The Worldbuilder's Notebook VS Field Notes GM Journal: DnD Notebook Comparison and Review

I think I like the world builders book best. But they both have thier uses. I seriously like the concentration of the world builders on map making As opposed to the people playing and npc you encounter. Coming up with npcs is less of a problem than getting the maps and ecology right when I create a campaign world. Thank you for the review.

Too bad the black Worldbuilder's Notebook is no longer in print.

I clicked on your description area link for the Swordfish in Print and it navigated to a site with a 404 error...

Great review! I’ve been looking both and I appreciate getting a good look inside the covers.

The swordfish islands one is top notch.

I don't like the Field Notes at all, but that Worldbuilding notebook looks awesome!

can see why the field notes is in a two pack. Seems really small and limited.

A lined notebook, graph paper and hex paper +3 ring binder with separator tabs.Super cheap and more effective.

I've just realised what these reviews remind me of, the lock picking lawyer

Honestly they both look usefull in ways that compliment each other very much and I would choose to use both. One is better for planning and one is better on the go

I watched for questing beast.

This product is not for me.

You still managed to entertain. As always.

I'd love to see someone do a 'Megadungeon buildes' notebook.

How does Swordfish printing in cyan help with digital cleanup?

Thanks for the shout out, Questing Beast. The Penny Dragon Games Kickstarter is flying. We really appreciate the help. Also, great notebook review, been looking out for a new DM book recently :)

Thanks for the review. I have to say though, that for me, these are solutions looking for a problem.

Cool video, but ima stick to my moleskin dot grid.

Nice video :)

The Worldbuilders Notebook is lush...i was just about to treat myself but stopped the payment as shipping a hard copy to the UK adds up to $48!

Anyway I can buy the PDF to get printed here in sunny Wales?

I always love the look of these DM notebooks when I see them but I scribble so many notes that I know I'd blow through them too quickly and blow all my money on stacks of them haha. That Kickstarter looks cool, I backed it yesterday!

Id love to buy the physical Worldbuilder’s notebook, but with shipping to my country its too damn expensive. I wish they had a european publisher.

Getting sponsors good for you man!

I haven't even started watching the video and it's already a thumbs up!

The artwork is also on Wolfmother’s first album! Awesome!

I really hate that most of these things are designed with 5e in mind. Its probably one of the reasons why I have never bought any of them.

The world builder's book looks helpful though.

When something reaches the point of being to trendy, As a DM I am not going spend even more on over priced notebook's. Side note I do have higher end stationery supplies it's how I already know the price, it's also how I know there are better deals on notebook's.

So what Questing Beast & Runehammer are telling me is I need to start a d&d publishing empire...

Great reviews - here are my notes.

Field Notes

The problem with the hex maps is that the grid is points up and not flats up. This is what happens when non-gamers get into product areas without decent research. All of the forms in these books make too many assumptions about what info you want to record and where in the book and on the page it should be recorded. I agree this may be a great option for an inexperienced DM.



The binding is cheap and will suffer the sorts of things all staple bound books suffer from - rusty staples, torn pages etc. The 62 page count is inadequate and could have used a section of bulk blank pages for 16 bucks.




Wordbuilder's Notebook

Loved the contents pages and the page edge indexing option. They got the hex maps right! I like the dot grids, but even though there were some isometric line grids, I agree that some isometric dot grids are required. However, Love that the majoprity of pages are dot grids which can be used for impromptu mapping and writing. Very flexible usage!

The reference material included in the back was nice, but I would have preferred more blank pages or more isometric pages.

In a typical game session I use between 2 and 4 pages in a notebook. The Worldbuilder's Notebook has 192 pages, the same count as the regular lined pages only notebooks I use with a lay-flat binding, but the 20 dollar price tag is twice what I pay.


Definitely needs a lay flat binding and this was the no-go feature for me.

I wouldn't use either of these options.

I wouldn't buy either - I'd buy a normal notebook - but dot grids are absolutely my favourite compared to lines or grids.

Thanks for the review! I've been looking at books like this and I've always been curious about their contents :) - very useful video with some great insights and comparisons!

These are both useful! I may have to pick them up and use them in tandem. Thanks for the review!

Super timely review! I was just shopping and considering each of these. I think I'm going to go with the PDF of the World Builder's option to personalize the amount/type of pages I use and then staple binding method to make it easier to use at the table.

Cool man, thanks for all you do! I'm going to get the Field Notes version, Lord knows I need a little direction in my life. I also like that it lays flatter.

Great video! I'd love to see these two compared to Arcana Note as well!

Holy fucking shit I love geeky notebooks like this.

Definitely cool products, but honestly I’d rather just use a cheat notebook that I don’t need to worry about ruining