Session Recap Generator
Jot down the beats of your last session and get a dramatic recap to read aloud.
Beats
Previously, on your campaign...
And there our heroes stand, the next chapter waiting to be written.
About the Session Recap Generator
This free D&D session recap generator turns the beats of your last game into a dramatic "Previously, on..." opener to read aloud at the table. You jot a campaign title, a handful of beats in order, and a closing cliffhanger, and the tool frames them into a single narrated passage: an opener, your beats stitched together with connective phrases, and a closer to leave the party leaning in.
It is a plain, predictable text transform, not an AI: the same notes always produce the same recap, so nothing is invented and nothing surprises you mid-read. Everything stays in your browser with no account, signup, or network call, and it reads pinned people and places from your Session Notebook so you can name-drop the NPCs who actually showed up. When the recap is ready you can send it straight to your Campaign Timeline as a session entry.
Example Recaps
Two real results, exactly as the generator produces them from the notes shown. The default wording prefixes later beats with connective phrases like "Then,"; the "Reword" button cycles through other phrasings.
- Notes in: title "The Ashfall Compact"; beat 1: "The party escorted the merchant Selene through the Gloomwood and reached the walled town of Verath by nightfall."; beat 2: "they found the town shrine desecrated, and a hooded stranger paid them in gold to leave by dawn."; cliffhanger: "As the gates shut behind them, Selene was nowhere to be found."
- Recap out: "Previously, on The Ashfall Compact... The party escorted the merchant Selene through the Gloomwood and reached the walled town of Verath by nightfall. Then, they found the town shrine desecrated, and a hooded stranger paid them in gold to leave by dawn. As the gates shut behind them, Selene was nowhere to be found."
- Notes in: title "The Hollow Crown"; beat 1: "The heroes struck the killing blow against the lich Vaerum, and his crown clattered to the flagstones, still humming with power."; cliffhanger left blank.
- Recap out: "Previously, on The Hollow Crown... The heroes struck the killing blow against the lich Vaerum, and his crown clattered to the flagstones, still humming with power. And there our heroes stand, the next chapter waiting to be written."
- When you skip the cliffhanger the tool supplies a neutral closer, so the recap never trails off unfinished.
Tips for Writing a Recap That Lands
- Keep beats to one sentence each and lead with the verb: what the party did, not every detail of how. The recap reads best as three to five punchy beats, not a full transcript.
- Write later beats to flow after a connective. The tool prefixes the second beat onward with a phrase like "Then,", so a beat that starts lowercase ("they found the shrine desecrated") reads more smoothly than one that repeats the subject.
- End on a real hook. The cliffhanger becomes the closing line, so a question or a reveal ("Selene was nowhere to be found") gives the table something to chew on before play resumes.
- Tag pinned Notebook items on the beats where they appear so the recap name-drops the NPCs and places your players remember, then send the finished recap to your Campaign Timeline as a session marker.
For a system to keep notes worth recapping between sessions, read the guide: How to Take Campaign Notes That Are Actually Useful
Common Questions
- Is this session recap generator free?
- Yes. Every tool on Tools and Taverns is free, with no account, signup, or generation limit.
- Does it use AI to write the recap?
- No. It is a deterministic text template: it wraps your beats in a fixed opener, connective phrases, and a closer. The same notes always produce the same recap, so nothing is fabricated and there is no waiting on a model. The "Reword" button only rotates the connective phrasing, not the content.
- Are my notes saved, and do they leave my device?
- Your draft is saved locally in this browser and stays on your device; there is no account and no server call. Clearing your browser storage or pressing Clear removes it, and it will not follow you to another device or browser.
- Can I pull in NPCs and locations from my campaign?
- Yes. The recap reads pinned entries from your Session Notebook, so you can tag the people and places that appeared in a beat and include a short cast list. Nothing is required: leave the Notebook out and the recap works from your beats alone.
- Can I use the recap in my game, stream, or published adventure?
- Yes. The recap is built entirely from your own notes, so it is yours to read aloud, post, or publish however you like; no attribution required.