End-of-session update

Close with consequences. Open next time under pressure.

What it is

The end-of-session update is a short review immediately after play. You do not write prose. You do not summarize every scene. You simply record what materially changed in the fiction and decide how those changes push on the next session.

This is where a living campaign becomes legible: which clocks moved, which NPCs lost trust, which evidence entered play, what consequence has begun, and what hook now deserves to open the next session.

Five focused minutes here saves twenty scattered minutes at the start of your next prep cycle.

When to use it

Immediately after each session, before notes cool and before you close the prep file.
After a major scene ends early and you need to preserve momentum for next time.
When several factions were active and you need a clean world-state reset.
Before writing the next opener so you are following consequences rather than inventing them fresh.

Worked example

From session end to next-session hook

What changed

The crew escapes with the ledger, but the harbor clerk who helped them is identified.

Which clocks advanced

Albion Identifies the Asset +2. Debt Collector Advances +1.

Who gained or lost trust

The Clann trusts the crew more. The City Guard now suspects the harbor master was bought.

Evidence found or lost

The altered exemption clause is secured. A witness route through Warehouse Six is burned.

Consequence begun → opener next session

A warrant is issued for the captain's arrest. Next session opens with a coded courier refusing to land until the crew shows its colors in public.

Pairs with

Faction moves

Use the update to decide what every active power does next.

Consequence planning

The consequences you prepared become the facts you now record.

Session Prep Builder

Carry the recap, hooks, clocks, and fallout into the next sheet.

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