Southaven

Vault Guide

3 min read

The Heroes of Southaven - Vault Guide

Overview

This Obsidian vault contains all campaign materials for “The Heroes of Southaven,” a D&D campaign. The vault is organized to support both DM planning and player reference, with clear distinctions between public information and DM-only secrets.

Vault Structure

Core Directories

  • /NPCs - Non-player characters the party has encountered
  • /Places - Locations, buildings, cities, and regions
  • /Items - Magic items, special equipment, and campaign-specific gear
  • /Organizations - Factions, churches, guilds, and other groups
  • /Creatures - Monsters, beasts, and unique beings
  • /Session Recaps - Narrative summaries of each game session
  • /DM Notes - Behind-the-scenes planning, session prep, and secrets

DM Notes Subdirectories

  • /DM Notes/Session Notes - Raw bullet-point notes from each session
  • /DM Notes/[Other Planning] - Campaign arcs, future plot hooks, NPC motivations, etc.

Public vs. Private Information

The public Property

Each page can have a public property in its frontmatter:

  • public: true - Information known to or discoverable by players
  • public: false - Information hidden from players (spoilers, future reveals, etc.)

DM-Only Secrets

Use “ comment blocks within any page to hide specific information:

The party knows Brenlan is Lord Kael's son.

These blocks are invisible when the page is rendered, perfect for keeping secrets alongside public information.

Creating New Content

Detailed instructions exist for each content type:

Quick Reference Format

NPCs: Description → Personality → Background
Places: Description → Background (optional)
Items: Description → Mechanics → Notes (optional)
Organizations: Description → Structure → Background
Creatures: Description → Behavior → Background (optional)

Connect your campaign world using [[Page Name]] syntax:

  • [[Brenlan Kael]] - Links to the NPC page
  • [[Brenlan Kael|Brenlan]] - Links but displays as “Brenlan”
  • [[Session 5 - The Kidnapping of Brenlan Kael]] - Links to session recaps

Wikilinks create a web of interconnected information, making it easy to track relationships, locations, and story threads.

Best Practices

  1. Be consistent - Follow the template instructions for each content type
  2. Wikilink liberally - Connect NPCs, places, items, and sessions
  3. Hide secrets carefully - Use public: false and “ blocks appropriately
  4. Write for clarity - Keep descriptions concise (2-3 sentences per section)
  5. Update regularly - Keep pages current as the campaign progresses
  6. Reference sessions - Note when and where things happened

Graph View