D&D 5e Character Journal Printing & Binding

Have you ever wanted a printable journal to track your character's growth and journey through a campaign which can also be a nice memento from your time in said awesome campaign?

I sure did but I couldn't find one that I liked so I made one. I used a heavyweight (32 lb.) paper for the interior pages and cardstock (65 lb.) for the cover.

It has nifty sections like:

• Character sheets for level 1-20
• Backstory, Feats, Character Journey
• Session Notes & Maps
• Weapons, Spell List, and Inventory
• Companions
• Wild Shapes (Druid Version)

Link to Gumroad: Here

• Adobe Reader
• A printer
• heavyweight - 32 lb. paper (I used HP Premium32) - Amazon link
• cardstock - 65 lb. (I used Astrobrights) - Amazon link
• Multi-purpose sewing thread (book-binding thread should work, too)
• Sewing Needle
• An awl
• Bull-dog clips (4-6)

Using Adobe reader, you can print your journal using the booklet setting.

Open Adobe Reader to open the Character Journal .pdf

Select Print.

Locate the "Page Sizing & Handling" section and select "Booklet"

Use the following settings:

• Booklet subset should be set to "Both Sides".
• Sheets from 1 to (# of pages).
• Check the "Auto-rotate option for the pages.
• Set Binding to "Left".

Load your paper into the printer. Be sure to add the cardstock on top of your heavyweight paper so it is the first page that will be printed.

Print the booklet.

Fold each interior page of your journal in half. It is best to fold each page separately for a crisper fold.

Put the pages together in the order that they will be once bound.

Fold the cardstock cover around your interior page bundle.

Apply your bulldog clips to each side of the journal to secure the pages for the next step.

After you have folded and secured your pages, flip your page bundle so the cover is facing up.

Use your awl to make holes on what will be the spine of your journal. Each hole should be .5 inch apart with your first and last hole being .5 inch away from the edges of your journal.

Bind your pages using a saddle stitch.

This amazing and helpful video from Sea Lemon will walk you through how to use the saddle stitch in book-binding: video