A gaming folder (Part 2) - The folder itself

When I first started using folders and binders to store campaign notes for my games, there were actually a few people I knew who did it and there was a hot debate about what the best folders were for the purpose. Then again there was also hot debate about what constituted a good games system and what might be possible as the ultimate game system for any type of tabletop roleplaying game. Since then, the debate on the gaming front has generally shifted from "is there are ultimate game system that covers everything?" to "how can we optimise the gaming experience for a specific type of genre or story?". Instead of trying to get something that does everything reasonably well, let's cut away the parts that don't really serve a beneficial purpose and just focus on what we need for a given story at the time. I don't know that the folder debate has moved any further, but the same ideas can be probably be applied to that argument too.

Like the lexicon of terminology in TTRPGs, different regions across the world have different names for their stationary products. I'm going to be using the Aussie terminology, and to clarify things, I'll try to add a picture for each of the items I'm critiquing in this post.

2, 3, and 4 Ring Binders

 

I always found 2 rings binders a bit flimsy, they didn't hold the assortment of stuff that might go into them very well. Paperwork often fell out. 

 

4 ring binders were far better,  but were a bit of overkill.

 

Leaving 3 ring binders as a happy medium... the down side is that 3-ring binders have become less common over the years. The last time I visited a major stationary store, I had to make a special order on a 3-ring binder... they just didn't have any in stock despite carrying a wide assortment of colours and binder thicknesses for both the 2 and 4 ring range.

Regardless of the specific binder you use, you can out an assortment of things into them that make running a game easier. You can add new things in, you can rearrange the components in the binder, and you can conveniently take things out at the end. 

 

You can directly insert paper that has holes punch in the side. This paper might be blank (for drawing maps on), lined (for writing notes), you might print something out on an inkjet or laser and punch holes in the side to insert it into your binder. It doesn't matter. It's a quick and convenient way to add things in.

 

If you don't want to punch holes in the paperwork that you're giving to your players as a prop, or otherwise prefer pristine unpunched sheets, you can buy sheet protectors that can be used to store your papers. This is typically how I'd store characters sheets (but more about that later in the series).

   

If you have small things to store as a part of the campaign, such as index cards describing equipment, NPCs, or other low detail elements that might need to be handed out on the fly, the kinds of 6-up or 9-up card protector sheets that are commonly associated with collectable card games are really useful too. 

Otherwise I like making sure there's a couple of zipper sleeves to go into the binder to ensure there's some pens, pencils, erasers, maybe even room for some dice that are quickly available as needed.

 

You can also get rulers which could be modified with marking for range in specific games, or just as a method to rule straight lines. There are plenty of other bit of stationary that you could add to a binder.

If you're that sort of GM, you can feasibly stand up a binder and use it as a screen to roll dice behind, or write notes. I don't run games that way, but I've seen plenty of people do so in the past.

Display Books 

A display book is basically a premade and sealed collection of sheet protectors in a sturdy cover.  

They basically have the functionality of sheet protectors and are great for storing play aides and character sheets. 

If I'm going to use these, I often have a display book for each player, and given them the necessary information they need for their character in the game. It works a bit better than trying to put all of a character information into a single sheet protector in the campaign binder, But it also means a more rigid and regimented structure that is harder to manipulate on the fly. I guess it all depends on your style of play as to which will work better for you. I've successfully used both.

Exercise and Composition Books

Whether saddle stitched (stapled), spiral bound, or perfect bound... whether they have blank, lined, or gridded pages... I've often used these types of books to outline ideas, work visually through problems I've been facing, and to write the results and details of the aftermath. They don't really get used during the activity of play, only in the prep leading up to the activity experience and as an archive after the events. The fixed pages work well for the recounting of a linear story after the events, but not for the infinite variation that might send the story in unexpected directions as a part of play. Perhaps if you ran a really railroaded story (and I used to do this 30-odd years ago, back in high school and early uni days), it might still work for you. 

Journals

If I'm really getting involved in a story, I might rewrite the events of the narrative in a proper journal. I've only done this a couple of times over the years, but I've been meaning to do it more often. The aim here is to keep a nice record of the events we explored as a group, and maybe have this as an in-game artefact written by a narrator (reliable or otherwise), which could then be given out during a later campaign, if we're doing a "second season" of the story, or if another group are telling their stories in the same setting. With a nice journal, it can be used as a source of inspiration for future sessions, and provide a sense of continuity between multiple storylines. Once something's written into a journal, you could erase it, or scribble it out, and try to make this look like a part of the in-world transformation of the narrator's ideas and the way they've adjusted their narrative.

Digital Notepads and Folders

Sure, you could go digital, but I'm old school, I like the tactile feel of props, dice, pages and pencils. If I was going this way I'd be taking digital photos of the pages, and storing them in a tablet of some kind (iPad, Galaxy, whatever), which could be conveniently carried to game sessions.