describe where Storywright helps and what you still need to do yourself.
Most methods also work in a notebook, shared documents, or a wiki. You can read every guide without an account. Use the advice that fits your group, and leave the rest.
Try one session with your existing notes
See a campaign walkthrough in Storywright
If your question is not covered
The FAQ covers pricing, player access, and account questions. For current capabilities and limits, read the product facts. You can also contact us with a question about your table.
Check the current product facts
Want a blank form to fill in? The resources collection has free, copyable prep packets, NPC cards, checklists, and recap templates.
Try one session with your existing notes
Try Storywright with the notes for one game: review imported entries, protect GM secrets, run the session, and leave players a brief. Includes a fictional worked example.
How to organize your D&D campaign notes
Keep the current situation, people, places, and session history easy to find, with a completed example and a simple filing method.
Storywright integrations and tools to use alongside it
Understand Storywright's assistant connection and Discord webhooks, how it fits beside virtual tabletops, and which tools do not sync.
How to organize a sandbox RPG campaign
Track places, factions, and unfinished jobs when players choose their own route. Includes an original sandbox example.
How to restart a tabletop campaign after a long break
Recover the current situation, choose which unfinished jobs still matter, and start playing again with a short return briefing.
How to track clues in a mystery RPG campaign
Separate the truth, discovered evidence, and player theories. Follow a worked mystery record without exposing GM secrets.
How to use an AI assistant with your campaign notes
Use an assistant to retrieve and summarize campaign notes. Understand account access, check sources, and review changes before using them.
9 signs your RPG campaign notes need more structure
Recognize repeated lookup problems, conflicting records, and missing follow-up. Find a small fix before changing your whole note system.
Why Storywright helps with long-running RPG campaigns
See how linked notes, session history, Story Arcs, and player access help a campaign stay understandable over many sessions.
How to move existing campaign notes into Storywright
Move active notes first, keep your originals, and check names, links, and secrets. Covers manual entry and the paste importer where available.
How to bring a new player into an ongoing campaign
Build a short welcome packet, agree on a character entry point, and share useful context without spoiling the campaign.
How to track promises and unfinished quests
Keep a small ledger of who is owed what, what changed, and what happens next. Includes open, fulfilled, released, and failed examples.
How to track factions and changing alliances
Record what each faction wants, who it trusts, and what changed after play. Includes a completed faction record and alliance example.
How to fix conflicting campaign notes and retcons
Separate established facts, rumors, plans, and player theories. Agree on corrections and keep a short history of what changed.
What to record after Session Zero
Turn Session Zero into a short shared agreement about the premise, characters, schedule, and table expectations without storing private disclosures.
A campaign walkthrough in Storywright
Follow an original example world from a few campaign notes to session prep, a player recap, and updated references. Includes product screenshots.
How to write session recaps your players actually read
Why recaps go unread, the 150-word formula that fixes them, second-person hooks, spoiler discipline, and the send-it-twice cadence.
How to get session recaps into your group’s Discord
Most tables already live in Discord, and most recaps live somewhere players never open. How to put the recap where the party actually is, what to post rather than link, and how to stop doing it by hand.
How to prep a tabletop session in an hour
A repeatable one-hour prep routine for busy GMs: the five things a session actually needs, what to skip, and how to prep the table rather than the plot.
How to keep NPC notes you can actually run from
The one-line-per-NPC method that survives contact with the table: voice, want, secret, and the relationships that make an NPC worth remembering.
How to handle a player who misses a session
What to do with an absent character, how to catch a returning player up in two minutes, and the catch-up note that keeps them in the story.
The post-session routine that keeps a campaign alive
A ten-minute routine after the game: record what happened, update changed world details, and prepare the next session.
How to share lore with players without spoiling it
Separate common knowledge, discoveries, and GM-only information so players can revisit what they know without seeing secrets.
How to keep a campaign journal as a player
A five-minute, four-sentence journal routine for recording what your character thought, wanted, and misunderstood between sessions.
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