Write from what the party actually learned
Your notes say: “The lighthouse keeper hid the key; the boatman suspects the miller.” If the party only found a locked door and heard the boatman, naming the person who hid the key reveals a secret they have not discovered. Before showing a recap, preserve what they observed and attribute the suspicion to its speaker.
DMGrid organizes sessions with formatted notes and preview. The following is a manual preparation method; it does not claim the app detects secrets, writes the recap or distributes it automatically.
Review this fictional session
In the game master’s preparation, the lighthouse keeper has the key. During play, the characters see a locked door and hear the boatman say the miller was there. Nobody searched the lighthouse keeper’s home. Separate the material as follows:
| Session material | Possible wording for the party |
|---|---|
| They saw the locked door | “You found a locked warehouse door.” |
| They heard the boatman say the miller had been there | “The boatman said the miller had been there.” |
| The game master knows where the key is | Keep this in the game-master notes, outside this recap. |
“The miller locked the warehouse” would be a new conclusion, not a shorter account of what they heard. “The lighthouse keeper has the key” would reveal private preparation. Neither is needed to remind the party what they can investigate.
Prepare three sentences leaving the decision open
A working version is: “You found the warehouse locked. The boatman said the miller had been there. You had not decided whom to ask about the key.” These sentences retain a scene, a statement and a pending decision. They do not direct the party to a location or turn the statement into fact.
Before showing it, check each name and verb against your record of play. If you cannot remember whether the party heard a clue, ask the table or retain the uncertainty; do not add it simply because it appeared in your preparation. Check any map or screen you intend to show separately: a clean recap does not establish that another window reveals nothing.
Retain preparation and the version you will show
Keep your complete notes and prepare the player-facing text separately using the means agreed with your table. Do not assume permissions, export or synchronization you have not checked. DMGrid is a Windows beta for offline campaigns; its current facts and boundaries describe notes, maps, archive and Player View without promising internet multiplayer.
Foundry’s journal documentation and Shard’s adventuring guide offer other campaign workflows to investigate. This proposal addresses editing the recap before choosing how to show it. See DMGrid’s site for current beta terms.