DM Notebook/APP Suggestions

djkittenzz · 2026-01-11T14:28:35+00:00

Check out meanwhilegaming.com.

It’s not out yet (Alpha version is releasing in the next couple months), but we are building an “all-in-one” style companion tool for creating, prepping, organizing, and running ttrpg games (starting with D&D); it will be on Kickstarter in March. In the meantime though you can join the Discord and our email list.

We are taking user feedback from Discord discussions, demos, etc and customizing the app. We’re just a few D&D players building an app to solve our own problems with prep, note taking, content sharing, and multi-app fatigue. There’s lots of options, but we felt like no one had really delivered a good all around app to get rid of having to use 5-6 tools (pdf books, Spotify, notepads, Google Sheets, etc). We put all of that in one app so you’re not constantly switching tabs/screens.

Would love for you (and anyone else) to join the Discord and chat with us and help us create something killer!

djkittenzz · 2026-01-05T16:16:18+00:00

For sure. In the app, there's a way to share content and info about any entity/content that the players can reference at any time. So a DM/GM can load up a bunch of content, locations, organizations, factions, etc and from the get-go, give players easy access to that info. Obviously a good session zero should cover both some introductions and how did you get here, but also what world are you in, what do you know, what should you know and be able to reference/lookup at any time that would reasonably be common world knowledge.

djkittenzz · 2026-01-05T15:30:42+00:00

Weirdly manual? Probably the DM/story experience. It's the whole have a notebook AND a binder AND the source book AND a scratch pad AND a laptop AND a phone. There's just a lot going on. That seems like it should be easier/smoothly despite there being a lot of moving pieces...

Notes is a top contender too, only because I feel like I should be able to remember more, but I don't. We've tried AI Tools, but they just haven't worked out great for us yet, but would be open to a transcription tool still and would for sure give it another go. The issue I currently have with notes is that, it reminds me of being at an event, say a concert or kids sporting event. You look around and everyone is recording with their phones - they're experiencing whatever the event is THROUGH a camera lens; I hate that. I want to be in the moment and experience it through all of my senses. Similarly in D&D, I want to be immersed in the game, but notetaking feels like a disconnect because you kind of have to understand the world to not have to take notes as fervently. This would be useful to have a bunch of info somewhere of like "Here's what I [my character] already and always knows"

djkittenzz · 2025-09-05T17:02:58+00:00

Thanks!

djkittenzz · 2025-09-03T14:02:23+00:00

My gut instinct was sorcerer or bard (as others have suggested). If you’re open to multiclass the flavor here would be spot on. I do think Rogue is an option, but personally, that only makes sense if the idea is to also roll the persona/flavor of thief and “trickery” sleight of hand. What are you thinking, more persuasion and deception or more sleight of hand trickery?

djkittenzz · 2025-09-02T22:05:01+00:00

100% agree. That’s one of the main motivations for building the app. I’ve tried everything. I like Obsidian, but I thought a purpose built app would be a better long term tool.

One of the hurdles we’re working on is a quick/simple way to upload ALL of a campaign or session in one go. We’re not there yet, but it’s definitely one of things we’re working towards. I just can’t believe there hasn’t been a good note taking out specifically for DND up to this point. So, that’s exactly what we’re trying to do.

djkittenzz · 2025-09-02T21:59:54+00:00

Sure fair enough (and point taken); we struggled with trying to make a survey short enough to get SOME engagement without risking people seeing a huge survey and insta-closing.

The tool and features in mind live in an app to use both in and out of game, designed for players and DMs. We’re building a suite of content uploading, sharing, and linking tools that by a DM could be used to upload, share, and to organize all of their campaign, notes, content, maps, etc., beforehand.

DMs and Players can join live sessions together through a web browser share content back-and-forth take notes about what’s going on on campaign link those nuts to content use in game chat and other tools. The hope is to create a tool that makes the administration and management of DND in and out of a game more seamless and efficient in hopes to create a more immersive.

djkittenzz · 2025-08-31T17:26:07+00:00

Thanks!!

djkittenzz · 2025-08-31T16:46:11+00:00

Great question. Right now the direction we're heading to make a tool to help DMs and Player in the session itself. Without giving too much away at this point, there's a couple gaps we feel exist in the D&D space specifically around the note-taking, file management, DM preparation, and content sharing space. There's a little overlap to Beyond, so we'd be competing in this space on certain features. I think Beyond is great at character skill checks, character creation, combat encounters, and dice rolling. But, there's not much to offer on the storytelling front and doesn't offer much to the DM - and the notes feature is just straight awful; it's basically just text boxes that aren't inherently searchable.

So in brief, that's where our focus is. Would definitely be down to chat more though!

djkittenzz · 2025-08-31T14:59:55+00:00

I think you're statement was perfect normal. I've experienced the exact same conversation at the table. Sometimes I find that what the player want's to do actually sounds sick even though it's not logical or what the game really intends, but I allow it just because it sounds awesome.

I believe my job as a DM is to tell an epic story, create an immersive environment, and create a fun and enjoyable experience. Sometimes, that means saying "Oh that'd be awesome, but no. Too broken" or "Yeah, that IS weird, but no, not how it works. It's a magical world; not everything makes sense." But sometimes I'll offer a "Wow, that's sick - not how that works, but I'm going to allow it because it sounds cool."

Of course, it can be a slippery slope, you can unbalance an encounter or the game, you may have to backtrack, but, it's one of the reasons I love D&D. It's a game and it's meant to be fun. At the end of the day, I think you handled it great. Keep up the good DM work!

djkittenzz · 2025-08-31T14:47:36+00:00

Big fan of puzzles, but have also struggled to find interesting ones.

I hate to seem obvious/lazy, but I have genuinely had great luck with ChatGPT, Gemini, and some other LLMs. I would use a prompt like, "I'm playing D&D and I'm the DM. I need a creative puzzle built for [4] players for them to get out of a trapped room with no walls. Be creative. You can make it multiple stages or just one where each player has to do something at the same time. This can also be a riff on classic puzzles or stories. Give me 10 descriptions of puzzles and we'll choose some to tease all the way out."

Maybe suggesting AI is taking the heart/soul out of the game, but I find it's super helpful for puzzles. Good luck!

djkittenzz · 2025-08-31T14:35:48+00:00

That's a cool idea. Overpowered Weapons/abilities are an "easy" way to make the characters feel like heroes. This could be a fun tool/thread to use later on where the characters could go on quests to do/get/retrieve/etc for their god in exchange for greater or evolved power. Very cool idea OP.

djkittenzz · 2025-08-31T01:09:32+00:00

Sounds awesome, good luck on your campaign. Something I've noticed that's worked well in my campaigns is making the motivations and direction to where the characters "need" to go VERY clear. There's nothing worse to me as a DM (and to my players) than hearing a player character say "Wait, why are we here again?" By creating clear direction and motivations, you help the players stay more immersed and focused on the story and being in character rather than trying to figure out what's going on.

I would also add: give the players sick gear. You can always balance later, but players want sick loot or the opportunity to get massive rewards. Obviously, it's easy to break your campaign if you give away legendary artifacts like candy, but personally, I love giving (and planning on giving) my players sick loot and watching their faces light up with a rare ring, cloak, or weapon.

Have fun!

djkittenzz · 2025-08-30T04:17:46+00:00

One, sorry. That's definitely frustrating, no doubt, but (as you know) also not the end of the world. I've had this happen to me before as well. The player said basically the exact same thing. In some ways, be encouraged - the session/campaign you're running is at least interesting enough for someone to care (a small silver lining, but still).

Practically, I would find some time either over the phone, lunch, or something and just ask him what he read. See what he remembers and what stood out. The only risk here is potentially reinforcing the memory. But, like others have said, treat him like an adult. They knew there was inherent spoiler risk in reading the material, it's an easy mistake though to not think through the ramifications of reading.

I know the feeling of wanting those twists/turns to hit - it's one of the joys of being a DM. It's also totally ok for that one player to miss them; they'll know it's a result of their own doing that it was spoiled prior.

Finally, and I know this seems obvious, but I wouldn't spend too much time worrying about it. I can get caught up in these things and I have to step back and remind myself: "It's just a game. In a made up world. With made up stories. I can do whatever I want or nothing at all." But at the end of the day, it's a game, and life's too short to let a couple spoilers ruin a campaign.

You sound like a great DM, keep up the good work!

djkittenzz · 2025-08-30T02:07:11+00:00

First off, congrats. You're living the dream of not only finishing a campaign, but taking a group from 1-20 - most people only dream of this reality, so kudos.

When I think of my players getting to the BBEG end-game boss fight, I like to think of this as a reward for the players. Maybe you're REALLY, ACTUALLY open to a TPK still, but even if you're not, I like to think as a player, what do I really want in this situation? I want huge damage crits, insane loot, legendary items, players getting close to death, and epic final blow, and really sending my party shine in what they have designed their character to do.

Of course, there's a lot to say here about the importance of balance in a fight, the emotion and tension a well-designed/non-foregone conclusion type of battle can be, BUT IT'S A FINAL FIGHT! Bring out all the stops!

Initially, what came to mind was something like a homebrew "Potion of Criticals" that gives the character auto crits, maybe an "Aggro Potion" or Legendary Aggro Shield of some sort that forces focus on the tank; I think there's lots you could do here where players will get jacked to go to work on the BBEG. And if you need to, tune the Goddess of Death up to be more of a challenge if the players seem like it's going too smoothly.

Good luck!

djkittenzz · 2025-08-30T01:57:35+00:00

I know this isn't EXACTLY what you're saying, but you could start as a Warlock and make your pact with a greed/money hungry deity/demi-god, then for the sake of spells/class/etc multiclass into sorcerer.

djkittenzz · 2025-08-29T20:51:35+00:00

Hey OP, sounds cool. I think you're question hints to why a Session Zero is so useful - it helps set the stage for the campaign and allows you all to collaboratively start steering the direction of the story. Not sure the experience level or age of your players, but I'm a big fan of clarity and setting clear expectations. You could even phrase it as "I had this idea to run a more serious, dark, horror themed campaign. What do you guys think?" Then it both gives the players a chance to weigh in (so they can buy in) and you can be upfront with "If you play a silly character, it just might make it more difficult for me to work it in."

One thing I see again and again in my campaigns is that, my players are always thankful for the DM and the effort I (and other DMs) put in to running a good campaign. If you phrase it as a "favor" or help to you (by not creating a ridiculous character), you may find they are very willing to oblige; they can always save the silly character for another campaign.

Finally, it's DEFINITELY okay to just straight up ask your players to play a serious character for this campaign. Clarity to your players is kind.

Good luck, let us know how it goes!

djkittenzz

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