Document Creation Guidelines

In an ancient post, I addressed something I do for my players when they show interest: creating documents based on where they are in the story. I gave a short explanation of why these documents are interesting and meaningful additions to the story, highlighting the ways that a document creates a realistic puzzle and interactive way to progress the players. Today, I'm going to give pointers on how to create such documents to whatever extent you want them as a GM. I think you'll be surprised by how easy it is to create something that adds a lot of life to your sessions. 

First, let's address when it's appropriate to create documents in this way. When you want your players to find a specific piece of information and you want it to be unambiguous, do not use custom documents. In that case, present them with the information directly. If the players read a book in order to learn the weaknesses of an enemy, for instance, simply provide the information from the book as though it's a summary. Document creation should be used when you're looking to give the players lots of potentially useful information that they can use in varied ways. A situation that calls for this might be if the players do research on a specific enemy--I'm imagining a fabled spellcaster who has been around for a while. Then, you can write a document about the spellcaster which provides lots of information about them and allow your players to craft a strategy based on what they've read. Understanding where this line lies is less complicated than you think: just ask yourself whether this is supposed to be a chokepoint or a space where players can expand the game. 

Once you know that you want to drop a document into the game, it's time to decide what you'll communicate to your players. Here's where you place your intended throughline for the players. If you want them to solve the puzzle your way, design a few ways for them to do so with your writing. For example, let's say the players are reading about a particular spell that could allow them to reverse time by one day. You want them to use the spell carefully and enact it at a particular moment to get the most out of it. But we can't force our players to do it exactly as we expect, so we prepare different bits of information that lead to the same conclusion. "The spell moves the users back exactly 24 hours from the time of casting, allowing the users to reshape the timeline as they see fit." This gives the players the information they need. But we want to highlight it to improve the odds the players will act on it. So we could also throw in "Users of the spell should be aware of what has happened in the elapsed time so they can accurately use the spell." And we want them to start at a particular moment, so we include, "It is wisest to use the spell at a specific time, like high noon or sunset, so the users will know when the effects of the spell will end." So now we've provided practical information on casting the spell (that a crafty author would include after experimenting with the spell--we're not characterizing the author in addition to providing information). But we need extra information, since no one would write a book on only three sentences' worth of information. 

So we lay a few additional details in there to give the players options. This is where characterizing the author is helpful. Knowing what we know about the author, what else would they say about this spell? We know the author is practical and wants to help their reader, and we also know that the author is skilled enough to fool around with such powerful magic and live to tell the tale. That's enough to go on for now. So the author is also likely to include information about how the spell actually functions. They seem academic enough, so let's give some academic details. "The spell wipes clean the memories of everyone but the spell users, so no one you encounter will recall the first time you experienced this day." We also want to include information about what happens if the spell goes wrong. "If you accidentally affect your surroundings in a way you didn't intend, you cannot cast the spell again for the same duration. In fact, the spell can only be used once per week, so be careful of your actions once the spell begins." These details set limits on the power of the players, but they lack the kind of tone that a GM putting limits on a power has; it's not the GM but the book which is placing limits, and the players are more likely to accept this. 

Now we have some details but still want enough to give the players options. Let's add something about how the spell has been used before. "It is said that Grigolf the Red cast this spell on the day of his daughter's wedding so that he could live the joyful day again." If you're so inclined, you can run with this detail and add whole paragraphs telling the tale of Grigolf the Red; how he lived the day almost exactly the same as the first time, or how he bragged of the use of the spell on his deathbed. Or you can switch to another former user: "When Broomhilda Throatstomper used this spell to win a battle she had been surprised by, the entire kingdom of Ruthnik fell." Now we're getting at the power that resides in this spell. These details may not inspire your party to act as the historical figures did, but they create a broader world for them to be a part of. 

Let's finish this source off with some details that might inspire the party. "It is said that hurting someone in the re-lived day means the victim will be twice as suspicious of whomever hurt them." Now we have a gameplay quirk that affects how the players interact with the world. It will potentially affect the strategy of the players, and it characterizes the spell. Let's do one more for good measure. "The spell creates heat and moisture in the area where it was cast. Anyone who remains in the area of the spell's casting for more than five minutes will experience flashbacks of the day in its previous form." Now we have another strategic issue to watch for; the players may need to guard the area they cast the spell in, or at least cast it in a strategic place. These details, by limiting how the spell functions, creates obstacles for the casting of it, which in turn enriches the players' approach to using it. 

So now we have a bit of information about the spell. The task now is turning it into a document. The first question is what kind of document would be home to the information we've created. There are easy ways to do this; we could have the author be writing their life story and collected observations on high level magic. We could also have the author be writing an encyclopedia of high level magic. For this particular case, I'm inclined to take it further: this book will be an anthology of notes on specific high level spells, each author describing their magical specialty. This will be important because it affects the shape of the document. 

A word processor is good enough for tasks like formatting our document, but we can add some character via Photoshop. It's not as scary as it sounds. As long as you can resize a picture and manipulate text, you're set. Do a search for "old paper," "parchment," or any other term that will bring up aged leaves for writing. Then you'll need to pick a font. I highly recommend free font sites like DaFont and 1001 Free Fonts--if you want your document to be typewritten like early books, there are dozens of appropriate fonts, and if you want it to look like handwriting, there are even more script options available. I'm imagining that this anthology is not a major release, so each author would have handwritten their entries before magically duplicating them. In that case, we need a handwriting font; I'm using Authentic Signature since it's clear and legible but still full of personality. 

So now, in Photoshop, we place all of these elements: the background, the typeface, and what we've written. It looks like this: 

Our rough draft.

Now for some tidying up: let's edit a bit more so that our information flows like an author would actually write. I'm also adding a title and a page number:

Our polished draft.

And there we have our document. It took very little effort, and it places our characters into a living, breathing world that invites them to improvise based on information which appears in that world. If we were so inclined, we could add even more decorative touches. When I write documents that exceed one page, I use a layout with two pages; the first one is the very end of the previous chapter/entry, and the second is the first page of the article the players are meant to read. This small touch makes it seem like the book is bigger and more complex than a single entry. I have also added title pages, tables of contents, and other features which suggest to the players that they're handling a real book with a broader scope than their adventures. 

You can complicate this method and create more detailed documents. Years ago when I was DMing one of the first D&D podcasts of all time, I created a research specialist character who would look into things for the players and then return with processed information. Here's a look at how his work was documented: 

Page one of the document dump (out of eight total). 

Page two of the document dump. 

As you can see, it's possible to place documents inside a larger document. When players receive these, they begin to pore over the information, looking for clues as to how to proceed. In essence, they guide the players. And you'll notice that they do so without your having to pressure players to do things. The documents seem more unimpeachable than simple GM direction, so you can use documents to guide the story without tipping your hand. 

These documents are relatively simple to create and they enrich gameplay quite a lot. Not every group of players will respond to documents the same way--some regard them as homework they don't want to engage with. But many players increase their engagement as they read, so use at your discretion. 

Back to the homepage (where you can find everything!)