D&D Session Notes Template (Free, Printable)

This free D&D session notes template covers everything worth remembering from a session: a short recap, the NPCs you met, places, quests, loot, party decisions, unresolved threads, quotes, and exactly where you stopped. Copy it into Notion, Obsidian, Google Docs, or a Discord channel, or print it and fill it in by hand.

The Template

# Session Notes: [Campaign Name]

Session #: ___   Date played: ___________   In-game date: ___________
Players present: ______________________________________________
Note-taker: ___________

## Last Time in One Line
(Where the session opened.)

## Recap
(3-5 sentences. What happened, in order. Write it so a player who missed
the session could catch up in a minute.)

## Key Events
- [ ] Event 1:
- [ ] Event 2:
- [ ] Event 3:
- [ ] Event 4:

## NPCs Met
| Name | Who they are | Attitude to the party | Notes / what they said |
|------|--------------|-----------------------|------------------------|
|      |              |                       |                        |
|      |              |                       |                        |

## Locations
| Place | What's there | Visited / heard of |
|-------|--------------|--------------------|
|       |              |                    |

## Quests and Hooks
- New:
- Updated:
- Completed:
- Rumors / leads not followed yet:

## Loot and Rewards
| Item / gold | Who has it | Notes (attunement, charges, curses) |
|-------------|------------|-------------------------------------|
|             |            |                                     |

XP / milestone: ___________

## Party Decisions
(Choices the party made that the world should react to.)
-
-

## Unresolved Threads
(Questions, mysteries, promises the party made, enemies who got away.)
-
-

## Memorable Quotes
- "" -
- "" -

## Where We Stopped
(Exact location and situation. Mid-combat? Note initiative order and HP.)

## DM To-Do Before Next Session
- [ ]
- [ ]

Plain markdown: pastes cleanly into Notion, Obsidian, Google Docs, or a Discord channel. Free to use and share.

How to Use It

Make one copy per session. Fill in the header (session number, date, who was there) before you start playing.
During play, jot only names and key events. Names are the thing everyone forgets, so write those first.
Right after the session, spend five minutes on the Recap and Where We Stopped sections while it is fresh.
Share the notes with the group before the next game. Read Last Time in One Line out loud to open the next session.
Rotate the note-taker if one person always ends up doing it. That way nobody misses the whole game.

Tips

Write the recap for someone who missed it

If a player who skipped the session can read your recap in a minute and know what to do next, it is good enough.

Track who holds the loot

Most "wait, who has the wand?" arguments come from loot written down without an owner. The Who has it column fixes that.

Unresolved Threads is the DM's favorite section

Promises, escaped villains, and unanswered questions are ready-made hooks for future sessions.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should D&D session notes include?

At minimum: a short recap of what happened, the names of NPCs and places, new or updated quests, loot and who has it, and where the session ended. Party decisions and unresolved threads are worth adding because they become hooks for later sessions.

Who should take notes in a D&D group?

Usually a player, not the DM, since the DM is busy running the game. Many groups rotate the job each session. Others record the session and let an app like Loreify write the notes so nobody has to.

Can I use this template in Notion or Obsidian?

Yes. It is plain markdown, so the headings, checklists, and tables paste cleanly into Notion, Obsidian, and most markdown editors. In Google Docs the tables paste as text; switch them to real tables if you like.

How long should session notes be?

One page is plenty for most sessions. A short recap plus the NPC, quest, and loot tables covers what the group will actually look up later.