How I use Obsidian to run and play D&D online

Obsidian becomes the command center for running and playing D&D online by keeping campaigns, knowledge, and spoilers strictly separated—so the same world can be managed without accidental metagaming. Nicole van der Hoeven tracks three ongoing campaigns in one Obsidian vault, using folder separation, structured “world pages,” and session-by-session logs that distinguish what she knows as a player from what she prepares as a DM. The payoff is practical: faster prep, cleaner recall during sessions, and a workflow that helps a newer DM feel confident while still protecting player agency.

Campaign separation starts with organization. Each campaign lives in its own folder, and the notes are further compartmentalized through “world pages” that act like maps of content. For example, a world page for Andy’s campaign (“The World of the Temporary White Circle”) includes player characters with photos, plus dedicated sections for Quests and Questions. Those items follow a GTD-style structure—Next Actions, Waiting For, and Someday/Maybe—so anything meant for the next session doesn’t get buried under general observations. Session notes are also standardized using templates and a Lazy DM–inspired prep approach, but with an added twist: she writes a session summary after every session and tags it so it can be embedded into the next relevant note.

During play, she pastes in handouts and keeps linking lighter, then does the heavy linking work afterward. After sessions, she revisits the notes to convert raw material into a web of links—creating NPC-specific notes and page-specific notes—so the knowledge base becomes easier to navigate later. A key rule keeps metagaming in check: she only records what her character knows (or tries to), and she uses structured world pages (factions, gods, places) to keep information grounded in in-world context.

Her setup also adapts to different editions and tools. For fourth edition, she builds a compact in-session workspace inside Obsidian: session log, next actions, quests and questions, party HP that can be adjusted on the fly, and character powers/scores. She uses Jeremy’s Dice Roller plugin both for occasional dice rolling and for generating random results from tables.

As a DM, she adds plugins and media to speed up running the game. The Gallery plugin stores NPC photos she’s collected for future use, and she maintains a separate “player vault” that contains spoiler-safe materials: unlisted session recordings, handouts, NPCs, and a “story thus far” page that embeds summaries and videos. She also uses Fantasy Calendar for an internal calendar reference while keeping it hidden from players.

For encounters and monsters, she leans on random tables to generate names, shopkeepers, and character hooks, then uses the Tome of Beasts series as a source for monsters—sometimes building custom plant-themed encounters. She also uses Jeremy Valentine’s Statblocks plugin to create and modify stat blocks quickly, adjusting challenge rating, hit points, damage, and reactions.

Finally, Leaflet turns maps into interactive navigation. With zoomable maps and clickable markers that jump to the right note sections, she can read boxed text word-for-word and move between rooms without losing her place—something she says is hard to replicate in simpler tools. The result is a repeatable system for both DM prep and player-side tracking, designed to keep knowledge accurate, organized, and safe for the table.