Skip to content PhD20

NPC Note Design

A markdown framework for usable notes at the table

Author avatar Kirk Wiebe Published on 2026-07-16

What do your NPC notes look like? If you’re like me, you might have Obsidian notes for each. Those might range from a few improv keys to a lengthy document containing a half-dozen details or more. If you follow guidance laid out by the Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master’s Guide, you might end up with a list of details that looks similar to the following:

But having a section for each of these in our NPC notes makes them nearly unusable at the table. They act more as a “source of truth” than a tool. We need a better way.

I actually think the “Landmark, Hidden, Secret”1 model is perfect here. And for those of us using Obsidian/markdown for our notes, we can easily map it to common text formatting.

Bold Landmarks

Use bold text for automatic and free information about an NPC—the kind that is likely to come up no matter what. This is What are the PCs going to learn by seeing, meeting, or just being near this NPC? Think first impressions, reputation, appearance, reaction, behavior, quirks/mannerisms, sounds, smells, etc. What are the things that demand attention? Using bold text will highlight those for you as the game master to quickly reference. I like to write up a sentence or two as an overview of the NPC, bolding important sections or words that demand attention. I don’t read those sentences verbatim but rather key off the bold words to improvise descriptions to the players.

Aticus Longheart is a famed adventurer known for his eye patch, jeweled saber, and trenchcoat. He’s immediately friendly by default.

Hidden Bullets

Use bullet points for hidden information—the kind that requires asking or a cost to learn. These items might come up in play but also help provide useful information for running the NPC. What are the NPCs goals and motivations? What about their alignment, background, or occupation? What useful information does the NPC know? What resources do they have like connections or objects? I like to keep these as short as possible and limit it to 3-5 total (including secrets—see below).

Aticus Longheart is a famed adventurer known for his eye patch, jeweled saber, and trenchcoat. He’s immediately friendly by default.

  • Leader of the adventurer’s guild
  • Knows a rare swordfighting technique
  • A true showman

Italicized Secrets

All good NPCs have secrets. Use italics for secret information—the expensive kind that might never come up but is always interesting when it does. What secret treasures do they keep? What dark secrets have they buried? What information do they try and protect? Add 1-2 italicized bullets at the end of the list to capture secrets.

Aticus Longheart is a famed adventurer known for his eye patch, jeweled saber, and trenchcoat. He’s immediately friendly by default.

  • Leader of the adventurer’s guild
  • Knows a rare swordfighting technique
  • A true showman
  • He’s a swordmage
  • He’s been inside the Dreadmount

Organizing NPC notes in this way keeps them brief and easy to reference at the table. It also provides us with a framework for the next time we need to jot down an NPC.

Game on.

Footnotes

  1. “Landmark, Hidden, Secret,” from the DIY & Dragons blog, 2019 October 8 ↩

#npc

#obsidian