I just read the article from WotC's Chris Perkins http://www.wizards.com/DnD/Article.aspx ... p/20121213 on going back through campaign notes to bring up old NPC's, secrets, etc. I commented below the article, but I wanted to ask here too.

I'm sticking to the "1 page session notes" model that he advises everyone to adhere to, and it's been very successful for me. he even includes a sample page from his session notes, which I looked at. while the one page thing is all well and good, what in the world is he doing about the actual encounters themselves? 4e is very rigid in the fact that you really have to know what the stats, powers, etc for the tactics part of the game. as such, I've always printed out my one page of notes, along with a page or two with just the stat blocks from the monster builder. I use slyflourish's DM cheat sheet here http://slyflourish.com/master_dm_sheet.pdf for quick stuff that I need during the session, but does anyone run their sessions without using stat blocks (4e only)?? I would love to do this, and I probably could using the cheat sheet, but my worry is that it won't be planned enough and if I spring a trap on a player, they'll accuse me of just sticking the trap there before they walk over it. I've put traps on the dungeon floor (scratch it down on paper real quick) as I'm revealing the layout on the table, but I do that before the players move in.

anyway, I'm just wondering if anyone has the whole 1 page thing down pat INCLUDING encounter notes?

Only way I've ever done the one page thing is if I have references to stat blocks in a new book. I like ou can't see how you can do interesting 4E combat without some planning unless you make it up on the fly and then you aren't really playing fair....

I use DM Tools on my ipad, and I have all the Pathfinder books on pdf. While my notes for a session probably are less than a page, the supporting material isn't.

DM Tools is an initiative tracking app that maintains the entire stat blocks for the creatures...so, while you are in the middle of combat, a touch of the screen brings up the creature's stats.

I've gotten to a point where all I have on the table when I run are my iPad and my dice...and my WWG terrain...

It works just fine... if you use generic stat blocks, and wing it.

You can create a series of tables for each encounter level that they may fight at. Skirmisher, soldier, solo, etc.

To make this work though, you have to be able to invent the descriptions on the fly.


By far the most challenging aspect is digging up interesting terrain. You may want to have a few notes on that. One fight per session should involve some exciting terrain challenges. Forest.. skirmishes on the ground and an archer up on a tree branch, etc.

I strongly disagree!^^

DM sometimes is supposed to cheat imho!^^

If players come up with nice ideas i tend to reward them
If players become too cocky or insist in pursuit a suicidal behaviour i punish them
In the between dice rules!^^

Also...
when an encounter becomes too boring (it happens when it's obious players are going to win) i tend to speed it up OR add more threat (a reinforcement something dangerous within the environment etc etc)

I think I may not be getting my point across here. my problem isn't necessary coming up with interesting combos of monsters. rather, the problem is coming up with that little something extra that makes the encounter truly memorable. my players aren't big into combat heavy sessions...they enjoy combat, but if it doesn't have an X factor, then it's just rolling dice against monsters that are skinned a different way. case in point:

I had a mining cave that was filled with different types of kobolds. when the players entered, I had it filled with traps, tunnels that interconnected, different rooms, lots of different terrain. I made all of the kobolds minions and they just kept pursuing the PC's until they got to the back of the entryway. I had diverse monsters, different ways to attack them, etc etc. they were bored...I sped the combat up and basically cut the encounter in half.

they continued through the tunnel and eventually got on a mine cart. I had planned for this, but it was just going to be a faster paced version of what they just did...only in a mine cart. they LOVED it. the mine cart was the different little something that they wanted. I had kobolds coming from two different directions in mine carts. they would just stop, get out, and attack most of the time because the players weren't trying to escape...so it was basically the same encounter as before.

my point is, every encounter has to have something completely different in order to make it worth while. if not, then the battle better be a quick one. this is the part that takes so much planning on my part. I'm not complaining, just saying

ahaaaaaaaaa! Got it!

Then listen to this advice:
Try to place fight while something else is going on!

it might be a blizzard
a stampede
a bombing run
a foul ritual
a rockslide

don't treat them as simple traps, try to add MOVEMENT to the environment.

the second rule is: add purpose!
Fighting just for fighting tends to be really boring after the first 2-3 encounters...

Come up with a list of terrain elements or encounter twists. Grab them as needed.

How about carrying a little notebook around with you, and whenever you read/watch/talk about something that would make a memorable encounter scribble down a line or 2.

Then you always have something when inspiration fails.

One thing I do (& I don't play 4th edition, but I think it's probably generic enough!), is to "blur" encounters into each other if necessary, especially in a dungeon setting.

For example, the players are approaching an orc underground village and attack a group of guards near the lake. If they are doing fine, but not finding it too easy, I leave it at that, but if they're struggling I maybe have something come out of the water that likes orc flesh, not human, or if they're finding it too easy maybe the guard relief arrives (which would have been the next encounter).

Sometimes adding a little change to the scene or mood can be enough. Make it raining at night. Add in a lightning strike or two. Going for creepy? Have plants bleed...have the drips fall up. Talk about shadows moving in the corner of PC eyes. Etc.

I get a lot out of traps, and I think its because I get my players to interact with them. The days when you could just toss'm in a pit are long gone.

My players were testing out their new higher level characters. In the first encounter they learned that putting the healer up front wasn't wise. In the second (the trap) the players learned that putting the trap spotter at the back wasn't wise...


I call this trap "The Jaws Of Death".

DM, "So you're walking along in a swamp when sure enough... "Snick" a rope goes flying off to the side of the path..." I always give them a pause for dramatic effect. (...and continue when they begin to squirm.)

DM, "OK... you guys clearly set of some sort of trap. You see a log swinging directly towards you. What do you do?"
Fighter, "Dive!"
Oracle, "Hit the Dirt!"
Monk, "Jump!"
DM to Rogue, "What the other guys can't see is that there is another log coming in from behind. What do you do?" (At this point there was a lot of groans coming from the first 3 players.)
Rogue, "I toss Amorette (Gnome Sorcerer) out of the way, and hit the ground."

At this point the trap is interacting with each of the players very differently and its a much more personal experience for them.

To the Fighter, "Reflex 25, Roll." "Success!" "Take 15 damage."
To the Oracle, "Reflex 25, Roll." "Fail..." "Take 27 damage."
To the Monk, "OK... You get to make 2 saves... Reflex 25." "Fail... Fail... " "OK, you take 49 damage, as you are clocked by the log from the front, followed by a good head bashing from behind. You're actually spinning in mid air for more than a few moments before you collapse on the ground."
To the Sorcerer, "You're free and clear since the Rogue tossed you out of the way."
To the Rogue, "Reflex 25, Roll" "Fail." "OK... Half damage, 10 points, as you weren't really in the way."


Yes... I really do come up with stuff like that on the fly. And as far as the party is concerned the Monk is still spinning in space back there in the swamp. They've also decided to put the Rogue closer to the front.

What's important is that the players' experience with a trap has to be dependent on how they interact with it. Try to think of ways to make the player's experiences personal. Try to give them some ways to give them incomplete information, and surprise them with the bits they don't know yet.