Let's make a D&D character journal!

[@GinnyDi]

Make gorgeous maps with today’s sponsor, DGN FOG! dungeonfog.com/ginnydi Use code GINNYDI to take 10% off your premium membership.

[@itzru._]

is there like an online game for D&D? that doesnt involve me having to talk atleast lol

[@peachedpocky]

@@itzru._idk if you ever got a response to this, but dungeons and dragons online does Infact exist. Or baulders gate 3 is an easier option

[@kooolainebulger8117]

i put my spellbook into a composition notebook

[@notoriouswhitemoth]

You turned a character sheet into a scrapbook. That's amazing.

[@saiynoq6745]

Yes !!! I thought I was a weirdo for doing this my self I grow up with my sisters scrap booking an then one day I saw all my stuff laid out next to my sisters school and friends pictures haha part of the fun of playing dnd is making the book for my characters an if they are casters I enjoy makings magic books as well

[@theactorsdungeon3898]

​@@saiynoq6745 great idea! All of mine are still sitting in a binder. But I like looking back on them now & then.

[@forgesoulfire1320]

Totally agree, I'm setting out now to do the same for like at least five different now ancient characters, just for the memory lane reference in nostalgic recollection later on.

[@just_kos99]

I do junk journaling and I'm a DM, and yet it never occurred to me to make a D&D junk journal. Thanks so much for this!

[@jennac.3173]

Oh, I never thought about that, too! Thanks for mentioning it xD

[@RainbowAra]

"He'd cry more about Penelope dying then I would" I feel that! I recently accidentally killed one of my player's character that she been playing for almost 2 years and the whole table was devastated except her 😂 She was just like "okay, can I look behind your DM screen now that I'm dead? :D"

[@Kalani_Saiko]

lmao girl has priorities

[@KnightsRealm98]

Mentioning the Dragonology Handbook unlocked a core memory. Good times, good times.

[@historicalaccuracy15]

Same here, I also had Wizardology, Piratology, and Egyptology, as well as a similar book themed around wand makers. Perfect books for the little nerdy kiddos out there, I think they're even still in print too

[@sarahb.7175]

Dude, my cousin had that book and I loved it! I still remember the riddle section most, and even though I wasn't super into dragons as a kid, I read it so much.

[@PurpleSidewalk1]

Same!

[@carolinelabbott2451]

I was not able to get the Pirateology or Egptology book. 😭 Plus I don't think my poor bent bookcase can hold anymore large books. 😢 I do have Dragonology and the Wizard one. I also have a mini dragon book journal by the same folks.

[@TheShapeshifter100]

bloody hell, I think I still have the field guide version

[@sarahb.7175]

Ginny, I hope it makes you and Francis happy to know I created a character based on Francis because the irony of a map maker afraid to leave the house was too funny! Her name is Waywocket Coalpalm Doublelock Quillsharpener and she's a druid (ironic, yes), and she has a full backstory now!

[@Victoriomantic]

My gnome druid Fauna Brightburrow has a pony called Waywocket!

[@tabbybatgaming]

I’m so glad you did another character journal video cuz I’ve rewatched the other one so many times! Absolute journal goals.

[@Ranyaella_]

Ginny: Did anyone else have the Dragonology book as a kid? Me: Yes... as a kid...

[@pendragongameart]

I HAD THE DRAGONOLOGY BOOK I LOVED IT SO MUCH

[@Matti2ooo8]

I had it too. I wonder if it's another case of a generational nostalgia, but I've seen it pop up in several videos made by people around my age recently

[@artistryiscomingback]

I met you at PAX Unplugged a couple months ago, and had you sign my journal (which uses the same lavender binder). You mentioned this video being in the works and I've been looking out for it since then!! Penelope deserves the world and I'm so excited to see the end result 🎉

[@GinnyDi]

Oh my gosh, I remember that!! This video took a crazy long time to finish 😂 I was looking at the time stamps on the first few video clips with astonishment haha

[@AMoniqueOcampo]

Small Rage Noises is a perpetual mood! I love the work you're putting into your D&D characters!

[@nordicson2835]

Thank you for this , l took my daughters to Staples ,they bough a ton of stuff they wanted, and as it is supposed to rain the next 4 days l know they will be creatively productive. Your abilities are loved and adored.

[@johnmobley9369]

Personally I’ve always imagined if I ever got to play that id have to keep fun reminders like cards and add visuals just to encapsulate my charcters. Make it fun. It’s like a scrapbook/journal. You can gamify taking notes, having important facts and stats as well as constantly remind yourself about your character and even add things as you go on. You did exactly this and more. Essentially a mood board and character mental & physical map.

[@rickhenderson631]

❤ I wish I had the patience to do this. Now, this is something my oldest daughter would love to do. 😊

[@emilypossom]

As a DM, I'm watching this and wishing I wasn't the DM for my group so I can have a character journal 😭

[@du5tfing3r]

YOURE THE DM MAKE A DMS BOOK MY BOYS THAYS DM COOLER

[@gwendolynrobinson3900]

YOU'RE THE GOD OF YOUR WORLD, MAKE A JOURNAL ABOUT YOUR WORLD AND NPCs AND THE LORE AND YOUR PLAYER'S COOL ADVENTURES 🥺🩷

[@emilypossom]

​@@du5tfing3r I'm absolutely doing that

[@emilypossom]

​@@gwendolynrobinson3900XD

[@ghostiegangart]

omg the first journal video is one of my favorites of yours! it was such a big inspiration in starting my own journal, and now that i’m starting to run out of room in that one i’m excited to watch this one as i work on volume 2 :D

[@barswa]

That Journal looks so good!

[@GinnyDi]

Thank you! 🥰

[@toast_69sus]

Yass 😭. I'm defo doing this for my dragon born Inferno lol ❤

[@fabidbastos]

I have zero knowledge about D&D but your video was recommended by the algorithm and I gave it a try - long story short, I'm AMAZED. The journal is absolutely beautiful and it actually gave me ideas on how to work my own. Thank you for sharing it, it looks super cute and organized ✨✨

[@00blaat00]

You really inspired me to get creative with my character sheets, too. For instance, I have my Druid written up in a binder on a piece of A4 paper, with their stats lined up such that you can overlay A5 paper: The A5 is for their wild-shapes (Dire Wolf, Giant Spider, ...) with AC, HP and the Strength, Dex and Constitution stats, and on what remains visible of the A4 are Int/Wis/Cha and other immutable stats. Also the entire black binder's cover is completely rendered invisible by all the cute animal stickers I put on there.

[@TheArcadeCrow]

Ok I know this video is like a year old so nobody is reading the comments but until I watched this video I had no idea how much I needed D&D Stickers in my life lmao

[@Arix_Vaize]

I am :)

[@acricketinthelibrary]

I rewatch the video a lot. Finally going to make my own!

[@clairesmith5127]

I’m starting a DND club at the middle school I work at and I think my students would LOVE doing this for their characters!

[@CrispysTavern]

Love the aesthetic of this! At this point I’ve commissioned so much art that I might as well start a comic book Though a fancy character journal is probably a tad more realistic…

[@jetvulcan2020]

may be another cross over or inspiration video.

[@3nertia]

Not only are you an amazing storyteller, cosplayer, *and* roleplayer, but you're also a fantastic designer!

[@aschyronunkwor673]

Even the sponsorship was tailored to the specific kind of weird that I love ahhhh, Im glad I discovered this side of scrapbooking

[@thenerdykrisz]

not me crying about making a character journal. I really want to do this for all my campaigns now! What a great video!

[@megasquidd]

I. Love. This. So creative. It just goes to show how fun and beautiful the creativity aspect of playing and GMing TTRPGs can be. We only play a few hours a month, but the creation process gives me joy for dozens of extra hours in that month.

[@joiehouse7228]

hell yeah girl this is what dnd is all about. CUTE ANALOG CHARACTER SHEETS. also what a dope ass idea for a character i wish them a long and happy life ✌

[@davegreenlaw5654]

The one thing I just *LOVE* the most was the old-school photobooth strip of photos of Penelope!

[@Vinemaple]

Such a wonderful companion to the Alsling video! Even if they don't look this awesome, character journals can be a big help in playing your character efficiently, and being ready for your turn. Here are a few notes for the less aesthetically-talented or -oriented: 2:02 An alternative for a more functional journal would be a navigation diagram, visually clarifying what each section contains. It can still look great, if you come up with some good design... Color-coding might be useful. 2:11 Notice the layout draft in the lower right. Very important if you want to plan your own, personalized layout. Especially for a different TTRPG system! 3:37 Visual cues are important. Using the graphic design style from a familiar character sheet helps you to orient yourself and to quickly find the information you want, in a unique setting like a personalized journal. 8:57 This doesn't have to be letters or diary entries. Any character-design details, in whatever form you'd like them, can be used here. It's important (at most modern tables, at least) to be able to find your way back into your character's mind, even if you don't actively roleplay them!

[@JimmyScribbles]

I love your sponsors section i think they are the most creative.

[@VermisTerrae]

Oh my lord, the word "dragonology" just blew the dust off of the most ancient neural pathway in my brain. What a blast from the past!

[@isimpforanimegirls4918]

I LOVED that Dragonology book, it was my D&D spark.

[@huntressmma1822]

I've never played D&D before but I am a huge fan of RPG's like FF and Skyrim. I love the character creation and the binder to house it all. This was very inspirational maybe I'll give D&D a go!

[@TaniaH-bz4wh]

This is awesome! I am new to DnD and making my 1st character. While I don't have ADHD, I do get anxious and easily overwhelmed in this process but I love organizing things and it is part of my self-care process so I use journaling alot...so I combining two fun things in one!!! Thank you so much for making this video!

[@MandibleBones]

The amount of awesome in this journal inspired me to update both my way-over-the-top character journal for Hal Stormsong and also finally update my BuJo/Scrapbook which I have ignored for a month. This is so damn cool. Kudos, Ginny!

[@Jforbino]

I've really been enjoying building my character journal for my current campaign. It even encouraged me to commission my first character art.

[@jenniisthewriter]

I do character journals for all of my long-term campaigns. It is such a fun way for me to build out a character's asthetic and keep me zoned into the game.

[@ceres090]

I build my binders that same way! I never thought of adding an envelope though. That was a nice touch!

[@kivipaperisakset3999]

Beautiful work. After DMing for stints here and there over the years, I finally now have a group that not only takes notes at all (that's a first already!), but draw beautiful art of things they encounter, jot down funny quotes, all while being the most engaging caring, wonderful people. This video reminded me of them, and I just had to gush.

[@johnnylouro]

Ginny, you're simply amazing. I've never thought of putting that much effort on something like this before, but you make it in a simple yet so aesthetically pleasing way that you emanate bardic inspiration for everyone that watches you. Thank you so much, I really mean it. ❤

[@waffleman368]

OMG that Dragonology book reference made me audibly gasp with recognition. I'm so glad that im not the only one.

[@DrakeHardy]

As someone from Saskatchewan, i am first SUPER impressed she pronounced it right and second agreeing withthe thought of hiding such an annoying word! Lol

[@AncientWolfsbane]

I’m going to do this with all of my characters now, this is so fun and will help me to better present my characters

[@Everythingwillsurelybealright]

I super loved how you put the artist names on screen when their art was there! It made it so much easier to follow up on the ones I liked, thank you for that

[@phobiawitch835]

Actually waiting on most of my supplies to arrive in the mail. Sadly, unless I get an update otherwise, it wont be arriving today like I had hoped when I placed the order, so I wont be able to have the start of a Character Journal for tonight’s dnd session. But when the supplies DOES arrive, I plan to begin putting together one like yours! It’s for a Drow Cleric of Eilistraee I’ve been playing in Icewind Dale (session 3 is tonight, and unless it changes dates, I’ll have to miss session 4, meaning I wont play again till next month, as the game is Bi-Weekly). Been basically watching and rewatching this to see how you (and others) make these beautiful journals, since I’ve never made one before. It’s a beautiful project and I hope to bring my own to life.

[@issiemerry]

I totally get what you said about it being a tribute to a character you care a lot about - it's been over a year since one campaign I played in finished but I still go back to the huge in character diary document I have just for the joy of reconnecting to a character that meant a lot to me; it's nice to have things to remember them by

[@aurodc3564]

I saw this and inmediately fell in love with the idea. I've started (currently almost finishing it) my own Character journal for my rogue/warlock wood-elf and this has been a huge inspiration to do it❤

[@artzpops]

I really admire the amount of effort you put into your costumes. Iv dabbled in it myself..and it's fun..but your levels are up there!

[@Earendilgrey]

This is just the video I needed! I was just getting ready to start making my character journal. This is giving me so many ideas.

[@leeway3739]

On dndbeyond, to get around the rage bonus not adding (and other things like GWM) I add multiple versions of the same weapon to my character sheet and customize them for the added bonus damage or penalties to hit. (Maul, Raging Maul, Great Master Maul, Raging Master Maul, etc.)That way I can roll the one that is correct for that situation and it will still do the calculations for me! Hope that helps others out there who don't like doing the math each time or forgets to add it after ❤

[@bleepgloop]

Just started a new campaign after a 7 year break from DnD so it's start to give my new character some love by making a binder too! 💖

[@_aster_oid]

Ahhhh I do this do! I actually started journaling after you posted your Aisling journal video, and i felt like that would, as you say, be such a lovely tribute to my characters. I actually use bullet journals for them and this has become my absolute comfort hobby, I can spend hours on a single page. Thank you for reminding me where this all started for me, and inspiring me ❤❤

[@ErokowXiyze]

These scrapbook episodes are pretty fun! I'd love to see more, or else a Creator Book for your Sponsor Characters, or make a DM's World Bible.

[@LookMyMoonEyes]

I loooove character journals so much!!! The utility and aesthetics in a single journal, gives me life!

[@herosam93]

Ginny: "did anyone else have that Dragonology book as a kid?" Me: glancing up from the video at my bookshelf that still holds my copy of Dragonology ... amoung other childhood favourites

[@hailiiz]

It was so cool to watch you use the Penelope commission for this!! I am so honoured -- ALSO YES!! Dragonology and there were other mythical creature ones too! My parents had them all, too good!

[@therubyminecart5291]

Wow this was so cool to watch, I feel inspired right now to give my dnd character a diary she keeps secret from her party members

[@jaebedo1599]

THE DRAGONOLOGY BOOK I gasped as i remembered that thing. You threw me in a loop of enthusiasm and memories and now i want every d&d thing i make to be this book.

[@Aileil]

Right?! My paladin oath may have just had a line added: "*Beauty*. Treasure, defend, and share that which is fair, but be not deceived by false faces". Or, in less-paladin-y speak: "Aw, that's so pretty, I want to be part of something that neat".

[@ZSieber]

I've rewatched your other video like a thousand times, so I'm so happy you came out with another! Amazing.

[@dahobdahob]

Man, I love this. I'm old school and always play off paper. I tend to use form fillable PDFs, and I have a habit of keeping a copy of the character at every level so I can go back and see how they grew over time. When I get to play again, I'm totally doing something like this. A /do/ buy stickers to give to my players. They are all teachers so they find it amusing.

[@foldionepapyrus3441]

Always worth keeping copies at each level, or even each session - stuff changes, sometimes rapidly, and occasionally you may want to for plot or meta reasons undo that multi class dip into cleric from 4 levels ago as not fitting the current character.

[@JKevinCarrier]

I've never gone quite this far, but I do like to pull apart and reorganize my character sheets so important things are easier to find. And I've found that just the act of copying things over helps me learn/remember the character's features.

[@rocketterrier]

A while ago I watched a video where you talked quite a bit about taking notes. I introduced one of my groups to using Google Docs and sharing it so we can all sit and write notes together. When someone has to leave, our sweet healer says "I'll make sure to write everything down so you don't miss anything!" She is a sweetheart.

[@MagnaFae]

I saw your previous D&D Journal video, and ever since I’ve been maintaining journals chronicling the events of each campaign I’m in. I’ve always been a note-taker, but I used to write my notes by hand in a journal. Now my notes are typed, thorough, AND organized. Thank you Ginny D for inspiring me to go the extra mile with my D&D notes.

[@dandmadeeasy]

Crafting is such a rewarding pastime, it really makes the soul come alive. Your journal rocks!

[@annalachelt7441]

Obsessed with this journal! I may have to make one for my next campaign! Also, I think there's no such thing as "too invested" in something that brings you joy.

[@tsifirakiehl4250]

I love Penelope so much! I’d love to see her respond to some of your POV roleplay videos. (Also, I love how Francis has embraced her role as a sponsor segment.)

[@rantanplum6539]

I stumbled across this video by pure accident and boy am I glad I did. The journal is so cute and the love you have for your character is really contagious! Definitely gonna check out your other videos.

[@leaf7286]

Thank you for making videos that show how to be more involved with your character! You have motivated me to do so for the character I just started playing. Your videos have been a great tool!

[@Cheskaz]

I feel like my life diverged at the point that I got that Dragonology book

[@KnicKnac]

That is so cool. I have an old binder with retired character sheets in it. It isn’t fancy just holds the memories of my four long form characters. Spanning 3.5 to Pathfinder. I kept them because they are memorable times with my old gaming group that disbanded due to life.

[@calamityrosexo]

I love seeing a update journal for your chararters. I started doing this with my Paladain and Rouge and it's so much fun.

[@swagamemnon22]

Your original journal video has been my main inspiration for each of my character journal! I vibe with the way you organize stuff

[@christophershoemaker7189]

I fucking love you! I can’t believe you braught up the dragonology book 😂

[@Silviecka]

I finished my character's journal today, I am still fighting the spell book, because the cards I made myself dont really fit, but thank you a ton for inspiration and sort of a guide! This video is very helpful and full of ideas

[@Tobias.Sterling]

Coming back to this video to say it fundamentally changed the way I play. My first campaign, I had a 3 ring binder with one page of character art, the traditional character sheet, a page of card stock for my inventory and our bag of holding, and notebook paper for notes. I never really took notes unless it was inventory based, but I'd forget to update the inventory sheets. Combat was also difficult, finding all my features, attacks, magic weapons, and spells, etc. Now, for my second campaign, I've got an a5 binder like yours that I treated like a scrapbook. Lots of character art both drawn and commissioned, tons of stickers, gorgeous scrapbook paper or images I printed out (I have two pages for combat, one with things like AC, spell saves, hp, etc, and one with my weapons and useful attacks. My cleric's spiritual guardians come in the form of rainbow fireworks, so those pages are covered in holographic rainbow stickers!) Anyway, now a days I am easily able to locate exactly what I need - even though there's more page flipping, everything has its own spot and is much bigger and easier to locate on the page itself. We're also on session 13, and by this point in our old campaign I'd stopped taking notes altogether. I've got sections for NPCs, our completed quests, lore/worldbuilding, and more! It's now a tradition to bring it to work with me the day after a session and spend my lunch break updating everything. Dnd is so much more fun when I know what's going on, lol. Thank you Ginny!

[@iibwenbwenii2088]

Absolutely adored the first one of these, have been planning on making one for myself so im certainly not complaining to see another in my feed!

[@rascalscoot]

this is the cutest idea ever omg 😭😭 i have to try this out

[@jeanvalero1597]

You are a dream player

[@wylde_hunter]

I have been playing & DMing RPGs since they first came out and your love of the characters & NPCs give me hope for the future.

[@PsychoSonicFreak]

I was inspired by the first video to make a character binder for my dhampir monk and now, as I'm getting ready for a new campaign as a kobold ranger, I'm working on another. These videos are great inspiration and I love them! I also really like the more scrapbook vibe of this one, and since I'm making a ranger, I might do something very similar!

[@Vexillarii]

Not expecting you or anyone to see this, but I used your videos as an inspiration for a character journal and we just wrapped up that campaign. I feel so much more attached to this character in good part because I have this physical reminder of their person, their personality. It is the only character in the party who went from level 1 to the end of the campaign, and thus it feels so personal to just have a physical reminder which I invested time and resources in to just glance back on all the memories created with this character! I could word this message more eloquently but if anyone is doubting whether they should make a journal, my recommendation would be to do it, I got mine done for about 30-40 euros of monetary investment, but I am sure you could do it for less still! It truly did inspire me to get more connected with what my character would do, or how they would react to a situation.

[@abellylover]

I love this. I just created my first character and was wanting to do this.

[@shawnholbrook7278]

We totally bought the dragonology book for my eldest, we all enjoyed it immensely. 💖

[@philurbaniak1811]

👍👍 it's awesome! I did something similar a while back, the prompts and profiles for combat stuff and writing a letter in character, it was so fun 😊!

[@flameofmage1099]

My elementary school library had Dragonology. It was the coolest book. Great work on the scrapbook too!

[@socialreveluv5428]

This is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen a DnD player do. I just came here after watching other videos about creating a character and watching this really contributed to what I've looked for! It's great to see Dnd players be so highly invested in the character it's almost a shame if it has to end someday. In my case I play DnD with 4 friends and all of them live in the same town so we're able to play once a week. Really getting to know the own character to that extent has always been a challenge because most campaigns only last for about 6 months. I do enjoy writing and thinking about new characters tho! Still it's just amazing watching you care about this character so much, it's really inspiring! - and thank you c:

[@EstaraTshirai]

Oh NO. You've just made an intersection between my fondness for overdeveloping my D&D characters and my new obsession with junk journals (which are ALL ABOUT those interactive bits you're talking about!) and now I may be doomed.

[@shapingshan]

Your journal has me so inspired to use more physical letters, props, etc in my own journal! Including the letter in the envelope is such a cute idea and I'm absolutely taking notes- your journal looks incredible and your hand lettering on the titles is so tidy and whimsical as well! ✨

[@SegaraRylex]

I've always loved all your videos and especially enjoyed seeing your character journal. For many years, I've always made and tailored my character sheets both hand drawn and digital. I also have sperate blinders that are semi decorated for the different campaigns I GM and some of my players have drawn or written Diaries about their characters and events. So thanks for sharing and just being you :3

[@justasinging_geek]

The envelope is next tier. I LOVE it. Also, this binder is such a cute choice! I definitely made one of these inspired by your Aisling journal and that campaign also fizzled out, but oh boy I'm feeling inspired to make another one.

[@witchingstar]

I once watched a video that jokingly mentioned how being obsessed with the Dragonology book essentially was a sure sign of ADHD, autism, and neurodivergence, haha! It is definitely true for me! This journal came out SO lovely. I watched your Aisling video over and over again, and this one also came out so well. The art that you got commissioned is fabulous! I would love if you ever showed a before and after video of your character journal being filled up or updated after a campaign is over. Thank you for always bringing so much aesthetic to DnD!

[@luna_rose7604]

Wow I watched that past video several times over trying to get ideas for my own character’s journal, I’m happy to see one getting created from scratch this time!

[@LavenderDusk7]

I'm always obsessed with your journal videos, they're so aesthetically pleasing

[@davidparkes7741]

I wish I had even an ounce of your creativity Ginny. This is awesome.

[@monkey93xf]

As someone who saves a lot of their journals, if you want to keep physical copies later and reuse your binder- pull out all the pages (optionally wrap them in a paper) and tie it up with a ribbon to store compactly. I like to label the outside so when you're feeling nostalgic you know what you're unwrapping. Second, a top tear distressing tip, fold up the paper as if it were being carried around, distress the outside really well, then unfold it and do a lighter distressing throughout. It really adds *that look*

[@jwillenb]

Ginny's handwriting is so good!

[@mentalrebllion1270]

I think I would enjoy this for my astral elf character I’m using for my radiant citadel campaign.

[@babybear3551]

I had an absolute blast designing a cutesy analogue book for my very first character. I wish I had seen this video first because using a binder is kinda genius. I just used a regular old planner I had lying around, but I'll definitely remember that for next time!! Thanks for all the awesome ideas

[@JesseJerdak]

Ginner!!! This is the cutest thing!!

[@GinnyDi]

I'll bring it to our session on Sunday and show off 🥰

[@SummonWolf]

I have watched the first journal video so many times and got super inspired to make my own. So it's really cool to get another one and actually see you assemble it this time