In-game documents can be a great addition to your game; they can allow your players to uncover information in an organic way, and they can allow you to reveal information in a way that adds drama and excitement to the story. I've already addressed how to create in-game documents, how to develop narrative through documents, and how to develop a full in-game book. But you don't have to go to these lengths to provide your player characters with the information they need. You can also write notes for the player character which highlight the major points of the document, which creates a more personal sense of what the player character can do with the information. Read on for a guide to creating notes for an in-game book.
Recently in the mystery campaign, Beor borrowed a book from noted mage Polly Bridgerman. The book in question was about natural magic and ways to apply it for healing practices. I faced a choice at this juncture: I could write enough of the book for Beor's player to get a sense of the book and its information, or I could write notes for Beor from the book. I chose notes for a handful of reasons. First, the book itself would have loads of helpful information; Beor wanted a book on natural healing, and the book is entirely about that. I would need to develop almost an entire real book to recreate the sense of its full contents, whereas notes would allow me to highlight the key information in a much more concentrated form. Secondly, Beor's interest in the book was primarly ways to benefit the healing business, which means that as long as I provide information helpful to that goal, Beor and his player get what they want. Finally, part of the impetus for borrowing a book from Bridgerman was to have a physical object to use while scrying her, so my treatment of the book is only part of the equation; since the player has ulterior motives, the actual content of the book is less the focus of the action, and we can provide information in a more limited fashion.
When you're deciding whether to create a full document of simply notes, these are important features to consider. But they're not the only ones. You should also ask yourself whether a player wants to have specific information or big ideas (which relate to full texts and notes, respectively), whether the player character would find specific ideas helpful or not (a magic-phobic character would likely write less about magic than another character might), and whether the information you want to reveal would be best served by a shorter or longer format (big reveals of relevant information should be granted the extra space of a full-text where you can rather than hiding it in notes). But you might also just prefer the notes method of document creation, and that's okay too; work with what suits you best.
Now it's time to dive into writing the notes. I personally like to start with the most basic information: the title of the book being annotated and the author's name. These give us a good starting place that lets us work from the central details outward. In this case, it's a book about natural healing and ways to do it. For such a clinical text, I thought a descriptive title with little ambiguity would be good: I decided on "Natural Healing and Its Applications." This title is direct and to-the-point--it clearly indicates that it is about natural healing and how to use these techniques. For the author's name, I always start with a race; I'm partial to gnomes and their ingenuity, and a gnome might as well be the studious investigator of this corner of magic and apothecary. So I gave them a gnomish name: Norrim Fastbiter. I also decide at this point what the personality of the author is like--how do they view the subject? How do they write about it? I like the idea of Fastbiter being studious and responsible as an author, but very exciteable about the subject. So Fastbiter is someone who clearly has passion for the subject, but also who gets carried away with themself at times. So in the notes, we'll have Beor acknowledge that Fastbiter has written in these ways.
Where with full documents, you need to present the big picture with many supporting details, notes only require you to indicate the big picture and provide only minor details where very important. So when we present details about the document's topic, we strive for important ideas only--the kind of things that a player character would find worth copying down. As you write about a vital idea (one of the player character's bullet points), think about what comes next. My first few points in the notes I've copied below is that natural magic can be more reliable because it does not involve the gods, whos roles in healing magic can be troublesome. I offer a variety of expressions of this idea: four bullet points in a row point to the specific ways that divine and natural magic are different. Likewise, the mid- to end-of-list bullet points are specific recipes and spells, which I reasoned would be located together in the book, towards the end.
But this isn't the only concern to take into consideration. We also need to consider what the personality of the player character is. After all, you're taking the player character into your hands, speaking for them, thinking for them, and handing them back to the player to deal with. It's a big responsibility to take another person's character into your hands, so take it seriously. In this case, Beor is a pretty solemn guy. He's interested in this book specifically to learn how to succeed in the healing business. He is himself a natural healer, so his interest in the book is more academic than practical in a sense; even though he's looking for solutions to the business problems, he's already a natural healer, so the information he learns would be conceptual rather than based on specific actions. This all tells me two important things about Beor's notes: they should take the subject seriously, and they should focus on information Beor wouldn't already have. This is why the bullet points are mostly selling points for natural healing (all the drawbacks of divine healing are outlined in the first four bullet points) and a collection of potions and spells that can be used in the business (the majority of the rest of the bullet points). Beor's final note (that this book has a sequel which could be useful) is something that the book it comes from would hardly seem special--it's just an advertisement for another book. But because it contains additional spells and natural magic information, it may be helpful anyway. So I included this final note to give Beor's player the ability to further his research should he so choose.
Let's take a look at the final product:
Natural Healing and Its Applications
By Norrim Fastbiter
Fastbiter argues that natural magic is related to divine magic in that it pulls its source of energy from a powerful existing force, but natural magic can be more reliable because the wills of the gods are not a factor.
Healing performed by natural magic supplements the body’s natural ability to heal, whereas divine healing treats the body with foreign energy from the god.
There are reports from healers of more obscure gods such as Kord (god of strength) or even Nerull (god of death) can sometimes backfire, causing the healed party to take damage instead. Apparently, the god’s opinion of the healed party factors into the equation. Natural magic has no such associated drawback.
Unlike divine magic, which requires a bond between the caster and their god, natural magic can be learned by anyone with enough dedication. Fastbiter provides examples of isolated communities developing natural magic as a way to deal with everyday health issues, meaning that natural magic is generally more practically-minded than divine magic.
Fastbiter explains a lengthy anecdote in which he claims to have learned an anti-venom spell from a willow tree that he spoke to magically. He says that plants which have survived for generations of humanoids often have significant information if the person is willing to work for it.
Healing Potion Recipe #1: two sprigs rosemary, a handful of tall grass, a salamander tail, and a dash of clean spring water. This potion, when ground and mixed, creates a pale grey liquid which will mobilize the body’s healing mechanisms at extraordinary speed. Fastbiter notes that the sensation of healing can be unpleasant, but that the potion works wonderfully.
Healing Potion Recipe #2: one toad’s eye, three raven feathers, a cup of fresh milk (any animal), and a patch of moss. This potion is mixed and left to brew for two days. The end result is a bright green paste. When applied as a salve to the areas that need healing, the potion quickly soaks in and will relieve all diseases tested in Fastbiter’s research. It also creates a numbing sensation in the healed party’s face, and it can restrict clear communication for some patients.
Healing Spell: Bone Mending. While traditional healing spells will repair and set broken bones, the process is painful and the result is a more fragile bone than before the healing. With Bone Mending, the patient’s bones are repaired and strengthened to a greater state than before the break. Additionally, there is little pain, as the spell creates a sense of euphoria in the patient that lasts until most of the pain from the break has resided.
Fastbiter closes the book by promoting his next book, Natural Magic in History, which he describes as a chronicle of natural magic users and the development of important spells throughout time. It may be a good resource for further natural healing spells should Bridgerman also have the second book.
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