RPG letters and diaries: three handouts to adapt for your campaign

An RPG letter shows how someone speaks when the characters are not in the room. A diary records what a person believed at a particular moment. That distinction helps you write handouts that feel as though they existed before the players found them.

These three original texts can be adapted for your campaign. Copy only the quoted passages into the handout editor; the following comments are GM notes. You can also start with the RPG handout templates.

Fantasy letter: a request with a deadline

Captain Mira, The council refused my final audience. I need you to take the ledger to the mill before the wedding bell sounds. The miller knows my handwriting and will open the passage when he hears my sister's name, Elen. Do not try to get me out of the fortress. I can still delay the signing, but only until sunset. If the bridge is guarded, follow the dry channel beside the wall. Forgive the haste. I tore up the other letters. — Tomas

Clue's purpose: deliver an object before a deadline. Choices: guarded bridge or dry channel; follow the request or attempt a rescue. Unknown: what the signing will authorize.

Replace the wedding with a trial or coronation to suit your campaign. Preserve the deadline and alternative route. The torn letters can become another clue without requiring an entire second adventure.

Exploration diary: a changing interpretation

Third day The bells beneath the mountain always ring after dinner. Our guide says it is wind passing through old tunnels. Tomorrow we will take ropes to the shaft in the eastern hall. Fourth day We descended without the guide. Found the bell lying at the bottom, wrapped in cloth, with no clapper. On returning, we heard the same three notes. Recorded the interval: one breath, two breaths, silence. Fifth day The guide returned the hall key and asked us not to use the shaft. It was the first time I saw him without gloves.

Clue's purpose: locate the eastern hall and introduce a testable contradiction. Choices: question the guide, examine the key or descend the shaft. Preparation needed: decide what is on the guide's hands and where the sound originates.

The diary does not automatically identify the threat. It preserves its writer's limited experience. For an urban investigation, try the Cthulhu handouts with a newspaper and receipt.

Contemporary note: a suspicious instruction

Your appointment has been moved to 7:15 p.m. Use the clinic's side entrance and ask reception for envelope 28. Do not sign the blue form. The mistake in your name was intentional. Delete this message after reading.

Clue's purpose: provide a location, time and object. Choices: comply, investigate the sender or watch the clinic before entering. The final line belongs to the fiction: the player can keep the handout as a reference during play.

In a paranormal campaign, the mistaken name might point to a duplicate medical record. In espionage, it could be a password. Choose a consistent explanation before delivering the message.

Presenting letters and diaries in the editor

Use handwriting to suggest personality while keeping paragraphs readable. An angled signature can distinguish a personal letter from a report. A date, heading and some white space often communicate structure without requiring many images.

Separate diary entries visually and make time intervals clear. For aged paper, place texture in the background and check whether it interferes with the lettering. If part of the page is torn away, make the missing section obvious. Do not ask players to decipher a passage you never wrote.

Before handing over the document

• Read only the player-facing text and identify the next action it suggests.
• Check names and dates against the other documents.
• Export a preview and open it at the intended size.
• Prepare an accessible transcript and keep the solution out of the file.

The RPG handout guide helps plan discovery. To show the public consequences of events in the letter, add a fictional newspaper clipping.