NotebookLM is a personalized AI assistant designed to help users organize, explore, and expand on their ideas. By uploading source materials like Google Docs, PDFs, and text files, NotebookLM becomes an instant expert on your content, allowing you to ask questions, generate insights, and create connections between ideas. It acts as a dynamic collaborator, offering tools for summarizing, brainstorming, and refining notes, making it a powerful companion for creative projects like RPG worldbuilding, campaign creation, and storytelling.
The Game Master Platform & NotebookLM
I use NotebookLM as my creative hub, where I store all of my content and campaign information. It is where I brainstorm ideas, and refine my worldbuilding. It’s my go-to tool for organizing and expanding on concepts, helping me think through and prepare rich, detailed RPG experiences. The Game Master Platform complements this by focusing on the gameplay itself—building encounters, running sessions, and supporting live tabletop play. While NotebookLM enhances the planning phase with AI-driven creativity, the Game Master platform brings AI to the table, streamlining gameplay, tracking time, capturing session notes, bringing life to NPCs and providing player feedback. Together, these tools make my GM process seamless, from preparation to execution.
NotebookLM can transform how Game Masters approach the creative process, and it all starts with a few simple steps. Imagine you’re building a campaign centered around a crumbling empire with deep political intrigue and hidden ancient magic. You’ve got scattered notes across PDFs, Google Docs, and even handwritten snippets that you’ve typed into a text file.
Here’s how NotebookLM can help:
Upload Your Sources: Start by uploading your campaign materials. Select your notes in Google Docs or PDFs and import them into NotebookLM. If you have typed text, copy and paste it directly into the tool. Each file becomes a searchable source, and you can keep them all organized in one notebook.
Ask Questions to Refine Your Ideas: Let’s say you want to outline a central conflict. Ask something like, “What themes appear in my campaign notes?” or “How do the factions in my world interact?” NotebookLM will analyze your sources and give you a concise answer, complete with links to where the information was found in your documents.
Generate New Content: Use prompts to expand your ideas. For instance, if you’ve uploaded a basic description of an ancient city, you can ask, “Suggest three hooks for adventures set in this city.” The system might suggest political unrest, hidden ruins beneath the streets, or a mysterious plague—instantly sparking inspiration for your sessions.
Create NPCs with Depth: Upload or write notes about an NPC you’re developing, like a traveling bard. Then ask, “What are possible motivations for this character?” or “How could this character connect to my players’ backstories?” NotebookLM can help fill in gaps, turning a flat character into one with engaging complexity.
Refine and Save Key Notes: As NotebookLM generates helpful responses, save them directly to your notebook. This way, you’ll have a curated set of ideas, summaries, or character details ready when you need them.
Here are a few ways in which I use NotebookLM.
Building Worlds and Campaigns
Creating an engaging world or campaign often starts with a spark of an idea. NotebookLM lets you develop that spark into a fleshed-out concept by saving notes and asking targeted questions. Let’s walk through an example:
Save a Note for a New World Location: Suppose you’re working on a high-seas adventure and envision a mysterious island called The Isle of Drowned Kings. You upload a brief description of the idea:
"A forgotten island lost in the mists, rumored to hold the tombs of ancient monarchs who ruled the seas. Some say their spirits still guard treasures beyond imagination."
While reading your campaign notes in NotebookLM, you highlight this text and click Add to Note. Now, the Isle of Drowned Kings is a saved note that you can revisit and expand upon later.
Ask NotebookLM to Explore the Idea: Once the note is saved, you can prompt NotebookLM to build on the concept. Start with a question like:
“What dangers might adventurers face on the Isle of Drowned Kings?”
NotebookLM might suggest:
A ghostly fleet that defends the island from intruders.
Deadly traps within the tombs, crafted to keep the treasures hidden.
A cursed artifact that tempts the party but carries dire consequences.
Pin the response to your notes if it sparks further ideas.
Refine the Worldbuilding with More Prompts: Dig deeper into the location by asking follow-up questions:
“Who were the Drowned Kings, and why are their treasures hidden?”
“How do locals in nearby ports speak of the island?”
NotebookLM might provide:
The Drowned Kings were sea conquerors betrayed by their closest allies and bound to the island by an ancient curse.
Port rumors describe the island as a place where adventurers vanish, and some say the mists themselves are alive, pulling ships to their doom.
Save these responses to further develop the backstory and integrate it into your campaign world.
Connect the Location to the Campaign: To tie the Isle of Drowned Kings into your campaign, prompt NotebookLM with something like:
“How could this island connect to the main villain’s plans?”
It might suggest:
The main villain seeks a relic hidden on the island to awaken the ghostly fleet and conquer the seas.
The adventurers discover that the villain’s ancestor was one of the Drowned Kings, giving them leverage to confront the villain in a climactic showdown.
Use the Notes for Session Prep: With these saved notes, you now have a robust location ready for your campaign. When the party approaches the Isle of Drowned Kings, you’ll have vivid details, compelling lore, and dynamic encounters at your fingertips.
Crafting NPCs and Backstories
Creating memorable NPCs is essential for any campaign, and NotebookLM makes this process seamless by allowing you to save a concept and refine it through prompting. Let’s walk through an example of crafting an NPC and tying their backstory to your campaign’s story arc.
Blog: 8 Steps to Building Unforgettable NPCs Using AI Tools Like ChatGPT, DALL-E 3, and The Gamemaster Platform >>
1. Save a Note for the New NPC
Imagine your campaign involves a rebellion against a tyrannical empire. You want to create a rogue character, Captain Kaelis Raventhorne, who leads a smuggling ring supplying the rebels with weapons and supplies. You upload this concept as a note:
"Captain Kaelis Raventhorne is a charismatic but morally ambiguous smuggler operating in the shadow of the empire. Known for his silver tongue and knack for getting out of trouble, Kaelis has ties to both the rebellion and the empire, walking a dangerous line between loyalty and self-preservation."
Highlight the text in NotebookLM and click Add to Note to save it as a starting point.
2. Expand on the NPC’s Backstory
Use NotebookLM to flesh out Kaelis’s backstory by asking questions like:
“What’s Kaelis’s connection to the empire?”
“Why does Kaelis help the rebels, and what does he gain?”
NotebookLM might suggest:
Kaelis was once a decorated naval officer in the empire’s fleet but turned to smuggling after being betrayed and left for dead by his commanding officer.
He helps the rebels not out of ideology, but because he believes they have a chance to overthrow the commander who betrayed him, offering him a shot at revenge.
Pin these responses to the NPC’s notes to keep track of the growing backstory.
3. Tie the NPC to the Campaign Story Arc
Next, prompt NotebookLM to integrate Kaelis into the broader campaign:
“How could Kaelis influence the party’s goals?”
“What secrets might Kaelis hide that could create conflict?”
It might suggest:
Kaelis knows the location of a secret imperial outpost storing weapons, but demands the party help him eliminate his former commander before revealing it.
Unbeknownst to the party, Kaelis also smuggles supplies to imperial loyalists, and his double-dealing could come to light at a critical moment.
These details make Kaelis more than a simple ally, introducing layers of intrigue and potential conflict.
4. Generate Dialogue and Roleplay Hooks
To make Kaelis memorable, ask NotebookLM for ideas on dialogue or roleplay hooks:
“What are some lines Kaelis might use to charm or manipulate the party?”
Suggestions might include:
“My loyalty is to the highest bidder—or, in this case, the one who gets me what I want.”
“Rebellion? Empire? They’re just two sides of the same coin. I’m just trying not to get crushed underneath it.”
“Help me settle an old score, and I’ll show you where the empire keeps its secrets.”
Save these as notes for quick reference during sessions.
5. Use the Notes to Evolve Kaelis’s Role
As the campaign progresses, revisit Kaelis’s notes and refine his arc. For instance, if the party grows to trust him, you can prompt NotebookLM to explore how Kaelis might betray or surprise them later:
“What would cause Kaelis to abandon the party or switch sides?”
NotebookLM might suggest:
The empire offers him a pardon and reinstatement in exchange for betraying the rebels.
Kaelis uncovers a hidden truth about the rebellion’s leader, forcing him to question his loyalties.
By tying these developments to the larger story, Kaelis becomes a dynamic part of the campaign, with his actions and choices shaping the party’s journey.
Integrating Players into the World
One of the best ways to engage players is by tying their backstories into the fabric of the world and its organizations. NotebookLM helps you weave these connections seamlessly, adding tension and stakes. Let’s explore how to integrate a player’s backstory in a unique way by putting it at odds with an organization.
1. Save a Note for the Player’s Backstory
A player in your campaign writes a backstory for their character, Rhyss Valdir, a former knight who left the Order of the Silver Sun after uncovering corruption among its leadership. They now travel the land, seeking redemption while evading bounty hunters sent by the Order. You upload this text as a note:
"Rhyss Valdir once served as a knight in the Order of the Silver Sun, a powerful organization dedicated to law and order. After discovering that high-ranking members were secretly exploiting villages under the guise of protection, Rhyss spoke out—and was branded a traitor. Now, they’re hunted by their former comrades and struggle to find a way to bring the Order to justice."
Highlight the text and click Add to Note to save it for future reference.
2. Explore Connections to the World
Using NotebookLM, expand on how Rhyss’s backstory ties to the Order of the Silver Sun and the campaign’s broader narrative:
“How does the Order maintain its power?”
“Who might be hunting Rhyss, and why?”
NotebookLM might suggest:
The Order funds itself through "protection taxes," exploiting the communities it claims to protect. It silences dissent through fear and a network of informants.
A relentless knight named Commander Alaric Thorn leads the hunt for Rhyss, seeing them not only as a traitor but as a personal threat to his ambitions within the Order.
These details create a compelling dynamic between Rhyss and the Order.
3. Create Conflict Between the Player and the Organization
Prompt NotebookLM to generate ways the campaign could bring Rhyss’s backstory into direct conflict with the Order:
“What events could force Rhyss to confront the Order?”
“How can the Order’s actions threaten the party’s goals?”
It might suggest:
The Order seizes control of a key region the party needs to access, claiming it’s for protection but secretly hoarding resources.
Rhyss’s former mentor, Sir Elyana Draven, contacts the party, claiming to want to help expose the corruption—but it’s a trap to capture Rhyss.
These scenarios turn Rhyss’s personal story into a major campaign thread, giving the player emotional investment.
4. Tie Other Players to the Conflict
Incorporate other players by asking NotebookLM for ways their characters might intersect with Rhyss’s backstory:
“How can the Order of the Silver Sun affect the party as a whole?”
Suggestions could include:
The Order falsely brands the entire party as outlaws after they’re seen aiding Rhyss.
Another player’s character, a rogue, has been secretly working as an informant for the Order but begins to question their loyalty after seeing its corruption.
This builds tension and drama among the group, making the conflict multi-layered.
5. Add Unique Roleplay Hooks
NotebookLM can help generate specific hooks to make the tension between Rhyss and the Order feel alive:
“What might Alaric Thorn say to provoke Rhyss during a confrontation?”
“How could Sir Elyana manipulate the party to achieve her goals?”
Responses might include:
Alaric: “You traded honor for rebellion, Valdir. Do you think these vagabonds will forgive the blood on your hands?”
Sir Elyana: “The Order is not perfect, but it’s better than the chaos you’ll unleash by tearing it down. Help me, and I’ll make sure no harm comes to your friends.”
These lines give NPCs personality and make encounters more memorable.
6. Evolve the Conflict as the Campaign Progresses
As the story unfolds, revisit Rhyss’s notes and ask questions to deepen the conflict:
“What secrets could the Order reveal to undermine Rhyss?”
“How might Rhyss’s actions affect the Order’s influence?”
NotebookLM might suggest:
The Order reveals that Rhyss once participated in a brutal raid before leaving, forcing them to confront their past.
Rhyss’s defiance inspires a growing rebellion within the Order’s ranks, creating an opportunity for the party to exploit.
A Smarter Way to GM
By following these steps, NotebookLM becomes a powerful ally in your creative process. It organizes your materials, enhances your storytelling, and brings fresh ideas to the table. Whether you’re crafting an intricate epic or a straightforward adventure, this tool ensures that no detail is lost, and every idea is just a question away. For any GM seeking to elevate their campaigns, this is the way forward.
Are there any issues uploading copyright material? I have lots of PDFs for the game world that I play in and don’t want the publisher coming after me.