Preserve what happened and prepare what remains open
Before returning to a campaign, separate an established event, an unanswered question and an opportunity to revisit it. A recap tells the previous session; an open thread preserves a choice the party can still make. Every loose end need not become a compulsory quest.
DMGrid includes sessions with formatted notes and preview, plus an archive for players, characters, items, mechanics and pending tasks. The following is original GM preparation, not app-generated content or an automatic reminder system.
A harbour and three unfinished matters
In this fictional campaign, the party spent a night in Saltwater Harbour. You recorded three scenes. Give each a different purpose:
| Established event | Open question | Possible opportunity |
|---|---|---|
| They left a compass at Eda’s workshop. | Will they return to collect it? | Passing the quay where the workshop stands. |
| They promised to hear a boatman out. | Will they keep that promise? | Meeting him in the square, if they go there. |
| They saw light inside a locked warehouse. | What would they like to investigate? | Asking someone or approaching the building. |
No row establishes that the compass is repaired, the boatman waits forever or the warehouse contains a fight. If you need to establish one of those facts as GM, record it separately as your preparation, rather than something the characters already know.
Prepare a note you can consult during play
Keep the short recap in your session notes. For each pending task, use a recognizable sentence such as “Compass left at Eda’s workshop; collecting it remains undecided.” This is suggested note wording, not a DMGrid field name.
Before play, choose which matter could naturally appear in the scene you prepared. Leave the others available without resolving them for the players. If they leave town, retain the open thread rather than teleporting the boatman onto the road to force his conversation.
Close with a new event, not an intention
“We will visit the workshop later” does not mean the compass has been collected. Once the scene happens, update your wording with what actually occurred. If the group changes its mind, preserve that change instead of marking an outcome that never happened.
DMGrid is a Windows beta for local offline campaigns. Its current scope and purchase terms appear in the official information. These notes do not imply scheduled alerts, automatic NPC continuity or AI decisions. Take the three threads into your next preparation and decide what your party needs to make its own choice.