The comparison at a glance
Pick a category first. The right tool is usually the one someone at your table will still use after session five.
Epicly
- Category
- Automated from audio
- Best for
- Session memory without manual wiki upkeep
- Price (typical)
- Generous free tier; paid plans for heavier use
- Weekly effort
- ~5–15 min (review & edit)
- Campaign wiki
- Updates automatically from play
- Session capture
- Automatic from audio or pasted notes
World Anvil
- Category
- Manual worldbuilding
- Best for
- Elaborate homebrew encyclopedias
- Price (typical)
- Free tier; paid for advanced features
- Weekly effort
- 30–90 min
- Campaign wiki
- Manual entry
- Session capture
- Manual only
Legend Keeper
- Category
- Manual TTRPG wiki
- Best for
- Polished campaign sites & lore
- Price (typical)
- Subscription after trial
- Weekly effort
- 30–60 min
- Campaign wiki
- Manual entry
- Session capture
- Manual only
Notion
- Category
- Manual / flexible
- Best for
- Custom databases & linked pages
- Price (typical)
- Free personal; Plus ~$10/mo
- Weekly effort
- 30–60 min
- Campaign wiki
- Manual entry
- Session capture
- Manual only
Obsidian
- Category
- Manual / local-first
- Best for
- Graph nerds & markdown vaults
- Price (typical)
- Free; Sync ~$8/mo
- Weekly effort
- 45–90 min
- Campaign wiki
- Manual entry
- Session capture
- Manual only
Kanka
- Category
- Manual TTRPG wiki
- Best for
- Free structured campaign wikis
- Price (typical)
- Generous free tier
- Weekly effort
- 30–60 min
- Campaign wiki
- Manual entry
- Session capture
- Manual only
Google Docs
- Category
- During or after
- Best for
- Zero-setup shared notes
- Price (typical)
- Free
- Weekly effort
- 15–30 min
- Campaign wiki
- Flat doc — no real wiki
- Session capture
- Manual only
NotebookLM
- Category
- General AI
- Best for
- Chatting with uploaded documents
- Price (typical)
- Free (Google account)
- Weekly effort
- Varies
- Campaign wiki
- No campaign wiki
- Session capture
- Upload & summarize
Fireflies
- Category
- Meeting AI
- Best for
- Live meeting transcription
- Price (typical)
- Free tier; paid plans
- Weekly effort
- Low if bot joins calls
- Campaign wiki
- No campaign wiki
- Session capture
- Meeting bot
Zoom
- Category
- Meeting AI
- Best for
- Zoom-native recordings
- Price (typical)
- Included with Zoom plans
- Weekly effort
- Low for Zoom calls only
- Campaign wiki
- No campaign wiki
- Session capture
- Zoom recordings only
Three ways DMs track campaigns
Every tool on this page falls into one of these buckets. The bucket matters more than any single checkbox — it tells you when you're writing, and whether upkeep happens during the game or after it.
Write during the game
Google Docs, OneNote, or a notebook on the table. Someone types or scribbles while play is happening. Immediate, but it splits attention between the game and the page.
Write after the game
World Anvil, Legend Keeper, Notion, Obsidian, and Kanka. You play with full focus, then spend 30–90 minutes building or updating a structured wiki from memory.
Build from session audio
Epicly records or uploads your session, transcribes it, and turns play into recaps plus a Campaign Codex — without manual wiki maintenance after every session.
Quick guide
- Want a blank-canvas world bible you sculpt by hand before and between sessions? Start with World Anvil or Legend Keeper.
- Want notes and wiki pages that update from what actually happened at the table? That's Epicly's lane.
- Already dumping campaign docs into NotebookLM? See the AI & meeting tools table below — and what breaks on long campaigns.
Campaign wikis & worldbuilding tools
Purpose-built and flexible wikis you maintain by hand — compared to Epicly's session-driven Campaign Codex.
| Feature | Epicly | World Anvil | Legend Keeper | Notion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Automatic session recaps from audio | ||||
| Wiki / codex updates automatically after sessionsEpicly extracts NPCs, locations, and lore from play. Manual tools require post-session entry. | ||||
| Speaker identification in transcripts | ||||
| Chat with full campaign history (Lorekeeper) | ||||
| GM Guide & prep assistant | ||||
| Import audio from any sourceDiscord, phone, VTT exports — not tied to one platform. | ||||
| Text / paste session entry without audio | ||||
| Player sharing & party access | ||||
| Pre-session worldbuilding studioBlank-canvas articles, religions, maps, and deep lore before session one. | ||||
| Interactive maps & map pins | ||||
| In-world calendars & timelines | ||||
| Family trees & org charts | ||||
| Published player-facing campaign site | ||||
| Fine-grained custom entity templates | ||||
| Offline editing | ||||
| Beautiful player-facing presentation | ||||
| Generous free tier |
Comparison is based on publicly available product capabilities as of 2026 and typical TTRPG use cases. Competitor features may vary by plan.
AI & meeting tools
General-purpose AI assistants and meeting recorders — useful, but not built as a long-running TTRPG campaign memory system.
| Feature | Epicly | NotebookLM | Fireflies | Zoom |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Purpose-built for TTRPG campaigns | ||||
| Import recordings from anywhereDiscord, in-person, Roll20, Foundry, Zoom exports, and more — not tied to one meeting platform. | ||||
| Session recaps & narrative summaries | ||||
| Structured campaign codex (NPCs, locations, lore) | ||||
| Multitrack / per-player audioEpicly maps speakers using your campaign player list across separate tracks. | ||||
| Chat with your campaign knowledgeNotebookLM excels here, but context is truncated on long campaigns. | ||||
| Search intelligently across full campaign historyNotebookLM truncates large sources; Epicly is designed for long-running campaigns. | ||||
| Speaker identification in raw transcriptsNotebookLM does not label speakers in uploaded audio transcripts. | ||||
| DM prep & Lorekeeper assistant | ||||
| Manual text session entry without audio | ||||
| Live meeting bot / auto-join recorder | ||||
| Generous free tier for casual groups | ||||
| Enterprise SSO, admin & compliance suite |
Comparison is based on publicly available product capabilities as of 2026 and typical TTRPG use cases. Competitor features may vary by plan.
Where your time actually goes
Over a 20-session campaign, manual wiki upkeep adds up to 10–20 hours outside the game. Here's what each workflow looks like after a typical session.
After every session with a manual wiki
World Anvil, Legend Keeper, Notion, or similar
- Write session notes from memory
- Update NPC and location articles
- Link new entities to existing pages
- Reorganize tags and categories
- Share updates with players
Total per session: 30–60 min
After every session with Epicly
Upload audio or paste rough notes
- Upload your session recording (or paste text)
- Review the generated recap — edit names and beats as needed
- Campaign Codex updates with new NPCs, locations, and lore
- Share recap with players in Discord or the codex
Total per session: ~5–15 min
That's roughly 10–20 hours of admin versus 2–3 hours with Epicly over the same campaign — time you could spend prepping the next session or actually playing.
App-by-app reviews
What each tool is genuinely good at — and where the tradeoffs show up after a few months of play.
You don't have to pick one
Many experienced DMs use a hybrid: World Anvil or Legend Keeper for pre-written lore, maps, and homebrew you'll reference at the table — and Epicly for what actually happened each session. Epicly won't replace a year of careful worldbuilding you enjoy creating; it replaces the Sunday-night scramble to remember who the party spared and what they promised the thieves' guild.