Free DnD session planner: a 30-minute prep template
Most session prep goes wrong in one of two ways: you prep a plot nobody follows, or you prep for hours and still open the session with nothing to say. This planner is a fixed order with a time box for each step, so you stop when the timer ends. It works for any tabletop RPG, because it holds no rules text, stats or monsters.
Five steps and their time boxes
| Step | Minutes | What you write |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Last time and strong start | 5 | Three lines of recap. Then the first scene, on the table in one sentence, so the session starts with something happening. |
| 2. Scenes that might happen | 10 | Five or six, as one line each. They are options, not a script: the players choose which ones happen. |
| 3. Secrets and clues | 5 | Up to ten facts the party could learn, not tied to a place or a person. If a scene falls flat, you can hand over a secret in the next one. |
| 4. Names and references | 5 | The people, places and fights you may need, with the number of the sheet that holds each, so you look them up instead of inventing them. |
| 5. Treasure and look-ups | 5 | What the party could find, and anything you want to check before play. |
That adds up to 30 minutes. The step people skip comes after play: spend two minutes on the session log (what happened, which threads are open, what changed), because next week's step 1 is copied from it.
A filled example
An invented example, so you can see the level of detail. It is deliberately short.
| Part | Entry |
|---|---|
| Last time | The party found the ferryman dead and took his ledger. Maro Tell asked them to bring it to him unread. They have not decided yet. |
| Strong start | At dawn, four bandits are holding the ford and call the party by name. |
| Scenes | The ford; Maro Tell's offer for the ledger; the ledger's last page is torn out; a toll gate in Dunmere; a night visit to the ferryman's house. |
| Secrets and clues | The bandits were paid in Dunmere coin. The torn page named three buyers. The ferryman owed Maro Tell money. A fourth buyer is not named anywhere. |
| Names and references | Maro Tell (No. 2), Dunmere (No. 3), Ilse Varn (No. 4), bandit leader and archer (initiative sheet). |
| Treasure | A purse of Dunmere coin on the bandit leader; a key to the ferryman's cellar. |
Copy-and-paste version
Paste this into any notes app, or write it on index cards, one heading per card:
SESSION __ / DATE __ LAST TIME (3 lines): STRONG START (one sentence): SCENES (5-6, one line each): SECRETS AND CLUES (up to 10): NAMES AND REFERENCES (sheet numbers): TREASURE: AFTER PLAY (2 min): what happened / open threads / what changed
Why a timer helps
The complaint that comes up most often from game masters is prep that grows to fill the week. A time box makes you choose the strongest scenes first. Anything that did not fit goes to the next session's list instead of making this one heavier. If you regularly need more than 30 minutes, the usual cause is that the first step is vague: write a sharper strong start and the scenes follow from it.
Printable version
The same layout is available as a printed page: a free sample PDF with the session prep sheet, a region sheet, an initiative tracker and the first index page, on US Letter and A4, in the DM binder guide. If you keep your prep in a paper binder, the free index maker numbers each sheet as you file it, so you can write sheet numbers in step 4. The complete system, 44 sheets in 8 tabs, is Append Binder ($9).