Today is my birthday (yay!), so here's a little post about my notebooks!
Earlier today, YouTube recommended me a video from a known OSR youtuber that I shall not name due to their fairly recent controversies. Even though I don't watch their videos anymore, this one immediately caught my attention, as I recognized the product in the thumbnail as a Leuchtturm1917 notebook. As a lover of Leuchtturm1917 notebooks, temptation got the better of me (I am sorry), and I clicked play. It was a review of a format I don't use, the A4+, and the stuff they said was enough to say it's a cool product, but it was probably their first experience with the brand and left out things I believe are also pretty cool. As a long time consumer that uses these notebooks for ttrpg (and everyday) stuff, allow me to provide a deeper insight on why these things are cool and how I use mine and why you should get your hands on a Leuchtturm1917 notebook if you can.
FIRST, THE BASICS.
Leuchtturm1917 notebooks come in many different sizes, but they mostly have the same features:
- An elastic ribbon to help keep them closed.
- The cover is pretty sturdy, the edges might wear off a bit over time but they can take quite a beating.
- They have text written in german, english and french.
- The very first page has space for a title or a doodle, and a "If found, return to sender" section where you can write your info or whatever.
- Two pages with a blank index, where you can write your sections as you write them.
- Pages can be blank or feature squares, lines or dots. Dots are cool for drawing dungeons, and are the main attractive of getting these for ttrpg stuff. Note that the dots are squared, not isometric.
- Every page is numbered, which is cool to fill the index easily.
- Every notebook, no matter what size, has two ribbons of different color, which helps separate the contents.
- They also include a pocket at the back, same size as the pages, so you can put notes, papers and whatnot there. Sometimes the fit is a bit tight for things the same size as the page, but even then, it fits.
- Finally, they come with labeling stickers for the front page and the spine, which is extremely nice if you want to register the dates you started and finished the notebook.
Aside from these main features, a few of the pages at the back are punched, so you can rip them off if you want to. It is almost imperceivable too, so it's very easy to miss. It's also not a lot of pages, maybe 4 or 5. You won't notice if you don't look for it.
Overall, this is a notebook with a ton of neat features included in its design, and for a fairly standard price: normal A5 notebooks are around $25/20€ on Amazon, and A6 ones are around $20/15€. A bit pricier in the US than in Europe, but I believe they are worth every penny.
USING THEM FOR TTRPGS.
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| My dungeon journal. It says "Dungeon Master" in spanish. The Lich and slime stickers are from Rou Rodas, half of the Eternalverse Games team, whose dice you should check out! The dice sticker came with my Nimona edition, a comic you should also check out. |
So, why are these notebooks so good? And why are they so good specifically for ttrpg stuff?
Well, for one I've got like five of these things: I have two A5 notebooks, one for dungeons and the other for ideas and stuff, and three A6 notebooks I have been using as bullet journals/planners since 2018. I always carry one of these with me, and they are great to write stuff down quickly and keep track of where the next page is thanks to the ribbons.
But returning to the ttrpg stuff, the main thing I use my dungeon journal for is... well, drawing dungeons. There are 250 pages on this thing, you can draw A LOT of dungeons on it. And the A5 size is easy to use and carry around: most ttrpg books are A4 size, and even if you're like me and would prefer ttrpg zines, these are mostly A5 size, so the notebook fits perfectly in whatever bag I'm carrying the ttrpg stuff. This lets me arrive at the session, take the journal out and immediately open it on that game's dungeon or map to have it by my side during play.
The back pocket is also extremely useful if you're bringing props. I've used it to hold skill cards, small handouts like notes and papers and even safety tools like X cards and (folded) lines and veils charts.
Finally, a small trick I came up with that has worked like a charm and has been a blast to use: If you draw a 1-inch grid on the last pages, you can make yourself a pocket battlemap you can pop out when the situation needs it. Want to use it while consulting the dungeon map you have also drawn in the notebook? You can rip the last pages and have them separated! Trust me, if you place them back after the session and close the notebook, they won't fall. I haven't done that specifically, but I always carry like 3 pamphlet games ready to use inside the notebook and the biggest problem I've had is that the top, where the notebook doesn't cover, is a bit folded, nothing that renders the pamphlets unusable.
One final trick for the battlemap: you obviously can't draw stuff with an erasable marker over the paper and then erase it, which you can do with most other battlemaps. My solution for this has been buying an A4-sized sheet of transparent plastic, cut it in half and place it over the pages with the grid. It works perfectly, and you know what the best part is? You can store those two plastic sheets in the back pocket! The fit, as I said before, is a bit tight and I have to make sure to place the sheets right at the bottom to close the notebook, but it can be done.
My favourite use for my dungeon journal is to bring it to cons: I get one of my pamphlet games, draw a map for the session, gather my dice (I also use dice as minis, I might write a post about this in the future) and a marker and I am ready to play a session anywhere and anytime. It's also useful for my regular games, of course, but I feel conventions and other "guerrilla play" situations allow the notebook to release its full potential.
So there you have it: Leuchtturm1917 notebooks are super complete for a notebook, and they work amazingly for my ttrpg games. If you want a notebook that can easily fit most (if not all) of your ttrpg needs, this is a solid choice.
