Session Notes vs. Audio Recording: Which Is Better for DMs?

We have all been there. The players are deep in roleplay, negotiating with a tricky fey creature named Elara the Whisperer. The Bard drops a subtle hint about her backstory involving a lost locket, the Paladin makes a promise he definitely won't keep about returning a moonstone, and you—the Dungeon Master—are frantically scribbling in a notebook like a mad wizard possessed by a caffeine elemental.

Your head is down. Your hand is cramping. You are missing the look of genuine fear on the Rogue's face.

"Wait, what did you just say? Can you repeat that?" you ask, breaking the flow for the third time in ten minutes.

The immersion breaks. The tension evaporates. You are no longer the terrifying fey creature; you are a court stenographer struggling to keep up with the transcript.

For years, I believed that taking detailed notes was the only way to be a "good" DM. I thought if I didn't write it down, it didn't happen. I had notebooks filled with illegible scrawl, arrows pointing to nowhere, and names I couldn't pronounce. But after moving my games to a hybrid digital/physical setup, I realized something important: taking notes is the enemy of pacing.

Here is why it is time to put down the pen and start recording your sessions instead, and how to do it without drowning in hours of audio.

The Problem with Manual Notes (The "Scribe's Curse")

Don't get me wrong, I love the aesthetic of a leather-bound notebook. There is something satisfying about the scratch of a pen on paper. But in the heat of the moment, manual note-taking has three major flaws that actively hurt your game:

1. It Breaks Eye Contact

The most powerful tool a DM has is their presence. When you look your players in the eye, you convey authority, emotion, and engagement. When you look at your notes, you sever that connection. You miss the non-verbal cues—the Rogue shifting uncomfortably when you mention the guild, or the Wizard's player checking their phone because they've tuned out. Eye contact keeps players honest and attentive.

2. It Filters Reality

When you take notes, you are performing a real-time triage of information. You only write down what you think is important in that specific second. You might write down "Met the blacksmith," but miss the throwaway line the Bard said about "distrusting anyone with a limp." Three sessions later, when that blacksmith turns out to be the villain, you'll wish you had captured that specific interaction. Manual notes are a lossy compression format.

3. It Causes "DM Burnout"

Running a game is mentally taxing. You are calculating math, improvising dialogue, managing pacing, and tracking rules simultaneously. Adding "transcriptionist" to that list is often the straw that breaks the camel's back. The cognitive load of switching between "creative mode" (acting) and "analytical mode" (writing) is exhausting. By the end of a 4-hour session, your brain is fried, not from the game, but from the admin.

I used to spend the first 30 minutes of every session just trying to decipher my own handwriting from the week before. "Did the goblin say 'East' or 'Beast'?" It was a nightmare that directly impacted the quality of my games.

The Case for Audio Recording

Switching to audio recording changes the dynamic completely. When you hit record, you are granting yourself permission to forget. You represent a shift from capturing the game to experiencing it.

• Total Focus: You can look your players in the eye. You can act out NPCs with your full body, using hand gestures and facial expressions that you couldn't do with a pen in your hand.
• The "Lazy DM" Advantage: As Sly Flourish often preaches, we want to maximize impact with minimum prep. Recording the session means you don't have to stress about capturing every detail live. You have a safety net. If a rules lawyer challenges a ruling next week, you have the tape.
• True Neutrality: A recording doesn't have a bias. It captures exactly what was said, not your interpretation of it. This is crucial for "he said, she said" moments in complex political campaigns.
• Capturing the "Gold": The best moments in D&D are often the improvised jokes or side comments. These are the first things to be cut when taking manual notes, but they are the soul of your campaign. Audio keeps them alive.

But... Listening to 4 Hours of Audio Sucks

This is the classic counter-argument, and it is a valid one. "Mark," you say, "I am not going to listen to a 4-hour recording just to write a recap. I have a job. I have a family. I have other hobbies."

And you are right. You shouldn't.

Raw audio is great for archiving, but it is terrible for review. It is non-linear and time-consuming. That is where modern tools come in. This isn't about just recording; it's about Campaign Continuity.

The Hybrid Solution: Smart Audio

Using the Saga20 app, you don't just dump a file into a void. You upload that raw audio file, and the app goes to work. The App listens and automatically summarizes your session into structured, useful sections:

• Key Events: The major plot beats.
• Combat: Who fought whom, and who went down.
• Decisions: The fork-in-the-road choices the players made.

But the real magic—the feature that actually makes this viable—is Campaign Continuity.

Traditional transcription tools just give you a wall of text: "Speaker A said this, Speaker B said that." Saga20 identifies who is speaking. It matches voices to your characters (e.g., "Speaker 1" is "Doran the Dwarf", "Speaker 2" is "Lyra the Elf").

Instead of re-listening to hours of talk, you get a searchable, readable summary in minutes. You can scan it, spot the moment the Bard promised to sell his soul, and note it down for later. It turns a 4-hour chore into a 5-minute review.

The Audio Setup Checklist ("The Good Enough Standard")

You do not need a podcast studio to get usable audio. In fact, over-engineering your setup is a trap. You want something invisible. Here is my "Good Enough" setup for perfect session audio that won't distract your players.

1. The Hardware

• The Device: Your smartphone is better than you think. A standard iPhone or Android voice memo app records at a high enough quality for AI transcription.
• The Position: Place the phone in the dead center of the table. Raise it up slightly if possible (put it on a stack of rulebooks or a deck box) to decouple it from table vibrations.
• The Dampener: Place the phone on a soft surface—a mousepad, a microfiber cloth, or even a folded napkin. This is critical. It stops the "THUMP THUMP THUMP" of dice rolls from destroying the audio.

2. The Environment

• The "Cone of Silence": Check for constant background noise. A fan blowing directly into the mic, a noisy fridge, or an open window to a busy street. These "constant drones" are harder for AI to filter out than sudden noises. Turn off the AC for a second if you can, or move the phone away from the source.
• Snacks: Crucial advice—keep the chip bags away from the microphone. The crinkle of a Doritos bag is louder than a human voice to a microphone. Pour snacks into bowls before you start.

3. The Consent Check

Always, always ask your players if they are okay with being recorded. This is non-negotiable.

• Be Clear: "I want to record audio solely for note-taking and accurate recaps. It won't be posted on YouTube or Spotify."
• Respect the Veto: If a player is uncomfortable, you don't record. Period.
• The "Off the Record" Signal: Establish a hand signal (like crossing fingers) that means "pause recording" for sensitive out-of-game conversations.

Scenario Guide: When to Record vs. When to Write

Even with Saga20, there are times when a physical note is better. Here is how I balance the two in my campaigns.

Scenario	Record It (Saga20)	Write It (Notebook)
Roleplay / Dialogue	YES. Nuance, exact wording, and tone are impossible to write down fast enough. Let the audio catch the drama.	NO. You will miss the emotional beats if you are looking at paper.
Combat Numbers	NO. Initiative content, HP tracking, and temporary slots change too fast. Audio is bad at "current state" math.	YES. Use a dry-erase board or scratchpad for tracking current HP and initiative.
Loot & Inventory	YES. "You find a golden sword that hums." The app will catch the description.	MAYBE. Players should be writing this down on their sheets anyway.
Rules Disputes	YES. Capture the ruling so you can look it up later without stopping the game.	NO. Don't waste time documenting the page number live.
Secret Notes	N/A	YES. Passing physical notes is a classic DM tactic that audio can't replicate.

The 5-Minute Post-Game Ritual

If you rely 100% on the recording, you might forget the "feeling" of the session. Here is the ritual I use immediately after the players leave, which pairs perfectly with the AI summary later.

1. Stop the Recording: Don't forget this!
2. The "Vibe Check": Write down 3 bullet points about how the session felt. Was the pacing slow? Were the players frustrated? Did the horror element land? The AI cannot capture emotion or checking the "temperature" of the room.
3. The "Oh No" List: Write down anything you improvised that contradicts your prep. "I accidentally said the King is left-handed." "I renamed the city to 'Bobville' because I panicked." These are the continuity errors you need to catch before the next session.
4. Upload Immediately: Put the file into Saga20 immediately. Let it process while you clean up the soda cans. By the time you are done cleaning, your summary is ready.

Conclusion: Stop Writing, Start Playing

Your job as a DM is to facilitate a story, not to act as a court reporter. Every minute you spend looking at a notebook is a minute you aren't looking at your players. Every ounce of brainpower you spend transcribing "The Orc hits for 7 damage" is brainpower you aren't using to describe the smell of ozone in the air or the look of terror in the villain's eyes.

By offloading the memory work to a recording and using specific tools like Saga20 and its Campaign Continuity features to handle the heavy lifting, you reclaim your mental energy for what matters: the game.

Trust me, your players will notice the difference. The pacing will snap into focus. The roleplay will breathe. And you will finally be able to enjoy the game you spent so much time preparing.

Happy rolling!