Prepare a D&D session in one place
Start with the situation the characters will face, then add the people, discoveries, and consequences that make their choices matter. This free session prep planner keeps those notes together without an account, installation, or database.
- Open Session details to name your session, add a campaign, and optionally set a date.
- Write Your opening: an immediate situation, something the characters notice, or a decision that invites them into the action.
- Add scene cards with a situation, choices or challenges, consequences, and useful notes. Give each an optional time estimate. Use the up and down buttons to reorder the outline; you can change it at any point.
- Add NPCs, clues & secrets, and loose ends. Keep the details you will actually use: a motivation, a useful piece of information, a discovery, or an unanswered question.
- Switch to Run session for a compact outline and the selected scene. Mark scenes played, reveal clues, and resolve loose ends as the party acts. Next and Previous change the selected scene; they do not mark it played automatically.
- Record Notes at the table and a Recap for next time, then Export a backup of all your session plans.
Not sure where to start? Try an example adds an editable adventure outline as a new session and keeps your existing plans. It is an original story prompt, with no prescribed monster statistics or encounter difficulty.
Plan situations, NPCs, and discoveries
A useful scene card describes what is happening and what might change. It does not need to predict the characters’ exact solution. Prepare a few possible consequences, then adjust them when the players do something unexpected. Scene estimates help you see how much material you have; they are not timers or promises about how long play will take.
For an NPC, a role, a memorable detail, a motivation, and a piece of useful information can be enough. Try the random NPC generator if you need a starting point, or see our guide to running social encounters for ways to turn those notes into choices at the table.
For important discoveries, note more than one place the party might find the clue. Revealed to the party records your progress; it does not send anything to players. The planner contains DM secrets, so review it before sharing an exported file or printed sheet.
Need a situation to build around? Browse the encounter collections. When play moves into combat, a journey, or a structured challenge, open the initiative tracker, travel tracker, or skill challenge tracker. Those tools have separate saves; the planner does not transfer encounter data to them automatically.
Keep several sessions and carry loose ends forward
Use the session selector to switch between plans. New session keeps the current plan and offers to carry its campaign name and all unresolved loose ends into a fresh one. Uncheck that option for a completely blank session. Resolving a thread in the new plan does not change its record in the old session.
Duplicate copies the current outline, opening, NPCs, clues, loose ends, and general notes. The copy starts with a blank date and recap, unplayed scenes, unrevealed clues, and unresolved threads. This is useful for reusing a structure with a different group.
Keep up to 20 sessions in this browser. Each can hold 40 scenes, 30 NPCs, 40 clues, and 40 loose ends, subject to an overall note-size limit. Export a backup before deleting older plans. Deleting the last session leaves a fresh blank plan. Undo can restore recent changes during the current visit, including deleted cards and replaced imports; it is not a substitute for a downloaded backup.
Print a session sheet or export a backup
Print produces a readable version of the selected session, including the opening, every scene, reference cards, general notes, and recap. You can use your browser’s print dialog to save it as a PDF. The printout includes secrets and progress markers. Printing is separate from exporting a restorable backup.
Export downloads a JSON backup containing all sessions, including the currently selected session and its scene selection. Import reads a compatible backup locally and asks before replacing your current plans. Export first if you want to keep a separate copy of the existing library. Importing does not merge libraries.
Frequently asked questions
Is the session prep planner free?
Yes. It runs in your browser with no account, subscription, or software installation. Enable JavaScript to use its interactive features. It works with both 2014 and 2024 D&D because you supply the rules, creatures, and rulings your table uses.
Where are my session plans saved?
Plans save automatically in this browser on this device. The planner does not upload your campaign notes to a server or synchronize them between devices. Ordinary site delivery and analytics still apply as described in the privacy policy.
Clearing browser data, private browsing, storage limits, or switching browsers can remove access to that save. If storage is unavailable, the planner displays Not saved · export a backup. Export anything you want to keep.
Can I use the planner on another device?
Export your plans, transfer the downloaded file yourself, and import it in the other browser. There is no live collaboration. Two open tabs on the same device receive changes through browser storage; a change in another tab replaces the displayed plans and closes open editors, so use one tab for editing.
Does the table view share clues with players?
No. Run session is a DM reference view. It still shows secrets and NPC information. Marking a clue revealed only records that you have shared it yourself during play.
How much can I undo?
Undo keeps up to 20 recent changes during this visit, with fewer snapshots if your plans are very large. Continuous typing in one note field is grouped into one change. Refreshing or closing the page clears undo history; the saved plans and exported backups remain separate.
Can I dismiss the export reminder?
Yes. Close the reminder to hide it in this browser. Export remains available in the toolbar. Dismissing the reminder does not create a backup.