If your notes say “Mara hid the key” and two characters are called Mara, an identification is missing. Before the next session, add which Mara, where they appeared and who made that claim. The name alone should not decide whom the recap accuses.
The case below is an invented RPG scene for preparing notes. DMGrid documents session notes and a character archive; this guide’s naming convention is manual, rather than a new duplicate-name detector.
Two characters and one sentence mixing their stories
In our scenario, Mara at the landing is a ferryman who saw a boat leave. Mara at the greenhouse is an herbalist who received a box. A witness says “Mara hid the key” without identifying which one. These are pieces of an example, not events from a real campaign.
A recap saying “Mara at the landing hid the key” would resolve uncertainty without evidence inside the fiction. For now, rewrite it as: “A witness claims someone called Mara hid the key; identity unconfirmed.” This retains the lead without assigning it to whichever character first comes to mind.
Choose a stable label you can write consistently
Pick a short convention for your own notes: Mara — landing and Mara — greenhouse, for example. Their story names do not need to change. Use the same label in the character reference and mentions in your recap.
| Working reference | Prepared fact for the example | Unresolved question |
|---|---|---|
| Mara — landing | Saw a boat leave | Whether he knows anything about the key |
| Mara — greenhouse | Received a box | What the box contained |
| Testimony about “Mara” | The witness used that name | Which person they meant |
These columns are a writing outline, not DMGrid fields. The useful separation is between what you have established as GM, what a character said and what the party knows. Clarifying your private notes does not require revealing private preparation to players.
Use the notes without inventing automatic connections
DMGrid’s facts document sessions with formatted notes and preview, plus an archive for players, characters, items, mechanics and pending tasks. You can use these existing surfaces to retain campaign recaps and references.
Review the text before the session: find ambiguous mentions using your usual reading method, check which character each refers to and leave unresolved material pending. This guide does not claim DMGrid detects duplicate names, merges characters or automatically links these labels.
If players ask “the one at the greenhouse?”, your note should let you answer with the information you actually prepared. If identity remains open in the fiction, it can stay open during play; organizing an archive does not require solving the mystery.
Other tools connect a campaign differently
LegendKeeper presents connected wiki pages and maps with linked places; Kanka advertises that @mentioning a character in a log creates its link. These are specific proposals for connecting references. In our example, “Mara — landing” and “Mara — greenhouse” are a manual convention: writing them does not establish that a link was created. When comparing, decide whether you need to distinguish a name while reading or navigate from a note to a character reference, then check how each product documents that action. Their applications were not tested for this guide and their automation is not attributed to DMGrid. Sources checked on 23 October 2026.
DMGrid is a paid Windows beta with local campaigns and offline core use. Review its current version and purchase/download process; this guide offers neither a free demo nor internet multiplayer. To prepare the next session, begin with one ambiguous recap sentence and clarify its reference before adding more backstory.