Last week Game Rant took a hands-on look at the Field Notes 5e Game Master journal and this week the Field Notes 5e Character Journal is on the gaming table. The Dungeons and Dragons player character themed notebook is designed to offer players a simple way to organize everything that matters for one of their DnD characters. Unlike the GM notebook that offers sections for documenting the whole world, its themes, and its many twists and turns; this notebook is all about seeing things from one player's perspective as they level up and become a hero of The Forgotten Realms or whichever corner of the multiverse they find themselves in.
Most Dungeons and Dragons tables, whether they are digital or analog, feature a few common items. Dice, snacks, maps, and players scribbling away in notebooks are all a common sight in the TTPRG scene. With campaigns dragging on for years in many cases and players sometimes going weeks or months without sitting down for a session, it's pretty important to keep at least some kind of notes to track important plot points, NPC details, relationships, and treasure. A typical DnD character sheet has some space for those sorts of things, but that runs out incredibly quickly for most players. Blank notebooks can usually get the job done fine for most players, but the addition of an organized table of contents and designated sections makes finding key pieces of information incredibly easy for players who follow the system.
Injecting some painless organization into a player notebook is what the Field Notes 5e Character Journal is all about. The 64-page notebook is jam-packed with sections to cover everything from a character's basic information, personality traits, and spell slots all the way to downtime activities, allies and hirelings, and meta notes and theories. Although the Game Master journal is great, it was easy to see how a detailed GM could eventually end up needing many copies of the book. The player journal on the other hand actually feels like a very appropriate size. Most players aren't going to be writing novels as they level up and work through the campaign and the space offered for notes about each level and each particular section of the little book feel like they could easily last through a typical campaign.
From an aesthetic and functionality perspective, it's hard to deny the Field Notes appeal. The handy 4-3/4" x 7-1/2" journals are printed on high quality paper and their size makes them perfect both for traveling and for not eating up a lot of space on a gaming table. The quality of the printing is obvious as soon as the journal is opened and the little details really go a long way to making it look and feel like a high quality addition to any gaming collection. That style and quality combined with the organization method it brings along help make the Character Journal a perfect gift idea for any table top gamer.
Some other noteworthy features of the gaming journal include very easy to find and read explanations of some frequent rules question. In addition to a quick explanation of the stages of exhaustion and and the different area of effects shapes, the book also breaks down steps of combat, the alignment table, and ability scores and modifiers. Players with DMs who stick to strict map rules variations may also be happy to find a small ruler printed along the edge of the back cover.
To break it down into further detail, here's a full list of each section includes in the handy journal...
"Field Notes Character Journals are specifically designed to help you track your D&D character’s statistics, spells, weapons, treasure, history, and more. The 64 pages have room for all of the data normally found on a character sheet, and more, including plenty of space to document your adventure level by level."
Each book in the 2-Pack is designed to track one character. Inside, you’ll find empty charts, tables, and spaces for logging the following character information:
Character Elements
Race Details / Ancestry Details
Personality Traits / Bonds / Ideals / Flaws
Background / Backstory
Class / Subclass / Class Table /
Character Stats
Attacks / Spellcasting / Languages / Ammunition
Spellcasting Table / Favorite and Frequent Spells
Proficiencies and Skills
Equipment / Money / Treasures
Downtime and Leisure Activity Tracking
Character Level Notes
Allies / Hirelings / Sidekicks
Faction Details
Campaign Quotes and Notes
Behind-the-Scenes / Thoughts / Theories
Session Log
Unlike the Game Master Journal which felt like it could easily be ported for use in other tabletop RPG systems, the Character Journal may be just a little too tied into 5e progression, character sheets, and rules for many of the sections to make sense in games outside of the current D&D system. That said, this certainly isn't a flaw of the notebook, which is clearly labeled as a 5e tool. It's just something to keep in mind for RPG fans who take a liking to the notebook and plan to get extras for other upcoming gaming sessions.
Overall, the 5e Character Journal is an easy game product to recommend for players who love some organization, but don't want to take the time to Bullet Journal their own notebook with this level of details. The product is obviously totally option and players can still get by with a regular blank notebook (or without taking notes at all if that is their style), but this is a fantastic tool for gamers who want a neat system and a handy record of a particular character's adventures from start to finish. The $16.95 price tag for a two-pack of journals makes the product a bit cheaper than the average Dungeons and Dragons book (and many dice sets), so it likely won't break the bank for many players either in comparison to the rest of the hobby.
The new Field Notes 5e Gaming Journals are available now.